“Near the cross stood his mother. Speechless: living she died: dying she lived.” (Saint Alphonsus Liguori).
Saint Alphonsus Liguori said, “Near the cross stood His Mother. Speechless: living she died: dying she lived.”
And I have been reflecting on that paradox while I have been reflecting on humility and thinking about the humble heart.
You see, it takes great humility to actually and practically accept the Holy Will of God! Often in my life I imagine myself accepting God’s will like the holiest of the saints. I imagine my peace and fervour amid the storm. I imagine my joy at knowing that I am fulfilling God’s Holy Will, no matter the difficulties…
But, what I have found is that the actual practical application of my acceptance of the Divine Will – the way that accepting God’s Will in real life – is quite another thing altogether.
You see, it is one thing to accept God’s will when what is being asked is clearly what God wants for me. And it is quite another thing altogether to accept His Holy Will when it comes hidden under a cloak for evil, injustice or simple inefficiency…
For, what I have come to realise, is that God’s will has bever really exposed itself to me in my life with shining lights and choirs of angels. Rather, every single time God has wished for me to do something in accordance with His Holy Will, He has sent me the message cloaked in injustice, disappointment, and sorrow. Never have I had a vision or a revelation where I could clearly see God’s own Hand in what I must do.
And I have been thinking about that over the last few days as I have been thinking about Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s words… “Near the cross stood His Mother. Speechless: living she died: dying she lived.”
For it was much the same with the Blessed Virgin – Queen of Heaven and Earth… Sure, she received a visit by the Angel who asked for her FIAT in accepting the will of God and conceiving His Son and she saw that Angel with her HUMAN EYES. But that was pretty much it for her… For the rest of her life, Our Blessed Mother accepted God’s will with the eyes of FAITH rather than with her human eyes…
When she was forced to travel to Bethlehem to give birth to God Himself, she accepted God’s Will. When she had to escape Herod to protect her Son, in the middle of the night based on her husband’s dream, she accepted God’s Will. When her Precious Son – who was only to be with her for such a short time – left her behind to start His public ministry, she accepted God’s Will (only joining Him when she could). And when God the Son was arrested, unjustly judged, scourged, crowned with thorns and crucified – suffering and dying in front of her very eyes – she “stood… Speechless…” accepted God’s will (Saint Moses the Black).
And I have been thinking about that acceptance – because that really is the true expression of faith! For with Faith we see God’s will with the eyes of our soul, even when it comes to us smothered in evil and injustice – for Faith means that we KNOW that God turns all things to the GOOD. And Our Blessed Mother knew that. She lived it – even standing at the foot of the cross.
And she could do that because she was PERFECTLY HUMBLE… And the Blessed Virgin, Queen of Heaven, understood that humility because she understood the later words of Saint Moses the Black who said, “You fast, but Satan does not eat. You labour fervently, but Satan never sleeps. The only dimension in which you can outperform Satan is by acquiring humility – for Satan has no humility.”
And when I consider the words of Saint Lucia of Fatima who said, “From now on we are either with God or with the Devil, there is no middle ground.” I can finally understand the importance of the Blessed Virgin to my soul…
For She reflects the perfect humility of God, and it is ONLY with such humility that I shall be able to see with the eyes of my soul, for it is the HUMBLE soul that shall merit eternal life. Only the humble soul…
And how I pray that the Blessed Virgin would make me humble. How I pray for that…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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