Hajja Salesjana April-June 2020

11 H AJJA S ALESJANA Mary’s femininity draws out the best of the priest’s masculinity That we might better understand the essence of spiritual motherhood of priests, we can reflect upon Jesus’ entrustment of His Mother Mary and John, the Beloved, to each other. Fr. John Cihak, reflecting on the scene at the foot of the Cross, develops the complementarity of the feminine heart of Mary which calls forth the best of the masculine heart of John for their mutual support: [At the foot of the Cross]…pondering the eyes of Our Lady and St. John as they meet in their mutual agony. Neither of them seems to have Jesus anymore. At that moment she needs St. John; she also allows him to help her. She is so alone at the moment. She who is sinless allows her great poverty of spirit to need this man and priest beside her. Her feminine complementarity draws out the best in St. John’s masculine heart. The need for his support and protection must have connected to something deep within him as a man. How does he help her? St. John says that he then took her “into his own” (…). What does this mean? “His house,” as many translations read? “His things”? What about “everything that he is”? Perhaps it indicates that he takes her into his life as a priest. She also is supporting him. He is depending on her in that moment for he too is so alone. I wonder if he felt abandoned by the other apostles. She leads the way in sacrificing herself, for her feminine heart is more receptive and more attuned to Jesus’. She is not only present but leads the way for him, helping the priest to have his own heart pierced as well. There is much here to ponder as she engages his masculine love. He gives himself over to her, to cherish her and console her. At this moment she needs him and needs him to be strong, even if she is the one really supporting him. The Blessed Virgin Mary’s role is to call out of the priest this celibate agape to help him become a husband to the Church and a spiritual father — a strong father, even in his weakness. She does this at the Cross by drawing the priest out of his own pain to offer pure masculine love in the midst of her own pure feminine love. This scene becomes an icon of the relationship between the priest and the Church. The priest hands himself over to the Church in her suffering and need — to have his life shaped by hers. At the foot of the Cross the Church agonizes in labor to give birth to the members of the mystical body (Monsignor John Cihak, “The Blessed Virgin Mary’s Role in the Celibate Priest’s Spousal and Paternal Love” ). The DNA of the Incarnate Word remains with Mary just as the DNA of any child remains with his mother. Mary’s Child is the Eternal High Priest sent by the Father for the redemption of humanity. Mary’s heart goes out to the priest because she sees the indelible image of the