In her suffering, Mary became sheer compassion

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The title of this thread is taken from the words of then Cardinal Ratzinger in his book, “Mary --The Church at the Source”. On p.76, he wrote “The image of the grieving Mother, who in her suffering had become sheer compassion, and who now holds the dead Christ on her lap has become especially dear to Christian piety…”

Continuing on p. 76:

In the compassionate Mother sufferers of all ages have found the purest reflection of the divine compassion that is the only true consolation. For, looked at in its deeepest essence, all pain, all suffering is solitude, the loss of love, the wrecked happiness of the rejected. Only the “com”, the “with”, can heal pain.

I hope those who read this brief excerpt will be touched by it. May God grant to all our hearts the Light of His Holy Spirit to hear again more deeply than ever before today, the words of Jesus from His Cross:

“Behold your Mother!”

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Kindle in us the fire of Your Love.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Greenfields,

Thanks s much for being another “faithful heart” for Jesus through Mary! It is so good to have even one person acknowledge something written about our Mother Mary is indeed somthing to “like”. Of course, I would go further and say any time I hear the Word of God I remember it was Mary’s “Yes” that brought Jesus, the Word Made Flesh, into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit – how can we not be grateful for all eternity for the gift of Mary?

Thanks for your “heart”, dear Greenfields, and your love for Jesus through Mary that prompts you to give your heart to Them and to others for Love of God.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear TK, MK, patricius,VanitasVanitatem, and Stephie,

Thank you all for your “faithful hearts” and your love for Jesus through Mary which prompted you all to let all on the Forum see you “like” to read beautiful thoughts on our Mother, written by her prayerful son, Pope Emeritus.

 

[patricius79]

How great is God’s tenderness in filling Mary with His Compassion and giving her to us!. Here is one of my favorite encyclical passages from Pope Leo XIII–maybe my favorite actually.

Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God, for mercy and truth were created by Jesus Christ.(6) Thus as no man goeth to the Father but by the Son, so no man goeth to Christ but by His Mother. How great are the goodness and mercy revealed in this design of God! What a correspondence with the frailty of man! We believe in the infinite goodness of the Most High, and we rejoice in it; we believe also in His justice and we fear it. We adore the beloved Saviour, lavish of His blood and of His life; we dread the inexorable Judge. Thus do those whose actions have disturbed their consciences need an intercessor mighty in favour with God, merciful enough not to reject the cause of the desperate, merciful enough to lift up again towards hope in the divine mercy the afflicted and the broken down. Mary is this glorious intermediary; she is the mighty Mother of the Almighty; but-what is still sweeter - she is gentle, extreme in tenderness, of a limitless loving-kindness. As such God gave her to us. Having chosen her for the Mother of His only begotten Son, He taught her all a mother’s feeling that breathes nothing but pardon and love. Such Christ desired she should be, for He consented to be subject to Mary and to obey her as a son a mother. Such He proclaimed her from the cross when he entrusted to her care and love the whole of the race of man in the person of His disciple John. Such, finally, she proves herself by her courage in gathering in the heritage of the enormous labours of her Son, and in accepting the charge of her maternal duties towards us all.
http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-x...nts/hf_l-xiii_enc_22091891_octobri-mense.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear patricius,

Thanks so much for the beautiful words of Pope Leo XIII as he described our Mother Mary, given to us by Jesus from His Cross. How truly these words must resonate in the hearts of all her sons and daughters:

…she is the mighty Mother of the Almighty; but-what is still sweeter - she is gentle, extreme in tenderness, of a limitless loving-kindness. As such God gave her to us. Having chosen her for the Mother of His only begotten Son, He taught her all a mother’s feeling that breathes nothing but pardon and love

Thank you for your faithfulness in loving Jesus through Mary, and for sharing your love for Them with us.

.