Feast of the Patronage of Mary over the Dominican Order

By Sr Rene Weeks ~ May 8, 2008

Mary is a special patron of the Dominican Order; whenever Dominicans think of her numerous legends spring to mind:

Mary with her open mantel sheltering Dominicans through the centuries,

Mary giving the scapular to Reginald of Orleans,

Mary blessing the friars as they sang the Salve Regina at the end of night prayer.

All of these legends (and more) are dear to the hearts of Dominicans but, rather than dwell on these today, we will instead consider Mary as the Scriptures speak of her.

Today’s Gospel is Luke’s account of the visitation of the young and pregnant Mary to her older and also pregnant cousin Elizabeth. Mary is the itinerant woman who literally bears the Word in her body. The Gospel writers often show Mary on the road. She journeys to Ain Karem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Egypt, and Jerusalem. And surely her physical journeys along the dusty pathways of Palestine were accompanied by interior journeys as she walked with God. Mary is “always on the way.”

In these days just before the Church gathers to celebrate the feast of Pentecost it’s fitting that already we see Mary filled with the Spirit as she journeys to Elizabeth’s house.

The Spirit moves people. The Spirit moved Jesus into the desert. The Spirit moved the apostles from Jerusalem to the ends of the known earth. And the Spirit moved Mary not so many miles but a tremendous interior leap to bear the Savior. This same Spirit sang the Magnificat in Mary and later announced good news to the poor through Jesus.

As she walked the miles through the hill country to Ain Karem to support Elizabeth in her pregnancy Mary was a transparent sign of God’s promise made to Moses and to all the people: “I will always walk with you.”

Mary was anything but passive and demure. She was active, enterprising, decisive and creative. We can picture her moving quickly along the road, a movement later mirrored by Dominic and Catherine and other itinerants through the centuries.

Mary is the image of the church when we are at our best in proclaiming the Good News. During the time of her visitation Mary became servant to Elizabeth. Nothing was beneath her. She set the standard for her Son who later washed his disciples’ feet and continues to invite us to do the same.

Sister Fabiola Velasquez, coordinator of DSI, says, “Mary’s path is a manner of going, while still dwelling in the Lord, a manner of leaving, still living in God, a manner of journeying, still carrying the Word.”

While we pray today that Mary will protect all members of the Dominican family, we also pray that we will dare to journey with Mary on the dusty roads of our world to those places where we are most needed today!

Dominicans Under the Shelter of Mary’s Mantle

Artist: Sister Thoma Swanson, OP

SCRIPTURES:          Isaiah 12:2-6

                                       Luke 1:39-47

 

On May 8^th the Dominican Order celebrates the feast of the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, honoring Mary’s special place in the life of all the members of the Dominican Family.

Before the reform of the liturgical calendar that followed Vatican II this feast was celebrated on December 22^nd, the date in 1216 on which Honorius III approved the Order. The calendar reform moved the feast out of Advent and into the month of May, already dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.