Florida Council of Catholic Women/Province of Miami at P. O. Box 1811, Labelle, FL 33975 US - MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS
| MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS |
Mary was a girl from an obscure country town buried in the hills. She was young, poor and of the despised Jewish race. We wonder why God chose such a woman to be the mother of His Son. We know very little of her childhood except that she was the daughter of Joachim and Anne. At an early age she was engaged to St. Joseph and although she was a virgin she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Mathew 1:20-21, Luke 1:30-31, 1:35 When Mary heard that her cousin Elizabeth was to have a child she went "in great haste" to help her. Luke 1:41-43 Elizabeth greeted Mary with joy and cried out "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Mary answered her with one of our most treasured prayers: The Magnificat Mary said. My soul proclaims your greatness, 0 God, and my spirit rejoices in you, my Savior, for you have looked with favor upon your lowly servant, and from this day forward all generations will call me blessed. For you, the Almighty, have done great things for me, and holy is your Name. Your mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear you. You have shone strength with your arm, you have scattered the proud in their conceit, you have deposed the might from their thrones and raised the lowly to high places. You have filled the hungry with good things, while you have sent the rich away empty. You have come to the aid of Israel your servant, mindful of your mercy the promise you made to our ancestors to Sarah and Abraham and their descendants forever. Luke 1:46-55, The Inclusive New Testament. Mary lived with poverty and sorrow. She was always poor. She had her baby in a cave. She lost her husband while she was still very young and then, soon afterwards, her son left to begin his public life. She was with him in Cana. She watched him die. She stood at the foot of the cross, a woman of blind faith and trust. How comforted she must have been to see him and hear him say, "I am risen, I am still with you.” How fulfilled she must have felt forty days later to witness his Ascension. Reflections: Reflect on how Mary can teach us in all our problems as wives, mothers, and widows. Consider her as a symbol of trust and confidence in God. Ask for her help often, She understands ridicule, poverty, worry and broken hearts. Mary didn't hesitate to say yes to God. Do we? Do we push aside opportunities to be useful because we "aren't ready right now"? Mary was always ready.