Monday, April 13, 2009

Be Firm.

Be firm in your resolutions; Stay in the boat I have placed you and let the storm come. Long live Jesus! You will not perish. Walk the way of the Lord in simplicity; Do not torment your spirit. Say the truth, always the truth.---St. Pio of Petrelcina

When Jesus was carrying the cross up to the "place of the skull", He was tired. He was hurting, weary, and bloody. Mary, His mother, was close by suffering what she knew was inevitable. St. John, the beloved disciple, must have been with her. A few of the other women followed too. Why do we never discuss the courage of these women, and the lone apostle John? I think they found their courage in the Holy Mother of our Lord. She would not allow her Son to be alone as He suffered. Her deep love moved her to allow the sword to pierce her heart through. I wonder if after the resurrection, she recalled the words of Simeon, that a sword would pierce her heart. Being firm in our resolutions during times of suffering is hard. And if we want to see what being firm looks like, we need look closely at Mary. She will teach us how to stay near Him, and she will teach us how to embrace our own crosses with humility and trust. Here is the beauty in all of this, Jesus did this work in Mary to the glory of God, and He can do it in you and me too...It's all about what He has accomplished, and, by grace, how we respond to it. We have a great family that is His Church, we are not alone in our battles. He is Risen! Jesus, have mercy on us.

wkm

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