Today, when so many are afraid of death, we need the courage of the Mother of the Savior. If she did not fear death, she was not rash in the face of danger. If she did not rush along with the crowd, she did not cower unsure of herself. She was firm and resolute ... confident in the love of God.
This woman's courage drew God and God drew forth the courage of His Mother. The Lord did not fail to trust in this woman's courage when He was most vulnerable - a child in her womb, fed by her breasts, held in her own arms, pondered in her heart. Even as the hostility of every evil power hunted Him down and unleashed itself on Him, He knew that she would have the strength to receive His dead body after He had given His all. He chose to rely on her courage, and her courage found its source in His choice.
With undaunted fortitude, she journeyed in obedience to God. Because of her love for her God, she was not timid when she traveled by foot through dangerous countryside. Because of her devotion to God's saving plan, she was not fearful when she bore pregnancy in the face of capital punishment. Because of her trust in God, she was not discouraged when she was turned away hungry and without shelter. Because of her confidence in God's goodness, she was undeterred when she gave birth in poverty. Because she believed in Divine Power, she was not afraid to nurse her child under the shadow of murderous tyranny.
She patiently followed her Son throughout his ministry, even when He seemed to deny her. With uncommon audacity, she stood strong under the Cross, even as the full vitriol of humanity was unleashed. She did not swoon when His last wordless cry rang out in the darkness. Faced with the antithesis of everything that was promised to her, she dared to believe. With a determination that the world had never known before, she prayed in the Upper Room for the plan of her Son to be fully realized.
Every mother knows something of this same courage and even those who do not know the Lord witness to a greatness that He has sewn into human existence. Yet, faith in the Word of the Father avails humble humanity of a certain and new fullness of this grace. This hidden power is easily discounted and often the subject of ridicule. Yet in the face of death, the human mind can not explain the resolve that flows from the substance of its hope.
Behold, Christ Crucified has given us His Mother to take into our homes and hearts so that she might be our own Mother. If one welcomes this grace-filled Woman into his home, she teaches truths about Her Son that no one else can teach. Her solemn faithfulness imparts what she herself received under the power of the Most High. Her gentle company nurtures with this hidden wisdom until a man can finally take his stand in life.
The strength of the Mother of God does not budge when any form of tyranny makes an absolute claim over human existence. No psychology can contain it. No ideology manipulate it. No agenda exhaust it. Materialism cannot dissipate it. It casts diversions aside. It crushes sin under foot. Addictions loosen their grip. Laziness is dispelled. Dark moods do not overthrow the freedom it offers.
The hidden strength this Mother strives to impart renews the effort to forgive. It frees from bitterness. It inclines to humility. It seeks forgiveness. In the face of failure and weakness, it humbly rises again and turns back homeward. As it journeys through empty voids and overwhelming circumstance, it perdures. It is the very interior firmness that overcomes all principalities and powers - for nothing can overthrow the love in which it is rooted. It is the courage of the truly free -- the same courage that lives in the heart of the Church, the beloved Bride of Christ, from whose womb Christians are born.
This woman's courage drew God and God drew forth the courage of His Mother. The Lord did not fail to trust in this woman's courage when He was most vulnerable - a child in her womb, fed by her breasts, held in her own arms, pondered in her heart. Even as the hostility of every evil power hunted Him down and unleashed itself on Him, He knew that she would have the strength to receive His dead body after He had given His all. He chose to rely on her courage, and her courage found its source in His choice.
With undaunted fortitude, she journeyed in obedience to God. Because of her love for her God, she was not timid when she traveled by foot through dangerous countryside. Because of her devotion to God's saving plan, she was not fearful when she bore pregnancy in the face of capital punishment. Because of her trust in God, she was not discouraged when she was turned away hungry and without shelter. Because of her confidence in God's goodness, she was undeterred when she gave birth in poverty. Because she believed in Divine Power, she was not afraid to nurse her child under the shadow of murderous tyranny.
She patiently followed her Son throughout his ministry, even when He seemed to deny her. With uncommon audacity, she stood strong under the Cross, even as the full vitriol of humanity was unleashed. She did not swoon when His last wordless cry rang out in the darkness. Faced with the antithesis of everything that was promised to her, she dared to believe. With a determination that the world had never known before, she prayed in the Upper Room for the plan of her Son to be fully realized.
Every mother knows something of this same courage and even those who do not know the Lord witness to a greatness that He has sewn into human existence. Yet, faith in the Word of the Father avails humble humanity of a certain and new fullness of this grace. This hidden power is easily discounted and often the subject of ridicule. Yet in the face of death, the human mind can not explain the resolve that flows from the substance of its hope.
Behold, Christ Crucified has given us His Mother to take into our homes and hearts so that she might be our own Mother. If one welcomes this grace-filled Woman into his home, she teaches truths about Her Son that no one else can teach. Her solemn faithfulness imparts what she herself received under the power of the Most High. Her gentle company nurtures with this hidden wisdom until a man can finally take his stand in life.
The strength of the Mother of God does not budge when any form of tyranny makes an absolute claim over human existence. No psychology can contain it. No ideology manipulate it. No agenda exhaust it. Materialism cannot dissipate it. It casts diversions aside. It crushes sin under foot. Addictions loosen their grip. Laziness is dispelled. Dark moods do not overthrow the freedom it offers.
The hidden strength this Mother strives to impart renews the effort to forgive. It frees from bitterness. It inclines to humility. It seeks forgiveness. In the face of failure and weakness, it humbly rises again and turns back homeward. As it journeys through empty voids and overwhelming circumstance, it perdures. It is the very interior firmness that overcomes all principalities and powers - for nothing can overthrow the love in which it is rooted. It is the courage of the truly free -- the same courage that lives in the heart of the Church, the beloved Bride of Christ, from whose womb Christians are born.
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