This December, a series of daily Advent, devotional postings is running from December 1st to December 25th. Journey beside Mary, the Mother of God, as she waits for the birth of Jesus.
STRENGTH
Scripture: “Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have spoken; I will do it—oracle of the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:14b).
Quote of the day: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry” (Padre Pio).
Song Suggestions:
“Take it All,” by Third Day
“These Are the Days of Elijah,” by Aaron Firth & The London Fox Singers
Questions: Do I believe that God will fulfill everything? Do I trust in His will? Do I rely on my own efforts?
MIND
Imagine Mary.
From the moment she left her mother’s womb, her parents told her all the prophecies of the Old Testament, which to her were the Hebrew Scriptures. She would have known Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi, Ezekiel, Hosea, and so forth very well.
Let’s imagine a conversation that fourteen-year-old Mary could have had with her mother, Anne.
It is evening and Mary’s father, Joachim is out giving his dues to the regional tax collector.
Anne sighs as she sits on a short wooden stool, trying to see her sewing beneath the dim light. She just needs to thread the needle in order to mend her husband’s inner tunic! If only they had the necessities to buy some more oil for their lamps.
Mary looks up from her own work of spinning wool. She is an expert at spinning and continues rolling the spindle, creating thread without looking at it. She examines her mother’s distress before saying, “Would you like me to thread it, Mother?”
Anne lets out a huff as she surrenders her work to Mary, who leaves her own work so that she may kneel beside Anne.
“We have hardly enough light to see,” Anne explains stiffly.
Now Mary attempts to thread the needle.
Anne’s eyes thin in the pitiful light as she stares at Mary’s working hands. “I hope your father returns soon. He didn’t want to tell you, but he’s worried we will go into debt after today’s collection.”
Mary glances up at her mother, sympathy in her eyes, and then returns to her work. Anne knows well that even if her daughter is not speaking, she is always listening.
It is easy to confide in such a listener. “I am…afraid,” Anne finds herself admitting to her daughter.
Mary stops her work and gently touches her mother’s clasped hands. “Do you know what one of my favorite passages from the prophet Isaiah is?”
Anne knows that when her daughter does speak, it is with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Mary’s counsel has always astonished Anne. The fortitude with which Mary speaks is bold and fearless. Yet, she still has an unusual piety and fear of the Lord.
“Tell me, child,” Anne says.
Mary smiles, the passage already playing in her mind. She has many favorite passages from Isaiah, but this one, in particular, stands out to her. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives.”
Anne tenderly touches her daughter’s tan cheek. Anne herself was the one who taught Mary that passage.
Mary returns to threading the needle, but continues, “Mother, we must wait for the Lord and take courage, as the psalmist says! For His love is even greater than a bridegroom’s love for his bride.” She squints her eyes as she tries to slide the thin slippery thread through the eye of the needle. “The spirit of the Lord will be upon the Messiah,” Mary continues, “as the spirit of the Lord was upon our father, David. He has proclaimed that He will aid us in all things—heal us and bind us up, and set us free! I believe that it shall be done for us according to His word.”
“And look, Mother!” Mary exclaims, giving the needle and thread back to Anne. “The needle is now threaded. In every little thing, the Lord provides.”
(Scriptural Inspiration and Reference: Psalm 27:14; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 62:4-5: Luke 4:18-19)
HEART
Yes, Mary would have clung to the promises of Isaiah and the other prophets. She did not know that she was the virgin Isaiah spoke of (7:14). She didn’t know that salvation would be brought through her. She knew though that God had promised it, and therefore, God would fulfill it.
Remember how we laid everything down for God to take? Let’s also remember that God keeps His promises.
Jesus fulfills every covenant—every promise of God—that we read about in the Old Testament. Now, the prophesies certainly spoke to the present time period that the prophets were in. For example, Ezekiel spoke of a vision he had in which dry bones became flesh and alive. This was to represent God breathing life back into the dry, exiled Israel (Ezekiel 37:14). But this prophesy is later and ultimately fulfilled by Jesus as He conquers death itself and offers all of us resurrection. The Old Testament is packed with foreshadowing, prophecy, symbolism, and reality. Many Bibles include in the footnotes, passages from the New Testament that correlate with the Old Testament and vice versa.
Now we need to trust that as the Lord kept all of these promises of salvation for Israel, He will continue to do so in our own personal lives.
Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Let us have faith that this will occur.
When Jesus says to take courage, for He has conquered the world, let us believe that! Let us have faith in Him (John 16:33).
SOUL
Oh God, sometimes the burdens of life wear down on me. They make me wonder if You actually do have a plan for me. Even more so, they make me wonder if Your plan for me is good. Help me to remember though that Your plans are to prosper me and not to harm me; plans to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Just as Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, I believe that You continue to fulfill Your promise to me. Jesus has promised He will answer my prayers. He promised that He will come again. He promised that He is with me always, even till the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).
Mother of Jesus, teach me to be like you. Ask the Lord to send me your faith and your trust.
Mary, teach me how to wait.
3 thoughts on “Prophecies for St. Anne, Mary, and You”
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Regardless of how God intervenes to draw us close to Him, we have the responsibility to exercise faith and trust in God as Mary did. It happens when we are willing to take the step. Wanting the peace of God that passes all understanding was what motivated me to do it.
It was as easy as being anxious for nothing by casting all of my care on God (see Philippians 4:6-7 and 1Peter 5:5-7).
Thank you for sharing your faith and that it is rooted in Sacred Scripture