To the Band of Brothers: September 8, 2022

Today we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Mary. That’s right, Mary turns about a quarter of a century over 2,000 years old. I may be off by a few years, but I would imagine when you get to be that old you don’t mind them tacking on or shaving off a few years. Mind you, I’m just guessing at her age because I would never actually ask. I learned long ago not to ask a woman her age. I’ve been slapped by a female at least seven times in my life. While most of them rightfully came from my mother, a couple came as a response to the imprudent question of age.

Here's an interesting point you may not be aware of: every time our Church celebrates the feast day of a saint, it is the day of their death. The reason is to celebrate the day they make it to heaven. But there are three people whose birthdays we do celebrate as feasts in the liturgical calendar: Jesus (obviously… Christmas), John the Baptist, and Mary. While all the other saints are celebrated for the day they are “released” from their sinful condition at death, Mary was conceived and lived her life without it. Her godliness was from the very beginning. 

 

Now, while the Church around the world celebrates Mary’s birthday, Cubans get an added bonus. Today also marks the feast day of their patroness, Our Lady Queen of Charity. You’ve seen the image before, I am sure. A beautiful lady dressed in blue with the baby Jesus in her hands. At her feet, there is a little boat with three fishermen referred to as, “los tres Juanes”. It is a depiction of the way the original image was found floating in the waters of the Bay of Nipe. After the image was found, she was venerated by the locals, and the devotion spread like wildfire.

Here’s a funny story: Our Lady Queen of Charity is walking along Havana's boardwalk (el malecón) with St. Barbara (another popular saint in Cuba). At one point, Mary says to Barbara, “After everything we’ve suffered in this country because of communism, why do you still wear that red cloak around your shoulders?” St. Barbara respectively responds, “And after everything we’ve suffered in this country because of communism, if you have that little boat at your feet, why haven’t you taken off to Miami?”

The Blessed Mother has not left Cuba, but she has also come to Miami with her children in exile. Belen shares a common history and a common story. While we are mindful of our Cuban roots that have never left us, we also look to the future as we continue to grow in our diversity and presence in Miami. We feel so blessed with the richness of our Jesuit tradition that we understand how important it is to share it with as many people as possible.

This last week has been very challenging. Our two sister schools Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, have been profoundly impacted. And, because they have been impacted, we have been impacted. The immediate response on the part of the local community has been outstanding. Masses have been offered and rosaries have been prayed, along with the tears that have been shed. There is no doubt that in a moment of such terrible sadness we need to run into the arms of Mary, our Lady Queen of Charity, for comfort. Like the child Jesus surely did in moments of sadness or pain, we run to her for peace, we run to her for strength, we run to her our Mother.

Auspice Maria.