Today’s reflection is written by Brian O’Neill
As I spend more time with this last paragraph I am able to connect through my heart and less through my rational and judgmental mind. I listen, I love, I give. That is as far as I got and I felt the need to pause and ask myself, do I actively listen when another is speaking to me or am I am rehearsing what I am going to say when they stop talking? The latter of these two can and does interfere with my ability to quiet my mind and listen to divine wisdom from within. Do I love freely and without condition and am I able to find compassion for those who are hurting or have harmed me? Do I give of myself in ways that help others while respecting my own boundaries and time? No, not always and that is the human condition—imperfection. I pray to have the same gentleness with myself in areas that I still need to grow as Mother Mary is offering of herself in this message.
Mother Mary describes herself as the sun, moon, mountain peaks and the very air we breathe. She tells me to look to the sky and gaze upon her heart, I am as she is, I am connected to the mineral and gold of her love. I feel I am being asked to see myself in the sky, plant life, and beauty of our planet and in doing so, I am also asked to care for it as I do myself. Nature has always been my gateway to serenity, safety, and God’s love within. The awe and connection I feel to divine love living within me is made more real when I am in the presence of natural beauty. I have a clear memory that I go to when I feel myself worried, afraid, anxious, or wondering away from God’s internal love for me. I remember being a young boy on a nature hike with my father and brothers when we came to a beautiful stream in a forest. The flowing water created small islands of grass and wild flowers that was dappled with sunlight. The stream wasn’t very wide so even as a child I could jump from one area of land to the next. I laid down on the soft grass and remember thinking and feeling, I never want to leave this place. I closed my eyes and listened to the birds, the water, my breath and felt my body sink into a stillness that welcomed me with open arms. It felt like time had stopped and I have no idea how long I was there for. As I heard my father’s voice calling to me and saying it was time to go, I felt my small hands grip the grass and not want to leave. I heard a voice inside of me say, go, and take this memory with you, you can always return to this feeling. I did not know then what I know now, that I was being held by God, by Mother Mary, and all that is sacred and pure.
When I listen to Mother Mary’s heart within me this is what I feel; I am safe, I am loved, and I am still being held by that small island of sunlit grass—it is my sacred cradle as God’s child. I am being told to make time to return to this place so that as I go about my days I am doing so with kindness, empathy and patience for myself and others. I am being offered the love from a divine mother that lives in all matter, all sentient beings, and not simply as a stone icon to praise, or a distant fantasy but a blessed force of pure love that is actively working in my life as well as others.
Do you have a memory that you return to as a mediation practice? As you lower within and listen to Mother Mary’s Heart, what do you feel or hear? As you do this, know that silence is also a message. Silence is the voice of God and that within silence can be found an unlimited abundance of peace and possibility.
5 Comments
Colleen Fox-Salah
This entry makes me think about something a man said when his only beloved son was murdered, which was that as painful as it was for him to endure this tragic, senseless event, it was that much harder for his mother. Because she was his mother. I never forgot this insight, especially since it was given by a man and highly regarded father.
Mary encourages me to deeply consider what is unique about feminine love. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all traditionally male, and I don’t know of one Christian who has been taught otherwise to the point that it is second nature to refer to God or the Holy Spirit as She. This is not to undermine the depth and breadth of love contained in male energy, but to consider the features of feminine energy with equal fervor.
I’ve always suspected that Mary fits into the Christian equation in a way that we haven’t even begun to fully access yet. I surmise that this has to do with society’s skewed perception of woman (summed up in the very limited and limiting Madonna/whore complex) meant to keep them subordinate. But now that I have heard Mary through this meditation, I am expanding the reason that we haven’t given Mary her due to include the possibility that she speaks to us exclusively from within, which is where the most formidable power is, but isn’t nearly as appreciated as tangible power.
Mary’s miracles seem to be interventions of the heart, and to receive them requires a rare form of openness. The heart is private until one feels compelled to share it. In our world, sharing the contents of one’s heart is one of the riskier acts one can take, so it would make sense that Mary isn’t as well represented as she should be despite her power.
I look forward to being corrected if I’m wrong about any of my musings! I’m not a theologian by any stretch:-)
Mary Ramerman Author
Dear Colleen,
I resonate with you saying that we haven’t fully begun to understand how Mary fits into the Christian equation. I have come to believe that she is a much more central figure than the church has allowed – the feminine side of God. Her speaking from within is an intense power, perhaps as you suggest, one that scares us because of the vulnerability required.
Love, Rev. Mary
Mary Alice Moore
Listening is the hardest part of this. It is much easier to love and to give of self.
Mary Ramerman Author
Dear Mary Alice,
Yes! I agree! That is why Brian and I are giving listening so much attention this week.
Love, Rev. Mary
Kathy K.
As a child Mother Mary was a go to woman for me. She seemed to always represent love, warmth and gentleness. The blue and white statues in church seemed to light up my impressionable mind with her beauty and kindness and for that I am extremely thankful. Mother Mary was always a good listener and I always felt better after talking with her. Now, as an adult, I need to go back to her. Thank you for the reminder to do so.
Commenting has been turned off.