Christ is Passing By, 173
We must imitate her natural and supernatural refinement. She
is a privileged creature in the history of salvation, for in Mary “the Word
became flesh and dwelled among us.” But she is a reserved, quiet witness. She
never wished to be praised, for she never sought her own glory. Mary is present
at the mysteries surrounding the infancy of her Son, but these are “normal” mysteries,
so to speak. When the great miracles take place and the crowds acclaim them in
amazement, she is nowhere to be found. In Jerusalem when Christ, riding a
little donkey, is proclaimed king, we don’t catch a glimpse of Mary. But after
all have fled, she reappears next to the Cross. This way of acting bespeaks
personal greatness and depth, the sanctity of her soul.
Christ is Passing By, 172
To become God-like, to be divinized, we must begin by being
very human, accepting from God our condition as ordinary men and women, and sanctifying
its apparent worthlessness. That is how Mary lived. She who is full of grace,
the object of God’s pleasure, exalted above all the angels and the saints,
lived an ordinary life. Mary is as much a creature as we are, with a heart like
ours, made for joy and mirth as well as suffering and tears. Before Gabriel
communicates God’s plan to her, our Lady does not know she has been chosen from
all eternity to be the Mother of the Messiah. She sees herself as a humble
creature. That is why she can acknowledge, with full humility, that “he who is
mighty has done great things” in her.
Christ is Passing By, 148
We can’t forget that Mary spent nearly every day of her life
just like millions of other women who look after their family, bring up their
children and take care of the house. Mary sanctifies the ordinary everyday
things – what some people wrongly regard as unimportant and insignificant:
everyday work, looking after those closest to you, visits to friends and
relatives. What a blessed ordinariness, that can be so full of love of God!
For that’s what explains Mary’s life – her love. A complete
love, so complete that she forgets herself and is happy just to be there where
God wants her, fulfilling with care what God wants her to do. That is why even
her slightest action is never routine or vain but, rather, full of meaning.
Mary, our mother, is for us both an example and a way. We have to try to be
like her, in the specific circumstances in which God wants us to live.
PRAYER We turn to Our Lady for protection, because we can be
quite sure that each of us, in our own state in life – priest or lay-person,
single, married or widowed – if we are faithful in the daily fulfilment of our
duties, will achieve victory on this earth, the victory of being always loyal
to Our Lord. And afterwards we will reach Heaven and rejoice for ever in the
friendship and love of God, with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Prayer before Our
Lady of Guadalupe, 24 May 1970
