I meant to write about Day 3 yesterday, but it felt incomplete and half-baked, since it spoke only of the 1st of 2 components of saying "yes" to Mary.
While having my massage last Saturday, I realized that I had to "surrender" my body completely to the masseuse. I had to follow her instructions and allow her to reposition parts of my body, so that she can loosen up the muscles properly.
The story (The Pearl, by Willi Hoffsuemmer) for my son's Language subject today covers perfectly the main points for Days 3 & 4 of the retreat.
It is about a "dewdrop that fell from the leaves of a tree right into the ocean." It was carried by the rough waves until it heard a voice that said,
"Hurry up. Come into my house; here you'll be safe".
She did so and was relieved until she realized that she might be trapped in that house forever, never able to reflect the colors of the rainbow again. She raised this to the lady of the house who said,
"If you stubbornly fight against what fate has in store for you, you'll just find yourself suffering hopelessly and helplessly. But if you patiently accept all that fate has in store, you'll be at ease. Then, you will grow stronger from within yourself. And one day you'll be worth a thousand times more than when you fell off the tree."
The dewdrop resisted at first, but then decided to yield, thinking,
"Good luck to the times that are past; today cannot last forever; and who knows what great thing tomorrow might bring?"
Then, one day, the house - which was a clamshell - was opened by a pearl diver who exclaimed,
"O look at the absolutely perfect pearl that I have found! It has the shape of a dewdrop and reflects all the colors of the rainbow. It must be worth a fortune ..."
"Hurry up. Come into my house; here you'll be safe".
She did so and was relieved until she realized that she might be trapped in that house forever, never able to reflect the colors of the rainbow again. She raised this to the lady of the house who said,
"If you stubbornly fight against what fate has in store for you, you'll just find yourself suffering hopelessly and helplessly. But if you patiently accept all that fate has in store, you'll be at ease. Then, you will grow stronger from within yourself. And one day you'll be worth a thousand times more than when you fell off the tree."
The dewdrop resisted at first, but then decided to yield, thinking,
"Good luck to the times that are past; today cannot last forever; and who knows what great thing tomorrow might bring?"
Then, one day, the house - which was a clamshell - was opened by a pearl diver who exclaimed,
"O look at the absolutely perfect pearl that I have found! It has the shape of a dewdrop and reflects all the colors of the rainbow. It must be worth a fortune ..."
Saying "yes" to Mary, means completely surrendering to her, so that she is able to form us into little Christs. This means to:
- Remain faithful to our baptismal vows: (1) reject Satan; (2) have faith and remain committed to Jesus. Mary is able to help us do this because "God has put enmity between her and Satan" (Gen 3:15)
- Give ourselves as intimate gift to Mary. This means giving our entire selves - everything we have and do - to Mary; to be at her disposal; to be her instruments in moving forward God's ultimate plan of salvation for all.
By ourselves, we are as fleeting as a dewdrop. With Mary, she can use the merits of our good works and mold us into beautiful lasting pearls.
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