O Clarim News Bureau (English)
Dear Father L
Greetings from Canada!
Mine is not actually a problem, but a sort of sharing. May is the month of Mary, so I was wondering if I can share a little about how I love the Blessed Mother. My husband and I visited the Holy Land before the pandemic, and we went to see the church in Cana. We renewed our vows outside of the church because it was so crowded inside. We bought a bottle of wine at the gift shop there and gave it to our son when he and his girlfriend got engaged. In the Gospel of John, we read: “His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you’ (John 2:5). These are the last words of Mary recorded in the Bible. What powerful words they are. Sometimes I feel as if she is speaking to me: “Do whatever he tells you.”
I remember that visit like it was yesterday. I know Jesus was with us as we renewed our vows.
And I know that Mary spoke to our hearts as well: “Do whatever he tells you.”
A happy mother of three kids
Dear happy mother,
This short and direct statement from our Blessed Mother says all we need to know: “Do whatever he tells you.” What else do we need to know in life?
The hard part, of course, is following that advice. It’s easy to believe it, to preach it and to commit ourselves to doing everything that our Lord says, but it’s another thing to actually follow through and fulfill His divine will.
That short exhortation calls us to two things: 1) To discern what Jesus wants of us and, 2) To freely embrace that which we discern. How are you doing in these two areas?
First of all, discerning the will of God can be hard in the sense that it requires a wholehearted attentiveness to His gentle and subtle voice. God does not impose His will on us; rather, He respectfully and quietly invites us to listen. He waits until we give Him our full attention and then reveals His will one step at a time. Yes, some things have been made clear already through public revelation, such as the avoidance of sin and the embracing of faith, hope and love. But when we are ready to let those general commands enter practically into our daily lives, we must be ready to give God our full attention.
Second, we should realize that God’s will, when properly discerned, is not always easy to embrace. He requires everything of us. He is a “jealous God” in the sense that He wants our total surrender. The good news is that if we are willing to give Him everything in total obedience, we will discover that our lives are completely fulfilled.
May I invite you to reflect upon this twofold invitation spoken by our Blessed Mother. Reflect upon how ready you are to listen to God’s will and how ready you are to do His will, no matter what it is. If you are ready for this, you are on the path toward holiness and happiness.
Sincerely,
Father L.
Source of content: mycatholic.life
Letters are welcome at: OClarimEnglish2022@gmail.com
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