Sacrifice

~Gina

“The maternal woman understands how to alleviate the difficulties of life by her attentiveness and understanding. She is the great conqueror of everyday life. Every day she conquers by making it bearable. Her greatest moment of conquest arrives when it is barely noticed”  ~Jutta Burggraf  (Theology professor)

~By Akiane Kramarik

Reflection:

 Sacrifice can often be lonely and sorrowful. It can be burdensome and exhausting. We look to our peers, the perfect moms who appear to keep it altogether and float through their day on a cloud with a smile. Somehow as we get lost in our attempts to achieve that intangible perceived perfection of another, we must stop and begin to find our way back to our God given role model, to which we all should aspire…our sweet Mother Mary.
Her constant and humble sacrifices are abundant. We can begin with her “Yes” to God to provide her womb to bear a son Jesus, who would bring salvation to the world. Then after mothering Jesus through the trials and tribulations of life, just like you and I guide and shepherd our children, she was once again thrust into an unimaginable situation. This time she was asked to sacrifice her son for our redemption and to walk with him watching every heart wrenching moment of His demise. As we reflect on the pain we experience deep in our souls at the injuries be it physical or emotional of our children, let us in those moments pray for the strength to persevere beyond the immediate heaviness of the sacrifice itself and to pattern our behavior after our Mother Mary, selfless and full of Grace. If we are successful in doing that, in living as Mary did, we are by our very presence a source of healing, hope and new life for those we love, a most worthwhile byproduct of our constant sacrifice and intercession.  As we reflect on the Passion of Jesus and prepare for Easter I ask you to take a moment in your busy day to thank Mary for her unwavering strength, her unthinkable sacrifice so that we may live to seek eternal life.

Prayer to Mary:

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.

To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O Holy mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

~Amen