 
MARY, THE APOSTLE AND FORMATOR OF THE APOSTLES
Sr. Marialuisa Peviani, Sr.
Lorenza Favetta, ap
Focusing our eyes on Mary, as Fr. Alberione sees her, we see her all
leaning forward to give us Jesus and to guide us to become disciples
and apostles of her Son as she herself was.
Mary is the Mother
who, as she takes care of all the brothers of her Son, accompanies
each man to an encounter with Him and to the realization of the love
that the Father has for all.
“Mary was
created for the apostolate of giving Jesus Christ to the world: He,
the Way, the Truth and the Life; He, the Master, the Priest, the
Victim, God! Who wanted that we received everything by means of
Mary”.
“Mary always
gives Jesus, like a branch that always holds him and offers him to
men: possible victim,, glorious, Eucharistic, Way, Truth, and Life
of men. She is the Apostle of Jesus; not just in words, but in her
mind, will and heart. [...] Mary is therefore: the Apostle, the
Queen of Apostles, the exemplar in every apostolate, the inspirer of
all the apostolic virtues. Let heaven sing to Her! and earth! for
Her, with Her, and in Her let every praise rise to the Most Holy
Trinity”.
Mary Queen of the
Apostles is for Fr. Alberione the Mother of vocations, hence it is
necessary that “All the work for vocations be done by Mary, for
Mary, with Mary and in Mary”.
We can now
contemplate some icons of the life of Mary in vocational terms.
Looking at the icon of the Annunciation, everyone that
is called finds the essential lines of God’s action who calls and
the fundamental attitudes of the man who responds and feels the
opening before him of the horizons of the mission.
“When Mary
pronounced her “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to
me according to thy Word”, she became the Mother of the great
Priest, the mother of every beautiful calling.
She received,
nourished, accompanied in infancy, in private and in public life,
the most beautiful vocation. In like manner she acts with every soul
called to the priesthood, to the religious life, to the apostolate.
From Mary Queen of the Apostles we ask workers for the harvest of
the Gospel. To Mary we entrust those called during their youth and
in the period of their formation. With Mary and in Mary we carry on
our apostolate.”
Also the icon
of the Magnificat is full of vocational suggestions. Like Mary
everyone called must know how to read his/her own history in the
history of salvation, come out of himself or herself to serve the
plans of God regarding all mankind.
“We must
enlarge our hearts and therefore pray for all mankind. [...] Think
about everybody, pray for everybody and see to it that all become
part of the people of God, of the new people of God. A big heart!
And therefore a heart like the heart of Jesus who calls everybody;
and our heart conformed to the heart of Jesus: the one that He,
Jesus, desires and wants and asks, that is: that all of us think
about the whole human race, about all men”.
It is joy
that characterizes the truth of a vocational journey: then the
experience of the Magnificat becomes testimony.
There is a magnetic force in souls that are holy,
full of faith, confidence, love of God. They have something that
attracts! The magnet is not seen on the outside, but when in the
heart there is so much love for God, these souls have a power of
attraction. [...] We are apostles in the measure that we are holy;
we are effective in the apostolate in the measure that we are holy.
[...] The woman who is truly holy has a great efficacy on vocations,
to the degree of her sanctity. [...] Corresponding well to our
vocation means attracting other vocations “.
Another Marian
icon that is particularly significant is that of Cana. In
this regard, Fr. Alberione expreses an original vocational nuance,
arriving at saying that as in the case of Jesus, Mary lets the hour
of the one who is called come:
“Who knows the
designs of God? We have the commitment to ready our ears to hear
the sound of the divine bell; the hour of God! Because the Queen of
Apostles can anticipate. As she did during the wedding at Cana when
Jesus answered “my hour has not yet come”; through her faith and
mission, Mary anticipated that hour”.
Talking about the
Queen of the Apostles, Fr. Alberione constantly referred to
Calvary, to “Behold your son... Behold your mother” (Jn
19,26-27), emphasizing in very many meditations the teaching about
the spiritual motherhood of Mary.
“Able to live
and die for vocations. That is what Jesus did. [...] The spouse of
Christ joins Mary on the way to Calvary. [...] Offer even your life,
your work, and all that you will meet in life to Jesus, for
vocations.”.
Mary in the
Cenacle has a very special place: because of her life experience
with Jesus, She she is the one who can help others to prepare
for the transforming experience of the Spirit.
Although
discreetly, hers is an active presence, one of support and of
guidance for the apostles and disciples, helping them to grow and to
open themselves to the Spirit. She is the Apostle par excellence. In
the Cenacle Mary prays with the apostles, prays for them, and
prepares them for their mission.
“Oh! Look at
the Queen of Apostles. Yes. Apostles. And apostles are all of them
who Jesus has called: the twelve, those that Jesus has called
throughout the centuries, and they are many! Those that Jesus
continues to call: religious priests, religious laity, diocesan
priests, sisters, sisters of so many institutes, laypeople who do
apostolate and give themselves as members of secular institutes, or
also freely dedicate themselves to an apostolate in the Church of
God. [...]
A vocational
wisdom is required, in addition to a vocational awareness! Ask it
for all those who engage in vocation work. Vocational wisdom! And
may the Lord communicate it as a gift of the Holy Spirit: vocational
wisdom! Indeed. And at the same time: awareness, that is, feeling
responsible for these vocations. [...] Mary is with you”.
In light of the
prayerful as well as formative presence of Mary, we are called to
live like her our life and mission, in humility and faith... Fr.
Alberione is particularly clear in this regard:
“Everything that Mary received as gift or privilege, she received in
order to form the first
Called.
The first
Called, the first
vocation is Jesus Christ. Imitate Mary in her mission. She accepted
it when she said: “Let it be done” (Lc 1,38) and ordered and
dedicated all her life for this work of forming Jesus and
accompanying him to Calvary. She made her entire life a vocational
activity”.
We know that Mary
is the image of the Church. Fr. Alberione has given to the whole
Pauline Family a clear Marian imprint: in the school of Mary, let us
learn to be apostles and to collaborate in the formation of new
apostles for our times.
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