STORY OF A MOTHER

REVELATION IS EVERYWHERE PRESENT

And whether or not our exact names are in the Bible, or mentioned in any of the books of the Old Testament, everyone of our names had already been written even before the beginning of the world, at a time when there is no time, in the eternal, non-beginning and non-ending, clasp of God. Because the mystery of creation is such that it continues to happen…in God’s realm, there is neither past, nor present, nor future.

But, to another topic…

In all of my travels to foreign countries, the first thing I seek is the road map to the nearest Catholic Church from wherever I am staying. And no matter how busy my work schedule may be, I will always find time to hear liturgical services, the Holy Mass, or, at the very least, make a visit.

I have also taken close notice of the different symbols used by other churches/religions to mark their own places of worship. And I remember that it was in India where the four largest religions coexist, where I saw all those religious symbols side by side.

The Hindu temples were everywhere — this religion predates Christianity by a thousand years or so. the oldest religion in the world, actually. There were even portable temples on mobile carts the way sidewalk vendors peddle their wares, with all those elaborate and ornate paintings and carvings of brightly painted images depicting the hundreds of deities/gods and goddesses that Hindus worship.

And then, in stark contrast, there loomed the large Muslim mosque (the typical onion dome) in the center of the city, containing no images at all, except for the soaring spire or minaret pointed skyward, toward the one God, Allah, who could never be reduced to a graven image.

Next, there was the Buddhist centers and small temples. They were sanctuaries of serenity and simplicity. Monks in saffron robes knelt in prayer and hummed chants and mantras, in the dark, quiet rooms of the interiors, suffused with the smell of incense. A gilded statue of Buddha dominated the room, his sly

smile expressing the Buddhist belief that the key to contentment lies in developing inner strength that allows one to surmount any suffering in life. There’s something quite Buddhist in my life. (I have also been to the Tibetan monasteries of the Himalayas, both in Katmandu and in Lhasa and the same simplicity and silence pervade the almost celestial ambiance).

And, then, there were the Protestant churches that did not believe in images. They most closely resembled the Muslim mosque in the structure of pillars and empty walls…although sometimes, there would be a Cross. In the Catholic Churches, there was a profusion of images and statues of as many saints as were presently venerated, images of Mother Mary, images of Jesus Christ, paintings of God the Father and the Holy Spirit as a dove or an eye inside a triangle…

But the predominant image was the CROSS.

Away from home on many occasions, and having been on the road for good two thirds of my life among different cultures and strange places, and still traveling, the Cross-acquired, for me, a new meaning.

Why do we use this image as a symbol for our faith? Was not the crucifixion of Jesus the most scandalous injustice ever done to any man, and to a God, at that?

We could have the image of the Resurrection…but why make the cross the centerpiece of our faith?

There is, of course, the simple fact that Jesus so commanded: “Do this in memory of me,” He said, clearly not wanting us to forget the Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, his suffering…And there lies the center of our faith: Jesus crucified formed the bridge between our human perception of a cruelly imperfect and indifferent world and our human need for God.

Our sense that God is present.

It was at the corner of that Bombay street, with pedestrians and bicyclists and farm animals swarming and smelling around me, as I stared at the Cross and all the other symbols of other religions, that I realized why the Cross had come to mean so much to Christians…The cross enacts for us the truth that there is hope when there is no hope.

The apostle Paul heard from God, “My God’s power is made perfect in weakness,” and then concluded about himself, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” That is why, he added, “I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.” He was pointing to a mystery, which goes several steps beyond the Buddhist way of coming to terms with suffering and hardship.

Paul spoke not of resignation, but of transformation. A crossing over…. To cross…. The very things that make us feel inadequate, the very things that plunder hope, these are what God uses to accomplish His work. For proof, look at the cross.

Because of the cross, I have hope. It is through the Servant’s wounds, that we are healed, said Isaiah — not his miracles. If God can wrest such triumph out of the jaws of apparent defeat, can draw strength from a moment of ultimate weakness, what might God do with the apparent failures and hardships of my own life?

Not even the murder of God’s own Son — can end the relationship between God and human beings. In the alchemy of redemption, that most villainous crime becomes our healing strength.

The fatally wounded Healer came back on Easter, the day that gives us a sneak preview of how all of history will look from the vantage point of eternity, when every scar, every hurt, every disappointment, will be seen in a different light.

Our faith begins where it might have seemed to end. Between the cross and the empty tomb hovers the promise of history: past, present, and future…”God weeps with us so that we may someday laugh with Him.”

What the apostles experienced in a small scale — three days, in grief, over one man who had died on a cross — we now live through on a cosmic scale. Human history grinds on, between the time of promise and fulfillment.

Can we trust that God can make something holy and beautiful and good out of a world that includes Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, the inner-city slums and ghettoes, the jammed prison cells in the richest nation on earth? It’s Saturday on planet earth..will Sunday ever come?

That dark, Golgothan Friday can only be called “Good” because of what happened on Easter Sunday, a day which gives a tantalizing clue to the riddle of the universe. Easter opened a crack in a universe winding down toward entropy and decay, scaling the promise that someday God will enlarge the miracle of Easter to cosmic scale.

It is happening.

It is a good thing to remember that in this cosmic drama, we live out our days on Saturday, the in-between day with no name. On our tombstone, perhaps, we could have that word written: “Waiting.”

