Devotion to Mary in May: day 22 "Simeon's prophecy"
THE PROPHECY OF SIMEONE
22 DAY
Holy Mary.
Invocation. - Mary, Mother of mercy, pray for us!
First pain:
THE PROPHECY OF SIMEONE
In order for devotion to Mary's pains to take root in our hearts, let us consider one by one the swords that pierced the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin. The Prophets had described the life of Jesus in all its details, especially in the Passion. Our Lady, who knew the prophecies, accepting to become the Mother of the Man of Sorrows, knew well how many sufferings - she would go to meet. It is providential not to know the crosses that God reserves for us in the course of our lives; our weakness is such that it would be crushed at the thought of all future tribulations. Most Holy Mary, in order that she might suffer and deserve more, had a detailed knowledge of the sufferings of Jesus, which would also be her sufferings. All his life he carried his bitter bitterness in peace in his heart. Presenting the Child Jesus in the Temple, you hear the old Simeon say: "This Child is placed as a sign of contradiction ... And a sword will pierce your own soul" (S. Luke, II, 34). And indeed, the heart of the Virgin always feels the piercing of this sword. He loved Jesus without limits and he was sorry that one day he would be persecuted, called a blasphemer and possessed, he would be innocently condemned and then killed. This painful vision did not go away from his maternal Heart and could say: - My beloved Jesus is for me a bunch of myrrh! - Father Engelgrave writes that this suffering was detected in Santa Brigida. The Virgin said: Feeding my Jesus, I thought of the gall and vinegar that the enemies would give him on Calvary; turning it into the swaddling clothes, my thoughts went to the ropes, with which he would be tied like an evildoer; when I contemplated him asleep, I imagined him dead; when I aimed those sacred hands and feet, I thought of the nails that would pierce him and then my eyes filled with tears and my Heart was tormented by pain. - We too have and will have our tribulation in life; it will not be the sharp sword of Our Lady, but certainly for each soul its cross is always heavy. Let us imitate the Virgin in suffering and bring our bitterness to peace. What good is it to say that you are devoted to Our Lady, if in pain you don't try to resign yourself to the will of God? Never say when you suffer: This suffering is too much; exceed my strength! - Saying so is a lack of trust in God and an affront to his infinite goodness and wisdom. Men know the weights that their jests can carry and do not give them a stronger weight, not to aggravate them. The potter knows how long his clay must remain in the oven, to be cooked at the degree of heat that makes it ready for use; he never leaves you more or less. We must never have reflected to dare to say that God, infinite Wisdom and who loves infinite love, can load the shoulders of his creatures with a too heavy burden and can leave longer than necessary in the fire of tribulation.
EXAMPLE
In the Annual Letters of the Society of Jesus we read an episode which occurred to a young Indian. He had embraced the Catholic faith and lived as a good Christian. One day he was seized with strong temptation; he did not pray, he did not reflect on the evil he was about to do; passion had blinded him. He decided to leave the house to commit a sin. As he went to the door, he heard these words: - Stop! … Where are you going? He turned and saw a prodigy: the image of the Virgin of Sorrows, who was on the wall, came to life. Our Lady removed the small sword from her breast and began to say: Come on, take this sword and hurt me, instead of my Son, with the sin you want to commit! - The young man, trembling, prostrated himself on the ground and with real contrition asked for forgiveness, crying heavily.
Foil. - Do not waste suffering, especially the small ones, because they are offered to God for souls, they are very precious.
Ejaculation. - O Mary, for your fortress in pain, help us in the pains of life!