Bible
Study: Timothy 3:1-13 and Luke 7:11-17. Or Hebrews
5:7-9 and John 19:25-27.
Since we
celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross yesterday, it naturally
follows that today, we also celebrate the memorial of that woman who stood at
the feet of the Cross sharing in her Son’s passion.
Sometime
ago, I gave my car to a friend of mine who said he needed to use it to make a
trip urgently. From where I was to where he was driving to was about 4 hours in
all coming and going. He arranged that he would be spending roughly 2 hours
while there meaning I was to expect my car back 6 hours later.
Now, 14
hours had passed and there was no sign of my friend at all. His phone was
suddenly switched off and there was just no other contact with which I could
reach him since he said he would be travelling all alone. I became as worried
as ever. Throughout that night, I couldn’t sleep.
In my mind
I was running through a list of a hundred different scenarios of things that
could have happened to him, only for me to discover, the following morning,
that my car was sitting patiently in the very spot I left it. My friend did not
even make the trip at all even though he collected my keys simply because he
misplaced his phone and did not think it was wise to still travel without a
means of communication. I was almost dying of hypertension and my friend was at
home busy looking for his phone.
You know
what? That experience taught me a lesson. It made me understand that when anything
happens to us, it is those that we are closest to that suffer the greater pain.
If Jesus suffered any pain while he was being spat at, insulted, flogged and
driven like a beast, Mary must have suffered a double portion of this pain just
by watching her only Son go through all that. As we read in the Stations of the
Cross Prayer, “It is harder to watch the pains of those we love than to bear
our own pains.”
In the
Gospel passage, Jesus raises a dead man to life because he could see how much
pain the mother of this boy was going through. She was a widow and here was her
only son now been carried for burial. There were a lot of people crying but
only that of the Mother was enough to capture Jesus’ attention. As we read
there, “and when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her said to her, ‘do
not weep.’
In the
case of this woman, Jesus saved her from suffering the harsh pain of her only
son die, in the case of Mary, there was nobody around to perform such a
miracle. She had to watch her only son die before her very eyes. Jesus knew
exactly how she was feeling so he said to her: “Woman behold your son” and
turning to the beloved disciple, Jesus said, “Behold your mother.”
Our celebration
today reminds us that whenever bear sorrows, we are never alone. We not only
have Jesus who understands but a dear loving mother as well who knew what pain
felt like. She is ever ready to intercede on your behalf just like any good
mother would do. This is why we pray the Rosary.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, you mother loved you deeply yet you chose to save us by the way of the
Cross and allowed a sword pierce her heart, help us to accept suffering in our
lives so long as it would lead us closer to our salvation. May Mary, your mother
continue to intercede for us daily. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment