All
my life I have had a deep devotion to Mary. She is known by many names: from
the Blessed Mother, to the Holy Virgin, to Our Lady Queen of the Sea, to Our
Lady of Mount Carmel. But regardless of the name or the culture or the parish,
Mary touches something very deep within the human psyche.
Historically
she was a young Jewish teenager who said ‘yes’ to God’s call. She nurtured
Jesus into adulthood and lived a life of loving service right up to the very
end. It was not an easy life.
Mary
suffered great personal losses from the disappearance of twelve-year old Jesus
during a trip to Jerusalem, to the early death of her husband, to the
witnessing of her son’s brutal execution. But through all these events Mary
kept her heart wide open to God’s love, and she let that love flow through her
to everyone she interacted with ─ everyone ─ from her extended family, to the
apostles and disciples, to the occupying Roman forces, and to each and every
one of us who has ever turned to her in prayer for help.
Our
Blessed Mother was human. She was flesh and blood like us. With all the suffering
and the loss that she endured, she had to feel grief and anger; she had to
question God at times in the face of such sorrow.
What
made Mary so special was that she never, not for one instant, allowed her heart
to close down, or herself to turn inward and fall into the abyss of self-pity
or rage. Mary never turned away from other people. She never turns away from
us.
Mary
experienced loss and abandonment and betrayal like many of us. She could have
caved in to depression; she could have allowed anxiety to cripple her. But she
didn’t. She lived each day in loving service to all those around her.
This
young Jewish girl who became a blessed mother to all of us is our role model.
Each of us is called to live our lives like Mary lived hers — to keep saying
‘yes’ to God’s call; a call we receive every morning when we open our eyes on
each new day, each new beginning.
Each
of us is called to deal with the inescapable sufferings of life: the hurts, the
disappointments, the losses, and the emotional and physical pain, like Mary.
She could have allowed herself to give in to anger — to go through life with
rage over what was done to her son. But she didn’t – she chose life, she chose
love.
Holy Mary, pray for us who struggle.
Fill our hearts with your strength, with your loving nature.
Help us to choose to live our lives as you chose
to live
yours — without anger, without bitterness or
self-pity.
Help us to live each day in loving service to
God, to our
family and to all those with whom we interact.
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Readers
of this blog might enjoy these books by Deacon Lex. Both are available on
Amazon.com:
Just
to Follow My Friend: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life
Synchronicity
as the Work of the Holy Spirit: Jungian Insights for Spiritual Direction and
Pastoral Ministry
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