J.M.J.
"Our Blessed Lady's Living Faith"
Our Blessed
Mother possessed a “living faith”, meaning that she believed actively all the
truths revealed by God on the basis of His authority. If He revealed them, then
that was enough for Our Lady.
Mary’s was
a dynamic faith. The profundity and fervor of that faith intensified with each
passing day.
In his very
helpful treatise entitled La Madonna (Padova: Gregoriana, 1966), Passionist
Father Giacomo Pesce hailed the Ever-Virgin Mother of God as a “model of
faith.” Mary possessed a faith that was heroic, prudent and fruitful. But that
is not all. Mary’s faith was proven. Just as silver is tried in the fire and
gold in the furnace, and the Lord tests hearts (see Proverbs 17:3), so the
faith of Our Lady was tried and shown to be splendid!
Mary
believed in her Pure Immaculate Heart that her Son Jesus was the Creator of the
world even when He was weak and suffering in Bethlehem ’s rustic cave. She knew Him to be
the King of Kings while she and her chaste husband Saint Joseph fled with the Child to Egypt in order
to escape the treacherous grasp of the evil King Herod. She was convinced that
He was the Omnipotent One despite His neediness and subjection to others. She
acknowledged Him to be the “Joy of Paradise” notwithstanding His infant tears.
She admitted that He was the wisdom and the strength of God although He grew in
age, wisdom and grace before God and men. She confessed that He had descended
from Heaven in order to conquer Satan and redeem humanity never mind His exhausting
work as a carpenter at the side of His Foster-father.
Why did
Jesus, who miraculously multiplied the bread and fish, not provide the Holy
Family of Nazareth with a plethora of money? Why did Jesus, the true Messiah,
stir up hatred and aversion against Himself? Why was Jesus the target of more
spying than any murderer or thief? Why did the Father allow His Divine Son to
be so mistreated? Why did the Father not permit the Sacred Divinity of His Son
to be recognized? Why did the Father allow His Divine Son to take on the
likeness of sinners even to His ignoble death on the Cross?
Father
Pesce marveled at the incredible faith of Mary. “All these questions Our Lady
heroically overcame. In all these terrible trials, the Virgin Mary repeated:
‘Behold the handmaiden of the Lord!’” (page 303)
In
capturing his own wonderment, Father Pesce names ours, too. “We admire the
Madonna who did not vacillate during the most difficult hours; on the contrary,
she became a very brilliant beacon for all Christians.” (ibid.)
As sons and
daughters of God the Father, brothers and sisters of God the Son and temples of
God the Holy Spirit, we have inherited the magnificent faith of Mary our
Spiritual Mother. With the abundant grace provided by the Lord, Our Blessed
Lady went forward in faith. We treasure her example and seek to imitate it.
We rightly
conclude with a prayer offered by Father Pesce: “Virgin Mary, we believe all
that God commands us to believe. Reinvigorate our faith. Increase it in such a
way that we believe with all our hearts.” (page 304)
Mary, model
of faith, pray for us!
(Published
in Missio Immaculatae in the August/September 2006 issue on pages 14-15. Used
with permission.)
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