Blessing of the First Stones of the Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral

The Blessed Virgin Mary has been venerated in Bahrain for many years. In fact, here as in all the parishes of the Gulf, a statue of Mary the Mother of God adorns all our churches and in most of them, if not all, there also exists a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, that confirms the great devotion that our faithful have always shown towards Mary the Mother of Jesus.

The B.V.M. in Arabia. Though this Marian devotion has always been very strong, with the official proclamation of Mary as Our Lady of Arabia and Patroness of the Gulf in January of 2011, the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary has become more personal and closer to us. This was indeed an historical event for the Church in this region of the world. With this declaration, Mary has entered into the region of the Arabian Peninsula we now call our temporary home. Though we do not know for certain if Mary during her life on Earth ever travelled through Arabia, we believe that with her proclamation as Our Lady of Arabia, she is now certainly spiritually present here in our churches and family homes, but most of all in the hearts of all the faithful who make recourse to her in their prayers. It is truly comforting to know, that the BVM is that much closer to us as our spiritual Mother and model of faith and charity.

God in our midst. Our celebration today is one of thanksgiving to the Lord for his many gifts and one of them is certainly the plot of land given to the Catholic Church in Bahrain towards building a new Cathedral, dedicated to the B.V.M. Our Lady of Arabia.

This is therefore a day for spiritual happiness and we can paraphrase the prophecy of Zephaniah of the first reading by saying ‘Shout for joy, O daughter of the Church! Sing joyfully, O faithful of Bahrain and the Gulf! Be glad and exult with all your heart… Fear not… be not discouraged! The Lord, your God is in your midst, a mighty saviour; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love.’

Living Stones. On this day, two stones of the new Cathedral will be blessed by your local Bishop Camillo Ballin and we will all share in this important moment. One is a stone of dedication with a solemn inscription describing the event taking place today. The other is a stone sent from Rome that originally was one of the bricks of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. In receiving this stone from the Holy Father and the site of the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, we are giving praise to Christ the Lord, who established his Church upon the rock of Peter’s faith in him as the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:16). Peter as the leader of the Apostles invites all the faithful to share in his faith in Christ with the words Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God. This stone also expresses our union with the Successor of St. Peter, the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Christ. The Apostle Peter exhorts us to become like living stones… built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The blessing of these stones today is indeed an occasion to be aware of our common vocation to come to Christ, the living stone, and to place him as the solid base, the firm foundation of our lives. He is the one who through his divine mercy provides us with forgiveness, light, wisdom, strength for our journey, meaning to our existence, happiness and peace. He thereby makes us into living stones, spiritual beings who live according to the Spirit of the Lord, a holy priesthood of people baptised and consecrated to God in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, so that our lives may become a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The Visitation. It is most fitting therefore, that the blessing of these first stones occur on this feast-day of the Visitation, at the conclusion of this month dedicated to Mary. The BVM upon receiving the news that she would conceive God’s only begotten Son through the power of the Holy Spirit, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who in her advanced years conceived a Son, who was to become John the Baptist, the Precursor of the Messiah.

In the gospel, Mary is declared blessed three times by her cousin Elizabeth, who upon hearing Mary’s greeting cried out in a loud voice: Blessed are you among women. Indeed, amongst all the women who have ever lived on Earth, those living today and those yet to be born, Mary of Nazareth was chosen to become the Mother of the promised Messiah, God’s only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. This special privilege was given to her by God, who also prepared her for her future role, by preserving her from all stain of original and every other sin. The blessedness of Mary is a result of God’s free gift of grace which was bestowed upon her.

Elizabeth then continues to bless Mary with the words Blessed is the fruit of your womb. Mary is considered blessed because of her Son Jesus, who she conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit and thanks to her faith in God. She is blessed because she gave birth to God’s only Son and thereby became the mother of eternal Word of God, who through her took upon human flesh and became a man. The birth of her Son Jesus is the greatest blessing God has bestowed on mankind, for Christ himself is the Father’s greatest gift to the world.

Elizabeth blesses Mary a third time with the words Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled. Mary is proclaimed blessed not only for being the chosen Mother of God, or for conceiving and giving birth to the promised Messiah, but also for believing in God and accepting his will with trust. Mary thereby became a disciple of God and keeper of his word, as well as a model for all believers of all times throughout the world.

From Mary’s example we can understand that blessedness comes from faith, trusting in God’s revealed word, accepting his will as it is manifested in our lives and humbly following him in the small and routine events of our daily living. St. Ambrose once wrote: You too, my people, are blessed, you who have heard and who believe. Every soul that believes – that soul both conceives and gives birth to the Word of God and recognizes his works.

Some questions now naturally come forward for each of us: do I consider my life a blessing or a burden? Do I feel blessed by God or somehow cursed by the hardships of life? Do I consider my faith a blessing and live by it or is my religion a weekly routine and heavy load I carry? Can I look around me and thank God for the people he has sent into my life and consider them a blessing for me? Finally, am I in any way a blessing for others? If not, how can I become a blessing for those that I share my life with?

Blessedness is possible. It is not only reserved for the saints, but also for us sinners who strive towards holiness through the action and assistance of God’s grace. There exists a blessed state of being that is reserved for those who believe in God, who not only profess with their mouths that they are believers but who live according to his commandments and teachings. Blessedness can be a part of our lives, when we accept God’s will for us, in whatever way it may be revealed to us, even through hardships and sacrifices, all the while trusting that God will help us along our way. We too are blessed when we start blessing one another and consider our spouses, children, family, relatives, friends and communities a blessing for us. May all of us strive to be that way in all our relations with others, so that each of us can become a blessing for others, the way Jesus became a blessing for Mary his mother and all of mankind.

This is a reminder to us of Mary’s triple blessedness and that we too are called to the blessedness of life that God offers to all who place their faith and trust in him. For those who believe in the Lord and remain faithful to him to the very end, just like Mary, shall receive the crown of eternal life!

This joyful and historical event is yet another concrete sign of the pastoral care of the Holy Father and the Church for the spiritual well-being of the Catholic faithful who live in this part of the world. Now that the BVM is our Patroness, let us pray to her daily for all the needs of the Church in the Arabian Peninsula, and throughout the world, especially for peace and unity. May we Catholics, along with all the various Christian communities present in the region, continue to gather here and grow in holiness of life in order to become his living stones and thereby give praise and glory to Christ the Lord and his Mother Mary, by the example of our lives.