Immaculate Heart of Mary

Following is the prepared text for Bishop Olmsted’s homily for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, celebrated with the Catholic Men’s Leadership Alliance.

June 25, 2022

“Jesus…went down with… [Mary and Joseph] and was obedient to them, and His mother kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 1:51).

On this day when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, I am pleased to celebrate Mass with Catholic men who have gladly embraced their mission in today’s work and been willing to “fight the good fight of faith,” “put on the armor of God,” and “stand firm against the tactics of the devil.”

It is not by accident that Roe v Wade was overturned on the Solemn Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. What could be more precious to the Heart of our Savior than the lives of the most vulnerable and innocent among us? Roe v Wade led to the destruction of more than 60 million lives and sowed seeds of confusion in our moral conscience and nation’s laws. Today we begin the long road to heal from this wound. Our First Reading this morning from the Book of Lamentations speaks to this duty as it exhorts us with words particularly significant at this moment in American history, “Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your hearts like water in the presence of the Lord: Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your little ones” (Lam 2:19).

Today, the Church invites us in America to “pour out our hearts like water in the presence of the Lord.” Yesterday, Dobbs v. Jackson put an end to an unjust law that for 49 years has denied tens of millions of children the right to be born. We mourn their loss and entrust their souls to our merciful God.

At the same time, we must prepare for the spiritual battle that lies ahead. The Dobbs’ decision allows us to begin new work, healing wounds and repairing deep divisions in society, building a culture that supports marriages and families, and offering support and resources for each woman to bring her child into this world in love.

As we launch this new beginning on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us be guided and inspired by her example. Once she gave her consent to be the Mother of God, the long tyranny of sin was headed towards inevitable defeat. Mary’s ‘yes’ opened the door to our Redeemer, who took on human flesh, so that He could suffer and die to redeem us and rise from the dead to conquer and trample death. Jesus, Mary’s son and Son of God, is forever the Light, which darkness cannot overcome.

Dear brothers and sons in Christ, we have much to learn from His Blessed Mother. She earned the right to be called the “First Disciple.” Wherever God led her, she went gladly, not counting the cost, not complaining, never loosing heart. Because of being the Mother of Jesus, she became a refugee in Egypt, a mother of a criminal, a witness to a Roman execution of her Son, and the recipient of a new mission as Jesus told her from the Cross, pointing to the Beloved Disciple: “Behold your Son.”

In each circumstance, whether joyful or sorrowful, Mary was always obedient, willingly uniting her heart to the will of the Father.

Mary’s heart was undivided; there was no duplicity in her. She refused to be cowed by fear. Filled with the spirit of truth, she remained steadfast in her devotion to Jesus and her role in the mission of the Church.

On this day after the overturning of Roe v Wade, we have much to learn from Mary about walking with mothers in need. Remember how she hastened into the hill country of Judea to assist Elizabeth, a pregnant mother in need. Let us keep in mind, too, the missionary spirit she introduced with particular beauty into the American continent, when she appeared to Saint Juan Diego at Tepeyac in central Mexico, in AD 1531. Bearing the unborn child Jesus in her maternal womb, Our Lady of Guadalupe came to Juan Diego, surrounded with music more beautiful than birds can sing, and she spoke words that gave him confidence to fulfill a mission for her Son. When you and I have doubts or fears as Juan Diego did, let us recall her words, “Let your heart not be troubled…Am I not here, who have the honor to be your Mother?”

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the patron saint of our nation. At this turning point in its history, when our witness to the Gospel of Life is needed more than ever, let us remember the words of the Memorare:

“Remember, O Most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help, or sought Thy intercession was left unaided. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions but in thy mercy, hear and answer them. Amen.”