TRANSCRIPT
(NOTE: This transcription has been automatically generated through an AI program. Consequently, this transcript may not match everything you hear in the podcast episode, and it may contain errors such as spelling, grammar, word choice, etc., due to the limitations of current AI technology.)
Hi everyone, welcome to this week’s episode of Midnight Carmelite. The title of this week’s episode will be the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Given that it’s the month of May, I felt called to talk about this a little bit. We’re going to be diving into the Greek in Scriptures as well as talking about Fatima.
So let’s get started, Mary’s Immaculate Heart is mentioned twice in Scripture. So the first instance is after the shepherds come to her and tell her how the hosts of heaven, in Greek the word really is armies, so that’s what host means. It’s armies showed up and told the shepherds about the child, Jesus. And the second time was when Mary and Joseph went to the temple after three days of looking for Jesus in the caravan they were in after Passover, heading home, and they couldn’t find him. They found him in the temple and they found Jesus questioning and answering questions in a way that amazed the teachers there. Mary’s heart pondered and treasured all these things as she saw her son grow in favor with God and man and grow in wisdom and strength throughout his life in Nazareth.
We see a few things here that are worth examination. The first two instances that directly reference Mary’s immaculate heart, as well as the indirect reference as well from Simeon, where he speaks of the sorrow that will pierce her very life or soul. Second, we see how we can learn from Mary and imitate her Immaculate Heart in our own lives to grow closer to Jesus. Finally, we’ll see that considering Jesus growing in wisdom and maturity, and strength in favor with God and man, the Word needed to forge his human nature to make it ready for his mission.
So we’re going to see all this play out here and what that means for us. So let’s start with Luke 2. This is where the shepherds have come and found the baby and they’re telling Mary and Joseph about what’s going on and what Luke writes is:
ἡ δὲ Μαρία πάντα συντήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς (However Mary associated and watched over these matters spoken to her, associating and pondering them in her heart)
So the verb here is συντήρει. So it means to guard or watch over. It’s this kind of putting together associating and watching over and when it says she’s associating and pondering in her heart, this is where it gets interesting.
The verb here is συμβάλλουσα which you may say like nearly no one idea what’s going on here. So let’s explain a bit. So συμβάλλουσα comes from συμβάλλω, which means to throw together and ponder and it’s the contrary opposite of a word you may be familiar with, διαβάλλω, which is to thrust through where we get the word diabolic from. It’s also used in the sense of slandering and accusing. So that’s obviously why we call the devil diabolic. He runs through like a spear anything that is associated and brought together.
In 1 Timothy 3, he speaks about women when talking about deacons. He says:
Γυναῖκας ὡσαύτως σεμνάς μὴ διαβόλους, νηφαλίους, πιστὰς ἐν πᾶσιν (In the same way, women be venerable, not accusers, circumspect and faithful in all things)
And so the word when he says for accusers or slanderers is διαβόλους. Now for men deacons Timothy is equally as harsh. And he says he uses the word διλόγους, which means two-reasons kind of two-faced. You are not consistent.
Now back to Mary. When she is associating and watching over these matters spoken to her, we need to be careful about what matters we speak about and what matters we let into our hearts. So in Mary’s case, she let what the shepherds revealed to her about the angelic armies appearing to them and what they said about the child into her heart and associated and pondered it. So now, later in the Presentation, Simeon tells Mary that:
καὶ σοῦ δὲ αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν διελεύσεται ῥομφαία ὅπως ἄν ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν ἐκ πολλῶν καρδιῶν διαλογισμοί (And you however, your soul will go through piercing grief in a manner that out of many hearts confused reasonings (back-and-forth) may be uncovered.)
Not the word here for piercing grief actually means a thracian scimitar and doing some quick research, the function of a scimitar is both slashing and piercing, but most importantly, it’s for close combat and it’s very effective, I guess for defensive combat. So here we see this sword’s blade causing Mary’s soul piercing grief. What is this piercing grief? Well, my opinion, it’s the grief that’s felt in the personal and horizontal plane, meaning it’s a grief of a person who sees something good being thrust through and torn apart or no other reason than that thing is good. It’s the grief of a person for whoever, let’s say, likes to debate and consider ideas with other confused people which ultimately leads to reinforcing some bias or conclusion. And really put simply, it’s the blind leading the blind.
