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MEDITATION FOR JANUARY 26
THE DEPARTURE FROM NAZARETH
“And His mother kept all these words in her heart”
(Luke 2, 51).
First Prelude: Picture the little house in Nazareth and our Blessed Lord as He takes leave of His holy Mother.
Second Prelude: O sweetest Jesus, give me the grace, in imitation of Thee and Thy Blessed Mother, cheerfully to offer Thee any sacrifice which Thou mayest demand of me.
FIRST POINT
MARY ANTICIPATED THE SEPARATION FROM HER DIVINE SON AND PREPARED HERSELF FOR IT
At last the time for Jesus to leave His humble home in Nazareth was drawing near. Mary knew full well that this separation was to come. The thought of it had been like a shadow which from time to time darkened for her the joy of common life. Nevertheless, Mary did not permit herself to be depressed by this sorrow. She did not permit the sufferings of the future to affect her in the present. In like manner, ought we refrain from casting anxious and searching glances into the future and accept every day with its attendant labors and trials, its joys and sorrows from the hand of God, faithfully co-operating with the grace given us, remembering the words: “Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; sufficient for the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. 6, 34). Mary knew that the time of separation was not far distant. The words which Jesus had spoken when she found Him in the Temple, still echoed in her heart: “. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2, 49). She had kept these words in her heart, and had understood that, at a time not too distant, Jesus would enter upon his mission, for the accomplishment of which He had come upon earth.
Life in the company of her Divine Son afforded Mary the delights of heaven, and still she longed with a holy desire for the greatly feared day; for in her disinterested love she wished for the coming of the hour in which her Divine Son would begin His public life, His labor of love and mercy among men. Mary knew that she had been chosen by God to share in the great work of redemption, and willingly she prepared herself for the consummation of the sacrifice, although the pain of separation was to wound her heart deeply. Let us learn from our Blessed Mother to practice disinterested love and self-sacrifice for the welfare of others. We religious are called to alleviate the sufferings of our fellowmen, and to offer ourselves for their temporal and eternal well-being. Let us, therefore, like Mary, not look upon ourselves but rivet our gaze upon Jesus, Who has gone before us on the way of complete self-surrender, and cheerfully and bravely unite our sacrifice with that of His Blessed Mother for the salvation of those entrusted to us.
SECOND POINT
JESUS LEAVES HIS BLESSED MOTHER
Finally, the day on which Jesus wished to depart from Nazareth arrived. It certainly was no small sacrifice for Him to leave this beloved little home, where He had spent so many a year with Mary and Joseph. With the remembrance of the past was coupled the thought of the bitter sorrow His separation would cause His Blessed Mother. Jesus loved His holy Mother more than ever son loved his mother, and He fully realized how painful His departure would be to her pure heart. It is always hard for a mother to part with her only son, even though bright prospects of wealth, honor, and fame loom quite high. How much greater, however, must not her anguish have been in the knowledge that sorrow and pain, persecution and ill-treatment of every kind, imprisonment, torture, and an ignominious death awaited him! All this, as Mary well knew, was in store for her well-beloved Son. How unspeakable, therefore, must have been her sorrow as she bade Him farewell!
O Mary, Mother of Sorrows, who hast so deeply felt what it means to have a heart rent with anguish, assist us when we are permitted to experience the pangs caused by the sacrifice of a separation which God demands of us. Yes, let us be mindful of Mary’s bitter separation when we must part with an office which is so congenial to us in every respect, from a house in whose affairs and interests we have become incorporated, as it were, from superiors and fellow-religious with whom we were one heart and one soul. Let us unite ourselves, then, with the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and joyfully and courageously go whither God calls us through the voice of our superiors.
Affections: O sweetest Jesus, Thou Who for our salvation didst so willingly take upon Thyself every sorrow, even that of separation from Thy Blessed Mother, look pitifully upon the weaknesses of our hearts, which, although they are entirely consecrated to Thee, still attach themselves so easily to what is earthly. Free our hearts with all their inclinations from everything which is not Thyself, and give us the grace, gladly and willingly to offer Thee any sacrifice which is conducive to Thy greater honor and glory and the salvation of our fellow-men. And Thou, O Mother of Sorrows, who for us poor children of men didst so willingly bear the pain of separation from thy beloved Son, implore for us the grace to suffer with love, and like thee to share in the sufferings of thy Divine Son.
Resolution: I will patiently bear all sufferings of this day in union with Jesus and Mary.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Great as the sea is her sorrow.”
Prayer: Take, O Lord . . .
