Pondering Motherhood

#365daysofpoetry Day 32

Today is Thursday.  Math day.  Typically the day when Monster Mom comes out to play.

Yet, after a full day of juggling work and Math coaching (mixed with affirmations and a good bit of exasperation), my son tiredly declares, "My answer's correct, Mom" and then, "I think it was a good day.  We finished a lot and I was able to do PBR (Percentage, Base, Rate) on my own. Thanks, Mom." (Tear) We only managed to finish the review and not the actual new lesson I scheduled for today.  But you just have to count your blessings.

Having a child is a double-edged sword: a source of stress and stress-relief;  extremely challenging and immensely fulfilling at the same time.  I realized that early on as I traversed the road of motherhood (a role, I think, I take too seriously for my sanity's own good) and even more when I decided to homeschool.  The responsibility to bring up my son into a God-fearing, loving, Earth-conscious and useful member of society is both a blessing and a burden.  It requires me to always be on my toes in terms of how I act, how I speak or even think; the decisions (especially the split-decisions) and choices I make.  Moreso the choices, as these do not affect just myself, but also my son.  (And I refuse to blame this for my singlehood. If anything, having my son forced me to be more thoughtful and to make wiser decisions.  Heck! He just probably saved me from a bad marriage).  That is why, when I saw this Ivatan artwork over the internet (Thanks to #jotarofootsteps for stopping by the art shop and finding this) , I was drawn to it.  It is a perfect representation of my sentiment as a mother.

Yaru nu Artes Ivatan

That I may be ...

Your shelter against all storms,

Your source of comfort in difficult times,

And your strength at your weakest.

That I may ...

Be firm on values and principles (your Life compass), 

Have the courage to stand for them (for your sake),

And find the strength to discipline (when needed).

That you may ...

Know always in your heart

Everything I do 

I do out of love for you.

That I may be, to you, 

God's loving presence in this life.

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 30

Fr. Michael summarizes St. Maximilian Kolbe's consecration principles into these 3 words:  (1) Mystery; (2) Militia; and (3) Love.

MYSTERY
St. Maximilian's greatest contribution to Marian theology is the unraveling of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.
"The Holy Spirit is the uncreated Immaculate Conception, and Mary is the created Immaculate Conception.  She is perfectly united to the Holy Spirit, because she was conceived without sin, never sinned, and always does the will of God perfectly.  She allows the Holy Spirit to overshadow her, take possession of her soul, and bear fruit through her."

This is sound theology which has a parallelism in one of Christ's teachings/parables:
"Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." (Matthew 9:17)

Jesus Christ, being pure and unblemished, had to be borne by a similarly pure and unblemished vessel.

MILITIA
Fr. Michael says:
"Kolbe recognized that the greatest way to give glory to God is to unite oneself to the creature who glorifies God most perfectly, Mary Immaculate.  He also realized that the way to give God the greatest glory is not to do so just as one person, but to have a whole army of people who give God the greatest glory."

Kolbe understood that, in order to build a militia, he needed to begin with himself and then inspire/infect others.

LOVE
"Kolbe was united to Mary through a dependence of love ...
By relying on her powerful intercession, experiencing her tender care, speaking to her from our hearts, letting ourselves be led by her, having recourse to her in all things, and trusting her completely."

Kolbe says:
"If you have the will to love, you already give a proof that you love.  What counts is the will to love.  External feeling is also a fruit of grace, but it does not always follow the will.  Sometimes, my dear ones, the thought, a sad longing, as if a plea or a complaint, may occur to you: 'Does the Immaculata still love me?'  Most beloved children!  I tell you all and each one individually, in her name, she loves every one of you.  She loves you very much and at every moment with no exception.  This ... I repeat for you in her name."

 

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 29

This is the final stretch of the 33-day retreat.

To wrap-up on Louis de Montfort's consecration principles, Fr. Michael sums it up in 3 Words:  (1) Passion; (2) Baptism; and (3) Gift.

PASSION
St. Louis inherited his father's temper -"unholy anger", which Mary transformed into a "holy fire" (This is properly channeled passion.  They say passionate people are people who possess an excess of energy) through the grace of the Holy Spirit. According to him, when the Holy Spirit finds a soul united to Mary, "He flies there. He enters there in His fullness; He communicates Himself to that soul abundantly and to the full extent to which it makes room for His spouse."

