Читать книгу Everyday Holiness - Carolyn Humphreys - Страница 9

C. S. Lewis wrote:

My own experience is something like this. I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary, contentedly fallen, and godless condition, absorbed in a merry meeting with my friends for the morrow or a bit of work that tickles my vanity today, a holiday or a new book, when suddenly a stab of abdominal pain that threatens serious disease, or a headline in the newspaper that threatens us all with destruction, sends this whole pack of cards tumbling down. At first, I am overwhelmed, and all my little happinesses look like broken toys. Then, slowly and reluctantly, bit by bit, I try to bring myself into the frame of mind that I should be in at all times. I remind myself that all these toys were never intended to possess my heart, that my true good is in another world and my only real treasure is Christ. And perhaps, by God’s grace, I succeed, and for a day or two become a creature consciously dependent on God and drawing its strength from the right sources. But the moment the threat is withdrawn, my whole nature leaps back to the toys. I am even anxious, God forgive me, to banish from my mind the only thing that supported me under the threat because it is now associated with the misery of those few days. Thus the terrible necessity of tribulation is only too clear. God has had me for but forty-eight hours and then only by dint of taking everything else away from me. Let him but sheathe that sword for a moment and I behave like a puppy when the hated bath is over—I shake myself as dry as I can and race off to reacquire my comfortable dirtiness, if not in the nearest manure heap, at least in the nearest flower bed. And that is why tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade or sees that our remaking is now hopeless.7

Does this scenario remind us of someone? With today’s continual development of new technological toys, people can become destructively self-absorbed. They neglect, or do not believe in, God. They live for the here and now, and their hope ends at the grave.

Hope is not wishful thinking or unfounded expectation. It embraces the plentitude of the present as well as the possibilities for the future. Hope is essential for taking appropriate risks that go beyond safety and security. Christian hope gives us confidence in the goodness and love of God, and in his ultimate triumph. Jesus suffered and we suffer; he died and we shall die; he struggled with good and evil in his forty days in the desert, and we struggle. So, despite the calamities the future holds, hope gives us the interior peace and strength to shoulder whatever comes our way. Christian hope is a blessed gift.

One day a young sister was walking with an older, seasoned sister in the convent garden. Feeling insecure about what God wanted her to do; she was asking the older sister for some advice. The older sister walked up to a rosebush, handed the young sister a rosebud and told her to open it without tearing off any petals. The young sister looked in disbelief at the older sister as she was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with wanting to know the will of God regarding her ministry. Because of her great respect for the older sister, she proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact. She quickly realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the younger sister’s inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older sister began to recite the following poem:

It is only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God’s design. But I cannot unfold the petals with these clumsy hands of mine. The secret of unfolding flowers is not known to such as I. God opens this flower so easily, but in my hands they die. If I cannot unfold a rosebud, this flower of God’s design. Then how can I have the wisdom to unfold this life of mine? So I’ll trust in God for leading each moment of my day. I will look to God for guidance in each step of the way. The path that lies before me only my Lord knows. I’ll trust God to unfold the moments, just as he unfolds the rose.

Hope helps us leave the flowers of our life in the hands of God. When Christians believe God is in control, hope springs eternal. There is an assurance that this is God’s world and he is more concerned about the people in it than they are. Hope is not a naive optimism, but rather a disposition that accepts challenges and suffering as a part of life. Although aware of character weaknesses and having no illusions about sin, a Christian is full of hope. The Christian way recognizes sin and does not despair because the Holy Spirit continues his work with each individual and leads him or her by the hand, very gently, toward the Father’s house.

Candlelight

A lighted candle often represents hope. When prayer seems as cold as ice or as dark as night, an individual can gaze at a candle flame. Candles come in different shapes and sizes. The large Paschal candle stands alight at Mass during the Easter season, at baptisms and at funerals. It represents the victorious Christ who leads his followers through their days and nights. There are Advent traditions of lighting a candle in the window to guide Mary and Joseph into one’s home, and lighting candles on the Advent wreath. Christmas candles celebrate Jesus’ birth and light the way for the wise men to come and see him. Lighted votive candles represent prayers. A simple candle flame is a brilliant symbol of hope. It keeps the chill of darkness at bay by giving us light and warmth. Like birds that sing in the dark before the dawn, flames are a reminder that the sun will rise. May these flames of hope always show the way to the flame in the Christian heart, which is a perpetual reminder of Christ the light.

