By Mary Morrell
Columnist
Life’s surprises often require Mary’s faith
The promises of the Lord I will sing forever, proclaim your loyalty through all ages. For you said, “My love is established forever; my loyalty will stand as long as the heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen one . . .” — Psalm 89
A funny thing happened after Mass today — funny and unexpected.
One of my good friends came to me and said, in whispered tones, “Is everything alright?” His question revolved around my husband.
“What do you mean by ‘alright?’” I questioned in return. “Are you asking about his health?”
“No,” he responded, offering hesitantly, “Someone told me that he was, well, in jail.”
I started laughing, “In jail? Well, not unless they came and took him out of bed after I left him this morning.”
Gossip is a very strange phenomenon indeed, taking on an unencumbered life of its own, and it is certainly not the first time my family has been at the center of some very bizarre stories.
My consolation has always rested with those who know us well enough to laugh along with us.
I imagine Mary had to deal with her share of gossip as well, much of it just the thoughtless ramblings of people who never considered the harm it may do, while others, with more malevolent hearts, proliferated scandal.
Dealing with the unexpected, whether it be illness, accidents, loss of a job or the fallout from some unbridled tongue, requires a certain presence of mind and peace of heart.
Mary is our model of both.
From that startling moment of the Annunciation, when the angel appeared to Mary to announce that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of God’s son, her life was profoundly full of the unexpected.
She dealt with it all by putting her faith unreservedly in God and her heart to prayer. In this way, Mary must be our model; Mary, whose titles include Help of Christians, Seat of Wisdom, Tower Unassailable, Mirror of Justice and Queen of Peace.
As it was for Mary, the most unexpected moment for us may be when God breaks into our lives and we become suddenly aware of what God is calling us to.
If we are to respond as Mary responded — so that the Prince of Peace may be born in our hearts and, subsequently, into our world through us — then we must pay heed to Mary’s words: “Do as He tells you.”
During the unexpected moments of our lives, we can, and we should, learn to lean on Mary, who experienced all of our struggles in her own life. She is a gift to us from a God who chose to embody God’s mercy in human form.
Priest author Marie-Dominique Philippe, O.P. says it with extraordinary beauty: “Mary is the masterpiece of God at the Cross. She is the masterpiece of God, of the Father, and the Holy Spirit, for us. The one who is given to us is the Woman, who is one with Jesus crucified. And she who is entirely turned towards Jesus is entirely turned towards us, and is given to each one of us in a unique way. We must receive her. We must ask the Holy Spirit to grant us a divine experience of the heart of Mary, who is our desert.”
May the fruit of our imitation of Mary, of our turning, like her, toward Christ, lead us to more frequent prayer so that we are able to face all the unexpected moments of our lives with peace and a heart that knows God.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law