KEPT ALL THESE THINGS IN HER HEART
She shows us
what it means to love God with our whole heart, holding nothing back, and to be
united together with "one heart and mind" (cf. Acts 4:32).
Today
the Church honors the Immaculate Heart of Mary. One's heart is the core of
one's being, so to consider Mary's Heart is to meditate on who she truly was
and is. At her first appearance we are aware that God is her Treasure; she had
found favor with God and accepts willingly God's Will for her life (cf.
Lk1:30,38). Where her treasure is, there is her heart as well. Twice in the
Gospels we are told that "she kept all these things" - the mystery of
Jesus Christ - "in her heart" (Lk 2:19, 51).
Devotion
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has a long history. It was popular but without
much official recognition until the 20th century when, in 1917, the Virgin Mary
appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal and told them, "God wishes
to establish in the world a devotion to my Immaculate Heart." Twenty-five
years later, on December 8, 1942, Pope Pius XII consecrated the Church and the
human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.Today, on the grounds of our retreat
house, we have a statue depicting that scene in our rosary terrace, offering
prayerful reflection for our retreatants.
The
beauty and the depth of our mother Mary's Heart are just two of some of the
most profound mysteries of this world. She shows us what it means to love God
with our whole heart, holding nothing back, and to be united together with
"one heart and mind" (cf. Acts 4:32). May we imitate in our lives her
singleness of heart!