It is in that holy moment

when the candlewick is snuffed

and the yellow halo grows

its black cord

that the warm wax works its

softness into us,

wraps its way around our hearts, like the climbing smoke

from the extinguished candlewick

up the staircase of air—

that moment of unmistakable nasality

of candle scent in chapel dark

that suffers us to realize

that we are to be trimmed to burn again.8

Christ Our Light

Christians live in the light because of the reassurance that Christ is risen and is directing the world to its final destiny. With Jesus’ help, fears are recognized, but they no longer dominate the days since there is strength in believing in Jesus and his promises. Death is the testament to, and final expression of, hope. Without hope in God, humankind will not reach its fullest potential. Teresa of Avila9 reminds us: “Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.” It should not be “I think, therefore I am” but rather, “I believe, therefore I always will be.” Herman Melville writes: “Hope is the struggle of the soul, breaking loose from what is perishable and attesting to her eternity.” Christians believe in the greatness and blessedness of eternity even though it is shrouded in mystery and only partially revealed. Yes, eternity has extraordinary descriptions, but while on earth, they can only be understood as fragments of a whole. Hope, rooted in faith, is the means by which a person trusts in God, and that God will grant eternal life as long as an individual abides by the tenants necessary to attain that life. It is essential to do what is required and to rely on God’s infinite goodness and promises in order to reach humanity’s ultimate destiny.

A Golden Thread

Hope is a thread that should be woven through a life, not simply stitched into occasional patches with a few cheery words or scattered good deeds. Hope sustains optimism, the belief that something better can be attained. In his Summa, Thomas Aquinas said that hope is an activity concerned with a future good that is difficult to accomplish, but that is capable of achieving, with the help of God. Hope puts all in the hands of God with confidence. To maintain hope when a situation appears to be hopeless takes strong faith. “But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isa 40:31).

A hope-filled soul lifts thoughts and aspirations to something beyond the physical or mental self. With confidence in God, new ways are found toward the positive and the good. Everything a person does impacts humanity in a positive or negative way. Hope is reflected in one’s thoughts, words and actions. Sweet are the graces that come from having an orientation of hope.

Gladys Aylward, a missionary to China more than fifty years ago, was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yuncheng. With only one assistant, she led a hundred orphans over the mountains toward free China. During the journey she grappled with fear. After passing a sleepless night she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. A thirteen year old girl in the group reminded her of their much loved story of Moses and the Red Sea. “But I am not Moses,” Gladys sighed in despair. “Of course you aren’t,” the girl said, “but God is still God!” When Gladys and the orphans made it through to freedom, they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, God is still God, and we can still trust him. Sometimes God calms the storm, other times he lets the storm rage and he calms us. Either way, he sustains us and brings us through. We always have a choice: either we give the burden to God or we try to carry it ourselves. How does God provide for us? One day at a time. Remember the Israelites in the wilderness? Each day God fed them by sending manna from heaven. Notice how it worked. The number of people in each family determined the amount of manna they received, no more and no less. And God would only enable them to collect enough for each day; hoarded manna rotted. Trust God for today and leave tomorrow in his hands. “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.”10

In His Heart

Faith can be called a gift of fire in the heart and hope has been called a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. Neither faith nor hope can exist without the other. Together they keep Christians moving on the spiritual journey. Without faith and hope alive within Christians, they cannot encourage faith and hope in others. They are like wings that take humankind to the Heart of Jesus. Jesus urges Christians onward: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).

An anchor, with a crosspiece at the top of the shaft, has been a sign of hope since the days of the early Christians. This sign was often carved on the tombs of the early Christians in the Catacombs of Rome. The anchor symbolized that the deceased buried there had reached the port of eternal salvation or heaven. Paul wrote in Hebrews 6:18–19: “Hold fast to the hope we set before us which we have as an anchor for the soul.” Before the fifth century, a dolphin or two fishes were near the crossbar. The cross on the anchor symbolized Jesus, a code known to Christians, but not to unbelievers. In religious art, the anchor represented hope, courage, safety and confidence.

There is always a safe harbor in the Sacred Heart. This beloved image is very familiar to us; it is the well-loved symbol of Jesus’ immense and all-consuming love for humankind. This unsurpassed love is our anchor and our refuge. The Heart of Christ exemplifies ultimate selfless love. The Sacred Heart gives us whatever help we need to take the next good step. Jesus said he will be with us. He is the best of companions in our little boat.

