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 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.

He Will Never Forget You

"Can a woman forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child of her womb? Though she may forget, I will not forget you." - Isaiah 49:15

Those that hurt us the most are those that we care about the most. We give so much of ourselves to those we love and it's so painful to see them not return the same favor back. It's not that we demand compensation for our actions, but we want to feel appreciated and shown that love back. Unfortunately, none of us are perfect and we end up getting hurt by those we love, those we thought were going to be there for us, and we, at times also hurt those we love with our own actions. Feeling unappreciated or betrayed by someone is a pain that burns deep in our chests, but we must give up our sorrows to the Lord so that He can take care of us. No matter who has hurt you - even your own mother - God is there for you. Even closer than the bond of a mother and child is the bond of God's love for you. He will never forget you no matter who doesn't love you anymore or who has hurt you, betrayed you or left you feeling unwanted/ unappreciated.

Please, always keep in mind that you only need to see yourself as the Lord sees you. Don't let hurt and betrayal fog your vision of the Lord, but always keep in mind that He will never forget you, but have you always present to nourish you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, You're there for me when I'm hurting and show me that Your love is the only love that matters. Clear my mind so that I can be grateful for Your love and mercy. In Your Name we pray. Amen.

Our Mothers and Fathers

"Whoever honors his father atones for his sins; he who gives glory to his mother prepares a treasure for himself." - Sirach 3:3-4

I've been thinking about my parents a lot lately. They're very old school and sometimes treat me like I'm 10 years old instead of in my 20's. Sometimes they frustrate me and I want to explode, but I never really do. What stops me from ever being disrespectful is the fact that they are the parents that God gave me. Our God is a god that honors authority and honors obedience and the best way for me to obey God is to obey my mother and father.

Our relationship with our parents can be very similiar to how we interact with God. God intended for us to be fully obedient children to our parents and to Him. If you want to be a good servant of God, you must be a good son/ daughter. There are of course, parents that don't take care of their children as they should, and when this happens, you still have a parent in Heaven - the Lord Almighty whom you should love, honor, and obey.

Today's Prayer:
Father in Heaven, help me to honor and obey my mother and father just as I should honor and obey you. Please give me the patience and strength to fulfill your commandments as you desire. In Your Name we pray, Amen.