Happy New Year everyone!! ...and what better way to start the year than by considering the wonderful Feast of the Mother of God, after whom this forum is named!! My immediate impression on thinking of the Mother of God at Mass this morning was of her incredible strength in times of trial and looking at her life we seem to see trial after trial borne with the greatest courage and patience. The Incarnation of the Word as a single woman in astounding circumstances. The birth of her child homeless in dire circumstances. The Flight in to Egypt as a refugee pursued by a murdering King. The dire Prophesy of the Sword of Sorrow. The rejection of her son by her own people, the religious authorities and even her own village. Her son's horrific death, the persecution of His Church and yet another flight from the forces of evil to her exile and death in her own little house in Ephesus. So we have sight of a woman of enormous courage and endurance. She is a rock but not a rock that is based on human qualities but on that of grace, for Mary, above all else was a woman of immense prayer, a Garden Enclosed ,the Lilly of the Valley. So on this Feast it can be a little surprising to recall the words of the Arcangel Gabriel when he greeted her warning Mary not to be afraid!! Afraid of what? We may ask. Not fear of the angel himself, I believe but fear rather of the immense dignoty that was about to be bestowed on her as Mother of God. What incredible condescension of the Most High God, to spring down from heaven ,as a little baby into the womb of one of His sreatures!! Cuase enough to cause fear and trepidation in the bravest of hearts! But why should hse not fear? Because the Lord of Hosts was with her..and when God is with us, who indeed can be against us. I think in meditating on any aspect of scripture and on the life of Mary we must 'bring home the bacon' as it were by applying it to our own life and I think all of us feel the awe of our immense Catholic vocation, for we too must give birth to Christ as we are transformed from one degree of glory into the next into the image of Christ. This too can be a source of fear, but let the angel too speak to our hearts, we must no fear, for the Lord of Hosts is with us and so...who can be against us. May God Bless us as we carry the new born Christ in our hearts this coming year.
Thank you! Padraig, Sometimes your wise aim is so good, I am left speechless with no response. And that is quite an accomplishment! A Blessed New Year to you and to all! Mary, Queen and Mother of my heart, pray for us!
Padraig, I was thinking of you and this great little forum that you have placed under the patronage of the Mother of God, so today is the feast day of the forum I guess. I was also thinking at Mass of my recent trip to Ephesus wher our Lady was declared 'Mother of God' in 431 at the Council of Ephesus in a church which now lies in ruins. Ephesus is I feel deeply connected to her motherhood as it was here she began to excercise her God give vocation as Mother of the Church and of all mankind. I have placed everything and everyone under the loving care of The Mother Of God for the coming year. GO m'beirimid beo ar an t'am seo aris. God bless Mary
A couple of minutes ago, I went to the bookcase in mine and Geralyn's bedroom. There, a dusty book was retrieved, A Woman Wrapped in Silence, by a John W. Lynch. It's a narrative poem of well over two hundred pages, probing the heart of Our Lady, while drawing from the Gospel stories in a contemplative fashion. Published in 1941, I think it captures much of what you've shared, Padraig. Tomorrow is my 55th birthday and perhaps I've finally acquired the patience to read this marvelous work all the way through! As dusk was taking hold earlier, I walked through snow-blanked woods with my two youngest. It was beautiful, trudging through snow and finally reaching the pond at camp. It has been frigid the last few days and the kids and I wanted to see if a glare of ice now covered the waters. And so it was: we pranced and it was fun! On the way back we would stop and just listen to the holy silence. It was so still and peaceful. My children are normal, filled with noisy energy. Occasionally, I like them to experince the stillness. And so the book came to mind. I dedicate this reading to my Holy Mother, with whom I''ll spend quiet moments this week. I'm sure I'll enjoy her company, this woman wrapped in silence. If anything touches my heart, you may be encouraged to read something new this year. Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
I have a theory on Mary at Ephesus, just a guess really. Mary survived her son by many years in her exile at Ephesus. Why was this? Why did God not call her soon at the same time as her Son ? Or at least fairly soon afterwards? Was her mission not accomplished? Clearly her mission was not accomplished but continued..and at what way? By her being Mother to the Church, ust as she Mother to Jesus, thus fulfilling the words of Jesus on the Cross as He said to Saint John, 'Som here is your Mother'. In saying this to John she became not only Mother to John , but Mother to us all, to the Church. Now if you look at Mary you see her head surrounded by twelve stars. This clearly points to several mystical truths, the twelve tribes of Israel , the twelve Apostles but also I suspect to something else to do with prayer and Mary's role at Ephesus. There is a pious Jewish legend that there are twelve just people always in the world who as it were hold the world on their backs by means of their prayer . In Catholic legend this number is 12. If you were to look at recent times number might consist of certain saints, victim souls who by sharing so directly in the Passion of Christ they as it were appease the wrath of God and become a kind of Spiritual power house for the whole Body of Christ, the Church. I think, in modern times of Padre Pio, Mother Ttereasa of Calcutta, Saint Therese of Liseaux, Little Audrey, Alexdrina, Sat Gemma Galgani...the list goes on. But in the immediate aftermath of the death of Christ the twelve stars were not established yet as the requisitie standard of holiness had not yet been established amongst the faithful. So Mary herself was the prayer boiler house that sustained the Church in action through her own prayer...she was if you like the 12 stars in Ephesus all on her own!! sublime holiness and so truly as Mother to the Church....One thing I think about these 'stars' is that they very commonly bear the stigmata ,either visibly or invisibly and I believe Mary bore the stigmata and mystically underwent the Passion of Christ over and over as a victim soul in Ephesus, thus fully justifying the title, 'Mother of Sorrows'. Anyway its just a little theory.....
Padraig, A very plausible theory. Clearly, Our Lady's mission was not complete. For example, if God had called her at the same time as her Son, we wouldn't have the Gospel of St. Luke or the image of the BLack Madonna which tradition tells us Luke painted (while talking to Mary) on a wooden table top made by our Lord Jesus Himself: Darrell
There are so many hidden things about the life of Our Lady that will only be revealed in heaven I do think she definitely suffered the passion as a victim soul for all mankind. She built her own Stations of the Cross behind her little house in Ephesus and she with the women who were with her performed the Stations every day. Ephesus itself in a way was prepared for the mother of God and all mankind even though it was a completely pagan culture. Their worshipped the godess Arthemis and one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world was the Temple at Ephesus to Arthemis. They believed Arthemis was the mother of mankind and all man, animals and plants were under her care. They also believed her to be a virgin. I am not comparing Arthemis to Our Lady but maybe they had some inkling that the Mother of God would someday live in their midst. Their hearts were prepared to accept the real mother. I suppose thats why Our Lady had to remain hidden through the centuries because of the danger of being worshipped as a godess. Thats just my theory. Mary