Kahlil Gibran wrote: “Say not God is in my heart, but rather say I am in the Heart of God.” Jesus invites all humankind to take refuge in his Heart. To dwell in his Heart is to dwell in his goodness and his love. The Heart of Jesus looks upon people more mercifully than they can look upon themselves or others. If individuals place their hearts in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, they love together with the love of Jesus. This is an excellent way to learn to love better. Only in Jesus can Christians find a Heart capable of loving to the fullest extent of love. The strength of Jesus’ Sacred Heart keeps the waters of grace flowing in the Church and in the world. Christians become part of that river of living water by meeting the needs of society through doing God’s will. Christians strive toward seeing others as God sees them, and willing the good that God desires for them. This opposes the popular notion of love which pursues self indulgent pleasure.

The Best Way to Start the Day

To stay on the path of hope, an excellent practice would be to recite the Morning Offering as soon as one gets up in the morning. As a reminder to do this, it would be prudent to post this prayer on the bathroom mirror or closet door:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month. Amen.

Father Walter Ciszek, SJ, was imprisoned in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin’s regime. Through his great suffering he found the Morning Offering an uplifting grace. “Father Ciszek experienced day after day that saying the Morning Offering helped him see the profound truth about God’s will for his life. Offering his own sacrifices with the sacrifice of the Mass gave them meaning. He found out that hopelessness came from injecting too much of self into life. It was his experience that we worry too much about what we can or cannot do, but we can do God’s will, and doing that restores hope.”11

In every life there’s a pause

That is better than onward rush,

Better than hewing or mightiest doing;

‘Tis the standing still at Sovereign will.

There’s a hush that is better

Than ardent speech,

Better than sighing or wilderness crying;

‘Tis the being still at Sovereign will.

The pause and the hush sing a double song

In unison low and for all time long.

O human soul, God’s working plan

Goes on, nor needs the aid of man!

Stand still, and see! Be still, and know!

~V. Raymond Edman

“Blessed Calm”

Within the still, silent milieu of Jesus’ Heart one can sit in his presence and drink in his wisdom. When we offer ourselves to God the Father in the Heart of Jesus we become, along with our weaknesses, faults and limitations, a sign of the holiness of God and of hope to others. In the Heart of Jesus, a Christian is inspired and uplifted by his great love. Uniting our human hearts with the Sacred Heart will help make all of us channels of hope and visible signs of God’s merciful love to humanity.

The Mystical Body

Each Christian is part of Christ’s mystical body the Church. As the Apostle Paul wrote, the body of Christ is made up of many parts. Each person is a cell within this body. The blood of Christ, which pulses from his Sacred Heart, nourishes and energizes all Christians so that they strive to live in hope and contribute to the good of humanity. Jesus’ Heart beats for humanity’s salvation and is pierced by humanity’s sins. Choices by humanity range from contributing to the well-being of the mystical body to fighting against it. To choose the latter is to become like diseased cells in the body of Christ. If the latter is chosen a Christian can seek reunion by praying and receiving spiritual direction and the sacraments, thus becoming a healthy cell once again.

It is regrettable to remain permanently angry with the Church because of some dispute with a priest, a parish, or a doctrine. If all the facts were known it could be possible that there was no reason for the dispute in the first place. Negative ruminations can drain energy, destroy hope and increase bitterness. What are the real reasons behind a dispute? Could it be ignorance, misinformation, laziness, or a strong attachment to one’s own opinion? It takes courage to uncover authentic truth. When deeply hurt by a priest, religious or lay member of the Church, it takes a high degree of inner strength to say, and to truly believe, the words of Jesus: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Jesus is the King, and the Church is a kingdom of sinners, Jesus is the Shepherd, and we are the straying sheep, God is the Father, and Christians are his wayward children. The Church isn’t a country club for the elite, it is a hospital for sinners. The Church is a family. Members can be frustrating, scandalous, irritating; they will never be perfect. But, when things go wrong, family members do not give up on each other. As Peter said: “To whom shall we go?” Jesus is one with his Church. When he appeared to Saul he didn’t say, “Why are you persecuting my Church?” He said, “Why are you persecuting me?” The Church is the mystical body of Christ. Benedict XVI said: “Despite human weakness, despite difficulties and trials, the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit, and the Lord will never fail to give his aid in sustaining the Church on her journey.” The Catholic Church is a fascinating, ancient, complex, living, global, mystical, jocular, solemn, enchanting bride of Christ.

