Hidden

“Mary, teacher of the sacrifice that is hidden and silent!” (Saint Josemaria, “The Way”, 509).

Blessed Virgin (Unknown)

I have been thinking of the Blessed Virgin.  She is barely mentioned in the Bible.  After everything, that she did to save the world – through her consent to God’s Holy Will – we hardly hear a word from her mouth.

In fact, the very last time we hear the Blessed Virgin speak is during the Wedding Feast of Canan when she tells the servants to “do whatever He tells you…”

Saint Josemaria wrote in “The Way” at 509, “Mary, teacher of the sacrifice that is hidden and silent! See her, nearly always in the background, co-operating with her Son; she knows, yet says nothing.”

Despite being silent in all miracles (except the Miracle at the Wedding Feast at Canan and the Miracle of the Incarnation when she consented to the Holy Will of God) the Blessed Virgin is silent.  And she does not escape the contempt of the Cross.  “In the hour of rejection at the Cross, the Virgin Mary is there by her Son, willing to go through the same fate. Let us lose our fear of behaving like responsible Christians when the environment in which we move is not easy. She will help us.” (Saint Josemaria, “Furrow”, at 977).

And it seems that the Blessed Virgin had the strength to do such a thing because she sought God out.  She spent her lifetime getting to know God – contemplating Him in all His forms…

And the more she knew Him, the more she loved Him…  She sought Him hungrily and found in Him not only His strength, but a strength that would sustain her through the darkest of times at Golgotha…

She committed her life to God through her worship of Him – as God the Father through obedience to Him.  She committed her life to God through her worship of Him – as God the Son through her service to Him.  Sher committed her life to God though her worship of Him – as God the Holy Spirit through her love of Him.

She did not worry about the quantity of what she did.  Sher did not worry about making a big statement of affecting many people.  Instead, the Blessed Virgin focused on the task at hand.  Raising a young child.  Being a young wife.  Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

She poured her soul into each of the hidden things of her everyday life – the meals she cooked, the home she cleaned, the water she drew, the obedience to her husband, the service to her Son.  And through her actions, the Blessed Virgin hid her potential imperfections in the perfection of God.

And that is why the Blessed Virgin is so great a soul…  Because she knew how to hide her potential imperfections in the perfection of God.  And this is the lesson that her life teaches me – that anything is possible if only I could love God as the Blessed Virgin loves Him…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.