The love Jesus has
for us knows no bounds. He gave His life to redeem us from our sins. He gave us
His Body and Blood so that we will have the bread of life, and He gave us His
dear Mother, that we may always know the love and concern from her that He knew
all his earthly life. He pointed out to us that we have a Father in heaven, and
we call Him Abba. He made sure we have a Mother in heaven as well, and her name
is Mary. Fulton Sheen tells us, in his book, “The World’s First Love”:
“It may be
objected: ‘Our Lord is enough for me. I have no need of her.’ But He needed her, whether we do or not.
And, what is more important, Our Blessed Lord gave us His Mother as our Mother. On that Friday men call
Good, when He was unfurled upon the Cross as the banner of salvation on earth,
He looked down upon the two most precious creatures He had on earth: His Mother
and His beloved disciple John. The night before, at the Last Supper, He had
made His last Will and Testament, giving us that which on dying no man was ever
able to give, namely, Himself in the Holy Eucharist. Thus He would be with us,
as He said, “all days unto the consummation of the world.” Now, in the
darkening shadows of Calvary, He adds a codicil to His will. There beneath the
Cross, not prostrate, as the Gospel notes, ‘stood’ His Mother. As a Son, He
thought of His Mother; as a Savior, He thought of us. So He gave to us His
Mother: ‘Behold thy Mother.’ Just as we do not shrink from the thought of God
giving us His Father, so that we can pray: ‘Our Father,’ so neither do we rebel
when He gives us His Mother, so that we can pray: ‘Our Mother’. Thus the fall
of man is undone through another Tree, the Cross; Adam through another Adam,
Christ; and Eve through the new Eve, Mary. (Ignatius Press, 1952)
Jesus continues to
give us His Mother through her many apparitions. Sometimes she comes to reassure
us, as does in these words to Juan Diego at Guadalupe:
She said: “Know and understand well, you the most
humble of my son, that I am the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God
for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth…. “Hear
me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or
grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any
other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under
my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What
else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything….”
Sometimes, as at
Kibeho in Rwanda, Mary implored: ““I speak to you who hold power, and who
represent the nation: save the people, instead of being their torturers. Don't
rob the people; share with others. Be careful not to persecute, to muzzle those
who want to denounce your errors. I say it to you, I repeat it, whatever you
do, even though you try everything to harm somebody because he loves his fellow
men, defends human rights, fights for the respect of the life of others, and
for the truth and all that is good, and even because he fights so that God may
be loved and respected, whatever you do, you can do nothing against him.”… “I
love you very much. If I came, it is because you needed it.”
And sometimes, as at Fatima, she gives us
instructions to help our weaker brothers and sisters: "When
you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: 'O my Jesus, forgive us, save us
from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most
in need.' "…"Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners;
for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and
pray for them."
We must remember
that Mary is perfect holiness, and her only desire for us, her children, is to
show us the way to achieve that holiness. She tells us at Medjugorje: “I invite every one of you to start living
in God’s love. You are ready to commit sin and to put yourselves in the hands
of Satan. Decide for God.”
Truly, Mary is our
Mother. Listen to her words. She is pointing us to her Son, and she tells us
how to get to Him: Decide, today, for God. Then ask Mary’s help to give up
earthly desires and replace them with a fire for Jesus.
Oh Mary, conceived
without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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