Friday of week 23 in Ordinary Time
The Most Holy Name of Mary
First reading 1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14
Saint Paul shares with Timothy the wonder of his own transformation: once a persecutor, he was changed entirely by the overflowing grace of Christ, which filled him with faith and love. His testimony reminds us that no past failure is beyond the reach of God’s mercy, for grace does not merely pardon. But it recreates, reshapes, and redirects a life. This same truth shines in a unique way in the Most Holy Name of Mary. Her name evokes the mystery of grace perfectly received: from the first moment of her existence, she was filled with faith and love because she was entirely open to God’s will. Where Paul’s life shows us the power of grace to transform what is broken, Mary’s life shows us the fullness of what grace can do in a soul completely surrendered to God. In both, we glimpse the same reality: grace is the true author of holiness. To honor the Name of Mary, then, is to honor the work of God in her, and to entrust ourselves to her maternal help, that we too may be filled with the love and faith that come only from Christ Jesus. Let’s reflect: Do I allow God’s grace, through the intercession of Mary, to transform me as it did Saint Paul, filling me with faith and love so that my life becomes a testimony of His mercy?
Don Giorgio