BAPTISM
Fr. Michael says:
"At Baptism, we are transformed into members of the Body of Christ, made into "other Christs".
Baptism also has to do with the Holy Spirit ... because it was the Holy Spirit who first formed Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit who continues to form other Christs - the members of Christ's Body - at every Baptism.
Baptism isn't the end; it's a marvelous beginning, a gloriously new morning.
Mary's whole goal is to lead us to Christ and to bring us to the point where we can say with St. Paul, "It is no longer I that live but Christ." (Galatians 2:20).  The whole goal of true devotion to Mary is our ongoing, post-baptismal transformation in Christ."

GIFT
Once we are able to give ourselves completely to Mary, then the consecration is transformed into its full form - as a GIFT.

"We give her our sinful selves, and she gives us her Immaculate Heart.  We give her our own meager merits, and she not only augments and purifies them with her perfect love but gives us her infinitely greater merits and graces.  We become empty after having given her all, and she fills us with the Spirit of God.  She cares for our family, friends and loved ones on our behalf - even better than we ourselves can.  She anticipates our needs and orders every detail of our lives for the greater glory of God.  The path of holiness with her is 'a path of roses and honey' compared to walking it without being consecrated to her."

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 28

From Pope John Paul II's prayer at Fatima - a year after he was shot:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
It was precisely by reason of this love that the Son of God consecrated himself for all mankind: "And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth." (John 17:19)

They say there is no problem too big for God.  There is also no sin too grave for God's merciful Love. Jesus freely chose to consecrate Himself and offer Himself as sacrifice for the love of man.  For us!  That's how much He loves us.

And there is no one who knows and understands this merciful Love more intimately than Mary. John Paul II says, she knows it "more than any other heart in the whole universe, visible and invisible." Therefore, there is no reason for us not "to accept her motherly help to return to the source of Redemption."  We should, in fact, jump at the offer!

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 27

Jesus had entrusted Mary and John to each other - with John representing all of humanity.   The appropriate response to this entrustment is summarized in the subsequent text:  "And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home." (John 9:27).  This does not only mean bringing Mary into our physical home, but also, more importantly, letting her into our inner and spiritual home.

"... entrusting is the response to a person's love, and in particular to the love of a mother."

John Paul II describes it as: "Entrusting himself to Mary in a filial manner, the Christian. like the Apostle John, "welcomes" the Mother of Christ "into his own home" and her into everything that makes up his inner life, that is to say into his human and Christian "I": he "took her into his own home."

In  so doing, Jesus brings us "closer to Himself by giving us to the one who is closest to Him, the same one who directs everything to Him, 'Do whatever He tells you'."

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 26

Mary's journey towards full understanding of her role in God's plan culminates at the foot of the cross, when Jesus presents her to John as his mother; and presents John to her as her son.  The endorsement is punctuated by Mary's transformation: 

"This new motherhood of Mary is the fruit of the 'new' love which came to definitive maturity in her at the foot of the Cross, through her sharing in the redemptive love of her Son.  This new love actually causes a transformation in Mary's motherhood such that she burns even more with love for all those for whom Jesus suffered and died." (Pope John Paul II)

Fr. Michael stresses one important point, which is a truth I can personally attest to:  "Mary's new motherhood is not some vague or abstract sort of thing.  It's concrete and personal.  And even though it's universal, it's also intensely particular. In short:  Mary is uniquely, particularly, personally your mother, and she doesn't lose us in the crowd."  Words cannot express how real this is for me and it has been so ever since I could remember.

"Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood." (Pope John Paul II)

The Pope also draws our attention to a very subtle parallelism -

• Jesus's birth was triggered by Mary's "Yes" at the Annunciation when the Holy Spirit overshadowed her.
• In the same way, the Church's birth was triggered by Mary's presence and prayer vigil on the eve of and Pentecost day itself.

John Paul II comments, "We see Mary prayerfully imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her at the Annunciation ... Mary is the 'discreet yet essential presence' that indicates the path of 'birth from the Holy Spirit' first at the Annunciation and now at the birth of the Church."

Reflecting on it, I realize, this makes absolute sense. Afterall, she is the spouse of the Holy Spirit.

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 25

Today we meditate upon one of my favorite passages where Mary figures in - The Wedding at Cana. 

"They have no wine."/ "They are out of wine."

