Saturday 20th June 2020. Read 2 Chronicles 24:17-25, Psalm 89, Luke
2:41-52.
“And he
went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them, and his
mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Luke 2:51)
Yesterday,
we celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today we are celebrating the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. What are the
characteristics of the heart of Mary?
1.
Humility. Mary was never proud. Mary acknowledged she was just a handmaid of
God and she never went about seeking praise and exultation from her fellow
women like the Pharisees who loved to be greeted obsequiously in the marketplaces.
2.
Silence. As we see in today’s Gospel passage, Mary treasured everything in her
heart. She practised the act of Contemplative Prayer which some saints have
described as the most perfect form of prayer. In contemplation, we do not use
words but simply centre ourselves in the presence of God pondering in our
hearts what he says to us.
3.
Righteousness. Mary had a PURE heart. It is as a result of Mary’s outstanding
sinlessness that we refer to her heart as IMMACULATE. It was this purity of
heart that made God so fall in love with her as to choose her to be his mother.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us a secret; “Blessed are the Pure in heart,
for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8). Only a heart so pure can contain God as
Mary did.
In other
for us to grasp the beauty of Mary’s Immaculate Heart, our first reading today
presents us with an example of its very opposite. King Joash suffers defeat
from the Syrian army in fulfilment of the prophecy of Zechariah. Rather than
listen to the words of Zechariah and repent, King Joash ordered that he be
stoned not minding the fact that Zechariah’s father, Jehoiada had been kind to
him
As we
reflect on Mary’s Immaculate Heart, let us look at our own hearts. Is my heart
like that of Mary or like that of King Joash? What efforts am I making to guard
my heart from all defilements of evil? Is my heart clean enough to accommodate God?
Am I willing to listen to the truth and change my ways? Or do I, like Joash
seek to silence those who tell me the truth?
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, cleanse my heart from all impurity and sinfulness. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Memorial
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Bible Study: 2 Chronicles 24:17-25, Psalm 89, Luke
2:41-52).
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