So let’s go to the next instance of Mary’s heart, which is when she finds the child Jesus in the temple, Mary and Joseph were looking for Jesus for three days. They find him in the temple with the teachers. And this is what she says:
καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ Τέκνον τί ἐποίσας ἡμῖν οὕτως; ἰδοὺ, ὁ πατήρ σου κἀγὼ ὀδυνώμενοι ἐζητοῦμέν σε. Καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς Τί ὅτι ἐζητεῖτέ με; οὐκ ᾔδειτε ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ Πατρός μου δεῖ εἶναι με; καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐ συνῆκαν τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς. Καὶ κατέβη μετ΄ αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Ναζαρὲθ, καὶ ἦν ὑποτασσόμενος αὐτοῖς (And his mother said to him, YOUNG MAN, why have you acted thus to us? Behold, your father and I in intense personal anguish were searching for you. And he said to them, “What is the reason that you were seeking me? Had you not perceived that it is necessary for me to be among my Father?” And they did not put together the word that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came into Nazareth, and was subordinated to them.
So a quick note here. So normally in English translates that is in my father’s house. But the word house does not appear in that phrase that the people who translate that way. Take the article and say it implies that. I don’t really agree with that, but that’s the beauty of translation.
So let’s continue. And then the Gospel continues and says:
καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ διετήρει πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς (And his mother was thoroughly guarding over all these matters spoken to her in her heart)
So a couple things as first as this time, instead of mary associating and watching over the matters, she’s thoroughly guarding over them. So she’s she’s already associated, she already is kind of getting what’s going on.
But more importantly, the verb here is in the imperfect tense, which is a continuous action in the past. And so I believe Luke was writing to say that Jesus was down in Nazareth and subordinated them. And Mary during this time was accumulating, or as they would normally translate this passage, treasuring up, she’s accumulating in her heart all the things about Jesus that she wants to share with others, all the beautiful things that she saw. You know, when we find Jesus in the temple, Mary experiences some of the piercing grief that Simeon prophecy about.
And furthermore, St. Joseph here experienced the same personal anguish too. Remember Mary said, “Young man, why have you acted thus to us both?” Her and Joseph “Behold your father and I in intensive personal anguish, were searching for you.” So, as both Mary and St. Joseph here something to reflect about the sharing, this year of Saint joseph, she mentions that her and Joseph were greatly anguish like I just said, and Jesus responds by telling them that they shouldn’t be anguished because he’s where he’s supposed to be, he’s with his Father.
And I think this is key, that is where you’ll always find Jesus with the Father, because as he says in the gospel of John “the father and I are one.” So therefore Mary and Joseph did not put together what Jesus was saying at the time, and Jesus submitted to them and went to Nazareth, Mary’s Immaculate Heart, thoroughly guarded and treasured up all these matters spoken to her in her heart. Again that word for thoroughly guarding and treasuring up, you know, there were these more instances of Jesus speaking to these matters to her about matters having to do with him.
And these were all treasured in her Immaculate Heart. And I think you can see that because in the next verse it says that Jesus advance forward and wisdom and maturity and in favor with God and men. There is a very powerful thing going on here where the Sacred Heart of Jesus was formed under the Immaculate Heart of Mary when he was in her womb. And here Jesus in his heart were being formed, being subordinated to Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, which we just saw in that verse.
So then as he was gaining these gifts through his human nature for additional perfections and was subordinated Mary and Joseph in Nazareth and he’s probably spoke to her about these matters during this time. She guards them and treasures them in her heart, in her Immaculate Heart. And we continue to this day to receive through her Immaculate Heart to receive these graces which we all need in our fallen state.
I just wanted to bring up St. John of the Cross here. His last words that we have that were written, talked about putting love where there is no love because he says this is how God operates.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary gives us her love so we can love her Son the way that he ought to be loved. So therefore she puts her love into us so that we may love him. And also this love from her Immaculate Heart through her brings the love of her Son to put love of God back into our hearts by loving us. And I mentioned Fatima at the beginning, I wanted to, so first of all with the Immmaculate Heart, there’s a prayer that the angel of peace told the three children, you can look it up online and that talks about Mary’s Immaculate heart and reparations, but I wanted to talk about something that happened with Jacinta while she was dying.
Finally, Jacinta told Lucia before she died that God grants us all grace through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that all must make their petitions to her, that the Sacred Heart of Jesus desire that the Immaculate Heart of Mary be venerated at the same time. That we should all ask for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as God placed it in her hands.
So Jacinta told lucy a before she died that God grants us all grace through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that all must make their petitions to her; that the Sacred Heart of Jesus desires that at the Immaculate Heart of Mary be venerated at the same time; and that we should all ask for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary as God placed peace in her hands.
And I think that’s a great way to end this podcast. We all would like peace: peace within ourselves as well as peace in the world. So I just want to say a few words here.
So blessed be the mother of God, Mary, blessed be her Immaculate Heart, Immaculate Heart of Mary pray for us, especially in this month of May, Amen.
How to learn more
To learn more about the Carmelite tradition in general, check out Midnight Carmelite episodes through the player below and hit subscribe to stay up to date!