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Friday, March 25, 2011
Today is 9 months before the Feast of the Nativity and we celebrate the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary.
This is one of my favorite songs of the Christmas Season--Gabriel's Message--a Basque Carol. The lyrics are below.
The angel Gabriel from heaven came
His wings as drifted snow his eyes as flame
"All hail," said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady." Gloria!
"For lo, a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee,
Thy Son shall be Emanuel, by seers foretold
Most highly favored lady," Gloria!
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said,
"My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name."
Most highly favored lady. Gloria!
Of her, Emanuel, the Christ was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say:
"Most highly favored lady," Gloria!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Mary said very few things to Bernadette at Lourdes.
She did tell Bernadette to pray to God for sinners, and that she didn't promise Bernadette happiness in this world but in the next.
This is one of the great paradoxes of Christianity. There is much suffering in the world, but it serves a purpose. God uses it for our good and for others' good. Romans 8:28 tells us "Everything works together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose."
The feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes is also World Day of the Sick, instituted by Pope John Paul II (who will be Blessed John Paul on May 1) in 1992 as a "special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one's suffering."
Pray today for all those who are suffering that God may give them consolation.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
This gives us the image of Our Lady of Sorrows and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pierced by a sword.
Has your heart ever been pierced by a sword? The sword of sadness or disappointment so commonly pierces our souls today. The world has become a crass and vulgar place where persecution of believers is popular entertainment and having deeply held religious beliefs is seen as passe.
Like Mary at the foot of the cross, we undergo much pain and suffering in this life. Let's join our sufferings with hers and ask Christ to give us the strength to endure.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!
Hat tip to John Michael Talbot.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Many people are put off by the image of Our Lady of Sorrows, but I think it shows that Our Lady was very much a "person of the earth". She was a young woman, pregnant out of wedlock, uprooted from her home, much like the poor widow in Jesus' parable--an unlikely candidate for God's grace.
Before we judge another--before we judge ourselves--as being "too" anything for God, remember the poor widow, and Mary, who were doing God's will even as they were being ostracized by their fellow human beings.
Jesus was very much a savior of all, and his choice of birth place and mother reflect that. He could not abide prejudice or snobbery and chose a lowly teenager from the first century to bring Him into the world.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us when we cannot pray for ourselves!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Today is the day when the Church traditionally celebrates the birthday of the Virgin Mary.
I remember quite vividly, a story in my second grade reader about a family whose mom was mysteriously baking a pink, round cake, much to the delight of the children, although no one could figure out whose birthday it was. It turned out to be the birthday of the Blessed Mother.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
Mary did not understand all that was happening to her and to her son. She could not fully grasp God's will, yet she trusted Him. She pondered all that was occurring to her little family and kept them in her Immaculate Heart.
Yes, she suffered as only a mother can suffer. But, she gave it all to God. We must do the same.
Our Lady of Fatima told the children, "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph." What does that mean? I think, like Jesus, it will not mean triumph in a sense of a militaristic type of victory, but the triumph of Love. Mary let go of the need to control her situation. Instead, she quietly pondered what was happening to her and let God take control.
