The Handmaid of The Lord

"His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever He tells you.'" - John 2:5

Growing up Catholic, I prayed to the Virgin Mary as a little girl. I always understood her to be my mother too since she was Jesus' mother, and like a good mom, she brought me closer to her son. Now that I'm older, I see her as an amazing role model for my faith. Her words are seldom mentioned in the gospels, but whenever she did speak, the words backed up her exceptional obedience and confidence in the Lord. When the angel Gabriel saluted her and told her about God's plans for her, she said in complete obedience and trust, "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said." This young woman, probably only 15 at the time, faced dishonor, bringing shame upon her family and fiancee, and death, yet her faith and humility before God was greater than everything else! Sometimes when I'm on the train and begin to pray, I get a bit embarrassed if someone sees me doing the sign of the cross… look at how far I am from her rock solid faith! And more importantly, Mary understood that all things God brings us is for our ultimate good, no matter how devastating, impossible, or burdensome they may seem to our limited human understanding. How many of us would say no to the angel because we're worried about how things are going to work out and what people will think of us? We hardly ever look beyond the inconvenience to ourselves and never accept in faith that what God asks of us or brings into our lives is actually to do something amazing for us. The Virgin Mary looked beyond herself and all the obstacles. She had tremendous faith and obedience to God at a young age, faith that literally bore fruit to the light of the word, Jesus Christ, our Savior!

Therefore, whether we're Catholic, or any other Christian denomination, let us take Mary as a role model for our faith, she who tells us as she told the servants at the wedding at Cana, "Do whatever He tells you."

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, only a woman of exceptional faith, virtue, love, and obedience could You call Your mother. Allow us to model our faith and acceptance of Your Word after hers. Help us to see that all You ask us to do is for our good. In Your Name we pray, amen.

The Crucifixion

The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery:
The Crucifixion of Our Lord

"There they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, casting lots to decide what each should take. People passing by shook their heads and insulted him, saying, "Aha! So you will destroy the Temple and build it up again in three days. Now save yourself and come down from the cross, if you are Son of God." In the same way the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law mocked him. They said, "The man who saved others cannot save himself. He trusted in God; let God rescue him if God wants to, since he himself said: I am the son of God." From midday darkness fell over the whole land until mid-afternoon. At about three o'clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabbacthani?" which means: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? As soon as they heard this, some of the bystanders said, "He is calling for Elijah." And one of them went quickly, took a sponge and soaked it in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave him to drink. Others said, "Leave him alone, let us see whether Elijah comes to his rescue." Then Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and gave up his spirit." - Matthew 27:35,39-43,45-50

A friend of mine asked me why I have to make these messages so bloody. And yesterday, when I asked my 17 year old twin brothers to pray the rosary with me and meditate on how Jesus was beaten, they complained and said, "ugh! We don't want to think about that!" But we do have to think about it. We have to imagine each wound, each blister, each drop of blood and each tear Jesus shed because He shed them because of our sins. When the prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming of Jesus, he wrote: He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins… but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all (Isaiah 53:5,6). As bloody, horrible, and gruesome as it is, you must know that if our sins weren't that serious, such a violent death would not have been necessary! Because we constantly sin, do horrible things, and turn away from God, all that Jesus went through in His passion, all the blood shed, all the injuries sustained, was 100% necessary. That's how serious our sins are!

Upon the cross, Jesus cried out "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Do you think He said that because He felt God didn't care? No, the reason He said that was because even when He was being crucified, there were people who wouldn't acknowledge or have respect for what He has done for us. Still, while dying on the cross, after all the good that He did, people wanted signs in order to believe. What other signs could you possibly want at this point? Don't be like these people and demand more proof from God in order for you to believe and give your life to Him. The proof is the cross and the blood shed for you is enough reason!

Today's Prayer:
Mary, mother of our Lord, I know you watched in immense pain as they killed your son. I also know you watched Him die, praying that the price He paid would be enough for all to believe in Him. It hasn't been enough, Mary. Pray for us sinners so that we may never take the cross for granted and live our lives following Him.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls into Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.

