Hajja Salesjana April-June 2022

Background photo by Alexander Mils - www.pexels.com All of Christendom shifts to a somber mood during Holy Week which commemora t es Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. For the Filipino faithful, Holy Week is filled with tradition and ritual (despite the COVID-19 pandemic). The secular media in the Philippines treats Christ’s seven last words (siete palabras in Spanish) on the Cross, as observed on Good Friday, as the week’s “highlight.” Yet, Our Lady (apart from her seven sorrows) had her own siete palabras. She spoke seven times, according to the Gospel narratives. Her words deserve contemplation by the faithful, especially during Holy Week. 1. “How can this be since I do not know man?” (Luke 1:34) Mary uttered these words at the Annunciation where the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and relayed to her the message that she would conceive and bear a Son. Mary’s utterance of “man” bears reference to a “husband”. The angel’s message to Mary is somewhat similar to the announcements made to some barren women of the Old Testament who through divine intervention became mothers of important figures in salvation history such as Sarah, mother of Isaac, Hannah, mother of Samuel, and Samson’s mother (unnamed in scripture). Our reflection with regard to Mary’s words should perhaps consist of imploring God’s help in dealing with the vicissitudes and mysteries of life. Do we take a moment to think that perhaps God has a plan for our lives (especially at this time when the world is gripped with a dreadful virus that has killed many people)? Do we often forget that illness and suffering are part of human existence no matter how much we want to avoid them? 2. “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say” (Luke 1:38). On the same occasion, Mary expressed total resignation to God’s will. The faithful are reminded that while we exhaust all means to solve our problems, we surrender them to God’s divine hand. We ought to ask ourselves often: do we live life the best way we can and let God take care of the rest? Or do we rely purely on our own strengths (limited as they are), forgetting that perhaps God wanted us to take a moment to talk and listen to Him? 3. Mary’s greeting to her cousin Elizabeth. This must have been the usual Jewish salutation Shalom (Luke 1:40). On this occasion, Mary, heavy with child, journeyed “into the hill country to a town of Judah” to visit Elizabeth, who was to give birth to John the Baptist. Her journey was not a walk in the park, of course. Those who have made pilgrimages to that hill country attest that it is a steep mountain with rugged terrain, but Mary made haste to help her cousin. Luke’s Gospel tells us that “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.” A noted Filipino priest-columnist once wrote that Mary’s example was “Christianity at its best – caring, committed to the welfare of others.” Perhaps, we need to ask ourselves: do we Our Lady’s Seven Last Words 30 April - Ġunju 2022 hajja