On July 16th, the Carmelite Community celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Central to Mary’s life was faith in God. She trusted in God’s love for her and was always open to His Will for her, even if she didn’t quite understand what God was asking of her. In Luke we read, after the angel Gabriel approaches Mary, “But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” (Luke 1:29) She was confused by the message from Gabriel that she was to be the Mother of the Savior. But once Gabriel explains that it’ll occur through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Mary was trusting that God will be with her in all the difficult
circumstances that will occur because of her saying “Yes” to what God was
asking her to do. She was at peace with her response to God and at peace in her
relationship with Him.
We are called to be like Mary, putting our full trust in God. After
finding out she was to be the mother of the savior, she rushed to her cousin,
Elizabeth, in her time of need. When Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith and
trust in God, Mary responds, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” (Luke 1:46-47). We, too, are called to give
praise to God and his greatness, even when things aren’t exactly going our way.As Carmelites, let us imitate Mary in our trust for God and all he has in store for us. We are to have that relationship with God through prayer and contemplation, and then we are to go, like Mary, to those around us to be of help in their time of need. We are called to bring God’s message of love and salvation to everyone in our lives, whether family, friends or co-workers.
As Pope Paul VI said, “it was faith that most characterized the Mother of God…” Let us have that
same faith and share that faith with all those around us.
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