Jesus Carries His Cross

Today we enter The Easter Triduum, the most important days in Jesus' suffering and our redemption from sin. If you can, please make the time to attend Mass this evening as the church remembers the washing of the feet and the last supper. Tonight, Jesus will find Himself in agony in the garden because in the next 24 hours, He will be put to death. Join Him in His suffering.

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery:
Our Lord Carries His Cross to Calvary

"Bearing His own cross, Jesus went out of the city to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew: Golgotha." - John 19:17

Imagine our beaten, bleeding, crying Messiah walking through the streets toward His death, with His cross on His back. Can you see all the people laughing at Him? Some are crying. Some don't even care. His body must ache so badly after all He's been through. He hasn't even had anything to eat or drink. I don't even know how He managed to keep walking, but He did. He persevered because what He was going through, the cross He was carrying, was the work of God.

Our first reaction when we are given a cross to bear is that we don't want to and we don't deserve it. However, after sin entered the world, no one ever guaranteed us that life would be blissful and happy. On the contrary, while on earth we will deal with pain, suffering and all kinds of hurt and evil. That's why Jesus died, so that after death, we can enter Heaven and finally live in peace. But since we're still on earth, we need to bear the crosses we carry - caring for sick relatives, living with disease, dealing with financial trouble, coping with addictions, and doing the will of God by being good to others even when they don't deserve it. You see, it is ONLY in suffering, that we acquire strength and we grow. Those who don't suffer never build character. If we accept our lot in life and ask God for help, He will help us carry that cross and we grow closer to Him, earning our entry into Heaven.When I think of Jesus in His passion, I only feel sorry for the pain He was going through, but I know that during His passion is actually when He was the strongest! We don't look at suffering with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the soul which tell us that here, we are with God and we are more than conquerors against anything the devil throws at us. Pick up the cross you may be telling God to remove from you, and in the Name of Jesus Christ, carry it in victory for your God and for your soul.

Today's Prayer:

Mary, mother of God, pray for us so that we may see that it is only through suffering that we grow stronger in spirit and faith. Pray so that the Lord takes away our fears and we may join Him in His walk to Calvary.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls into Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.

Crowned With Thorns

The Third Sorrowful Mystery:
Our Lord is Crowned with Thorns

"The Roman soldiers took Jesus into the palace of the governor and the whole troop gathered around him. They stripped him and dressed him in a purple military cloak. Then, twisting a crown of thorns, they forced it onto his head, and placed a reed in his right hand. They knelt before Jesus and mocked him, saying, 'Long life to the King of the Jews!' They spat at him, took the reed from his hand and struck him on the head with it." - Matthew 27:27-30

The thought that comes into my head as I read this is, is this how a king dies? During His ministry, Jesus was a powerful speaker; He was charismatic, He had great power, yet, when He needed to defend Himself, He remained quiet, accepting the humiliation. He must have been so tired and out of it at this point. A fever must have kicked in from the scourging and He probably couldn't see with the blood pouring into His eyes from the crown of thorns. One thing is certain though, the man who walked on water, expelled demons, and raised people from the dead could have saved His life if He wanted to, but He chose to accept His fate because those who do the will of God never turn back, even in the face of suffering and humiliation.

With the crown of thorns on His head, He was mocked for what He believed in, for what He stood for. All the good He had done for others meant nothing to those Roman soldiers, but Jesus saw beyond that. How about you? What is your reaction when you are mocked, when you are put to shame, when you are put in situation where people don't understand you and what you believe so they decide to verbally or even physically attack you instead? Do you get angry and attack back? Even if it's joking around, we can get defensive. Or do you keep your eyes set on Jesus and remember that it is the Lord who created you, the Lord who you listen to, and no one can take what is right and virtuous away from you? Remember this as people question your faith and the good you do. Those who don't understand God will never understand you. Being called names, being made fun of because you want to pray and follow God's will may be painful and uncomfortable at times, but Jesus already paid the price with blood so that you won't have to. If you are made to wear such a crown for your belief in Jesus Christ, accept it with dignity and pride.