This simple statement of Mary, directed to Jesus, encompasses important aspects of her motherhood:

1. "[It is] a new kind of motherhood according to the spirit and not just according to the flesh, that is to say Mary's solicitude for human beings, her coming to them in the wide variety of their wants and needs." (Pope John Paul II). Note, that no one came to her and told her about the wine.  She noticed that it was running out. In the same way that mothers are attuned and seem to have a 6th sense for their children's needs, Mary has always been solicitous to our needs --- even before we ask.
2. "She puts herself in the middle, that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as Mother." (Pope John Paul II).  This is something I can very much relate to, since our mom does this --- a lot.  She used to act as our lawyer to Papa whenever we needed (or wanted) something which he might likely turn down.  She also does that among us siblings.  And she does it in the same style as Mary - without really asking, just stating the need.  That way she does not impose but leaves it up to us to decide what we will do about it.  The asking is implied.  And, most of the time, it's hard (close to impossible, in fact) to say "No" to her.
3. "As a Mother she also wishes the messianic power of her Son to be manifested, that salvific power of his which is meant to help man ..." (Pope John Paul II).  Those who have the capacity to help do want to help and are often looking for ways to do so.  Moreso for Jesus.  When Mary acts as mediatrix, she is merely matching supply and demand.  Her Son has the power to help us and so she brings our needs to Him.  You know how mothers always seem to "show off" their children's special talents or achievements?  That's how Mary is with Jesus's messianic power.

"Do whatever He tells you."

This statement is as loaded as the first one.

1. "The Mother of Christ presents herself as the spokeswoman of her Son's will, pointing out those things which need to be done so that the salvific power of the Messiah may be manifested." (Pope John Paul II). Think about it this way. You are a commoner who wants an audience with the King so you can bring his attention to your specific need or request.  You go through the Queen to ask her help in getting you an audience with the King.  It's the same with Mary.  She does not "answer" our prayers, but she brings us to Jesus and tell us to follow His will.  She points us towards Jesus. Thus, "Mary's role is wholly oriented to Christ."  She is the compass that points us towards the North Star.
2. "At Cana Mary appears as believing in Jesus." (Pope John Paul II). The statement was an act of faith from Mary even though Jesus's initial reply to her was "Woman what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." Obviously, she knew that Jesus's compassionate heart would do what is right ... and that He cannot turn her down.  She pulled the "Mother" card on Him!
3. "Her faith evokes His first sign and helps to kindle the faith of the disciples." (Pope John Paul II). Mary knew the disciples needed a little bit of help to believe so they can take that leap of faith.  Once again, this shows how attuned Mary is to each one of us.  She does not only know our needs but understands who we are deep down.

It is also worth noting, that Mary's intercession at Cana fast-tracked Jesus's "hour". Did Jesus not say that his "hour" has not yet come? And yet He acted ... on Mary's silent prodding. (Boom!)
 

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 24

Today's material is so rich, starting with an important point from John Paul II:

"For it must be recognized that before anyone else it was God Himself, the Eternal Father, who entrusted Himself to the Virgin of Nazareth, giving her His own Son in the mystery of the Incarnation."

Boom!

The second point  is that "like us, Mary needed to walk by faith while pondering in her heart." 

God had never revealed to us the full blueprint of our lives.  He reveals to us in increments easily digestible for us and never more than we need to know at a time. Why? Because His ways are so profound that revealing His entire plan will only manage to confuse us.  Because we fail to appreciate the intricate details of a story, rushing through it carelessly, when we already know the ending; sometimes we even choose not to read it all.  Because the beauty of Free Will is in being able to use it freely ... without being influenced by some sort of inception trickery.  

It was the same with Mary. God's plan unfolded for her as she continued on saying "Yes" - freely. 

There were two particularly troublesome verses for me in the Gospels and Fr. Michael clarifies them to be pivotal instances when God's plan for Mary was being revealed to her by her Son:

1. "Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)  Jesus was not being mean or disrespectful to His mother.  "He was revealing to her the new filial bond of the kingdom that goes beyond the bonds of the flesh.  In other words, he was pointing out the primacy of the spirit to the flesh, the primacy of the supernatural Fatherhood of God to the natural fatherhood (or motherhood) of man ... Jesus was not rejecting her but rather preparing her."
2. ^"While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Luke 11:27-28) Jesus was not rebuking Mary.  "After all, who heard the word of God and kept it better than Mary? Nobody.  Thus, Jesus is actually blessing His mother," who, if we really think about it, was his first disciple.

