"For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting." John 3:16This is our redemption. God accomplished it through Mary. At the Annunciation the Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary by God he said, "Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you. Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever. And of His kingdom there will be no end."This troubled Mary she had questions. The Angel explained that she was to become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word"And the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us. Jesus was conceived. Mary became pregnant. If Mary had said no, there would have been no redemption. It all depended on her. Mary was accepting a cross. Pregnancy is always a cross, morning sickness, nine months carrying the child, loss of freedom, the birth. These are all difficult. But for Mary it was a problem pregnancy. The culture was not kind to unwed pregnant teen-age girls at that time. Stoning was common. Her life was to be one of suffering, sorrow, and terror. Just as Mary protected, nurished and educated Jesus, She continues to care for us, the Body of Christ. At Cana Jesus turned water into wine. He was not inclined to do so, but Mary interceded and Jesus performed the miracle. She continues to intercede for us. At our Legion meeting we have the statue of Our Lady of Grace. Mary stands with grace flowing to the world from her hands. She is a source of grace and blessings. We assist Mary in her work of redemption when we do our Legion work, visiting fallen away family members, encouraging people to return to the Church, distributing literature, going door to door, welcoming people, inviting people to church, passing the Pilgrim Virgin Statue around, encouraging the Rosary, leading the Rosary, or working in Religious Education. At Communion we accept Jesus into our body as Mary accepted Him into her's. We are like Mary. Jesus says that we must carry a cross if we want to follow Him. In being a Christian and accepting Jesus we should do our duty, accept our crosses and echo Mary's words, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word" |