Today's Prayer:

Mary, mother of our Lord, pray for us so that we are never ashamed of demonstrating our faith proudly for all to see that we belong to the Lord.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.

The Scourging at the Pillar

The Second Sorrowful Mystery:
Our Lord is Scourged at the Pillar

"Then Pilate set Barabbas free, but had Jesus scourged, and handed Him over to be crucified." - Matthew 27:26

Just a few hours before this, Jesus was before the Jewish elders, questioned before the high priest Caiaphas. They demanded answers from Him, but all they were really looking for were reasons to hand Him over to the romans. They made fun of Him and spit at Him, while Jesus accepted what was happening. Then, He is before Pilate, who didn't really want to crucify Him, but had no choice since the crowds were asking for Jesus' death. So, they took our Lord and tied Him to a pillar. The roman soldiers took turns whipping His back. The whips had pieces of bone attached to the ends that were designed to rip away at pieces of flesh and bone upon contact. There was our Lord, an innocent man, our God, tied to a pillar while His body was mutilated. I can imagine that they missed His back a lot of times and instead, the whips ripped away at the sides of His ribs, probably His face, His arms, His legs. And He accepted all of this because at the end, you and I could ask God for forgiveness with a repented heart, and He will forgive us. No longer would we die, but we will have eternal life.

If He wanted to, Jesus could have resisted, ordered the angels to save Him, or made it so He didn't feel pain, but He didn't. You see, how could we ever serve a God who doesn't know what it is like to suffer the things we suffer? Jesus knew this and wanted to show His love by accepting this fate. We can't ever say God doesn't understand our hurt. Sometimes it can feel like people are killing us when we discover betrayal, deceit, or that someone has said horrible things behind our backs. It can feel like the air was sucked right out of us and pieces of our heart were torn out - well, each time Jesus was spit at, betrayed, with each lashing tearing away at His flesh and muscle, He is right there with you in your suffering… and not because He has to be, but because He wants to be.

Today's Prayer:
Mary, you watched in great sorrow as your son was beaten and put to death for our sins. Please pray for us so that this Holy Week does not pass without our fully realizing how much God loves us and how much we need Him every day of our lives.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.

The Blessed Virgin Mary

"When Jesus saw the Mother, and the disciple, he said to the Mother, 'Woman, this is your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'There is your mother.' And from that moment the disciple took her to his home." - John 19:25

The last words of a person are very important. Upon facing death, Jesus only spoke 7 times, and one of them was to hand over His mother to His disciple John. This passage is significant because in it, Jesus tells us that His mother is our mother, and we are her children. It was the Virgin Mary who accepted the will of God and brought the Messiah into the world for us, and it was also she who provoked the first miracle out of the Lord even though He thought He wasn't ready. Out of obedience to His mother, He conceded and performed His very first miracle at the wedding at Cana. Who else does God Himself have to obey except for His own mother? We too have the privilege of asking the mother to intercede on our behalf to the son so that our petitions are heard even faster since Jesus gave her to us as our mother, and us to her as her children. This is why from then on, the disciple took her into his home as we should bring her into our hearts as the Lord's mother.

My prayer for tonight is a prayer I found on a piece of paper at church one morning. I saw it and picked it up to pray it. You ask the Virgin Mary to intercede to her son on your behalf for something you need/ want and in 3 days, you will see a change. I took the prayer with a special intention and I can thank the Lord for having listened to His mother because my prayer was answered in those 3 days! The paper said that if your prayer is answered, to publish it and that's what I'm doing by passing it on to you.

Please pray this for 3 days and pass it on:

Oh, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, help me and show herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech thee from the bottom of my heart to succor me in this necessity. (Make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee (3x). Oh Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3x). Sweet Mother I place this cause in your hands (3x). Thank you for your mercy to me and mine.