 

 

 

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 23

Mama Mary likely didn't understand the full extent of what she said "Yes" to on that day Angel Gabriel made the announcement to her. And, I am sure, she was aware that there was more to it that meets the eye. Still, she decided to say "Yes", surrendering her life completely to God's Will. Throughout her life, as God's plan unfolded, she said "Yes" again and again and again --- even during the difficult times of Christ's passion, witnessing her Son's sufferings and unable to protect Him.  And she remains true to her "Yes" at the foot of the cross, when she assumed motherhood for all mankind.

"This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect."

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 22

I am especially excited about this week's readings because these deal with the Marian philosophies of St. Pope John Paul II.

It begins with his life's theme: "Totus tuus ego sum, Maria" (I am completely yours, Maria).

On May 13, 1981, the 64th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions, the Pope was shot twice.  One shot ricocheted inside him, damaging his intestines and colon - but missing (by 1/10 of an inch!) the main artery, which would have caused him to bleed to death in minutes.  Trusting that his life was in Mama Mary's hands, he said "One hand fired, and another guided the bullet."

The whole incident triggered the Pope to go through the envelope which contained the last secret of Fatima, recalling that it mentioned about a pope getting shot.  He was able to piece what the message meant and followed the precepts for the consecration of the world and Russia - leading to the end of its regime five years later.

He forgave the gunman.

And amplified the act with the following prayer during his entrustment of the world to Mary's Immaculate Heart:

"Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world the infinite saving power of the redemption: the power of merciful Love! May it put a stop to evil! May it transform consciences! May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of Hope!"

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 21

What is the purpose of consecrating to Mary?  To "be the one".

The Offertory verse (Psalm 68:21) for the Mass of the Feast of the Sacred Heart is one of the most compelling and painful calls to action from Jesus.  This verse sums up Jesus' thirst for love and for souls.

"My heart had expected reproach and misery.  And I looked for one that would grieve together with me, and there was none; and I sought one that would console me, and I found none."

Sniff!  If that does not compel you to do something, I don't know what will.  Doesn't that just make you want to scream (or sing), "Let me be the one!"

We respond to this in two-fold:

1. To console Jesus, the Head of His Mystical Body - "By being apostles of joy, which means "to console Jesus through joy ..." Mother Teresa addresses this through her three key virtues: total surrender to God, loving trust, and perfect cheerfulness."
2. To console Jesus in the members of His Body - "By recognizing their thirst.  Everyone thirsts: rich and poor, young and old, believer and unbeliever.  Everyone has a restless heart for God, for man is a restless thirst.  To console Jesus in others is to respond to their suffering, especially to that deepest, most universal suffering:  the thirst for love.  We should respond to this thirst in others not with indifference but with a gentle smile that says, 'I delight that you exist, and I, too, understand the pain of your thirst'."  

This is the same constant battlecry by Pope Francis:

"Only when we too can cry about the things you said can we come close to answering that question ... Dear young boys and girls, today’s world doesn’t know how to cry ... Those who are discarded are crying. But we don’t understand much about these people in need. Certain realities of life we only see through eyes cleansed by our tears." - Empathy that moves us to concrete positive action.

Mother Teresa explains:

"The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards one's neighbor ... [P]eople today are hungry for love, for understanding love which is much greater and which is the only answer to loneliness and great poverty."

I end with a conversation from a book I read more than a couple of years ago - A Wind in the Door.

Progo:  "... if you've been assigned to me, I suppose you must be some kind of a Namer, too, even if a primitive one."

Meg: "Well, then, if I'm a Namer, what does that mean?  What does a Namer do?"

Progo:  "When I was memorizing the names of the stars, part of the purpose was to help them each to be more particularly the particular star each one was supposed to be.  That's basically a Namer's job.  Maybe you're supposed to make earthlings feel more human."

Meg: "What's that supposed to mean?"

Progo: "Love. That's what makes persons know who they are.  You're full of love, Meg, but you don't know how to stay within it when it's not easy."

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 20

The 2nd aspect of Mother Teresa's consecration prayer is indeed a union-like alignment of hearts.  It is a consecration covenant.

To understand what this means to Mother Teresa, we need to understand their Albanian culture of  "besa" - which is very similar to our Filipino "palabra de honor".  She explains it in this manner:

"[Besa] means even if you have killed my father and the police are after you, if I have given you my word, then even if the police kill me, still I will not disclose your name."

