"Yes" and the rest is history

 

Today, I would like to reflect on God’s most beautiful creature, and yet the humblest of all of his creatures. And she was above all creatures, full of grace. Blessed and sinless.  There can be no room for sin on a soul when you are “full of grace”.

 And she cries out in her humility, “And all generations will call me Blessed”, Yes, all will call her blessed, because blessed she is indeed.

A beautiful woman who said “Yes” for God and “yes” for all mankind. A woman so full of faith and trust in God’s Almighty Word that regardless as to where she was, the Lord was with her. She is a woman whose arms are open to hug every one of her children.

 And what faith? Saint Alphonsus Liguori says, that the most holy Virgin saw her Son in the crib of Bethlehem, and believed Him the Creator of the world.

 I read somewhere a beautiful illustration of her faith. She saw Him born and believed Him eternal, she saw Him poor and in need of food, and believed Him to be the Lord of the universe. She heard Him weep, and believed Him the joy of Paradise.

 And yes, she saw Him in death, despised and crucified, and, although faith wavered in others, Mary remained firm in the belief that He was truly God. Yes "Mary stood, supported by her faith."

 Her faith is the pillar of strength that when we imitate her, she becomes our strength as well. And that strength provides the stepping stones to receive all the other virtues of our Blessed Mother, for she is that model of perfection.

 So many times, God asks each of us to "cast out into the deep", enter the unknown, just like He did with Mary. These are challenges, and these challenges, when accepted, imitate Mary’s trust, Mary’s unshakable faith, moving us forward knowing that she and her Son are with us every step of our journey.

 And what a wonderful feeling when we are blessed knowing that Jesus is really present in our midst; present in our tabernacle, present on our altar, present in our souls by the grace of God. 

And yet there are times of trial. Times where our crosses become heavy and Jesus seems to conceal himself from us? Times we feel deserted, we lost Jesus, and living in some kind of darkness and confusion?

 And with that confusion we lack trust and our faith begins to dwindle, and God becomes so distant to us.

 And in those moments of helplessness we look for inspiration, to a person of great faith to lift our spirits and to help us see Jesus more clearly. Someone to help carry our burden.

 And that consolation, the grace to move forward, the strength to carry that Cross is found by those who pray and trust in our Blessed Mother.

 Our world today, this present age is collapsing before our eyes and for many their faith is weak, and their trust in God is dwindling.

 We are living in a time when the road to spiritual happiness is overshadowed by doubt, when we can’t recognize Jesus amid all this confusion, and chaos throughout the entire world.

 It is now more that ever we must call on Mary, our spiritual Mother, to safeguard us from the dangers that lie ahead, and from the satanic forces that are pounding us from every side. It is our Blessed Mother who will crush the head of that serpent, leading us all to her Son.

 The Blessed Mother wants nothing more than to strengthen or rekindle, give life to the spark that unites us with her Son. Yes, to re-connect and help us find Him, to recognize His voice when he speaks to us.

 Our Blessed Mother is so much like we are, she has a heart just like our heart, which is made for joy and laughter. A heart like ours for suffering and tears that like us have shed many times. She is our Mother who wants only the best for her children. A mother to console us.

 A mother to pray for us, sinners that we are and to be with us today and everyday and especially at our own death, holding our hand, leading us to her Son to be with him forever.