"Mary's gaze... would never leave Him." St. JPII

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

How lovely to be pondering this letter of St. JPII, “On the Most Holy Rosary” during this final week of Advent! How good it is to draw near to the Mother of God, thus drawing nearer to Him.

Mary, model of contemplation

1. The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Lk2:7).

Thereafter Mary’s gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave Him. At times it would be a questioning look, as in the episode of the finding in the Temple: “Son, why have you treated us so?” (Lk 2:48); it would always be a penetrating gaze, one capable of deeply understanding Jesus, even to the point of perceiving his hidden feelings and anticipating his decisions, as at Cana (cf. Jn 2:5). At other times it would be a look of sorrow, especially beneath the Cross, where her vision would still be that of a mother giving birth, for Mary not only shared the passion and death of her Son, she also received the new son given to her in the beloved disciple (cf. Jn 19:26-27). On the morning of Easter hers would be a gaze radiant with the joy of the Resurrection, and finally, on the day of Pentecost, a gaze afire with the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14).

I cannot add to such beautiful words; they bring grateful tears to my eyes. God help us to pray our Rosaries today with the most attention and devotion we can. By God’s grace, may we gaze with Mary on the Face of Christ, as St. JPII did.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful; kindle in us the Fire of Your Love.
Mary, please pray that we become more like you, our Mother and our Model.
Jesus, thank you for loving us so much, in giving Mary to us as Mother.

 

[Edward_H]

Beautiful. Thank you very much.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks for your reply, Edward

St. John Paul II is a true son of God and of Mary, and I believe his words show us the fruit of his prayer. His words reveal such a tender love – only God could have inspired them! May we continue to learn from the wisdom God gives to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and through saints like JPII who learned much also from St. Louis de Montfort.

JPII wrote in his book, Crossing the Threshhold of Hope that his reading of St. Louis De Montfort’s Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin was a “turning point” in his young life.