THE DEPARTURE FROM NAZARETH
“And His mother kept all these words in her heart”
(Luke 2, 51).
First Prelude: Picture the little house in Nazareth and our Blessed Lord as He takes leave of His holy Mother.
Second Prelude: O sweetest Jesus, give me the grace, in imitation of Thee and Thy Blessed Mother, cheerfully to offer Thee any sacrifice which Thou mayest demand of me.
FIRST POINT
MARY ANTICIPATED THE SEPARATION FROM HER DIVINE SON AND PREPARED HERSELF FOR IT
At last the time for Jesus to leave His humble home in Nazareth was drawing near. Mary knew full well that this separation was to come. The thought of it had been like a shadow which from time to time darkened for her the joy of common life. Nevertheless, Mary did not permit herself to be depressed by this sorrow. She did not permit the sufferings of the future to affect her in the present. In like manner, ought we refrain from casting anxious and searching glances into the future and accept every day with its attendant labors and trials, its joys and sorrows from the hand of God, faithfully co-operating with the grace given us, remembering the words: “Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; sufficient for the day is the evil thereof” (Matt. 6, 34). Mary knew that the time of separation was not far distant. The words which Jesus had spoken when she found Him in the Temple, still echoed in her heart: “. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2, 49). She had kept these words in her heart, and had understood that, at a time not too distant, Jesus would enter upon his mission, for the accomplishment of which He had come upon earth.
Life in the company of her Divine Son afforded Mary the delights of heaven, and still she longed with a holy desire for the greatly feared day; for in her disinterested love she wished for the coming of the hour in which her Divine Son would begin His public life, His labor of love and mercy among men. Mary knew that she had been chosen by God to share in the great work of redemption, and willingly she prepared herself for the consummation of the sacrifice, although the pain of separation was to wound her heart deeply. Let us learn from our Blessed Mother to practice disinterested love and self-sacrifice for the welfare of others. We religious are called to alleviate the sufferings of our fellowmen, and to offer ourselves for their temporal and eternal well-being. Let us, therefore, like Mary, not look upon ourselves but rivet our gaze upon Jesus, Who has gone before us on the way of complete self-surrender, and cheerfully and bravely unite our sacrifice with that of His Blessed Mother for the salvation of those entrusted to us.
SECOND POINT
JESUS LEAVES HIS BLESSED MOTHER
Finally, the day on which Jesus wished to depart from Nazareth arrived. It certainly was no small sacrifice for Him to leave this beloved little home, where He had spent so many a year with Mary and Joseph. With the remembrance of the past was coupled the thought of the bitter sorrow His separation would cause His Blessed Mother. Jesus loved His holy Mother more than ever son loved his mother, and He fully realized how painful His departure would be to her pure heart. It is always hard for a mother to part with her only son, even though bright prospects of wealth, honor, and fame loom quite high. How much greater, however, must not her anguish have been in the knowledge that sorrow and pain, persecution and ill-treatment of every kind, imprisonment, torture, and an ignominious death awaited him! All this, as Mary well knew, was in store for her well-beloved Son. How unspeakable, therefore, must have been her sorrow as she bade Him farewell!
O Mary, Mother of Sorrows, who hast so deeply felt what it means to have a heart rent with anguish, assist us when we are permitted to experience the pangs caused by the sacrifice of a separation which God demands of us. Yes, let us be mindful of Mary’s bitter separation when we must part with an office which is so congenial to us in every respect, from a house in whose affairs and interests we have become incorporated, as it were, from superiors and fellow-religious with whom we were one heart and one soul. Let us unite ourselves, then, with the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and joyfully and courageously go whither God calls us through the voice of our superiors.
Affections: O sweetest Jesus, Thou Who for our salvation didst so willingly take upon Thyself every sorrow, even that of separation from Thy Blessed Mother, look pitifully upon the weaknesses of our hearts, which, although they are entirely consecrated to Thee, still attach themselves so easily to what is earthly. Free our hearts with all their inclinations from everything which is not Thyself, and give us the grace, gladly and willingly to offer Thee any sacrifice which is conducive to Thy greater honor and glory and the salvation of our fellow-men. And Thou, O Mother of Sorrows, who for us poor children of men didst so willingly bear the pain of separation from thy beloved Son, implore for us the grace to suffer with love, and like thee to share in the sufferings of thy Divine Son.
Resolution: I will patiently bear all sufferings of this day in union with Jesus and Mary.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Great as the sea is her sorrow.”
Prayer: Take, O Lord . . .
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