He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to
them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. Luke
2:51
Over and over, the Scriptures reveal to us that the Blessed Virgin
Mary “kept all these things in her heart.” What things? She
continually pondered the great mystery of the life of her Son as
His sacred life unfolded before her eyes.
A mother’s love is strong. Many times, a mother is more aware of
the details of her child’s life than even the child itself. She is
attentive, consoling, present, tender and loving. This was who Mary
was to her divine Son, Jesus.
Mother Mary did not have full knowledge of every divine reality.
She did not gaze upon the Most Holy Trinity with her eyes as she
walked the earth. She did not have the full knowledge of the plan
of the Father. But she did walk through life with the perfection of
faith. She also knew the many truths of Heaven and earth through
her Immaculate Heart. Her heart was a heart filled with every
virtue. She loved with a love that was indescribable. And what she
especially pondered in her Immaculate Heart, over and over
throughout life, was the pure and perfect love she had for her Son.
To her, this love left her in amazement. She was continually in a
state of holy awe as she interacted with her Son, gazed upon His
sacred life, and watched Him advance in “wisdom and age and favor
before God and man” (John 2:52). The love in her heart was a lesson
to herself. She continually deepened her knowledge of God through
the pondering of the perfect love placed in her heart by her God.
And this God, her Savior, was her Son.
We celebrate today the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Though there are many feasts throughout the year in which we honor
this holy daughter of God, this celebration is an opportunity for
us all to ponder her pondering heart. A human heart is not just
physical, it is also spiritual. It is the spiritual source of our
love of God and others.
From our heart flows either virtue or vice, love or hate,
generosity or selfishness. As we honor the Immaculate Heart today,
we are called to look at the ideal of what should live within our
own hearts and what should flow forth from them. The perfection of
all virtue is what must ideally flow from every human heart
throughout time. And it is the heart of our Blessed Mother that
will teach us how to internalize those virtues so as to become an
instrument of the love of God to others.
Reflect, today, upon the spiritual perfection of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. Perfection is difficult to comprehend in our fallen
state. But the more we look to the ideal, the more we will desire
that ideal. And the more we desire that ideal, the more we will
obtain it. Allow yourself today to ponder the ideal heart as it
resided in the Mother of God and ask for her to intercede for you
so that you will more fully imitate her.
Most Immaculate Heart of Mother Mary, you reveal to us the
perfect way to love your Son and to be devoted to Him. Fill me with
the love you had for your Son by interceding for me. Thank you for
the witness you gave to us all and help us to imitate the countless
virtues that flowed from your heart. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray
for us. Jesus, I trust in You.
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