B
BarbaraTherese
Guest
Todays meditation (below) from Word Among Us is all about pondering which is the spirit of Mary. It is about seeing our lives as important - and as important to God and to man and The Church which is, as the meditation points out, reflecting on our lives within the framework of the bigger picture. God, The Church and mankind really and absolutely need your life no matter how insignificant it may be in “worldy terms”, how miniscule the circumstances…and they need it to be lived to the very best of our ability in and for God, His Church and mankind - though our human reasoning may be unable to see this at all. Yet the eyes of Faith can. Lord that I may see always with the eyes of Faith transcending human reasoning.
We can be confident and trustful - and obedient - and let our lives be led by God - and this means to see all and every circumstance as important no matter content, and important to God, to The Church and to mankind as the story of God’s romance and delight (see meditation below) unfolds in our lives. These spiritual dispositions of confident trust and obedience are strengthened in suffering since it is not difficult to be confident and trustfully obedient when all is going well. We see these confident and trustful obedient dispositions in the life of Mary and of Joseph and we can reflect on their lives in the events we do know about as not for sure an “easy ride” and from the moment the story of The Incarnation and then birth of Jesus begins to unfold - not all that long after which they are forced to flee into Egypt. Joseph dies and leaves Mary and Jesus alone in a troubled country. Then Jesus at around 30 years leaves to take up his vocation and one that from the start was extremely dangerous - as the death of John The Baptist tells us.
If in my life then I experience suffering and difficulty - I am walking in the footsteps of Mary and Joseph and of Jesus, who saw their own lives and the circumstances within the context of Faith transcending human reasoning. What is my attitude to my life and its circumstances?
Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Gospel
Meditation
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=12&day=20&year=2007&x=7&y=6
“She was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” (Luke 1:29)
Today’s Gospel reveals a beautiful example of why Mary has been honored and imitated in every age: She learned to ponder the mysteries of God in her heart, even when those mysteries troubled and upset her personally.
Mary teaches us that pondering can help move us out of a narrow outlook and focus on the big picture, the eternal perspective. Without the habit of prayerfully pondering our way through our journey of faith, life can seem like a movie that we have arrived to thirty minutes late. Sure, there are some good things—even some incredible things—that happen to us. But there are also some very trying and difficult things that happen as well. Where can we go to make sense of it all?
We need to understand, as Mary did, that our lives are part of a much larger story. It’s because she was trying her best to grasp this larger story of God’s wisdom and his purposes that Mary was able to embrace the message of the angel, no matter how troubling it seemed initially. By contrast, our modern tendency is to focus on our own lives and to ignore the larger world around us.
The more we come to understand that our lives are intricately woven into the larger story of God’s romance with his people, the more naturally we will look for the lessons that the ups and downs of our lives can teach us. “What can this mean,” we ask? “How can I see God in this situation? How should I respond in a way that honors him and helps further his kingdom?”
When we ponder the events of our lives in this way, we affirm—to God’s delight—our role as his beloved children. We proclaim that we are no longer slaves of Jesus but friends (John 15:15). We don’t need to strive for control of our lives—only for trust and obedience. Yes, we are engaged in a spiritual battle. Yes, we are called to be proactive. But we are also called to have a spirit of reflection and prayer. And that’s the best way we can imitate Mary.
“Holy Spirit, open my mind to the larger story of God’s perfect plan. Teach me to ponder all things in my heart and to see the Father’s hand in every situation.”
O Antiphon - next Post
We can be confident and trustful - and obedient - and let our lives be led by God - and this means to see all and every circumstance as important no matter content, and important to God, to The Church and to mankind as the story of God’s romance and delight (see meditation below) unfolds in our lives. These spiritual dispositions of confident trust and obedience are strengthened in suffering since it is not difficult to be confident and trustfully obedient when all is going well. We see these confident and trustful obedient dispositions in the life of Mary and of Joseph and we can reflect on their lives in the events we do know about as not for sure an “easy ride” and from the moment the story of The Incarnation and then birth of Jesus begins to unfold - not all that long after which they are forced to flee into Egypt. Joseph dies and leaves Mary and Jesus alone in a troubled country. Then Jesus at around 30 years leaves to take up his vocation and one that from the start was extremely dangerous - as the death of John The Baptist tells us.
If in my life then I experience suffering and difficulty - I am walking in the footsteps of Mary and Joseph and of Jesus, who saw their own lives and the circumstances within the context of Faith transcending human reasoning. What is my attitude to my life and its circumstances?
Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Gospel
Meditation
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=12&day=20&year=2007&x=7&y=6
“She was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” (Luke 1:29)
Today’s Gospel reveals a beautiful example of why Mary has been honored and imitated in every age: She learned to ponder the mysteries of God in her heart, even when those mysteries troubled and upset her personally.
Mary teaches us that pondering can help move us out of a narrow outlook and focus on the big picture, the eternal perspective. Without the habit of prayerfully pondering our way through our journey of faith, life can seem like a movie that we have arrived to thirty minutes late. Sure, there are some good things—even some incredible things—that happen to us. But there are also some very trying and difficult things that happen as well. Where can we go to make sense of it all?
We need to understand, as Mary did, that our lives are part of a much larger story. It’s because she was trying her best to grasp this larger story of God’s wisdom and his purposes that Mary was able to embrace the message of the angel, no matter how troubling it seemed initially. By contrast, our modern tendency is to focus on our own lives and to ignore the larger world around us.
The more we come to understand that our lives are intricately woven into the larger story of God’s romance with his people, the more naturally we will look for the lessons that the ups and downs of our lives can teach us. “What can this mean,” we ask? “How can I see God in this situation? How should I respond in a way that honors him and helps further his kingdom?”
When we ponder the events of our lives in this way, we affirm—to God’s delight—our role as his beloved children. We proclaim that we are no longer slaves of Jesus but friends (John 15:15). We don’t need to strive for control of our lives—only for trust and obedience. Yes, we are engaged in a spiritual battle. Yes, we are called to be proactive. But we are also called to have a spirit of reflection and prayer. And that’s the best way we can imitate Mary.
“Holy Spirit, open my mind to the larger story of God’s perfect plan. Teach me to ponder all things in my heart and to see the Father’s hand in every situation.”
O Antiphon - next Post