How Mary LIVED ... (2nd installment)

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Here is the continuing segment from yesterday’s thread begun on “How Mary LIVED the Our Father”:

…As the Catechism teaches, “The rightness of our life in Him, (that is, our supernatural life in Christ) will depend on the rightness of our prayer.” We learn how Mary lived by how she prayed. Remember what we heard last month in beginning to learn about the perfect prayer Jesus taught: Prayer is more than words, prayer is our relationship with God, or as St. John Vianney defined it: prayer is our union with God. When John, by God’s Grace, took Mary into his life, and when by grace we take Mary into our lives, we learn how a simple, human person, can pray always, and whenever she heard Jesus speak, she listened and continued to grow in her union with God.

Mary heard Jesus say, when you pray, say: “Our Father”. Mary also heard Jesus speak of His Father when he was only 12 years old. In Luke’s Gospel, when after 3 days of searching for Him, Mary and Joseph found the boy Jesus, teaching in the Temple, Mary asked, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously?” And He said to them, “How is it you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s House?” Luke adds immediately after those words, “And they did not understand the saying which He spoke to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and Mary kept all these things in her heart.”

Mary’s and Joseph’s not understanding, can be consoling, and encouraging for us, because we realize: God IS Mystery, and though He wants to reveal Himself to us, He does so only as we are able to receive Him. Our sinless, Immaculate Mother Mary and St. Joseph did not understand Jesus’ words. Let all then humbly persevere in patient faith and continue listening, keeping all these things in our hearts, as we pray “Our Father”…

Thomas shared in his presentation our need to remember, “No one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” In Pope Benedict’s Book, Jesus of Nazareth, - Vol. 3, the Pope suggests that when the boy Jesus asked, “Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s House”, Jesus was inviting Mary and Joseph into the relationship only He could reveal to them, His relationship with His Father. He must be (Jesus told them) in “My Father’s House”. We hear no more in the Gospel about St. Joseph after that scene but we know that Mary continued to keep all these things in her heart, she continued to ponder the words and everything related to her Son…

I sincerely hope these words are of some help. Please let me know as we go along if you have any questions. Thanks. Sorry I can’t add some things I know I added spontaneously as I gave this presentation. I honestly don’t remember the times I went “off script” in my presentation to add something. If I do recall anything I will add it below the “Quote” box.

 

[AKDee]

Thank you for sharing that, MariaChristi!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank you for sharing that, MariaChristi!

Dear AKDee,

Thanks for your reply. God willing, I’m posting the next segment today. I’d be grateful if after you read, you can let me know what was helpful or not helpful. That may help me in any future posts or presentation. Thanks again.