Mary TV Daily Reflection 11/16/2010

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November 16, 2010 Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Gertrude Dear Family of Mary!   "Dear children! With motherly perseverance and love I am bringing you the light of life to destroy the darkness of death in you. Do not reject me, my children. Stop and look within yourselves and see how sinful you are. Be aware of your sins and pray for forgiveness. My children, you do not desire to accept that you are weak and little, but you can be strong and great by doing God's will. Give me your cleansed hearts that I may illuminate them with the light of life, my Son. Thank you." (November 2, 2010)  My good friend, Caroline, sent me this quote from a book by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, The Apostles.

It addresses the whole issue of weakness and grace that we have been pondering lately.  Again, it is good ole' Saint Peter who leads the way in teaching us how to accept our weakness and littleness!  Thanks to Caroline for sharing this: 

"And so, our faith too is always an initial one and we have still to carry out a great journey. But it is essential that it is an open faith and that we allow ourselves to be led by Jesus, because he does not only know the Way, but is the Way. 

"Peter's rash generosity does not protect him, however, from the risks connected with human weakness. Moreover, it is what we too can recognize in our own lives. Peter followed Jesus with enthusiasm; he overcame the trial of faith, abandoning himself to Christ. The moment comes, however, when he gives in to fear and falls: he betrays the Master.

"The school of faith is not a triumphal march but a journey marked daily by suffering and love, trials and faithfulness. Peter, who promised absolute fidelity, knew the bitterness and humiliation of denial: the arrogant man learns the costly lesson of humility. Peter, too, must learn that he is weak and in need of forgiveness. Once his attitude changes and he understands the truth of his weak heart of a believing sinner, he weeps in a fit of liberating repentance. After this weeping he is finally ready for his mission.
 

"On a spring morning, this mission will be entrusted to him by the Risen Christ. The encounter takes place on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias. John the Evangelist recounts the conversation between Jesus and Peter in that circumstance. There is a very significant play on words.  In Greek, the word 'fileo' means the love of friendship, tender but not all-encompassing; instead, the word 'agapao' means love without reserve, total and unconditional. Jesus asks Peter the first time: "Simon, do you love me (agapas-me) with this total and unconditional love?

"Prior to the experience of betrayal, the Apostle certainly would have said: 'I love you (agapo-se) unconditionally.' Now that he has known the bitter sadness of infidelity, the drama of his own weakness, he says with humility: 'Lord, you know that I love you (filo-se),' that is, 'I love you with my poor human love.' Christ insists: 'Simon, do you love me with this total love that I want?' And Peter repeats the response of his humble human love: 'Kyrie, filo-se' - 'Lord, I love you as I am able to love you.' The third time Jesus only says to Simon: 'Fileis-me?' - 'Do you love  me?'
 

"Simon understands that his poor love is enough for Jesus, it is the only one of which he is capable, nonetheless he is grieved that the Lord spoke to him in this way. He thus replies: 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you (filo-se).'
 

"This is to say that Jesus has put himself on the level of Peter, rather than Peter on Jesus' level! It is exactly this divine conformity that gives hope to the Disciple, who experienced the pain of infidelity. From here is born the trust that makes him able to follow [Christ] to the end: 'This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God. And after this he said to him, "Follow me."' 

"From that day, Peter 'followed' the Master with the precise awareness of his own fragility; but this understanding did not discourage him. Indeed, he knew that he could count on the presence of the Risen One beside him.

"From the naive enthusiasm of initial acceptance, passing through the sorrowful experience of denial and the weeping of conversion, Peter succeeded in entrusting himself to that Jesus who adapted himself to his poor capacity of love. And in this way he shows us the way, notwithstanding all of our weakness. We know that Jesus adapts himself to this weakness of ours.

"We follow him with our poor capacity to love and we know that Jesus is good and he accepts us. It was a long journey for Peter that made him a trustworthy witness, 'rock' of the Church, because he was constantly open to the Spirit of Jesus. Peter qualifies himself as a 'witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed.' When he was to write these words he would already be elderly, heading towards the end of his life that will be sealed with martyrdom. He will then be ready to describe true joy and to indicate where it can be drawn from: the source is believing in and loving Christ with our weak but sincere faith, notwithstanding our fragility. 

"He would therefore write to the Christians of his community, and says to us: 'Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls.' (1 Pet 1:8-9)"

(Benedict XVI, The Apostles, 52-54)

"We follow him with our poor capacity to love and we know that Jesus is good and he accepts us."  Oh yes!  He accepts us as we are, and he will do all for us, if we just stay little and stay very close to him.

 

In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan

 

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