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| Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. |
One question that recurs tormenting
the heart of many is "Why me?" An unexpected turn of events in life
shatters one’s entire self confidence. The individual looking around gets the
impression that for all others’ life goes on smoothly and so begins to feel
isolated in his or her unfortunate predicament. An educated person who has to support
the family, on losing his job suddenly, would be shaken up and finds the entire
future bleak. A caring mother who comes to know that her son is having an
unholy relationship will be totally broken - wondering where she failed for
this unspeakable tragedy to take place. A loving wife on hearing that her
husband is affected by cancer would be struck down by grief and
incomprehension. A student who fails to get the results he worked hard for
loses all hope and interest for the future. A religiously devout couple meeting
with a financial breakdown in their business could get upset that God has let
them down. We hear of such situations all the time and the secret prayer in
every heart is that one should be shielded from any such mishap. On the other
hand, anything going wrong with our life will trigger off torrents of fear that
had been accumulated in our hearts over the years.
“You Have Found Favour With God” (Luke 1:30)
The greatness of this young lady
of Nazareth is that in a moment of distress, she was able to look beyond and
perceive that God was greater than her problem. This surrender was praised by
Elizabeth, “Blessed
is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her
from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45) In
this faith, she stands in sharp contrast to the first woman Eve. Eve was also disturbed
when she was tempted to reject God’s offer of life and accept satan’s offer of
sin. At this moment of confusion, she made the mistake of not turning to God. In
that failure she opened her life to disaster. This is what happens when we fail
to perceive the Call of God in the difficult moments of our life. What could be
a point of entry into an exalted and celebrated existence in the history of salvation,
we despise and reject - dragging ourselves down to destruction.
Mother Mary teaches us how the
Holy Spirit works on us. Though she was unable to figure out how she could
conceive and bear the Son of God, the Spirit of God reveals to her that this
was God’s Plan. Hence she was able to understand and accept her pregnancy as an
unfolding of the Plan of God for the history of the salvation of man. She was
also able to realize that nothing was impossible to God. Though she was a virgin,
in the Power of the Holy Spirit she would be able to conceive. Once this
realization dawned on her, all the fears vanished and she was able to rejoice
and sing to the Lord, “My soul rejoices in God my Saviour… the Almighty has
done great things for me.” (Luke 1:46-49)
“I Will Not Leave You Desolate” (John 14:18)
In fact Jesus has revealed to us
the nature of the Holy Spirit and how He functions in our day to day life.
Jesus gives three titles to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of
Truth, and as such He leads us to the whole truth - “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will
guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13) The whole truth of an event in our
life is its relevance in the Plan of God. St. Paul tells us, “For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) When Mary received the revelation that she
would conceive and bear a son, she waited in prayer to understand the meaning
of her pregnancy in the Light of God’s Plan for her. She opened her heart to
what the angel said to her that her son would be the Messiah promised from all
eternity to save humankind - “You shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and
will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the
throne of His father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)
Jesus also refers to the Holy
Spirit as “Power
from Above” (Luke 24:49). Because of this Heavenly Power, the angel assured
Mary, “With
God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) She believed that her virginity
will flower into motherhood in the action of the Holy Spirit. She also believed
that her pregnancy will be shielded from the dreadful fate of death by stoning.
The third title that Jesus gave
to the Holy Spirit is ‘the Comforter’. “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.” (John 14:16) Though humanly speaking she had all the
reasons to be tormented by fear and anxiety, as she was anointed by the
Comforter and she was able to rejoice and praise God for His working in her
life.
“Gold Is Tested In The Fire” (Sirach 2:5)
The strife of Mary did not end
with the Magnificat song. Much more was at hand. At the time of the delivery of
her first born, she did not have the comfort of family around her. She had not
even a secure place to give birth to the child! After a long strenuous journey,
she reached Bethlehem to find every door slamming on her face. She had no
choice but to opt for the unthinkable - a stable where the animals were kept.
