Every Thanksgiving, our family tradition is to vote on which movie we will all watch together. My preference is Miracle on 34th Street, but this year, the “youngins” preferred The Wizard of Oz, a film I must have seen at least a hundred times! But this time, I was struck by that scene where the witch writes “Surrender Dorothy” across the sky, and I wondered: suppose instead of Dorothy, it had been my name or yours? What if we were being asked to surrender, not to the witch, but to God?
The Blessed Virgin Mary, with her “Fiat,” did exactly this: she totally surrendered to God! She found herself in a most delicate situation: If Joseph had not been an honorable man, she could have been stoned to death! What humility and confidence she had in not disclosing the circumstance of her pregnancy! What patience and trust in God that He would make all things right!
Consider for a moment the extraordinary circumstances of Mary’s life: the years she spent in the temple as a young girl in silent prayer; her time in Nazareth raising the Word Incarnate; her sharing in His apostolic life; her union with Him in His passion, and afterward her years with Saint John praying for the infant Church. Her “Yes” encompassed ALL that! Read more
|
|
