Our Lady and St. Juan Diego

Our Lady and St. Juan Diego

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Entrustment to Mary = Celebrating God's Merciful Love

My daughter went into labor on the Monday of Holy Week. Before I could pack up and drive even one hour of the five hour journey to the city she is living in, I received the text that her baby girl had been born, just a short 1 ½  hours after being admitted into the hospital! She had been considered a high risk pregnancy and we had a scare in January of a premature delivery. Prayers ensued, and miraculously [according to the neonatal specialists], she and baby held on 10 more weeks to deliver at week 35. The baby was 6.6lbs - a healthy weight for her gestation. She remained in the hospital the next 10 days to rid her jaundice and gain the weight she lost in the first few days. She is God’s beautiful creation, just how He designed her to be.

For me, it turned my final week of Lent upside down. Coming into Holy Week, I was ready to give my full attention to the special themes of each daily Mass, and then to participate in the Triduum as we do every year. Instead, I forgot to pack my prayer book, and only attended Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday Masses. My whole schedule was rearranged as I took on helping my daughter learn how to nurse and care for her baby, for I was fortunate to be able to stay with her in the hospital room. I felt uneasy during the adjustment of “not being in control” of my prayer life, exercise routine, and meal preparation. Basically I had to put aside my expectations of what the week should be, and just be! Once I surrendered to my Blessed Mom and entrusted to her my prayer, my desire, and my awaiting for Easter, I was then able to relax and concentrate on helping my daughter. It was freeing to drop my illusions of how I believed Holy Week was to be experienced. It was refreshing to acknowledge that God is in control and I only need to follow His lead. Just as my new little grandbaby required our love and care, God showed me how helpless I am and how I need the love and care of my Blessed Mom. She helps me see the truth about myself and with her WE then can call upon the abyss of Jesus’ merciful love. She helps me see how her Son died for my sins and through this merciful act rescues me. And with this Good News I may sing this Easter Season ~ Alleluia! Alleluia!
 

"An “old” person – someone who relies on his own calculations, who lists pros and cons – limits the possibility for God to act and sets limits on His love and mercy. Constantly calculating and predicting if one will be successful or not is a trait of old age. A child grasps for the moon and believes that he will get it – and God wants to give you more than the moon. He wants to give you His kingdom, but if you do not become a child, His hands will be tied."
 
Tadeusz Dajczer, TheGift of Faith, 3rd. ed. (Ft. Collins, CO: IAMF, 2012), 64.

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