'Holy Mother of God!'

At the eleven o'clock Mass today, when I came to prepare the altar and the gifts for the offertory, I was still dwelling on the point I made in my homily about how our Lord Jesus thinks about devotion to his mother. Namely, that as a devoted son, Jesus surely is delighted! (i.e., not offended as some of our fellow Christians maintain) when we give praise and love to his mother. Surely, surely it pleases him, to see his creatures come and bring bouquets of devotion to Mary!

Then I offered the "prayer over the offerings," singing these words: "...of the holy Mother of God" -- and then I could hear, in my head, how often those words: "Holy Mother of God" are spoken as a joke or as "just an expression."

Oh my.

People say things about me, I don't like it, but...so be it. But if you were to insult my mother? How do you think any red-blooded man would react?

Jesus was silent as they heaped abuse on him. He is a red-blooded man. How would anyone suppose he reacts, when he hears people insult his mother?

That thought roughly coincided with these words during the preface, as I sang it: "Dominions adore, and powers tremble...."