May 2009         

"Am I not here who am your Mother?"  
These words of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego have always struck me as incredibly profound and insightful in understanding the role of Our Mother Mary in our spiritual lives and on our road of discernment. Mary's affirmation of her presence is given to Juan Diego at a time when he was purposely avoiding her in order to assist his dying uncle. He was in some ways rightly concerned about things that may have seemed to demand more immediate attention. Our Lady however knew of his need and "cut him off at the pass." As the story goes (and I love this part...it's so human) he is surprised to see her and begins by asking her how she is today, while not  mentioning his effort to avoid her. He doesn't tell her of his need, but she knows what it is and tells  him these words of comfort while promising a miraculous cure for his uncle.

This event has much to teach us. Very often in our lives we think that we can handle everything on our own. The concerns of the world, our desire to find out God's will for our life, and  the many other things that seem to demand our attention can weigh heavy on our hearts. It is often the case that we are "doing" things for God without regard for God' s presence or even His opinion on the matter! Our culture fosters such a go-go mentality that we can forget the "one thing necessary" that Jesus speaks about in the Gospel: prayer. Often when we are stressed or worried our prayer can be "small talk" with Jesus while we are distracted in trying to solve the problem ourselves. Most especially in the situations that seem desperate we need to really pray and as part of that prayer (maybe the most essential) is to recognize that Jesus and His Mother are right here with us in our need (as an interesting note Mary is with Child in the Guadalupe image). We may not receive a miracle, but knowing that we have so good a Mother with us will make us more able to receive whatever God wills, Cana or Calvary.  

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