Archbishop Dabula Mpako’s Homily at Ad Limina Closing Mass

by SACBC · Published June 18, 2023 · Updated June 18, 2023

Archbishop Dabula Mpako: We conclude our Ad Limina Visit to Rome by celebrating Mass at this very important basilica. This Basilica of St Mary Major was built shortly after the formal proclamation of Mary as Mother of God in the Council of Ephesus in the year 431. It was thus built in honour of and to celebrate Mary’s divine motherhood, as mother of the Son of God. It is the oldest and the first great church of Mary in Rome, and indeed in the West. It is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.

Pope Francis, the day after his election as Pope, visited this basilica of Saint Mary Major to pay tribute to the Blessed Mother and to pray at this same altar. As we may be aware, he often visits here, especially before and after any foreign trips. Yesterday, upon being discharged from hospital and on his way back to the Vatican Pope Francis again stopped here to say a prayer to our Lady.

The liturgical Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major is celebrated each year on the 5th of August. Today we are celebrating the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

As we end this visit and return to our respective local churches, we entrust ourselves to the motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our prayer is that she may continue to be our protector and a guiding light for us, the shining star we follow as we carry out our ministry of shepherding the people of God.

Reflection

At the same time, with this celebration of the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary we have put before us for our contemplation the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As I have just said, we are thereby invited to keep the shining example of Mary ever in mind and to respond to God’s call as she did.

In the first reading, St Paul reminds us that our most fundamental calling as Bishops and ordained ministers in the Church is that of being “ambassadors for Christ.” This means to stand in for Christ, and to allow the mission of Christ to be carried out in and through us. And we are reminded that at the centre of that mission is God’s work of reconciling the world to himself. Another very important aspect of this work is that of facilitating reconciliation, communion and unity among the faithful entrusted to our pastoral care and to lead the church communities entrusted to our pastoral care in being agents of reconciliation and unity in the societies in which we live.

Now, Mary teaches us through her example how to effectively carry out our ministry of being ambassadors for Christ, our ministry of being agents of reconciliation. St Luke tells us in the Gospel of today and in another place how Mary “kept all these things in her heart.” Mary shows us how to respond to God’s call by, first and foremost, listening to the words the Holy Spirit speaks to us in the depths of our hearts. Being ambassadors for Christ begins by pondering the word of God in our hearts. In other words, it begins by us allowing ourselves to be transformed in the depths of our hearts. It begins by us opening up a space in our hearts for

the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and take possession of us so that we become instruments and agents of the Holy Spirit.

The first reading alludes to this when it says, “For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.”

Such pondering, however, does not necessarily mean that we shall always have the right answers and/or the right solutions, or that we shall always see clearly or understand fully what God is about in our lives and in the life of the Church. Rather, it means that, like Mary, even when we don’t fully understand we will always keep our hearts and minds open to God’s will. Mary’s heart is Immaculate because it was a heart that was always attentive, open and ready to embrace God’s will whatever it turned out to be.

As bishops, our daily lives are ordinarily filled up with so many activities to carry out, so many appointments to honour, so many queries to respond to, and generally a tight, and sometimes punishing schedule to follow. We constantly face the real possibility and temptation of being simply caught up in the maze of these activities and schedules and of simply drifting from one thing to another, without much prayerful listening and pondering. The memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary reminds us, and indeed invites us, to ponder the word of God in our hearts; to listen deeply to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the depths of our being, and to ever remain anchored in God as we go about our daily responsibilities.

May our visit to the tombs of the two great Apostles, Peter and Paul, which we have just carried out be a moment of deep renewal of our commitment to follow in their footsteps and to give ourselves wholeheartedly to the ministry of being ardent ambassadors for Christ as they did in their own lives to the point of being prepared to lay down their very lives in witnessing to the Good News proclaimed by Jesus Christ.

And may the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, continue to intercede for all of us, shepherds and the flock, that we may be given a heart like hers that is always ready to listen, to ponder, and to allow God’s will to be carried out in and through us.