There are times, when I write that I just can’t seem to get the words right. I’m trying to express something in my soul, something that I know, but words just don’t suffice. I ask God to help me, and I find a way to put thought on paper. Often though, it still seems inadequate, like there is no created word that can describe how the soul feels. Maybe that is why “The Word” is Christ, because human language would otherwise fail.
As I write today, my son is practicing his Christmas songs on the piano. The feelings that I have inside, those of a mother for her child, again are beyond words. With every precise note and every missed note, I feel joy, because he is my son. I can’t explain why, to an objective ear, no matter how hard I try, unless they have experienced a like situation in their own life…when love transcends objective reality.
Yesterday, when I prayed the Canticle of Mary, I experienced it differently. It was as if Our Lady was saying it to me, from soul to soul, sharing in our experience of God. She was proclaiming and rejoicing about her God, but intimately, like she was speaking from a bursting soul…trying to find words to express the Creator’s omnipotence …those insufficient words. All generations would call her blessed. Her humility was palpable. The rest, of the canticle, isn’t a history lesson, or list of accomplishments. It is the cure from the eternal Heart of her Father. This year, we are excited about one little vaccine to return our lives to “normal”. Mother Mary is announcing that the Eternal Cure is here. The healing for all of her children in Christ Jesus. Can you imagine how she said these things to Elizabeth. Her soul was shouting and overflowing inside of her, but she was limited by words. We put these words to beautiful and prayerful melodies, but somehow, I think they were spoken with wide eyed enthusiasm, bursting out of her to her cousin. As I read, I thought she is still saying these words to me. She is still trying to proclaim our Cure.
December 12th, nine days from the writing of this post, is The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is Empress of the Americas, her name translates to “the one who crushes the serpent”, her message, “Trust in me: I am your mother.” Our Mother, who hears our wrong notes, but still loves with joy.
Our Lady of Guadalupe calls us to trust, while she is carrying the unborn Savior of the World within herself. She comes to us adorned in royal dress, wearing a sash designating the child within her is royalty. Who better to turn to during this Advent Season, than the Madonna carrying the Christ Child, the mother who loves us in spite of our sour notes.
Maybe a good way to prepare for the King of the Universe this Advent, is to, from our souls, pray His Mother’s prayer, for her children in this divided nation of her born and unborn children.
The Canticle of Mary
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
My Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour
For He has looked with favour on His lowly servant.From this day all generations will call me blessed:
The Almighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His Name.He has mercy on those who fear Him
In every generation.He has shown the strength of His arm,
He has scattered the proud in their conceit.He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
And has lifted up the lowly.He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.He has come to the help of His servant Israel
For He has remembered His promise of mercy,
The promise He made to our fathers,
To Abraham and his children for ever.
Veronicas Veil 