[5]Passion of Christ against satan; Part 30 - Life of Mary
Marida Ignacio
19 thru 25 on the "Life of Mary" series to jump to chapter/part
26 in commemoration of the Passion of our Lord. These parts 26 thru
33 are still from the same book but is more focused on the Passion of
our Lord.
I'll continue with "regular programming" next week, starting right back
on chapter/part 19.
-Marida
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DISCLAIMER: This compilation was based on saints, blesseds,
visionaries (4 in all) accounts of the "Life of Mary" as
"revealed" to them. It is NOT officially approved by the
Church as essential to our faith and belief. It is up to
individual reader's discretion to believe it or not.
This is here for simple contemplation on what "Holy life of
Our Blessed Virgin Mother" was and what virtues we can derive
from it.
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[from the book:
The Life of Mary as Seen by Mystics
Compiled by Raphael Brown
Chap. 30. The Passion]
Our Blessed Virgin not only saw in visions everything that happen to her
Son during His Passion, she also experienced in her Immaculate Heart all
the hurt and sufferings. Our Lord's Sacred Heart was consoled by His
Mother's love, prayers and in sharing the sacrifice with Him.
On the way to Mary Mark's place, the Blessed Virgin together with Magdalen
and other Holy Women met Lazarus, Nicodemus and Joseph Armathea and Mary
told the men that Judas' sudden departure from the Cenacle and her fear
that he would betray his Master, show that there are plans against Jesus
in the immediate future. Actually, Mary had witnessed the plot by Judas
and the Pharisees in a vision.
Mary retired to a private room and prayed that she might be allowed to
feel all physical and spiritual pain and torture that Jesus was about to
undergo and the Holy Trinity granted her prayer.
Jesus, praying in the Garden of Gethsemani, acknowledged the grant by
mystically turning to her mother and they exchanged mutual sympathy and
encouragement.
Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and Mary immediately interceded for the
conversion of Judas and the soldiers who arrested Him. The soldiers accepted
the grace and later became christians but Mary wept over Judas' tragic fate
for refusing this grace.
In His Apostles' abandonment of Him, Mary was alone in her valiant faith,
holiness and worship of the Christian Church for she was the only one who
had perfect hope, love and adoration for the Incarnate Word. For His
enemies' mistreatments and insults, she countered these with increase in
praise of the suffering Son of God thus making reparation for the
sacriligious
sins of evil men.
All the pains, blows, kicks and falls that Jesus experienced while being
dragged to the palace of the High Priest were experienced by His Blessed
Mother.
The procession of the guards with the captured Jesus passed by, and Mary
who came out with some friends, saw it and followed it. These women received
insults from these men passing by while they cursed and slander Jesus.
The women followed the procession until they stopped at the house of Lazarus'
sister, Martha and this was where they all met with the curious neighbors
and messengers came to bring discouraging news.
In the hall of Jesus' first trial, John the Beloved Disciple gained
admittance
and when he heard Caiaphas declare that Jesus deserved death, he gave His
Master a compassionate look which meant, "Lord, You know why I am leaving."
So John brought the sad news to the Blessed Mother.
Mary and the Holy Women, upon hearing this distressing news, yearned to be
as close to their suffering Master and so they begged John to accompany them
to the judgement hall.
Mary Magdalen sobbed and wringed her hands in sorrow as they walked on the
moonlit streets. The Blessed Virgin endured it all in silence while she
experienced all her Son's intense sufferings that occasionally, her
companions
had to support her in their arms. Mary thanked a friendly group of folks
they met who greeted the Blessed Virgin with, "the most unhappy and afflicted
Mother of the Holy One of Israel".
Mary prayed with grieving heart for the wretched and cursing men that they
saw making the Cross of the condemned Criminal.
Mary saw the 3 denials of Peter and she prayed for him. Peter earned the
grace of almost immediate repentance because of Mary's prayers.
Once the group settled behind the door of the judgement hall, Peter suddenly
rushed out weeping bitterly as he just saw the penetrating look that Jesus
gave him. He couldn't stand the question that the Blessed Virgin asked
him, "O Simon, what about my Son? What about Jesus?", so he turned away.