Chosen by God yet rejected by humanity, the Holy Family was no stranger to
homelessness. In this hidden cave, they would receive guests from afar and near
- wise kings and simple shepherds - all narrating the glorious visions that
guided them to worship the Messiah. Everything happening was beyond
comprehension. On the one hand, the young couple in great need would only meet
with the coldest and most unfeeling rejection from human beings. On the other
hand, there was a tremendous overflow of love from Heaven with the Promises
being fulfilled and the great mission being confirmed and reconfirmed through
the most unlikely visitations. Renewing her commitment to God, “Mary kept all
these things, pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
Hunted by a furious king, where
did this poor family stand a chance? They flee their homeland through a long
desert journey of cold nights and scorching hot days. What lay ahead was not
very hopeful - their lot being of refugees in a pagan country. Their
unquestioning obedience continued even as they were asked to return and live in
uneventful oblivion. Jesus behaved like any other boy, with no indication of
Messianic destiny. At the age of twelve, however, He stayed back in the temple
without informing His parents or anyone in the caravan. Mary and Joseph found
their son missing from the caravan. They rushed back to Jerusalem and searched
through the crowded city for three long days in what must have been the most
harrowing time of their life yet! On finding Him, the response of the boy was still
more unnerving, “How
is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's
house?” Unprepared for such a response Mary “kept all these things in her heart.” (Luke
2:51) The heart is where the
Holy Spirit dwells. That is where she turned to at this difficult hour to make
sense of God’s Plan for her.
The years of His glorious
ministry had its own shadows. There was much exhilarating news of the many
healings, good works and compassion He radiated, heralding the Kingdom of God
and giving great hope to an enslaved nation. There was also much animosity from
the religious leaders and fearful opposition which would ultimately see Mary at
the foot of the Cross. In the shadow of condemnation could this mother see the
promise of salvation? She offered up her Son back to the Father, accepting the
whole of humankind as Her children from the Cross, to continue forever what she
did at Cana - bringing to her Son the needs and tears of a suffering humanity.
“My Grace Is Sufficient For You, For My Power Is Made Perfect In Weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Mother Mary reveals to us what
the Holy Spirit does in our lives when we open our heart for Him to dwell in
us. We will not be the victims of the slavery to partial truths that the intellect
can afford to offer. Our achievements will not be confined by our limited
capabilities. We will not be subjected to any sort of emotional distress that
unfortunate situations will bring. Our total surrender of whatever happens to
us will give us a Heavenly Joy of being supple instruments in the Hands of God
for His grand design for the salvation of this world.
It is in this anointing of the
Holy Spirit that. St Paul was able to say - “What has happened to me has really served
to advance the gospel… my imprisonment is for Christ; most of the brethren
because of my imprisonment… are much more bold to speak the word of God.” (Philippians
1:12-14) Paul is not bitter
about his sufferings; rather he is able to see God’s superior plan getting
furthered through his torturous circumstances. St. Peter, though he was
publicly humiliated and flogged, he did not grudge his pain but was found “rejoicing that
they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” and
continued zealously to proclaim Jesus. (Acts 5:41)
I remember meeting a man who came
to me carrying his son who was affected by cerebral palsy. The boy had to be
personally cared for always. The father was a school teacher. His wife died at
the birth of this boy. His elderly mother would look after the boy when he was
away in the school. With great love, he cared for every need of the boy. He
told me that the death of his wife was a great blow to him. But he never
regretted being given the responsibility of this child. I asked him whether he
would have been happier if he had a normal and healthy child. With a smile he replied
that this option did not exist in the mind of God. He said he was always
conscious of the special call he received as he said, “God wanted to give me a
special child as God gave Mother Mary a special child who God knew would die a
brutal death at a young age.” What impressed me was the calm manner with which
he had accepted this unfortunate situation. He could understand in prayer his
role in the Plan of God to bring up this child - who would never be like all
the other children he would constantly be in touch with as a teacher. His
vision of life was centered on God alone.
Mother Mary by her faith
commitment to God became the most “blessed” (Luke 1:42) and “highly favoured in the eyes of God” (Luke
1:30) Her assumption to
heaven was a gift God gave to her and an inspiration to everyone in the path of
faith to be always faithful to God.
Let Us Pray
O God of Glory
before whom no shadow of pain and failure can linger, we praise You for the
gift of Mother Mary to guide us in our lives. You have exalted her that we may
walk through the valley of shadows in the courage and wisdom She offers. We
bring to You, O God, every disappointment in our life that has been and that is
to come. We grieved over these losses and gave up on life and on a future. Yet
O God, Your Spirit reveals that every such painful moment is a seed of glory
planted in our life. Anoint us O God with Your Spirit that we, Your servants
and handmaids, may walk in the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit as our
Mother did. We thank You, Lord, for Your Plan for our life and that this Plan
is so much superior to our own little ideas and calculations. May Your Will be
done in us and may we glorify You at all times.
Amen.