Mater et Magistra

The central purpose of the Church is to praise the Triune God, and to assist in making people holy. G. K. Chesterton compared the Church to a house with a thousand doors. And inside these doors we see a diversity of saints, scholars, scientists, educational and health care institutes, artists and their religious masterpieces, musicians and their inspirational music, holy places, holy families, religious orders, secular institutes and much, much more. At the center of this house stands Jesus with his loving Heart and open arms, saying, “Come to me.” Ever exploring this wondrous house, the Christian realizes the harmful effects of brooding about past situations, and instead pays attention to present discoveries, for above each door are the words “Hope to all who enter here.”

The Church is much more than an institution, a system of legalistic rules, or hierarchy. It continues the mission of Jesus and fosters a way of life that sustains sound morals, purpose, and direction toward that which is most noble, most beautiful and most sacred to the human person. A Catholic life lived rightly can be an intimate walk with God. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8).

John Henry Newman wrote:

Trust the Church of God implicitly even when your natural judgment would take a different course from hers and would induce you to question her prudence or correctness. Recollect what a hard task she has; how she is sure to be criticized and spoken against, whatever she does; recollect how much she needs your loyal and tender devotion; recollect, too, how long is the experience gained in 1800 years; and what right she has to claim your assent to the principles which have had so extended and triumphant a trial. Thank her that she has kept the faith safe for so many generations and do your part in helping her to transmit it to generations after you.12

A Christian walks into an old, quiet Catholic church and may see the flicker of candle flames in a rack, each flame representing a prayer. Someone may be saying a rosary at Mary’s altar, someone else making the Stations of the Cross, yet another praying quietly at the back of the church. All is hushed in an atmosphere of otherworldliness. Years ago the Church was referred to as Holy Mother Church, and rightly so. She is the haven from the hurts on earth. She is like a mother who holds her young child’s hand as they cross a busy street. These days we need a strong mother who protects and defends us from the exigencies of modern society. Be careful, she says to us. Remember we are children of God and somehow things work out if we do our best and trust in Divine Providence. Christians should not be overwhelmed with the mechanics of the Church. Rather they must see the Church as the channel for the message, mission and mystery of Jesus. It isn’t the what of externals around us, but the who of Jesus within us. Holy Mother Church is wise and holy, she wants her children to get to heaven and she has been around for a long, long, long time. Indeed, the Church is our mater et magistra, our mother and teacher.

In April of 2005 the newly elected pope Benedict XVI came onto the front loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to bless the crowds. Gathered around him on the adjoining balconies there appeared all of the cardinals who had just chosen him. The news cameras caught the remarkably pensive expression on the face of Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. When the cardinal returned home, reporters asked him what he was thinking about at that moment. Here is what he said: “I was gazing over toward the Circus Maximus, toward the Palatine Hills where the Roman Emperors once resided and reigned and looked down upon the persecution of Christians, and I thought, Where are their successors? Where is the successor of Caesar Augustus? Where is the successor of Marcus Aurelius? And finally, who cares? But if you want to see the successor of Peter, he is right next to me, smiling and waving at the crowds.”13

Dark before the Dawn

Christians will experience barren trees on their holiness landscape. There will be times when all seems cold and dark. If there is a feeling that time spent in spiritual pursuits is squandered, Sister Wendy Beckett responds: “Body and soul may feel we are wasting our time. Hope smiles and ignores them.” The light in hope is an inspiration to find God’s grace in the dark problems of life. Without hope, hearts would easily break. Adversities of many kinds are a part of life. People spend much time praying that their troubles will end. However if they do not, God can change the way people look at them. Hard times can bring people closer to Jesus, increase love and hope and be a channel to a bare-bones trust in God. Sometimes it seems as if our little flame of hope has been blown out. However, we must remember that it is possible to find God when life becomes thoroughly confusing or disappointing, when all is mystery, and when we are in the depths of pain. We are human, and at times, it is common to think about “what if. . . .” What if I lose my health, fail this test or lose my job? This type of thinking takes us to the bottom of the valley of the shadow. “What if” negatives can shut a person down.

The earth lies cold and dark,

and blackened trees

are sentinels of silhouetted

loneliness against the bleak, stark nakedness of day.

Unwarmed, unwelcome,

I make my way through

landscape damp and chill:

even the birds are silent;

even the trees are still!

I listen to my heavy step:

I hear no other thing,

’Til out of grey curtained distance,

a bluebird and chickadee sing!

