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 thirty-fifth invocation: Morning Star, pray for us.
What does it mean to say that Saint Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother of God is the “Morning Star”? There are several references to “stars” in Sacred Scripture (e.g. 2 Peter 1:19; Numbers 24:17; Psalm 110:3; Revelation 2:28; 22:18; Isaiah 14:12). Song of Songs 6:10 has been interpreted in the old Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary as referring to Our Lady: “Who is she who comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?” The Wise Men or Magi (Saints Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar), who are thought to have been Zoroastrians, followed the star to see Jesus and also saw His Blessed Mother (Matthew 2:2, 9-11) are celebrated each year on the Solemnity of the Epiphany (around 6 January). The Hebrew word kokab and the Greek word aster both translate as “star.” The Latin Stella Matutina translates “morning star.” The astronomical research done by the Vatican Observatory (at Castel Gandolfo, Italy and in Tucson, Arizona) began during the Pontificate of Greggory XIII (+1585). For centuries artists have been captivated by the stars (e.g. Bl. Fra Angelico’s 1424 Madonna of the Star; Vincent van Gogh’s 1889 painting Starry Night; Don McLean’s 1971 song Vincent).
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (+1153) directs us to “call on Mary” and to “look up to Mary” who is at once the Star of the Sea and a bright guiding Star with transcendent luminance (cf. Missus Est, Homily II.3). Whether on land or on the sea, before GPS, the stars have been a guide for travelers (e.g. Polaris/North Star). The mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe (1531) is covered with stars mirroring the heavens over Mexico City as she stands on the Moon blocking the Sun prepared to give birth to the Eternal Son Who is the true light of the world (cf. John 8:12; Revelation 12:1-2). Saint John Henry Newman (+1890) reminds us that as the Morning Star “after the Dark Night” Our Lady “heralds in the sun” not shining for herself, or from herself, but reflects the glory of our Redeemer, at once “lustrous” and “perfect” (Meditations and Devotions). The 1975 hymn Gentle Woman by Carey Landry (b. 1944) invokes Our Lady as the “morning star.
Our Lady guides us to her Son. We should happily follow her guidance and “do whatever He tells” us (cf. John 2:5). Saint Mary, the Morning Star, was present at the dawn of our redemption. She is all radiant.
Father John Arthur Orr