The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him;
let him put his mouth in the dust
– there may yet be hope;
let him give his cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.
For the Lord will not cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief,
he will have compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love. Lam 3:22 – 32
The mystery of Mary’s motherhood, of her motherly meditation for us, cannot be understood except from the point of view of the union she has with Jesus in the mystery of her compassion. In this mystery, she is “one” with Jesus, and she is so one with him that she does not refuse any form of suffering or pain. She bears the whole iniquity of the world… in the heart of Christ, with him, in order to cooperate in the salvation of all men… when Jesus calls Mary “Woman,” she is the new Eve and a fountain of grace for all men… bore all of them as a mother carries her child… bore them all in her faith, in her hope, in her love… acknowledged them as her children… chose them in the heart of Christ. As Christ chose them, as Christ loved them, Mary chooses them and loves them…
Looking at humanity through and in the heart of Jesus is even more beautiful than looking at the earth from the moon! When we look at humanity through the wounded heart of Jesus, we see it wrapped in the motherly mercy of Mary. All men are enveloped by this motherhood of love. Hers is a motherhood of love and of mercy because she takes all of the suffering of men and makes it her own… there is no form of human suffering which is foreign to Mary’s heart… she lives them with a greater intensity than we live them because she loves more than we do… by the very reason of our love’s intensity, we are made more capable of bearing suffering. When people no longer love, they become incapable of bearing suffering to the same degree. We are capable of bearing suffering to the degree that we love, because then it is transformed by love…
With Open Hands 