Sabbato infra Hebdomadam XII post Octavam Pentecostes – V Augusti
Scriptura: Ecclus 24:14–16; Luke 11:27–28
“He that made me rested in my tabernacle” (Ecclus. 24:14)
On this Saturday dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Church places before us the words of Wisdom from Ecclesiasticus, wherein the eternal Word, through the figure of Divine Wisdom, prefigures His dwelling in the Immaculate Virgin. “From the beginning, and before the world, was I created … and He that made me rested in my tabernacle.” The Fathers of the Church saw in this not only the eternal generation of the Word in the bosom of the Father, but also His temporal dwelling in the spotless tabernacle of Mary.
St. Augustine remarks: “Christ chose a virginal womb wherein to be incarnate, He who is the Eternal Wisdom of God; so that she who bore Him might be both Mother and Temple.” Thus, Mary is shown as the living Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place in which the Word found rest, a tabernacle more glorious than that of Sinai, more holy than the Temple of Solomon.
“Blessed is the womb that bore Thee” (Luke 11:27)
When the woman in the crowd lifted her voice in praise of the Mother of Jesus, saying, “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts that nursed Thee,” Our Lord, far from diminishing His Mother’s dignity, revealed its true foundation: “Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
St. Bede the Venerable explains: “The Lord does not deny His Mother to be blessed, but He shows that her blessedness consists not only in bearing Him in the flesh, but in hearing and keeping the word of God.” In other words, Mary is blessed not merely because she conceived the Word bodily, but because she conceived Him first in her heart through faith and obedience.
St. Augustine echoes the same truth: “Holy Mary did the Father’s will: therefore it is a greater thing for her to have been a disciple of Christ than to have been the Mother of Christ.” Her divine maternity is the summit of grace, but its root lies in her perfect conformity to the Word she heard and obeyed.
Mary: Model of Hearing and Keeping the Word
Thus, these two readings, brought together by the Church in today’s Mass, show us the inseparable union of Mary’s privileges and her virtues. She is chosen as the resting-place of Eternal Wisdom, uniquely predestined to be the Mother of God; yet her greatness is not merely a gift received, but also her faithful correspondence to that gift. She is blessed in conceiving, but more blessed still in believing.
St. John Chrysostom teaches: “For what profit would it have been to her to have borne Him in her womb, unless she had borne Him in her heart?” Therefore, in contemplating Mary, we are drawn to imitate her: to receive the Word with humility, to guard it in purity, and to bring it forth in works of charity.
Conclusion
On this Marian Saturday, the Church lifts our eyes to the Virgin in whom Wisdom dwelt, who is both Mother and disciple, Queen and handmaid. Let us, like her, become living tabernacles of Christ by hearing and keeping His Word. In doing so, we honor her most fittingly—not by mere words of praise, but by imitation of her fidelity.