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Consoling the heart of Jesus

Good Friday meditation drawing  When Saint Therese was a little girl she had a prayer card with a painting of Jesus imprisoned in his cell looking at a single flower. This single flower was the source of his consolation. Saint Therese from those moments wished to be that flower providing comfort to our Lord throughout her life.

Say Yes too!



Yes!  Are you quick to say yes? 

At work with my family, when I need an answer quick, I go to one sister. When I need to get an answer that is thought of from many angles and I am not in a hurry, I go to another sister.  

God went to Mary for both a quick and I believe, a well thought of answer.  

Mary said “Yes” despite knowing it could mean death.  You see, during those days, bearing a child without a father could mean death by stoning.  At the tender age of 14, Mary chose to follow the Lord instead of self-preservation.

With obedience comes blessing - not only for Mary who became the Queen of Heaven but it became our greatest blessing - so Mary through her “Yes” became the cause of our Joy. Her “yes” made it possible for Jesus to come into the world and pay the ultimate price in our behalf so we could be with Him (if we chose to).

The whole Catholic Church rejoices in this YES today.  Why is it called the feast of Immaculate Concepción?  Because she was freed from original sin by God.  In fact, all the Hollywood movies got it wrong when the portrayed Mary writhing in pain as she bore Jesus. She was spared the pain of giving birth because she was conceived without sin.

Because God knew, in all of creation, this woman would usurp Eve’s “no”.  He knew and because God can go forward or backward in time, He caught Mary before she fell in the pit of original sin.

This thought came to me just the other day when I was at a shop browsing without any intention to buy. I saw this beautiful carabiner that matched my bag. Since I had a strong urge to buy it (which does not happen often), I did.  Just as I left the shop, my bag strap broke due to such a heavy weight.

I was soooo amazed that God in His kindness to me, let me buy what I needed to quickly to sling it through and continue walking my way.

I thought of how God did that for Mary. Jesus saved Mary in advance - knowing she would say Yes!

I know it all sounds so very confusing. Trust me when I say that evidence of this is from the Blessed Mother herself.  The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima all compel us to get to know the amazing woman behind today’s feast.  

Thank you Mama Mary!!! Thank you for your Yes!  I want to be like you!  I want to say yes to God of whatever He asks for me.  Pray for us. 


By the way, today is a Holy Day of Obligation.  Don't forget!


p.s. I am sorry for the dirt on the artwork.  I did this on the train on the way to mass!   

Comments

  1. I think many miracles happen in such small ways (like this wonderful example of your sudden urge to buy the carbiner!) that many if not most people call it "luck" or "coincidence". At least for me, I have to pray to Jesus every day as did the blind man in Luke 18:41-42 - "Lord, I want to see!" - to receive the ability even to see those miracles, much less understand that them as such. But I know that if like the blind man we ask Jesus for that vision, then He will surely say, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." (I quote from New International Version, and I must confess I had to google it to find the exact verse quickly 😉)! I also believe that God actually tests us by how (or if) we use our faith to ask to see those little things, and as our faith lets us receive and see the "little" miracles, God gradually increases our ability to receive and vision to see the bigger miracles - "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much." (Luke 16:10 - again NIV Bible). Maybe it's kind of like coming out of a dark theater; you have to start with dimmer light first or the full sunlight will blind you! So, I believe that the Virgin Mary was blessed with an extraordinary amount of that faith to ask for, receive, see, and understand bigger and bigger miracles, so that by the time she was only 14 she was already able to see the angel Gabriel, and receive the greatest miracle, the blessing to be the Mother of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ✝️

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  2. Oh, I forgot to write, I also believe we need to pray for God's Grace to let us be able, like the Virgin Mary, to say "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." or as you write here, "Yes"! I want to do my best, by God's Grace and not my sinful nature, to follow the example of the Virgin Mary in my life and pray that I too will be able to say, like Mary and several Old Testament prophets - Samuel and Isaiah come to mind - "Here I am Lord" when He asks, "Who will serve Me?" Thank you so much Tina for this reminder of living faith we can see in the Virgin Mary's life!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for reading my ramblings. Yes let's hope for the grace to say Yes to Him when He asks who to send. "Yes Lord send me"!!!

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