by Kay Parlor, Local Board President, Nebraska
Mary: Woman of Contemplation
As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Lk. 2:19)
His mother stored up all these things in her heart. (Lk. 2:51)
Over the years I’ve been exposed to a variety of books on prayer, workshops, etc. that somehow seem to make contemplation seem so unattainable. It is often conveyed as a lofty level of prayer that is purview of the great mystics but not the likes of a housewife in Nebraska.
Mary: Woman of Contemplation
As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Lk. 2:19)
His mother stored up all these things in her heart. (Lk. 2:51)
Over the years I’ve been exposed to a variety of books on prayer, workshops, etc. that somehow seem to make contemplation seem so unattainable. It is often conveyed as a lofty level of prayer that is purview of the great mystics but not the likes of a housewife in Nebraska.
I was delighted when I came upon a simple definition of contemplation from the Dominican theologian, Jordan Aumann, who synthesized the work of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the Cross to describe contemplation as “an intuitive, loving knowledge of God”.
When I pray the passages from St. Luke’s gospel that describe Mary as a woman of contemplation, I get a glimpse of how a busy wife and mother can become a contemplative. Mary, a simple, poor woman of her time, did not have hours to spend in temple while in mystical reverie. She never attended workshops to help her determine if she was moving from meditation to contemplation in prayer. She just had great faith. I like the word “treasured” that is in the translation used above; one treasures what one loves. Mary demonstrates to us that having an “intuitive, loving knowledge of God” is actually not complicated at all; it is a simple, gentle awareness of Our Lord.
My heart can be attentive to the presence of God as I sweep the floor, peel potatoes, drop off the dry cleaning, etc. It is that inward gaze to the heart where My Lord dwells within me.
It is interesting that as we view the painting of our patron, Our Lady of Trust, we see that Jesus is pointing to her heart. The founder of Pro Sanctity, Bishop Giaquinta, had an artist paint in the finger of the child Jesus pointing to Mary’s heart. What is it about the heart of Mary that we should understand? Pray the Scripture passages above and gaze upon the image of Our Lady of Trust. Let Mary be your guide to becoming a person of contemplation.
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