At every Mass I attend, I look up expectantly to the large Crucifix that usually looks over us behind the altar. In my thoughts, I am transported for a moment to the side of our Mother Mary as she is held by the hand of Saint John the Evangelist, experiencing together the Passion of Christ, and I see myself behind them, feeling so sad… It is a difficult image to process, but every time, among the pain and sadness, I end up feeling Hope because not only do I see the act of Mercy from our Savior, but also that he left us in the care of His Most Precious Mother. Oh, to be as Saint John holding our Mother’s hand!

And I can see the fear and nervousness in the air as the multitude, driven mad with angst, call out to us, asking us why we are there: “Are you also one of His?” And I see Mother Mary, face set as flint, witnessing to her son, our Lord, withstanding the shouts and the leering, and I see myself taking courage from Her steadfastness… “...Behold your Mother.” (John 27:2)

“Behold your Mother!” our Lord said, and I feel her right by me now as she was back then for John. And I imagine being like John, feeling protective of Mary in the middle of all that pain and suffering, witnessing together that most efficacious moment, the self-sacrifice of our Lord, His great Mercy overflowing in action for our salvation.

And I imagine us helping Joseph of Arimathea take down the body of our Savior from the Cross, and I immediately go back to our temple seeing that beautiful Crucifix covered in purple, waiting expectantly in the great silence because we now know what those three days so long ago meant and continue to mean… Can you imagine our Mother Mary during those three days? “Behold your Mother!”

And I see us taking Mother Mary home and having her be part of our families. I see Mary teaching us how to love Christ Jesus and follow His example. Can you imagine Mother Mary’s great joy on Easter day? Can you imagine us, the new family, overjoyed that our Savior had overcome death for us?

And I can imagine both the joy and the sadness when our Lord had to ascend to take His place at the right hand of the Father. “I have to go!” we hear from our Lord, and I believe our Mother Mary felt bittersweet happiness. She probably wanted to go with Jesus right then, but she would not let the early Church be an orphan, for her new mission was to mother us, so she stayed with us for a while longer. “Behold your Mother!”

And I imagine Mother Mary partaking in the Eucharistic banquet the same as we do today. Can you imagine Mother Mary yet again one with Jesus? Mary again united to Christ, but this time also one with us, united through the Eucharist as one body, one Church, one people, God’s people, and I tremble over that. I see new witnesses learning to witness from the first witness of Jesus.

A witness testifies to the truth, and Mother Mary testified to the truth of Christ with her very life. Mother Mary mothered the Apostles. If Mary Magdalene is the Apostle to the Apostles for leading them to see the empty tomb, then who is Mother Mary who watched over them but a mother to the Apostles and the Mother of the entire Church? And she is still doing this today for us, love for us present, her Immaculate Heart interceding for us, leading us by the hand to her Son, Jesus. “Behold your Mother!” She points the way to Christ.

Let us pray: ”Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer us. Amen.” (The Memorare Prayer)
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Dearest Eucharistic Family, 
 
My future son-in-law asked me the other day what my favorite scene in the bible is, my favorite scripture. I just walked in the door from a walk, thought quickly, and then responded, “The Lord’s Supper.” 
 
By the grace of God, often in my mind’s eye, I am there at the Lord’s Supper (The Last Supper), imagining Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and offering the bread of LIFE to the Apostles. The Apostles did not know then this would be forever held as a Memorial of Christ’s Death and Resurrection, now and forever. The Apostles did not know then what they would experience in their lives by following all that Jesus commanded of them. By way of the heart, we see and follow; we listen to the scriptures and live in hope by faith in the mystery of salvation. 
 
Jesus enters into His Passion on Palm Sunday lovingly, knowing His mission is to glorify Our Father in Heaven by giving us an example of life to live in the forgiveness of sin. The Incarnation of God’s love is a gift we are privileged to receive in the reception of Holy Communion daily. Jesus is with us. He is with us in our Passions of life, the things we are called to die to and to offer up in the hope we will live in the Kingdom of Heaven now through the Eucharist. We are invited to live in the MYSTERY. The grace of the Eucharist and life of the Holy Spirit is our sustenance, holding firm to knowing Our Father loves us.  
 
