<http://www.mariedenazareth.com/1062.0.html?&L=1>Mary's Help at the Time of Death "Woman, behold your son, son behold your mother” What gave the disciple whom Jesus loved the right to be son of the Lord’s mother? What right did she have to be John’s mother? She gave birth to the cause of our salvation She gave birth - and at that time without pain - to the cause of our salvation, since the only begotten Son of the Father was born from her own flesh. And then she gave birth with real suffering, standing at the foot of the Cross. The Lord himself compared the Apostles at the time of the Passion to a woman giving birth, by saying: "A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a human being has been born into the world” (Jn 16: 21). Indeed, this Son had all the more reason to compare Mary, this Mother standing at the foot of the Cross, to a woman in childbirth. Do I really mean to say compare? Yes I do, because Mary is truly a woman and truly a mother and, at that hour her pain was really like giving birth. She didn't have pain like other women when Jesus was born; but there at the Cross she was crucified, she suffered as in childbirth, because her time had come... At the time of the Cross, Mary gave birth to the New Man who renews the entire human race When that time had passed, when that sword of pain had fully pierced through her parturient soul… Mary no longer recalled the anguish, because Man was born into the world: The New Man who renews the entire human race and obtained the reign over the world. By born I mean to say having become the impassible and immortal First-Born among the dead. If the Virgin gave birth to our salvation through her only Son's Passion, she truly is the mother of all of us. For a mother to see her son dying is something terrible that stirs up all the love contained in her heart. But Our Lady, says John, remained standing; unshakeable in her faith she took part more than ever in the salvation of humankind. Unwavering in her hope, she awaited the resurrection of her Son; and especially steadfast in her love she was able to accept everything as God's will. Ultimately, the Blessed Virgin was perfectly right because the tragedy of Calvary became, by the Lord's power, a spiritual childbirth: "Behold your Mother!” Because Our Lady lived in the faith with great hope and love, she truly became the mother of mankind at the time of her Son’s death. Faced with trials, let us remember the Blessed Virgin and ask her to give us her faith, because our own is often not strong enough to cope. For us too, trials will come one day or another and even if they haven't come yet, they probably will. The ordeal, even predictable, is always sharp, sudden and disconcerting, and it's usually better not to anticipate the moment. It never happens as expected. So before the event, wherever it comes from, remember the Virgin Mary and ask her to give us her faith, because our own is often not strong enough to cope. Mary’s faith tells us that suffering is fruitful, that suffering always carries light and life, for us first of all, for all of those who are entrusted to us, and for the whole Church. At the time of trials we need to hold on to this conviction. Perhaps one day you will experience the truth and understand Saint Paul’s words in the Letter to the Galatians (6:14): “But as for me, it is out of the question that I should boast at all, except of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” The Virgin's faith, her faith at the Annunciation, the Visitation, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Cana, the Calvary or Pentecost, is always the same faith, but lived in different manners. That faith could be defined as faith in God’s gift as described by Saint John (3:16): For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son... This is Mary's faith. She believed in God's only Son: Jesus Christ. Let us ask Mary for this sublime gift of faith; this gift, more than anything else, will allow us to become like her, because in that way God's Word, who became incarnate in her womb, will live in us. This gift will lead us from the twilight of this present life to the dawn of eternal day. Let us ask for the grace, at the hour of our death, of Our Lady’s prayers, the One of whom God himself said, “Behold your Mother,” so that through her we may one day be peacefully born to eternal life. __________________ <4712.0.htm>Father Henri <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the Kingdom!<*}}}>< Prayer for Unborn Life: O GOD OF LIFE AND LOVE, You have given us the gift to participate with You to bring new life into the world. But, all too often, the mother's womb, which should be a nursery of life, becomes instead a place of it's destruction. Help us to remove this evil and ensure respect for all life made in Your image and likeness, called to fulfill its promise on this earth, and destined to find a home with you for all eternity. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Our God, Our Savior, and Our ALL. Amen. <http://holypostage.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=37> Christmas Postage from HolyPostage.com <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the Kingdom!<*}}}>< --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Catholics on Fire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
