Friday, August 24, 2007


NIGHT REFLECTION

'Moments of Anxiety' is the title of Message 64, from the MMP Blue Book.

It's December 24, the Holy Night. Our Lady invites Fr. Gobbi to spend these hours of vigil with Her, telling him to forget everything else. What do we do on Christmas Eve? Usually we're getting some last minute presents wrapped, setting up the Christmas tree, or preparing for Midnight Mass. Do we stop everything and meditate on what happened that night? If we are praying the Rosary, we could think about that first Christmas Eve in Bethlehem and what Mary & Joseph experienced that night.

Our Lady gives Fr. Gobbi some thoughts on this night: There was anxiety and pain in Mother Mary's and St. Joseph's hearts at each refusal of shelter for Jesus, who was about to be born! Each refusal was a refusal to Him! Humanity had no place to receive the divine Child. Is today any different? How many places have barred the Nativity scenes from their towns and even in some communities of worship. They allow Santa's and elves and reindeer, but the Infant is excluded! Even the word Christmas is stricken from many Newspapers, books and store flyers. Some stores won't even put up anything mentioning Christmas and all is called Holiday stuff!

How Our Lady and St. Joseph suffered that night. Every door which closed on them opened a wound in Our Lady's Heart. This was the pain that Mother Mary experienced in the miraculous birth of Her divine Son Jesus. Being exempt from Original sin She did not have to bear the pain of child-birth as is normal for all women. Christ' birth was also miraculous because Our Lady kept Her virginity intact. She is Ever-Virgin Mary for all eternity!

Our Lady wants us to relive those hours of vigil so that we can learn from them to detach ourselves from everything; total poverty; of goods; of ideas; of affections; to possess nothing! It is this nothingness that will attract God to us and He will pour His gifts upon us. The gift Fr. Gobbi received because of his littleness and poverty is his priesthood.

Finally, Mother Mary says that She needs our poverty, our humility, and our docility, so that She can bring us to love Jesus with a total love, a degree of love that we will not be able to live without Him. He will be our very life, and live again in us! Do not be afraid if you are not understood or not accepted because of this; our refuge will be Mary's Immaculate Heart!
Roman Deacon

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