~Carmel of Terre Haute

Joan was asked by a sister friend to visit a woman named Isabelle who was in a psychiatric hospital. She was without family or friends. Hospital policy permitted only family visits, but the charge nurse let Joan visit one time for ten minutes. Isabelle’s eyes showed great sadness and desolation. As Joan prepared to leave she quietly told Isabelle that she was special and much loved by God. Afterward, Joan wrote regular encouraging notes to Isabelle. They were short uplifting words about how Jesus loves her or biblical verses of support. Joan also prayed for Isabelle. A year later, there was a knock at Joan’s front door. She opened the door but did not recognize the woman. It was the patient she had visited in the psychiatric hospital. This time her eyes showed peace and happiness. Isabelle thanked Joan for her visit and notes. She saved all of them, and let Joan know how her support helped her get out of the hospital. Isabelle read the notes over and over because they gave her hope when she had no hope.

Hope opens up human hearts. Like curtains slowly parting to admit a winter dawn into a home, hope allows beams of light to make their way into the hearts of humankind. Even when standing in cold darkness, hope reveals a verdant landscape beyond our present desolation. Hope lifts thoughts out of the dark valley toward the inner flame of light. We look forward and move forward to that which gives us a reason to live. Hope brings beauty to a repugnant environment and sustains sanity during intolerable times. Viktor Frankl, in his classic book Man’s Search for Meaning, which was based on his experience in Nazi concentration camps, shows how most people who hold on to the hope of achieving something positive can survive the worst of human conditions. To believe that something good will be fulfilled is a strong incentive for life. Indeed, living in hope is healthier than living in fear. To share darkness with God will help change things for the better. The less people rely on their own strength, the more they depend on grace from the Holy Spirit. Moments alone with him in the dark storms of life are significant benchmarks in our growth. Dark nights will pass. Even though a person may think he is alone, he knows God does not leave him. God is within, mysteriously, ambiguously, elusively, and beyond comprehension. God cannot be harnessed, but a person can increasingly surrender to him. We trust him in the darkness. Mysteries from the dark surprise us: We become content in a simple lifestyle, love God more for himself than for the gifts he gives and learn more about our faith. Indeed, hope keeps the wolves of discouragement, loneliness or abandonment from howling at the door.

“Dark and cold we may be, but this is no winter now. The frozen misery of centuries breaks, cracks, begins to move. The thunder is the thunder of the floes, the thaw, the flood, the upstart spring. Thank God our time is now when wrong comes up to face us everywhere, never to leave us till we take the longest stride of soul men ever took. Affairs are now soul size, the enterprise is exploration into God” (Christopher Fry).

New Spring

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye” (Antoine de Saint Exupery).

Something spring like remains with me in these weeks following heart surgery, something that suggests the kind of person I wish to be for the rest of my life. An incident in these first weeks has become a symbol of the tiny shoot pushing from old soil. When I left intensive care, my nurse gave me a little pillow made by hospital volunteers. She apologized, however, because mine, unlike “adult” pillows, was covered with figures of a little bear looking at a flower. He wore a yellow shirt, short red pants, and a smart blue hat with a yellow visor. At the time, I felt only the softness of the pillow against my chest. A few days later, the little fellow became my companion.

I was much like a child in the hospital. I did not try to impress anyone with my bravery. Being defenseless, exposed, and dependent, I held the little pillow close to my chest or face, not caring what anyone thought. I experienced, however fleeting, the susceptible attitude and posture that is all too quickly forgotten in the defensive adult world. With my little pillow, I remained a child, mostly helpless, full of wondering and tears, which I welcomed as lost companions. I expected I would graduate from the pillow, but I notice even now that I know exactly where it is at any time. If I wish to take a nap, it is all I need to put me to sleep. Last year when I saw many in Oklahoma City hugging teddy bears at the barricades or in the televised memorial service, I knew in my head what they were doing. Now I understand with my heart.

The other day in cardiac rehabilitation I was pumping away on an exercise bike when an older man entered the room to inquire about the program. He was accompanied by his wife and another woman, perhaps his daughter. Dressed in dark clothes, he wore an indifferent look on his face, blank, hidden. My first reaction was to turn away. Then I noticed that he was clutching one of the little pillows. The way he clung to the pillow betrayed the indifference and detachment on his face. Immediately I felt my pain and his and how much we both were in need of consolation and reassurance. I wanted to get off my bike, go over to him, and tell him that his pain and fear were going to work out ultimately. I looked at him, loved him, but for the same reasons that he came into the room wearing an emotionless look, I kept on pedaling. Many times since then I have thought about both of us and what keeps us and the world apart. I think about my distance from others, and I remember the little pillows we all clutch.

