J.M.J.
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.
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. And her
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 deep within her 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 spouse, Saint Joseph,
fled with the Child to Egypt in order to escape the treacherous grasp of 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 knew that He had descended from Heaven in order to conquer Satan and to
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!’”
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.”
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.”
Mary,
model of faith, pray for us!
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