Praise be Jesus and Mary.
The gospel today presents us with the famous phrase that we usually see on banners at football
games, John 3.16.
For God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.
And the reason why this is usually seen on television is because it is a summary of the
salvation that God has wrought for the whole world in the incarnation, the passion, death,
and life.
And resurrection of his Son.
But we should also recognize the Marian, the hidden Marian meaning of this passage.
St. Bernard says that our Lady is mentioned on every single page of sacred scripture.
And so here, there is a Marian meaning to this passage as well.
And we should think of that when we read and see this passage on television.
And that is, that Mary so loved the world as to give her only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.
Our Lady's universal love for the whole world as co-redemptrix and mediatrix of all graces,
that she desires ardently to bring all souls to herself.
And that is, that Mary so loved the world as to give her only begotten Son, that they
may have life.
And as I was speaking yesterday of the great grace of religious life, it's an even greater
grace, our Marian form of religious life, where we totally consecrate ourselves to our
Lady by public vow.
And by doing so, we participate in our Lady's love for the world.
Just think of St. Maximilian's desire to save all souls, to reach every single soul as soon as possible, as soon as possible, this urgency to bring our Lady to all souls.
Now, of course, this love for the world does not mean a love for the world and its pleasures.
In fact, St. John says in his letter that one cannot love.
One cannot love both God and the world.
So, we think of our Lady's miraculous medal, where she has her foot not only on the head of the serpent, symbol of Satan and sin, but also on the world, meaning the world and its pleasures.
So, we too who are consecrated to our Lady should have not only the serpent underfoot,
but also the world and its pleasures, even licit pleasures.
And just as the serpent strikes at our
Lady's heel,
we should expect to be hit and attacked every now and then.
And the world with its gravity drawing us by its pleasures.
We need to be on guard of these things.
And I mean even licit pleasures.
And so, we need to always stay close to Our Lady
so as to keep both the serpent and the world underfoot.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.