I like how Scott Hahn, scripture scholar, distinguishes a contract from a covenant:

"[A] major difference between contracts and covenants may be discovered in their very distinctive forms of exchange.  A contract is an exchange of property in the form of goods and services ('That is mine and this is yours'); whereas a covenant calls for the exchange of persons ("I am yours and you are mine"), creating a shared bond of interpersonal communion."

Similar to a marital covenant (ideally!) where husband and wife enjoy each other's "self-giving love", they also have the obligation to take care of each other "through thick and thin", "through good times and bad."  That is the kind of consecration covenant Mary offers and maybe even better - more than just a two-way street relationship, it is a deeper, more complete union of hearts and souls.

Thus, when we are consecrated to Mary, we can walk confidently knowing that, even without asking, she will take care of our every need and concerns - because, having been united with her, our concerns become her concerns as well.

"... when we give Mary our "yes", she begins to arrange all the events and details of our lives in such beautiful, tender, and loving ways."

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 19

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."

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 18

Mother Teresa's 2 Simple Prayers:

1. "Lend me your heart"
2. "Keep me in your most pure heart"

Lend Me Your Heart

Simply put, it means:  "Mary, help me to love with the perfect love of your Immaculate Heart." Expanded, it means: "Mary, lend us your heart.  Bring us the Spirit.  Pray that our hardened hearts would burn with love for Jesus.  Help set our hearts on fire with love for Him"

This 1st prayer is essentially active love in Mary's fashion.

Keep Me In Your Most Pure Heart

"Immaculate Heart of Mary, keep me in your most pure heart, so that I may please Jesus through you, in you, and with you."

This is not yet fully explained.  But, for me, this 2nd prayer feels like a union-like alignment of hearts ... and a total surrender.

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 17

It is important to understand Jesus' love for us and His immense thirst for love and souls.  And Mother Teresa said, "If Our Lady had not been with me that ay, I never would have known what Jesus meant when He said, 'I thirst.' ... Her role is to bring you face to face, as John and Magdalen, with the love in the heart of Jesus crucified."

There is a saying, "Mother knows best."  And it's true.  I find myself saying that to my son a lot lately, when he tries to get out of a sticky situation and failing miserably.  Because I know him really well, every mannerism, every intonation. It is no different with Mama Mary and Jesus.  That is why she is the best person to help us understand Jesus, His deep love and His will for us.

 

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 16

Mother Teresa's letter to her Missionaries of Charity on March 25, 1993 feels like a love letter directly from Jesus.

"Jesus wants me to tell you again ... how much love He has for each one of you - beyond all you can imagine. I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus - one to one - you and Jesus alone ... Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you?  Ask for the grace, He is longing to give it. Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying "I thirst" in the hearts of the poor. Never give up this daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living person - not just the idea.  How can we last even one day without hearing Jesus say "I love you" - impossible.  Our soul needs that as much as the body needs to breathe the air.
Be careful of all that can block that personal contact with the living Jesus.  The Devil may try to use the hurts of our life, and sometimes our own mistakes - to make you fell it is impossible that Jesus really loves you, is really cleaving to you ... He loves you always, even when you don't feel worthy.  When not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes - He is the one who will always accept you.  My children, you don't have to be different for Jesus to love you. Only believe - you are precious to Him.  Bring all you are suffering to His feet - only open your heart to be loved by Him as you are.  He will do the rest ...
You all know in your mind that Jesus loves you - but in this letter Mother wants to touch your heart instead ... That is why I ask you to read this letter before the Blessed Sacrament, the same place it was written, so Jesus Himself can speak to you each one.
... Hear your name.  Not just once. Everyday.  If you listen with your heart, you will hear, you will understand.
... "I thirst" is something much deeper than Jesus just saying "I love you". Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you - you can't begin to know who He wants to be for you.  Or who He wants you to be for Him.
... [Our Lady] was the first person to hear Jesus' cry "I Thirst" with St. John, and I am sure Mary Magdalen ... Her role is to bring you face to face ... with the love in the Heart of Jesus crucified ... "listen to Jesus' thirst."
... He knows your weakness, He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you.  He is not bound by time ... Hear Him.  Hear your own name.  Make my joy and yours complete."

"Hear your own name" - because Jesus does not seek to be loved in general.  He seeks to be loved by each one of us - in the same way that we want to be loved by the people we love.  Until we give in to that love; to love Him; and allow Him to love us - our joy will not be complete.  It won't be any other human person who has the capacity to complete us (Jerry Maguire's wife got it wrong - but the theme song did, somehow), but only Jesus.

