Mary’s End of Life Musings” by Colleen O’Sullivan
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this,they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. (Luke 2:16-19)
Piety
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among 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.
Study
Maria with Child, Luca della Robbia, c. 1500 - 1525, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
I cannot have much time left on this earth. I have outlasted all my friends. My eyesight is almost gone and I can no longer walk anywhere without assistance. Even my beloved John has himself become an old man.
What I do have left are my memories. I may no longer be able to make out the features of my neighbors’ faces, but I can clearly see the faces of my kind and loving Joseph and my precious Jesus. They are there in my heart, their images undimmed by the passing of the years. I spend most of my time nowadays with them, thinking about all that I have witnessed in my lifetime.
Sometimes I think my life only really began the day the angel visited me with his strange tidings. Up to that point, I was a silly young girl, always escaping to laugh and talk with my girlfriends in the village until summoned by my mother to come home and learn to keep house under her watchful gaze. I was betrothed to Joseph, but marriage seemed a way off.
All that changed the afternoon God’s messenger appeared to me, called me God’s favored one and took my breath away with the announcement that I was to have a child and that this babe would be the Son of God! The angel looked and sounded real,and who was I to refuse what God requested? I tucked this conversation away to ponder. I even wondered if I had perhaps imagined this encounter, but my swelling belly soon had me believing it all right. Unfortunately, my mother and father didn’t find any truth in what I told them. Nor did Joseph at first. The whole village was talking about me, and I was growing more frightened by the day. What would become of me?
By the grace of God, Joseph decided to go ahead with our marriage. I became his wife, and everything seemed normal until Jesus was born. Then shepherds came to the rude stable where I had given birth and told a wild tale of angels appearingin the heavens, announcing the birth of the Savior of the world. They said they were led to us and knelt down before Jesus, worshipping and adoring him. I added their words to the words of the angel Gabriel and held them in my heart. I truly had no idea at the time what any of this meant. We even had visitors from afar, who said they got to Bethlehem by following a star. They brought my son precious gifts.
Not too long after that, Joseph said we had to take Jesus and leave Bethlehem, that he had been warned in a dream that our baby was in danger. So we went to Egypt until it seemed safeto return. We went back to Nazareth, where Joseph had family. He was able to restart his carpentry business and teach Jesus how to fashion things from wood.
Once, when Jesus was twelve, we were given another sign that this was no ordinary child. We were returning from the Passover in Jerusalem. After three days we realized Jesus wasn’t with our group of family and friends. We found him in the Temple, asking questions beyond his years. When we spoke to him about not staying with us, he answered that he had to be about his Father’s business. One more thing I stored away to reflect on.
The years went by. Joseph died and Jesus took over the carpentry shop. He never married, even though many times I told him how much I longed for a daughter-in-law and grandchildren to fill the house. I finally resigned myself to the status quo. Then one day Jesus said he would be leaving soon! He said God was calling him to preach what he called “the Good News.” I began to wonder if he was losing his mind. What he was proposing to do sounded dangerous - sleeping out in the open with all kinds of thieves wandering around, not to mention stirring up the ire of the Pharisees and scribes, who considered themselves the “authorities” on religious matters.
But my son performed many wonderful deeds. He healed the sick. He forgave sinners. He restored hope to the hopeless. He helped prostitutes and tax collectors turn their lives around. At the same time, he made many enemies.
Dolorosa, Pedro de Mena, c. 1658-1670, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, Creative Commons
Finally, one night they seized him. They held a mockery of a trial and, before I knew it, I was watching the execution of my son on Golgotha. Even in the midst of dying, my son was thinking about me. He asked John to do the son’s job of taking care of his mother. My heart broke into a million pieces that day. There wasn’t a single thing I could do to help my boy. He died right before my eyes.
But then Jesus was raised from the dead! He appeared to me before anyone else. I was so happy to see him. It wasn’t until that moment that all the things I’d been pondering over the years began to fall into place. This, my boy, was truly God’s Son. I have spent the rest of my life reflecting on all of it, sharing it with John and the other disciples still with us.
Even at this advanced age, I am filled with wonder that God selected me from all the women on earth to be his Son’s mother, but every day I give God thanks that he did. I can close my eyes forever with no regrets. I have been faithful to our God, and I was truly blessed and privileged to be the mother of my son, Jesus.
Action
When you have a few minutes today, you might enjoy listening to Liam Lawton’s Sing of a Lady or you could do an Examen Prayer for the Year to close out 2019 and begin 2020.
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