The Handmaid of the Lord.

The mother of our new Priest came to spend a week in the Parish.   I went to the Parish Office for a few minutes and on my return I saw about a dozen women surrounding her and asking her questions and sometimes interrupting one another.     She was the mother and she could answer so many questions about her son.

This was probably the life of Mary when Jesus began his ministry.   When she appeared on the scene people would have approached her and asked the questions about his background his infancy and so many other things they wanted to know and only a mother could provide the answers.   After the crucifixion Mary became even more of a resource for the disciples when they tried to see the mind of Jesus in whatever they did.   She was there with the disciples in the Upper Room as they waited for the Holy Spirit, probably surrounded by the disciples just like the mother of our Parish Priest.    Her wisdom and insight into the future was invaluable.    And questions about what Jesus taught and meant  would be confidently  answered.      She already had the Holy Spirit while the others awaited his coming.

As the  young Church progressed Mary was still there for many years with her wisdom and encouragement.    She spent her life in prayer but also revisited the Manger in Bethlehem , the house in Nazareth where she, Jesus and Joseph were so happy as a loving family.   She would also go to the hill on Calvary where Jesus was sacrificed.    In the later years she spent with John she would have had many visitors surrounding her and when a disciple needed advice she was always there for him.    As she prepared for death many came to her simple abode to be with her at that hour.    It is said that the Angel Gabriel appeared to her to tell her that she was soon to die.  She longed for death so much for then she would be united to her Son again.   Her reply was what she had  said to Gabriel so many years before "Behold the Handmaid of the Lord"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Translation of Luke 1: 28 in the Latin Vulgate by St Jerome.

.......et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit have gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus..... If indeed we are to have a Year of the Bible and indeed praise St Jerome, as indeed he deserves to be praised, for translating the texts approved by the Church into Latin, the language of the Mass, then surely we should check what the Latin says according to St Jerome before we rush into translating into other languages.    In this case translating  from the Gospel of Luke, St Jerome wrote the above, which translates  "..and entering the angel said to her 'Hail full of grace the Lord is with you and blessed are you among women".   Now you do not have to be a scholar to realise that this means much more than 'highly favoured'.   So why I ask myself does the translation we read in our Catholic Church at the gospel read 'highly favoured' rather than 'full of grace'  Why is this important?   Because if she was born 'full of grace' t
Read more

FAIR AS THE MOON, BRIGHT AS THE SUN, TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY SET IN BATTLE ARRAY

'Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array'. The above quote will be familiar to only a few Catholics today,   It was once on the lips of members of the Legion of Mary which was present in many parishes.    Fair as the moon and bright as the sun certainly describes Our Lady of Fatima but who exactly is meant by 'terrible as an army set in battle array?'   Certainly Our Lady appeared to ask us to pray for the conversion of sinners many of who were going to Hell for their sins as forewarned by her Son Jesus when he preachedHis Gospel.  Often we are trying and feel we are succeeding in living good lives when suddenly everything goes wrong  Like St Paul we often do the things we do not want to do rather than those that we want to do.   It is because we are involved in a war between Good and Evil and we are the children of Mary that the red Dragon wishes to devour in Revelations 12    We
Read more

The meaning of 'virgo Immaculata'

Image
As you will see from the stained glass window the name given to the image is Virgo Immaculata.   Mary was the virgin who remained sinless and spotless.  Yes she would have been tempted by Satan, but as the image shows she kept close to God in prayer and all the wiles of Satan, the forbidden fruit he offered, depictdd by the apple, ended up stuck in his throat while the right foot of Mary crushed his head. "I will put enmity between Thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed", God tole the serpent in Genesis   Satan was no match for Jesus who was God made Man but he had overcome a mere mortal before in Eve, What a triumph it would have been to destroy she whom Jesus loved above al others - his mother.   But Mary kept close to Jesus and to God, the new Eve, and mother of the new children that the death of Jesus brought into being.    And as Revelations 12 tells us having failed to destroy the birth of Jesus Satan  went after her other children - us.       When
Read more