Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, during the season of Lent, the bible and the Church exalt us to pray, to fast and to give alms. The bible not only asks us to do so but also offer us models for such practices. Today let us take a look at Mary and learn from her how to exercise the Lenten practices of praying, fasting and almsgiving. Now let us turn our eyes onto the visitation scene, examine what happened, and what the visitation account teaches us about Mary and the Lenten practices.
The first lesson we can learn from Mary is her sensitivity to others’ need. Before we do any charitable deeds to anyone, first we need to be aware of their need. Mary was so sensitive to others’ needs. When she heard that her cousin, in her old age, had conceived and in her sixth month, she realized her cousin’s need. Immediately she rose up and went to serve her.
The first lesson we can learn from Mary is her sensitivity to others’ need. Before we do any charitable deeds to anyone, first we need to be aware of their need. Mary was so sensitive to others’ needs. When she heard that her cousin, in her old age, had conceived and in her sixth month, she realized her cousin’s need. Immediately she rose up and went to serve her.
There are many needy people around us if we open our eyes and see. They may be one of our family members, or one of our relatives, or one of our neighbours. They need people to help them, to listen to them, to support them emotionally or materially. Are we like Mary being sensitive to others’ needs? Do we feel the need, pain, anxiety, and fear of those people who are being affected by the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan? Although they are far away from us, we cannot render immediate help. We can still support them by donating and praying for them.
The second lesson we learn from Mary is the spirit of fasting. Upon hearing the news of her cousin’s conception, Mary rose up at that time and went with all haste to a town of Judah, in the hill country where Zachariah and Elizabeth dwelt. In order to help her cousin, Mary came out of her comfort zone and went into a hill country. A hill country, we can imagine, two thousand years ago, how difficult it would have been to travel on the bumpy road. Yet Mary was willing to endure all the unpleasantness of the journey to give assistance to Elizabeth. This is the spirit of fasting, fasting by giving up one’s own pleasure and comfort for God and others, to be God and other centered.
The third lesson we can learn from Mary is about prayer. After greeting her cousin, upon hearing Elizabeth’s response of praise, Mary responded spontaneously by saying, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord …” What a natural prayer of praise! Mary did not go into a prayer room to pray. She could pray at any place and time because she was always conscious of God’s presence. Prayer filled her life. During the season, we are exalted to pray constantly. We need to learn to make every moment of our life a time of prayer.
The fourth lesson we learn from Mary is about almsgiving. According to St. Luke’s account, Mary stayed with her cousin for three months. We know that three in the bible is a complete number. Therefore, we can say that Mary stayed and served Elizabeth till everything completed. The alms that Mary gave to her cousin was not money but care and time. We may be poor in material things but we can be like Mary to give our time, care and concern to those who are needy and lonely.
Therefore, let us learn from and emulate Mary in this Lenten season, to grow in sensitivity to peoples’ needs; to have a true spirit of fasting, to be willing to give up our personal pleasure and comfort for God and others; to pray always and fill our daily life and activities with prayer. Through these Lenten practices, like Mary, we will also be able to bring Jesus to other peoples’ lives.
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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Samuel Lim on 29th Mar 2011.
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