Few Bible verses speak of Mary and in most of them she was pondering: "she kept all these things in her heart, pondering on them." I'm guessing it's because ...
- She was very young.
- God spoke to her in the most unconventional ways.
- She did not understand God's plans fully at the onset.
- It must have felt as though Jesus spoke in riddles all the time.
- She is the Mother of God ... yet she had to go through a lot of heartaches.
If I were Mary, I'd probably be pondering a lot, too!
And what good did all her pondering do? It enabled her to find the silver-lining in every difficult situation; to find the blessings amidst the trials, the highs within the lows; to recognize God's loving hand holding her through it all - good or bad. It compelled her to keep praising God in spite of everything:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior;
because He has regarded
the lowliness of His handmaid;
for behold henceforth
all ages shall call me blessed.
Because He who is mighty
has done great things for me,
and holy is His name ... " (Magnificat)
Fr. Michael puts it together perfectly: "heart-pondering prayer leads to praise and thanks, and praise and thanks sets us on fire with divine love."
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