How Do You Love an Invisible God and Find out For Yourself If He Truly Exists?
By: Jocelyn Soriano
Tags: Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality, Christianity, Catholic

You Meet His Mother

If we can know a person by meeting his friends, how can we not know him better by meeting his mother? A mother is quite often a person’s first teacher and first friend. A mother’s bond with her child is sealed by her own flesh and blood. In the case of Jesus, it was Mary’s flesh and blood. Just seeing Mary would give us a glimpse of how Jesus Himself looks like!

A tiny tot of four said, “You have seen the Blessed Virgin, Sister. Was she beautiful?” “So beautiful,” I replied, “that once you have seen her, you would willingly die to see her again.” — St. Bernadette Soubirous

Knowing God Through Mary

When I was younger, I must admit I wasn’t that close to Mary. I was afraid that I might love her too much. I have realized later on how mistaken I was. Loving Mary would never lead me away from loving Jesus. Loving Mary would instead bring me closer to her Son.

We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek — Jesus, her Son. — Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did. — Saint Maximilian Kolbe

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” — Luke 1:41–43, WEBBE

What I Have Learned From Mary

Before I knew Mary, I thought I already knew Jesus well. I never realized how little it was that I knew about Him until Jesus Himself led me towards His mother. By knowing Mary better, I was able to know and to love Jesus more. From Mary, I have learned that I have relied far too much on my intellectual understanding. Not that we cannot know God through logic (It was one of the ways mentioned in this book by which we can know Him). It’s just that sometimes, too much knowledge can lead to pride. We often assume that just because we have know what’s right, we’re already righteous. We assume that just because we read the Bible, we are already holy people. It’s so tempting to put myself in Jesus’ place at times, especially when I’m angry at a certain injustice or evil. It’s so tempting to think that I can be as angry as Jesus was when He drove out the money changers from the Temple; or to think that I can speak in same way that He has spoken to the Pharisees. What I must remember is that no matter how justified I feel I am, I am not Jesus; I am not God. And because I am not God, I don’t know much; in fact, I know very little. And if I know very little, how can I so easily judge?

It was from Mary that I learned more about humility. Although Mary was holy, she was also still a human being like I am. She does not assume that she knows everything; she instead surrenders to the will of God. She will never ask worship for herself; she instead asks us to follow her Son.

His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” — John 2:5, WEBBE

Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord.

My spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour,

for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.

For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

For he who is mighty has done great things for me.

Holy is his name.

His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.

He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down princes from their thrones,

and has exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things.

He has sent the rich away empty.

He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and his offspring forever.”

-Luke 1:46–55, WEBBE

A Mother’s Sorrow

Jesus never meant Mary to take us away from Him. But He gave us His mother that we may not be alone as we gaze upon Him crucified at the cross.

But standing by Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home. — John 19:25–27, WEBBE

Consider the following excerpt from the Revelations to St. Bridget:

Mary, the Mother of God spoke to the bride of Christ and said: “My daughter, consider the suffering of my Son, for his limbs were like my own limbs and his heart like my own heart. For just as other children use to be carried in the womb of their mother, so was he in me. But he was conceived through the burning charity of God’s love… Thus, John the evangelist, his cousin, rightly says: ‘The Word was made flesh.’ He came through love and was in me. The Word and love created him in me. He was truly for me like my own heart. For when I gave birth to him, I felt as though half my heart was born and went out of me. And when he endured suffering, it felt like my own heart was suffering. Just as when something is half inside and half outside — the half outside feels pain and suffering, but the inside also feels a similar pain — so it was for me when my Son was scourged and wounded; it was as if my own heart was scourged and wounded.

I was also the one closest to him at his suffering and I was never separated from him. I stood very near his cross, and just like that which is closest to the heart stings the worst, so his pain was heavier and worse for me than for others. When he looked at me from the cross and I saw him, then tears flowed from my eyes like blood from veins. And when he saw me so stricken with pain and overwhelming sorrow, he felt such a sorrow over my pain that all the pain of his own wounds became as subsided and dead for the sake of the pain he saw in me. I can therefore boldly say that his pain was my pain since his heart was my heart.