Sanctæ Mariæ Sabbato ~ IV. classis
Commemoratio: Ss. Eustachii et Sociorum Martyrum
Sirach sings of Wisdom taking root among God’s people and spreading like cedar, cypress, palm, and olive (Ecclus 24:14–16). The Church has long heard in this hymn the voice of Sapientia foreshadowing the Virgin Mary—Sedes Sapientiæ, the living dwelling where the Word chose to abide. As the Spirit overshadowed her (Lk 1:35), Wisdom quite literally “pitched His tent” in Israel (cf. Jn 1:14), first in Mary’s heart and then in her womb.
In the Gospel, a woman cries out, “Blessed is the womb that bore you!” (Lk 11:27). Our Lord replies: “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). Christ does not diminish His Mother; He unveils the source of her blessedness. Mary is blessed not merely because she bore the Word, but because she believed and obeyed Him.
Mary: The First Hearer and Keeper
The Fathers insist that Mary’s discipleship precedes and grounds her maternity.
St. Augustine: “Beatior est Maria percipiendo fidem Christi quam concipiendo carnem Christi.”—“Mary is more blessed in receiving Christ by faith than in conceiving Christ in the flesh.” (De sancta virginitate 3)
St. Leo the Great explains that the Virgin conceived in mind before she conceived in body—faith formed a sanctuary before flesh formed a tabernacle (Sermons on the Nativity).
St. Ambrose sees in Mary the model of virginitas mentis—a heart wholly receptive to the Word, where listening becomes fruitful obedience (De virginibus).
The Venerable Bede, reflecting on Luke, notes that Mary “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (cf. Lk 2:19, 51): contemplation ripens into constancy.
Thus Sirach’s imagery becomes Marian: like the cedar, Mary stands upright amid the tempests of history; like the olive, she bears the oil of mercy; like the palm, she flourishes in aridity; like the plane tree by water, she offers shade to the weary. In her, Wisdom’s fragrance—faith, humility, steadfast love—fills the house of the Church.
Hearing and Keeping—Our Marian Path
Christ’s beatitude is a doorway for us. To “hear and keep” is to let the Word take root, abide, and bear fruit:
Reverent Listening (lectio): Receive Scripture as Mary did—attentively, slowly, with expectancy.
Interior Custody (meditatio): Ponder the Word until it “descends” from ear to heart and orders desire.
Faithful Doing (actio): Let obedience make the Word visible in works of mercy, truth-telling, and patient endurance.
Saturday’s memorial of Our Lady invites this Marian rhythm weekly: listen, keep, act.
Witness Under Trial: Ss. Eustachius and Companions
The commemoration of St. Eustachius—the soldier-saint famed for encountering the Cross in the antlers of a stag—and his companions reminds us that hearing and keeping may lead through fire. Their steadfast confession under persecution is Sirach’s cedar lived to the end: rooted, upright, fragrant with charity. In every trial, they teach us to echo Mary’s fiat with courageous perseverance.
A Marian Examination of Heart
Where does the Word meet resistance in me? Ask Mary to loosen the soil.
Which beatitude of obedience is the Spirit inviting now? Forgiveness? Hidden service? Holy silence?
How can I let Wisdom’s “fragrance” reach others this week? One concrete act; no delay.
Oratio
O God, who made the Blessed Virgin Mary the seat of divine Wisdom, grant that, hearing Your Word as she did, we may keep it with a pure heart and bear its fruit in steadfast charity. Through the intercession of Ss. Eustachius and his companions, confirm us in patient endurance. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sancta Maria, Sedes Sapientiæ—ora pro nobis.