And so, celebrate the Cross…whenever you sign it over your face, and your body, remember the crossing over…of our humanity into the divine. That is the greatest truth of our faith, and it is so real.

A Tribute to Our Blessed Virgin

Our Mother Of Hope

In the village of Pontmain, about 30 kilometers to the north of Laval, a farmer was working in his barn with his little boys Eugene and Joseph Bernadette, aged 12 and 10. On the evening of 17 January 1871, the two boys were helping their father in the barn when the eldest, Eùgene, walked over towards the door to look out. As he gazed at the star-studded sky he noticed one area practically free of stars above a neighboring house. Suddenly he saw an apparition of a beautiful Lady smiling at him. Their father sees nothing, except three large bright stars forming a triangle in the sky. But Joseph also sees the Lady. She is wearing a long blue cloak strewn with golden stars; a black veil and a golden crown about 20cm wide with a red stripe in the middle. The lady is also wearing blue shoes and her hands reach out slightly to the side as on the Miraculous Medal. Undaunted, they call their mother, who also fails to see anything even after going back to the house for her eyeglasses.

There is nothing to it, declare the parents, and the boys are to get on with work and then come in for supper. After a quick meal, the boys still see the beautiful Lady, so the Sisters of the school are called. Again, they see nothing. The Blessed Virgin Mary smiled constantly and remained motionless in the same position until 9 p.m. The children, parish priest and a lot of parishioners have gathered together, Father Guerin commences to pray with the parishioners. Of course the first prayer is the rosary. At this moment the Lady becomes larger and the stars on Her cloak multiple and a lighted banner is unfurled under her feet. Later, two girls from a local school, Francoise Richer age 11 and Jeanne Marie LeBosse age 9, were brought and could also see the Lady, while a growing crowd of sixty adults, who had begun to pray the Rosary at the suggest of the local priest.

The parish priest of Pontmain starts to pray the Magnificent and golden letters appear on the banner, one by one and as if they were being written by an invisible hand. The village children say the letters one by one and when complete they read:

BUT PLEASE PRAY MY CHILDREN
The parish priest says:”we must pray to the Lady, making Her will known”. The people now pray the litany of The Blessed Virgin Mother. More words appear as they did earlier:
GOD WILL SOON HEAR YOUR PRAYERS
The fourth pray is the “Invoilota” When they get to the words “O Mater Alma, Christi Carissima”. The following words appear:
"MY SON"
All present are now very sure that it is The Virgin Mary and they pray the fifth prayer: "Slave Regina”. Whilst singing this sentence is finished off:

"MY SON IS WAITING FOR YOU"

These words are underlined. The sixth prayer is then sung. It is a traditional favorite of Pontmain: “Mother of Hope” and the people love to sing it loud and clear. This well loved title is part, of the prayer: "Mother of Hope protect our Frances; Pray, Pray for us!" Then Mary’s smile just glows with love and She lifts Her hands to Her shoulders whilst pointing to the little Red Cross which She
wears by Her heart.

The seventh prayer is “My Sweet Jesus” at this point forgiveness of all sins will be granted to those who with contrite hearts have first prayed the “Parce Domine”. An expression of suffering and pain appears on The Blessed Virgins Face and a crucifix is formed which She holds with both of Her hands. Both the cross and Jesus are red. Above the crucifix is a small beam on which appears: “JESUS CHRIST" in letters of blood, whilst Our Lady’s deep sorrow radiates out over the crowd. A star breaks loose from the sky and extinguishes the four candles, which surround The Lady. She never takes Her eyes off the Crucifix When the parish priest of Pontmain commences the “Ave Maria Stella” the crucifix vanishes and Our Lady returns to Her original pose. Two small white crosses now appear on Her shoulders where they seem to be implanted. Slowly a large white veil floats upwards, to finally cover the apparition completely. The Lady then disappears totally.

The Germans start to retreat and on the 20th of January general van Schmidt finally surrenders and on the 28th of January, just eleven days after the apparition, the peace agreement is signed. The message of Pontmain very clearly shows us the effect of the prayers of even a small Parish community. One should turn to prayer, especially in times of trails.

We remember Our Lady’s message in Pontmain very clearly. So now we can look at Her has She appears in the words of the hymns. ‘Mother of Hope, protect us…..pray for us: Mary raises Her arms whilst She looks at the small Red Cross on her Heart: This shows Our Lady to be very closely one with Her Son on The Cross-, thus She is Our Mother of Redemption. And will offer our prayers for us.

During the “Parce Domine” Mary pleads with us to offer Jesus Christ our Redeemer to God The Father. By offering Holy Mass as thanks to God Our Father for His Son Jesus Christ Our Lord. The red cross with the red Corpus, the bloody letters and the lighted candles on either side point once more to The Holy Mass. Finally during the “Ave Maris Stella” we see Her as She appears on the Miraculous Medal, giving very generously and the two small white crosses implanted in Her shoulders, speak to us of ‘Triumph’ though Gods Intervention. At Pontmain, Our Lady shows us that She can hold back Her Sons Arm, if we listen to and obey Her Messages.
Joseph Barbadette became a priest, a member of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, while his brother Eùgene became a secular priest. He was assisted by one of the girls who had seen Mary as his housekeeper, with the other, Jeanne-Marie Lebossé, becoming a nun. A large basilica was built at Pontmain and consecrated in 1900.

"This apparition in Pontmain is fully approved by the Holy See: February 1875"