If only we could see the hidden pillows being carried by those we pass on the street, persons whose controlled faces give no hint of vulnerability, yet who filled with fear, clutch at the pain inside them and wonder about their lonely lives. If only we would overcome decorum, self protective habit and security, and get off our machines to hold them.

Spring’s child is exposed, susceptible, precarious willing to admit pain, fear, and hope. She is unashamed to clutch her tiny pillow openly and be who she is. For now though, I use my pillow primarily to soften my ribs as I turn in sleep. I do not think that I have learned all I can from it. It is, after all, a pillow for my heart, not my plugged arteries. It is a reminder to take life into my heart and arms, and press it close, even as a child holds a stuffed animal in the face of threat and fear.14

Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope

As she lived her life as a wife and mother, Mary is our exemplar of the highest hope and complete trust in God. She walked in faith and in mystery, but maintained a deep peace. She came and went quietly, her house was undistinguished among the others in her village. She tended the fire, scoured the earthenware vessels, trimmed the lamps, cooked and sewed. The secret of her hope was that her daily mundane tasks were accomplished with great love and confidence in God’s plan for her. In the evenings, we can imagine her holding Jesus close to her heart, still pondering, and perhaps softly singing a lullaby as Joseph quietly whittles a wooden toy for him.

Hope was Mary’s stronghold. She held onto it in times of great concern, and there were many. After giving birth to Jesus, she traveled in haste to Egypt. While on another journey, she lost her son. Like most women of her time, she worked from dawn to dusk. She was a widow at an early age with a teenage son. She watched helplessly as Jesus was cursed and spit upon, and stayed with him during his agony and death. Mary lived with a vision of hope rooted in faith. Hope drew her beyond herself, her fears and her worries. God was the tower of strength to whom she clung no matter what happened. She kept moving forward even though she did not understand what was happening. She lived the will of God perfectly, and urges us to do the same. The will of God is our sanctification. Therese of Lisieux, who gave us the little way to Jesus, makes this more accessible: “I hope in him who is virtue and sanctity itself. He alone, content with my frail efforts, will lift me up to himself, clothe me with his own merits and make me a saint.”

We are here to spread love and hope as Mary did. Mary was concerned about others. The bride and groom at Cana ran out of wine and quietly, without drawing attention to herself, Mary did something about it. To see with the eyes of Mary is to see the needs of others in our home, church and community, and to address them in quiet, loving ways. As Mary is the woman of hope, so we must try to be signs of hope to others. A kind deed, positive word or gentle smile can spark hope in the heart. Mary is our strength as we help others navigate through these confusing times. It is a sacred duty to replace anguish with hope, anxiety with peace, indifference with love, ugliness with beauty and an earthly vision with a heavenly one. Gregory of Nyssa wrote: “Hope always draws the soul from the beauty that is seen to what is beyond, always kindles the desire for the hidden through what is perceived.”

“We ask you Mother of Christ, to be our guide to the Heart of your son. We pray to you, lead us close to him and teach us to live in intimacy with this Heart, which is the fountain of life and holiness.”15

7. C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, quoted in Groeschel, Journey toward God, 78–79.

8. Spirit & Life magazine (Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Tucson, AZ) May/June 2012.

9. Teresa of Avila and her associate, John of the Cross, were Spanish Carmelites in the sixteenth century. They brought to the Church a new expression of the ancient rule of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Followers of that expression became known as the Discalced Carmelite nuns and friars. Teresa and John are time honored and highly respected masters of the spiritual life, practical mystics and Doctors of the Church. Their books are spiritual classics that continue to have a universal appeal today.

10. United Christian Broadcasters (UK), Word for Today.

11. Smith, Homilies, xxv.

12. Quoted from Newman’s Idea of a University. John Henry Newman was born in London, and became the 19th century’s most important English-speaking Roman Catholic theologian. He spent the first half of his life as an Anglican and the second half as a Roman Catholic. In both churches he was a priest, popular preacher, writer, and eminent theologian. He published eight volumes of Parochial and Plain Sermons, two novels, and poems. In 1845, he was received into the Catholic Church. Two years later he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome and joined the Congregation of the Oratory, founded three centuries earlier by St. Philip Neri. Newman wrote forty books including his autobiography, and 21,000 letters that survive. Newman was named a cardinal in 1879, his motto was “Cor ad cor loquitur” (Heart speaks to heart). His name is linked to ministry centers at many public and private colleges and universities in the United States.

13. Barron, Catholicism, 35.

14. Marv Hiles, The Daybook: A Contemplative Journal (Spring 1996).

15. John Paul II, Angelus Address, September 6, 1986.