My dear parishioners,
Peace! On the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, 7 October, 2019, Pope Francis established the feast of Our Lady of Loreto, to be observed each year on the 10th of December. At the same time Pope Francis proclaimed a Lauretan Jubilee Holy Year to run from 8 December, 2019 through 10 December, 2020. There are fifty-one invocations in the Litany of Loreto. The following is a reflection on the twenty-eighth invocation: Singular Vessel of devotion, pray for us.
What does it mean to say that Saint Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother of God is a “singular vessel of devotion”? We have already considered Our Lady as a “Spiritual Vessel” and as a “Vessel of Honor.” Singularity and devotion are the variables now under consideration as we deepen our appreciation of the Mother of God.
Singularity has to do with uniqueness, distinctiveness, even with consideration of an infinite value. Surely the Mother of God is unique (there is only one Mother of God). Isn’t Saint Mary’s being the Mother of God a distinction?/! Because she has given us the Savior whose grace and mercy are beyond price, how could she herself not be of infinite value?/! The Latin origin singularis translates as “alone of its kind” according to our friends at the Oxford English Dictionary.
Devotion has to do with religious fervor, piety, related to prayer and worship according to Merriam-Webster. The Cambridge Dictionary highlights aspects of loyalty, love and care when considering “devotion.” As our Mother in the spiritual realm we owe Our Lady the devotion of loyalty called for by the Fourth Commandment (“Honor your father and mother” Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; John 19:27). The Greek word sebasmata is translated as devotion and is a part of adoration and worship. Sacred Scripture teaches us about devotion, recording the “acts of devotion in accordance with the Law of the Lord” of Hezekiah and Josiah (cf. Isaiah 38:3; 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Chronicles 32:32; 35:26); how we are not to “undermine piety” or “hinder” or “diminish devotion” (cf. Job 15:4). God praises the devotion of Israel’s youth (cf. Jeremiah 2:2). Saint Mary was devout all her days, not just her youth! Saint Paul warns us against being led away from “sincere and pure devotion” (2 Corinthians 11:3) and to maintain and “undivided devotion” (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:35). Saint Mary was not deceived or led away from sincere and pure devotion to God her savior (cf. Luke 1:47). Our Lady brought the child Jesus to the Temple in accord with the devout custom of the Law (cf. Luke 2:27). Our Lady had as a pious custom of devotion to make a pilgrimage each year to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover (cf. Luke 2:42). To honor Our Lady as a Singular Vessel of devotion is not to discard or disregard the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 6:14). Mary’s singularity and devotion is based on God.
Father John Arthur Orr