Solidarity Through Our Blessed Mother

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary


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So he called in all his Friends and said to them: “Sleep has departed from my eyes, for my heart is sinking with anxiety.

I said to myself: ‘Into what tribulation have I come, and in what floods of sorrow am I now! Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’ But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed. I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.”

The Seasonal Blues    My body whines in discomfort as my mind oozes with sadness and anxiety.  This time of the year begins three long months of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  The lack of sunlight, colder days and seasonal allergy symptoms leave me tired and irritable.  I feel like Scrooge with "Blah Humbug" as my middle name.  I ask Our Lord the same three letter word every year  - WHY?  Why do I feel so dreadful?  Why do I have difficulty getting into the holiday spirits?  Why do I dwell on all the wrong in my life instead of  the good?  Why is prayer and meditation such a greater challenge?   Sometimes I wonder if life as a bear would be better.  Then I can hibernate during the dreary months of  November thru February...   

One thing for certain is I always turn to Our Blessed Mother during these tough months.  She gives me encouragement when I rather mope around, depressed and isolated from others.

The Presentation of Our Blessed Mother  Today, the church celebrates the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Although not mentioned in the New Testament, the story is found in the apocryphal book Protoevangelium of James.  Grateful for a child after years of infertility, Anne and Joachim wished to consecrate Mary to God. Tradition states that at the age of 3 years Anne and Joachim presented Mary at the Jerusalem temple where she remained with other young girls, educated in the Jewish faith.  

In Solidarity   When I feel depressed, the last thing I want to see or hear is bad news from the media.  So, when terrorists attacked Paris, killing 129 people including an American, I mourned like the rest of the world.  I imagined Our Blessed Mother wrapping the entire country of France in her arms with tears streaming down her cheeks.  When her children hurt, she hurts.  When violence strikes, Our Blessed Mother protects.  When life is full of despair and sadness, Mary comforts us in special way only a loving mother knows. 

"Oh Mother of God, some may rejoice in their innocence, others may be glad of their plentiful merits, let others exult in God's mercy shown to them without intermediaries; but you, my Mother, you are the only hope and solace of my life.  When I completely despair of God and of myself, thinking of you, recalling you, my spirit comes alive again, as if out of the deepest darkness.  You are my glorying, my well-being, my honor, and my life."  - Blessed Henry Suso

-J.