 

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 15

"... the burning thirst of Jesus for love and for souls ... "

These words and the spiritual darkness that plagued Mother Teresa of Calcutta were what struck me in today's readings.

1. I knew Jesus thirsted for souls, to save souls.  But I never really thought about His burning thirst for love. Surely, millions of people love Him, plus the amazingly selfless love from priests and religious must, more or less, compensate for those who choose to turn away from Him.  And then it hit me.  Of course, he is thirsting for love!  He is connected to each of us and feels our every suffering.  That He is burning for love means that there are many people going through life alone and unloved; that, despite the many advances in technology which promise to keep us all connected, we are all still grossly unconnected.  Technology can never replace actual human warmth and presence. "Likes" do not change anything.
2. Mother Teresa experienced years of "such terrible darkness" in her soul "as if everything was dead". She later on understood, with the help of a priest, that she was in fact experiencing a small part of Christ's sufferings.  This must be why she so feverishly worked on easing the pain and suffering of the most marginalized and forgotten population of Calcutta.  She was working to assuage "the burning thirst of Jesus for love and for souls".
3. And what about us? Don't we all experience bouts or waves of unexplained loneliness and darkness (outside of the usual hormonal shifts for women), too, at some point in our lives?  This is because we are all connected;  thus, in some remote corner of our hearts, is also that "burning thirst for love" which cries out to be satiated.  One day SOON we will have to get out there and do something proactively; else, the emptiness will gnaw at us from the inside.

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 14

Why strive to be an instrument of Mary?  Because she is God's primary instrument ...

"... use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: "She will crush your head," and, "You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world ... For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus."

There is no cause more worthy of our full engagement and commitment and requiring a full armor of God's graces, than to "crush [Satan's] head".

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 13

"Well, if people can give themselves over to Satan to be possessed by him and be his instruments of evil, why can't people give themselves over to God to be possessed by him and be his instruments of love?" (St. Maximilian Kolbe)

Boom!

And who is God's primary instrument during these times?  Yes, Mama Mary. Let us plug into Mary, so that we can start playing the role we were meant to play:  a saint --- not the passive kind, but the active kind, like the Knights of the Immaculata who

" ... seek ... to belong to her in an ever more perfect way and under every aspect without any exception ... so that they may enlighten, reinvigorate and set on fire the souls living in their environment, and make them similar to themselves."

In Day 12's reflection, I noted that Mama Mary is a source of God's graces.  By plugging ourselves onto her, we act as extensions of that source, making it possible to reach more people faster.

To be possessed by Mary is to be her instrument.  Let us allow ourselves to be grace to everyone so that we "touch more lives, more meaningfully everyday" (P&G - hehehe!).

33 Days to Morning Glory: Day 12

I discovered reading in grade school.  I devoured everything I could get my hands on, including stories about saints.  One of them was St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

When she was a child, she told her father that her name was written in the stars.  As a nun, she was vocal about wanting to be a saint:  "God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized, so in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint."  I thought, then, there is nothing wrong with hoping.  "Shoot for the moon ... and you'll land among the stars." (Of course, we know that stars are farther than the moon, but that's beside the point).

Then I grew up ... and the hope gave way to "what is practical".

BUT, I realized, that, of course, it is God's will for each of us to be saints.  Duh! It is, therefore, not an impossibly ambitious dream, but a totally achievable one!  And Kolbe provides us with a simple formula to achieve just that:  W + w = Sanctity.  Where:  W = God's Will and w = our wills. This means that when our wills align with God's will, we reach sanctity.

Said differently, it is God's Will for us to be saints.  We should, therefore, will ourselves to be saints. (Hehehe!)

Otherwise, it's going to feel like swimming against the current.  Might as well kick back and let the current take you where it wills.

"As God wills, so be it.  In this thought, all happiness is contained, already here on earth, all destiny fulfilled ..."

Easier said than done ... especially when God's will seem to be pushing you towards undesirable channels ... or waterfalls.  Nope.  Not easy.

... Unless we plug ourselves onto the one person who is completely linked to God's will, Mama Mary.  Did I mention that she is also the number one pusher and dealer of God's graces, having unlimited access to them?  Who else should you go to, right?

"To be one in will with Mary of the great fiat, the only human being whose will has never deviated by her choice from God's, is to be perfectly united to the will of God.  And it is this alignment of your will with his that is the pressing business of your life."