“As the mother knows the needs better than the babe, so the Blessed Mother understands our cries and worries and knows them better than we know ourselves.” (Venerable Fulton Sheen).
The other day I was speaking to a dear friend who told me that one of her children had recently been diagnosed with a serious medical condition that would have a very significant and extensive implications on his life.
During our conversation, my friend spoke very much about her experience of grief in coming to terms with the implications of her son’s recent diagnosis and while I listened to her words, I heard her love and acceptance of her son – not only despite his special needs – but BECAUSE of them!
And I have been reflecting on this experience of my dear friend, because it reminds me very much of the experience of the Blessed Virgin – Our Blessed Mother – through her role as Mother of God, Mother of the Church and most particularly through her role as my Mother… You see, when Our Blessed Mother consented to be the Mother of God, she – like my dear friend – was called to accept and love her Child not only despite His special needs but BECAUSE of them…
And it is no sacrilege to acknowledge that God the Son had special needs. True – He is ALL PERFECT, but EQUALLY TRUE – that PERFECTION comes with its own set of extra special needs. He needed extra protection as an infant, which is why the Holy Family moved so quickly from Bethlehem to Egypt to Nazareth. As a Man He needed time and energy to devote to His public ministry, which is why Our Blessed Mother was poor and homeless for most of her life – following her Blessed Son in His ministry. And as God He had special needs – to suffer and die on the Cross so that He could rise again and ascend into Heaven…
Just think about what it was that Our Blessed Mother consented to when she consented to be the Mother of God, during the Annunciation… She was consenting to give birth to a Child who would be poor and misunderstood – she was consenting to witness the PERSECUTION of her Child. She was consenting to give birth to a Child who would suffer and die – she was consenting to witness the DEATH of her Child. And this means that she was consenting to give birth to a Child she would never understand – not fully – and she did this with an OPEN heart, pondering all these mysteries in the silence of her Immaculate Heart…
Venerable Fulton Sheen said, “Every child is an arrow shot out of the bow of its mother, but its target is God. Children have come through mothers, but they do not belong to them. Mary acknowledges this claim of divinity on her Child by presenting Him back again to God, as she offers the temple of His Body in the temple made by hands. Mary here anticipated the joy of every mother who brings her child to the baptismal font, where God may claim His own. But in the case of Mary the Child was claimed for sacrifice... She was the only mother who ever brought a life into the world to die.”
And this is a confronting revelation – because it proves to us how magnificent a creation this Queen of Heaven really is… You see, in accepting and loving her Blessed Son BECAUSE of His special needs, she accepts and loves us – as Mother of the Church and our Mother – in the same way… And it is this acceptance that astounds me!
You see, Our Blessed Mother loves us as she loves Her Son… She is the most wonderful Mother ever created, because she was created for the Son of God Himself. And it is through her wonderful Motherhood that Our Blessed Mother accepts my special needs – and yours. You see – through her consent to be the Mother of the PERFECT MAN and SINLESS God, she also consented to be the Mother of the Church and all the sinful souls that fill it… In fact, she consented to love – with her wonderful Mother’s love – every single soul and through this love, she consented to accept our autonomy – our choice to love and adore God but also our choice to reject God and damn ourselves… In other words, not only did she consent to witness her Beloved Son’s suffering and death, but she also consented to bear the grief of the eternal death of Hell for all the poor sinners who are damned there…
And she does this for love of us because her consent made her a vessel of the Love of God… Because “As the mother knows the needs better than the babe, so the Blessed Mother understands our cries and worries and knows them better than we know ourselves.” (Venerable Fulton Sheen).
And in understanding my own special needs caused by my sinful state, the Queen of Heaven consents to love miserable little me! And she loves me compassionately even seeing the sinner that I am… For how she pities my weakness in failing to adore her Blessed Son as He should be adored.
How my Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart loves and pities me…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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