PRAYER PAUSE
Friday 5
August 2016, Mary Major
ANYONE WHO
LOSES THEIR LIFE
Pause. Enter into the stillness of God
within.
Reading: “Anyone who loses their life for my
sake will find it.” (Matt 16:24-8)
Reflection. “Holy Mary, Mother of God …” The
words trot off our lips easy enough but the Church took 400 years to decide it
was appropriate to call Mary ‘Mother of God.’ She did so at Ephesus in 431 at one
of the last great Councils when all the churches were still one: Antioch,
Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. Cyril of Alexandria gave the keynote speech
to which all assented. Pope Sixtus built the first church ever dedicated to
Mary in Rome, Mary Major, to mark the occasion. To achieve such unity many had
to “lose their life” in the sense of holding back their own opinion and
listening to others. It was a moment of intense harmony – and all because of
Mary.
Prayer. Lord, may
we seek unity with one another through listening. Amen
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