Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/5/2013

  

(c)Mary TV 2013
"In my Son you will find rest."

J.M.J.

June 5, 2013

St. Boniface

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! In this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him. I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation. My children, do not forget that my Son redeemed you by His Cross and enabled you, anew, to be children of God; to be able to, anew, call the Heavenly Father: 'Father'. To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness. Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need. I, as a mother, desire my children to be in a community of one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out.* Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children. Love your shepherds as my Son loved them when He called them to serve you. Thank you." (June 2, 2013)   *Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphases

"I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation."

Our Lady is one of us. She understands the difficulties, toils, trials, and sufferings of life. She was not exempt from suffering, Mother of God though she is. Our Lady became pregnant before she was married. She had to bear the misunderstanding of all her neighbors, maybe even her family. Because of the census, she had to travel to Bethlehem with Joseph just as she was to give birth to Jesus. There was no room at the inn, so she had to make due in a stable. Then, because of Herod's hatred for the new King, she was forced to flee to Egypt, to be a refugee in that land for many months, far from her family and friends. She must have been exhausted, hungry, mistreated, even hounded by enemies in that land. Later, living in Nazareth, she and Joseph had to endure a life of poverty, hard work and fatigue. The list goes on: losing Jesus in Jerusalem for three days, and then losing Him to His public life at 30; witnessing His days as a teacher amidst the animosity of the leaders of the people; seeing Him arrested, bound, tortured, falsely accused, publicly humiliated and marched through Jerusalem carrying His cross; and finally seeing Jesus die on the Cross. She knew difficulties, pain and suffering.

But Our Lady also found rest during her life. She rested in Jesus. She rested in His love, His presence, His goodness, His divinity. Our Lady found rest in Jesus because He was her fulfillment. He was God and Man. And He was with her and He was everything for her. He was rest for her soul.

And so she tells us that if we set out after Jesus, we too will find rest in Him.

Caryll Houselander wrote about rest in her book, "The Little Way of the Infant Jesus". She describes rest beautifully, and I think it is the kind of rest Our Lady is talking about in this message, the kind of rest we find in Jesus:

Rest is not idleness; indeed, restlessness is the torment of idle people. It is not relaxation. Relaxation should never be necessary, because the nervous tension which makes it so should never be present.

Rest, far from being relaxation, is a culmination, a fullness of gathered peace, like the fullness and stillness of waters gathered to a flood tide.

Think of a child asleep in his mother's arms: the abandon with which he gives himself to sleep can only be because he has complete trust in the arms that hold him. He is not lying asleep on that heart because he is worn out with anxiety. He is asleep there because it is a delight to him to be asleep there. The mother rests, too. She rests in his rest. Her mind and her body rest in him. His head fits into the crook of her curved arm. Their warmth is mingled like the warmth of two softly burning flames. She rocks to and fro, and her rocking is unconsciously timed by his breathing.

Rest is a communion of love between them. It is a culmination of content; on the child's part, utter trust in his mother; on the mother's part, sheer joy in the power of her love to sustain his life....(Caryll Houselander. "The Little Way of the Infant Jesus." Sophia Press. P. 23-24)

Our Lady knew this kind of rest with Baby Jesus. But she also knew the rest of trust in Him, as God. She knew the fullness that came from complete communion with her Son, who was God and Man. This communion is what I believe Our Lady wants for us, the rest we will find with Jesus. It is the rest of the soul, that complete peace that comes from finding what we truly desire, what we ultimately long for, the rest of finding God.

If we set out after Jesus, Our Lady tells us we will find rest, the rest that is peace and salvation for our souls. Shall we set out?

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

 

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