After celebrating the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic Church celebrates immediately the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Many people oppose the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They fear that it would turn into idolatry. Isn't the worship of God enough?
For me, God is too lofty. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is so perfect that it leaves me little room to meditate. When we pray on the words and actions of Jesus, we easily fall into the blind alley of deism. Jesus is God. We will never understand his words and actions. They are mysteries.
The heart of Mary is different. It is not sacred. Her psychology is more explicable because she is a woman and a mother.
Torah teaches us to love God with all our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:4).
The Blessed Virgin does so. When Gabriel informed her of God's plan, Mary was puzzled at first. With further assurance from Gabriel, Mary immortalized the proper attitude for all Christians.
And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)
The Blessed Virgin did not understand. She simply accepted the will of God and cooperated without doubt. Her heart was constantly amazed by the unfolding events.
When the shepherds visited the Holy Infant at his birth, the gospel tells us that Blessed Virgin pondered over the event.
and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:18-19).
The heart of the Blessed Virgin kept pondering the meaning of all these events.
Imagine how the Virgin's heart would react when Simeon prophesized the pains she would suffer with her child.
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in
Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against
and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2:34-35)
When the twelve-year-old Jesus was lost in the Temple for three days, the Blessed Virgin suffered the first stab in her soul. After finding Jesus among the teachers in the Temple, she expressed her anxiety to the Son of God (Luke 2:48). Jesus' answer did not relieve the Blessed Virgin of her troubled heart. It added more puzzles. The Blessed Virgin would take a long time to understand. She kept all these in her troubled heart.
and his mother kept all these things in her heart (Luke 2:51b).
The Blessed Virgin would never fully understand her divine son. Yet, that did not prevent her from caring for the needy. She would bring up the needs of the people to her son and actively engineering his involvement. With her immaculate heart, the Blessed Virgin was able to see God, to see God's plan unfolding in the life and death of her son.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
The Blessed Virgin has loved God with all her heart. In so doing, she also caters for our needs.
Dear Lord, we thank You for setting up Your Mother to cater for our deficiencies. May her example inspires us to love You with all our hearts. Amen.
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