By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Homily by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at Holy Qurbana during national gathering "Koinonia 2025" of Malayalee Catholic priests from the Syro-Malabar rite taking place at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. Coral Springs, Nov. 18, 2025.
In the Magnificat, Mary prays, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior because he has looked on the lowliness of his handmaid. Yes, from this day forward, all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me.”
Mary did nothing to earn or deserve God’s grace. Grace is a gift – and gifts reflect the generosity of the giver, and not necessarily the worthiness of the receiver. God’s choice of her makes her worthy, full of grace.
Mary receives a mission that was not for herself – her mission in the plan of God was to give Jesus to every generation of the human family. Isn’t our mission similar? To use an expression popularized by Pope Francis: We are called to be “missionary disciples” and to give Jesus to others, to share him with others.
Of course, even while God choses Mary, and his choice of her makes her “full of grace,” Mary herself had to make her choice for God. She was asked to put her freedom, her whole person, at the service of God’s plan.
But God has chosen all of us. As St. Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 1: “God chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless and to live through love in his presence.” His choosing us was pure gift – unearned and undeserved.
God chose Mary; and Mary chooses God. Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
Not an easy prayer to say. Jesus himself would pray similar words in a sweat of blood at Gethsemane: “Not my will but yours be done.”
Going beyond the surface, Mary "sees" the work of God in history with the eyes of faith. She is blessed because she believed. By faith, in fact, she accepted the Word of the Lord and conceived the Incarnate Word. Her faith has shown her that the thrones of the powerful of this world are temporary, while God's throne is the only rock that does not change or fall.
With the eyes of faith, we also can see the work of God in the history of Syro-Malabar Church both in India and here in the United States – and, of course, here in South Florida. Mary’s example of readiness and generosity in the service of others, seen in her visitation of Elizabeth, is to be imitated by our generous gift of self to God and to neighbor.
As the Second Vatican Council taught, Mary is the Mother of the Church and is therefore the model for us as we try to live our Christian vocation in the world. And so, we pray invoking the powerful intercession of Mary, “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.” Our Lady of Health, pray for us.