The Lenten Season is an incredible discipline. It teaches us year after year to try a little more challenging tasks, think a little deeper, and pray like we are on a great mission. If I only had to pray for my husband and children and care for the duties required of me in my daily sacrifices, it would be full-time. Yet the more we open to God’s grace, the more we are asked to do in caring for the world around us. God gives us the grace to do what we can as He hopes for us to be employed in His love.
 
“As for Communions, don’t let any pass by through your own fault. You need them. When our Lord is calling you to come toward him in spite of your weakness, it would be very wrong to choose to stay away from his eucharistic table through humility. So then, my daughter, go in spite of your weaknesses. I mean, rather, go with your weaknesses and poverty. This is your admission ticket to our good Master. (Saint Peter Julian to Mrs Joséphine Gourd - October 18, 1851)
 
There is much to do. Holy Week sets our path to see the Institution of the Holy Priesthood & Holy Eucharist, with an invitation to venerate the Holy Cross on Good Friday, to wait with Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in silence on Holy Saturday, to be brought to live in the LIGHT OF THE WORLD as we live in the Resurrected life now by the Blessed Sacrament; this is our LIFE IN CHRIST.
 
Let us live in AWE of God’s Divine Providence. Let us see God in the birds of the air, the cool breeze, and the simple blessings we live in daily. Let us love one another as Jesus Christ loves us. Let us REMEMBER all the Lord has done for us in washing the feet of the disciples, hoping for us to follow Him in a deep sense of joy, knowing the love we share has first been given to us at a GREAT COST: IN THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST, HIS DYING AND RISING FROM THE DEAD. Let us be in LIFE caring for one another. 
 
Around your dinner tables, take time to ask one another what is your favorite scene in the bible, your favorite scripture, and share in the blessings of God’s Word. 

By: Ivonne J. Hernandez

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 (This blog was originally published on 11/14/2020, but I needed this message again. I thought perhaps I’m not the only one...)

​I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling pretty tired lately, more than tired… depleted. Dealing with physical tiredness is something I am used to; in learning to manage my CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth), I have come to learn my physical limits and how to work around them. I know I need more rest than most people, and I am ok with that. But the mental and spiritual strain I’ve experienced this year is constantly testing my limits, and I’m having to learn, and accept, what those are. I am having to learn to spend more time in silence, more time in prayer. And while it can be tempting for us to try to separate our physical and mental needs from our spiritual needs, we are wholly human; one area will always affect the other. Our worries make us weary; the solution to this is rest.
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“Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary” (Luke 18:1). What happens when we allow ourselves to become weary? We can start to lose hope, and this is a danger we must avoid. A feeling of weariness lets us know that something is off and that balance needs to be restored. This restoration is a passive kind of work. When our bodies need healing, we must give the body what it needs and let it do its work. This is not easy. Ask anyone who has been on an extended bedrest; sometimes, the hardest thing we are asked to do is rest. But our bodies are not meant to work without ceasing. Our need for rest is clearly displayed in the work of Creation when God rested on the seventh day. “Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). It is interesting to note, however, that what God commands us to do on this day of rest is pray. This is also not easy. While rest from our physical or mental labors means taking a break from work, this is different in our life of prayer, where resting is the actual work.

The dictionary defines weary as “feeling or showing tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep.” In our prayer, we experience this “excessive exertion” when we try to do the work of God ourselves. Think about it; God would not ask us to do something beyond our ability. He would not ask us to “pray always” if this depended on our limited human capacities. It is when we are faced with our limits that we can surrender to his infiniteness. It is in our poverty that we realize we need a Savior. “In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (Romans 8:26). The only way we can pray always, without becoming weary, is when we allow ourselves to enter into His rest.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11-28-30). A different translation says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Just like the restoration of the body requires us to give the body food and rest, the restoration of our souls requires us to give the soul its food and rest. This food our soul needs is the Eucharist, Jesus Christ Himself; He is also our place of rest. In this rest, His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity mix with our body, mind, and spirit… healing the sick and restoring the broken. In this rest, we become truly whole…we become holy. So when you are feeling weary, do not despair. Lift your eyes to Heaven and enter into His rest.