But Mary approached him and gently asked, "Simon, are you not going to
answer me?". Then Peter exclaimed, "Mother, do not speak to me! Your Son
is suffering cruelly. They have condemned Him to death - and I have
shamefully denied Him three times!" As John approached, Peter ran away and
went to a cave on Mount Olivet. Because of his perfect contrition, Mary
obtained that God should soon forgive him, and she sent one of her angels
to console him invisibly.
John warned the Blessed Virgin that seeing her Son so defiled and disfigured
would break her heart. But Mary bravely replied, "Let us follow my Son to
Pilate. My eyes must see Him again."
The Blessed Virgin prayed for those hardhearted person she heard on the
street
who uttered curses and cruel remarks about the Redeemer. Then at a sharp
turn in the street, Mary saw Jesus, all bruised, in ropes and staggering
along although He remained meek and silent. In Mary's shock, she gasped,
"Is this my Son? Oh Jesus, my Jesus!" Then, she prostrated herself on the
ground and worshipped Him with more fervor than before to uplift His
desecrated Divinity.
At Pilate's palace, Mary witnessed the first Roman trial. Quietly weeping
tears of blood due to the furious accusations thrown upon her Son, she
prayed to be with Him all throughout His Passion and that Pilate might find
Jesus innocent of such accusations.
A rumor spred that Pilate was trying to release Jesus and the Blessed Virgin
was torn between her motherly concern upon her Son and her complete surrender
to the Will of God. Nevertheless, Pilate yielded to the accusations and he
let Barabbas free while commanded the scourging of the Galilean.
At the scourging, Mary fainted in the arms of her companions as Jesus turned
to Him, seemingly saying, "O My Mother, turn your eyes from Me!"
Nevertheless, for 45 minutes, our Lord was scourged by 3 successive Egyptian
slaves and the Mother of God felt on her body all the torture of the blows
with the same intensity as her Son's that sometimes low moans burst from
her lips. With Christ, she offered up all this suffering to atone for
mankind's sins of sensuality.
After the scourging, Jesus was driven to the praetorioum for the crowning
with thorns and He wiped off the blood from His eyes in order to see His
afflicted Mother. Mary gazed upon Him and His bloodstained footsteps then
she lifted her hands toward Him in agony. Then the Blessed Virgin and
Magdalen knelt down before the pillar to which Jesus was scourged and
reverently soaked up all the Precious Blood of the Savior with some cloths.
Upon hearing the formal condemnation of death on the Cross, Mary prayed
and comforted John and 3 of her companions who had swooned away.
Mary asked John to bring her to a place where the carrying of the Cross
procession would pass by. So at the entrance of a certain place they
went to, Mary knelt and prayed fervently then she turned to John saying,
"Shall I stay here? Oh how can I bear it?" John answered, "If you
do not stay, you will always bitterly regret it."
The carrying of the Cross procession approached and when Jesus saw with His
bloody deep-sunken eyes, the suffering Mother of God, He fell on His hands
and knees under the Cross He had carried, due to exhaustion.
The loving Mother rushed to her Son's side, forgetting about the guards,
and embraced Him lovingly and tenderly.
With the confusion that broke, John and the Holy Women tried to draw Mary
back, while an executioner remarked to her:
"If you had brought Him up better, He would not be here now."
When finally, the procession continued on towards Calvary, Mary prayed with
even greater fervor and God granted that in a few minutes, someone would be
asked to carry Jesus' Cross for Him. Mary, John and their friends, all in
sorrow, followed the procession to Calvary.
---
The Blessed Virgin said to St. Bridget of Sweden:
"At the first blow (of the scourging), I feel as if dead, and on recovering
my senses, I beheld His Body, bruised and beaten to the very ribs, so that
His ribs could be seen.
"As my son was going to the place of His Passion, some men struck Him on
the back and others hit Him in the the face. And He was struck so violently
and so brutally that although I did not see the person striking Him, I
distinctly heard the sounds of the blows."
--
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(__ \/ ) His Peace through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Marida
* )XxXx/
* | / "Human-kind: Where protection of valuable life starts and
* ) / takes off."
* \/ Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..."
*