By Mary Sayad
By Mary Sayad
In honor of the Feast of the Annunciation, I have temporarily put the Bible lessons on hold. I hope you enjoy the poem as well as its message:
I have an addiction, I must admit
I don't understand
It just won't quit
They laugh at me and say I'm weak
No self-control,
That's what I'm told
Their words and jeers
Often bring me to tears
They don't understand
This addiction's highs are really grand
Whom did I hurt and what's to explain?
I'll never stop,
I'll do it again and again
Night after night you'll find me there
Quietly sitting in my chair
They say it won't work
That nobody hears
But I'll follow the ways I've always known
My rosaries held firmly
While the power of the Bible
Is forever open to me
And I'll keep the faith and continue to pray
With conviction,
This addiction
Is here to stay!!
No doubt the Blessed Mother of Jesus was addicted to prayer. She was very special to Our Heavenly Father for she was to help in His eternal plan for our salvation.
Very little was recorded of Mary's life in the Bible. As you may know, after receiving the message from the Archangel Gabriele, Mary complied without hesitation to the will of God the Father to become the mother of our saviour, Jesus. I encourage to open your Bibles and read Luke 1 verses 26-38.
An extract from Fr. DeCaussade, SJ, from "Abandonment to Divine Providence": "But what bread nourished the faith of Mary and Joseph? What was the sacrament of all their sacred moments? What did they discover under the ordinary appearances of the events which filled their lives? Exteriorly, nothing more than what was happening to the rest of mankind; interiorly, faith discovers and discerns nothing less than God working great things....
If the works of our sanctification offers us obstacles seemingly so insurmountable, it is because we do not have a proper idea of them. In truth, sanctity consists in but one thing, fidelity to the order of God. And this fidelity is equally within the reach of all.....Yet this cooperation is all that God requires of the soul in the work of its sanctification. He requires it of the great and the small, of the strong and infirm; in a word, of at all times, in all places. It is true then that He asks nothing on our part but what is easy and simple.... since to attain eminent sanctity requires only our good will."....Grace , working by itself, effects marvels which surpass the intelligence of man. For ear has not heard, eye has not seen, heart has not felt what God has planned in his omniscience, determined in His will, and carried out by His power in souls given up entirely to Him. The divine action floods the universe; it penetrates all creatures; wherever they are it is there; it precedes them; it accompanies them; it follows them; and they have only to allow themselves to be borne forward on its tide.
(Would to God kings and their ministers, princes of the Church and of the world, priests, soldiers, peasants, laborers, in a word all men, knew how easily they can attain eminent sanctity. They have only to fulfill the simple duties of Christianity and of their state of life and bear with submission the crosses these duties bring, submitting with faith and love to the order of Providence in all those things which must be done and suffered without our seeking them.)"
Two thousand years after the death of Mary, her signs, visions and messages continue to flourish. Her life was simple and quiet, yet her love for all mankind is real and she continues to demonstrate this love. A mother's heart is always open to her children and she asks us to share her tender love with our brothers and sisters. She longs for our prayers and rosaries. Thank you.
Your companion in prayer,
Mary