And
Mary said, "It is time to tell you why I came" - Original
request October 1992 (told 6/1995)Blessed Mary is the mother of mankind. As the mother of our Redeemer, she is the woman through whom salvation is open to all. In her frequent appearances during the last two centuries, she seems to come as a simple woman in her outer garb or as a young woman with the infant Jesus in her arms, or as a queen, which she is called at Medjugorje, the Queen of Peace. While it may seem ironic that these appearances there occur in the midst of genocidal civil war in what is left of Yugoslavia, it is precisely why she comes, to ask us to pray for peace, to avoid these catastrophes brought on by the sins of men and women. She seems to come in the outer appearance that those who see her can understand and she seems to tell them what she wants in terms that those who see her can also understand. She never seems to come to those who consider themselves highly educated. Perhaps they are not humble enough to be worthy. Perhaps they are too reliant on their own intellect and reason or on what they've been taught about the preternatural to be open to Mary's appearances. Doubt and skepticism would cloud and confuse the message she wants to convey. Philosophers tend to argue about rather than accept or act upon numinous phenomena.
Yet, for all these appearances, those of us who haven't experienced the visions ourselves must take the visionaries', someone else's, word for it. Some of us are doubting Thomases, yet Jesus has said, "Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believed." We have to ask ourselves, is He talking about these appearances of Blessed Mary as well as His own Resurrection? There's so much here that boggles the rational mind. Is it the force of tradition and the wide-spread belief in the Resurrection over the centuries by millions of people, the consensus of believing Christians, the sanctions of organized religions that impel some of us to believe that Christ rose from the dead, while we remain skeptical of Blessed Mary's visual and auditory intrusions in our natural world? Can we believe in the Virgin Birth, the result of the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit so she can rightfully be called the Mother of God, and yet entertain doubt in these apparitions? Of course we can. So what is the point?
The point is that those of us who are Christians and believe in the Resurrection and the Virgin Birth, yet are agnostic about these appearances, are nevertheless somehow being forced to deal with them. These frequent and geographically widespread phenomena are attested to by even the secular media . By their fruits you shall know them is the Biblical injunction by which to test them out. They encourage us to constant prayer and penance for the conversion of sinners, ourselves included. As far as this message goes, lots of blessings and graces and good effects are accomplished. But the Bible enjoins us to do good works as well. The old adage that we must pray as if everything depended on prayer and work as if everything depended on work is the ideal Christian attitude. We have to remember that until things become more clearly obvious one way or the other about them, the believing Christian ought to keep an open mid on these appearances, taking what is good and leaving the rest, each according to what he or she can accept. Each of us has received the gift of discernment between good and evil from the Holy Spirit at baptism and this gift was strengthened at confirmation. We therefore must let the Spirit prompt us to acknowledge or reject, according to the level of and capacity for faith God gives us. And we must respect that in others.
Returning to the outer appearance of Blessed Mary, it seems the image we ordinary folks have of her changes as we go through life. Some women have told me that she inspires their virginity before marriage, accompanies their pregnancy, attends their childbirth, becomes even more of a role model in maturity, a source of inspiration and grace as the children get raised, turns into a wise elderly woman, compassionate and understanding as the children leave home to survive and thrive in the great wide world and have children of their own. Mary becomes the quintessential woman, a woman for all seasons, for all women.
On Sunday, January 1, the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, our pastor opened our minds to the contemplation of Mary as one who did not have full knowledge of God's Plan for her. Her fiat, "Be it done unto me according to thy word," was an act of faith, a leap into the unknown. She trusted Gabriel, accepted his work as God's representative, agreeing to become pregnant for the sake of whatever God had in mind for her, wondering how this could be since she knew not man. When told the most high would overshadow her, she consented. A risk taker. Yes. It was necessary to "ponder these things in her heart." What was the nature of the Child within her and what was the attendant explanation of her place in the Divine Plan? The picture of Mary that emerges from these considerations is dynamic, appeals to the active contemplating mind, invites a participation in the mystery of God's Will for all of us. Encourages us to identify with Blessed Mary. We too ponder the Divine Plan in our hearts and act as best we can, even before it is fully revealed to us.
Mary as she appears to Sally Steadman in Oregon, Ohio, makes her will known as asking for the prevention of abortion, the safe delivery of her "little lambs" (the babies), and the healing of women who have had an abortion. To these ends a Woman's Care Center is under construction, a building complex, to include a residence for mothers with a pre- and post-birthing facility (outpatient clinic), the Shelter for the Little Lambs (newborn care & adoption), a small chapel, St. Elizabeth Convent (for an order of nuns who will staff the care center along with other professionals), and a school for educating the mothers. This request for action and charity as well as prayer is unique among the appearances and even appeals to those of us who might be skeptics. If by their fruits they shall be known, this is a totally creditable venture. It combines the work-and-pray ethic that so characterizes Christian tradition at its best, as well as many of the religions of the world. It is the kind of project that can make us all partners, ALL FAITHS, united toward a common goal to offer an alternative to abortion and save babies.
The Blessed Mother and Our Lady of Toledo Shrine advocates
prayerful, peaceful, non-violent, practical alternatives to abortion.
And
Mary said, "It is time to tell you why I came" - Original
request October 1992 (told 6/1995)
