Feast of the Queenship of Mary
Blessing of the Blessed Stanley Rother House
Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary
Emmitsburg, MD
August 22, 2023
Introduction
Today, on this beautiful feast of the Queenship of Mary, we dedicate the Blessed Stanley Rother House and inaugurate the Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary propaedeutic year program.
Msgr. Baker has already offered us gracious words of gratitude, but I would be remiss not to thank you, Msgr. Baker, for your vigorous leadership, together with President Trainor for your leadership and enthusiastic support of this endeavor. Warmest thanks are in order to Bishop Burbidge of Arlington for allowing Fr. Daniel Hanley to lead this program and to all the bishops who have entrusted this inaugural propaedeutic class to the nation’s second oldest seminary, represented today by Bishop Knestout.
At the same time, I want to thank the Daughters of Charity, for your generosity which made it possible for this program to locate in this beautiful facility. Today, the Mountain has come to the Valley! And it should be said that this day would not have come to pass without the generosity of the Seminary Board, the Rector’s Council, and the many generous benefactors of this, the nation’s largest seminary.
Above all, our prayers and support are with you, the members of this inaugural class (I won’t keep using the word ‘propaedeutic’). Indeed, this feast day of the Queenship of Mary and God’s Word shed light on what it is we have embarked upon, beginning with this…
God Prepares Mary’s Heart
…Mary’s royal title, Queen of Heaven and Earth, did not come about suddenly or easily. God prepared Mary’s heart for her unique vocation by preserving her from original sin and giving her all the graces that enabled her to open her heart to the Word of God like no one else. Yet, Mary had to cooperate as God mysteriously expanded her heart and enlarged the horizon of hope and vision… to the point where she could say, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your Word.” Her Son further expanded her heart as she absorbed his teaching, became his first and best disciple, and stood beneath the Cross, sharing in the redeeming sacrifice of her Son more completely than any other. Thus did she share fully in his Resurrection and Exaltation, assumed body and soul into heaven and adorned forever with royal beauty.
God Prepares Our Hearts
None of us was conceived without original sin and none of us is called to Mary’s utterly unique vocation. But all of us were cleansed of sin in Baptism and called to discipleship and holiness – and those of you in this inaugural class are quite possibly called to be priests. Not unlike what God did for Mary, he will begin, here and now, preparing you for whatever it is that God wills for you.
Specifically, he will send you the graces you need to open your hearts more widely to his Word and to allow that Word to begin molding and shaping your humanity, so that you may be an apt instrument to advance his Son’s mission.
Thus begins a process in you. And if, like Mary, you cooperate wholeheartedly with it, you will be brought to the point of saying to God, as did Mary, “I am your servant. Let it be done to me according to your Word.”
A Challenging Proposition
“Not easy,” you may be thinking, and if so, you’d be right! Those who set out to do God’s will always wonder where they will get the strength for their vocation and mission. Almost everyone who embraces the call to holiness and discipleship wonders how they will face giving up so much for the Lord and for his mission.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton knew something about this. Little by little, she gave up everything to follow the Lord, finding in him the source of her strength and joy.
Blessed Stanley Rother also knew something about this. There was no propaedeutic year in his day, but the Lord prepared his heart for nothing less than martyrdom – both on this Mountain and in this Valley, accomplishing immeasurably more in him than he could have asked or imagined.
This propaedeutic year is a graced time to discover the source of your strength, the joy of self-giving, and the adventure of allowing God to purify and expand your hearts – day after day, month after month. That’s my prayer for you – not that you necessarily become martyrs like Blessed Stanley, but that one day you will be priestly witnesses in whom and through whom the Lord will achieve his saving purpose.
Mary Our Queen, pray for us! Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us! Blessed Stanley Rother, pray for us!