ALCANCE Y CONDICIONES ESPECÍFICAS DE LA CESIÓN

Since the sin of our first parents, suffering is the heritage of all men. It affects the just as well as sinners. But if the just have sufficient faith, they will find relief in the midst of their suffering. What Catholic does not know that God has given Mary very special charge of bringing relief to those who suffer and that for this reason she is invoked under the title of “Comforter of the afflicted”?

When a child suffers, does it not run to its mother for comfort? And is Mary not for all—prince and pauper, saint and sinner alike—the tenderest and the most compassionate of mothers? How well she understands suffering, she who has suffered immensely more than all other mothers in the world! It does us good to weep at her side. We cannot leave her without feeling more peaceful, more resigned, stronger, and even happier.

At times we may rebel because we are, or believe we are, the victim of a crying injustice; but if we confide our indignation to Mary, we feel the tempest gradually subside. The Blessed Virgin shows our burdened heart the far more crying injustices which she, together with her Son, has willingly borne in silence for love of us.

Souls habitually united to Mary find, close to her, a special strength and consolation in their trials. Marie Consummata acknowledges:

Alone, I can accept nothing, I can will nothing, I cannot even love. But stay with me, O Jesus, my Jesus, in union of reparation. With thee, O Mother crucified, I wish to allow myself to be crucified, to be immolated, by the crucifying will of my Jesus. . . . I wish to let myself be

purified, sanctified, remade even, and above all when I do not understand why.1

Written in the same vein are these extracts from the biography of a young priest, a decided Marian soul. He offered himself as victim for the J. O. C., and our Lord again took him at his word. During his retreat of 1943 he wrote:

I have been afraid that Mary would ask of me a special sacrifice. Ordinary crosses, I said to myself, are quite sufficient for my strength. However, it seems to me that now I understand better that I have a mission to fulfill. He took the following resolution:

On rising, I will say this prayer: All that thou willest, O Mother. Send me today as many crosses as thou wilt. Help me to bear them! O Jesus, help me always to do the will of the Father.2

In his spiritual work he applied himself to penetrating the mystery of suffering. He records his progress and makes this remark:

It seems that I am now beginning to see how suffering and obedience make me grow, how they free me from sin, divinize me, whereas before I had been tempted to see in them only a crushing of self. Contemplating the attitudes of Christ and of Mary has helped me much. . . .3

Not long after this, an analysis of his blood showed that he was stricken with fatal leukemia. His superior, aware of his perfect submission to the will of God, was not hesitant about acquainting him with the situation. The young priest was not

1 Consummata (Pseudonym of Marie Antoinette de Gueser), Lettres et Notes Spirituelles. Introduction by P. Plus, S.J., p. 51.

2 Apôtre de la Vierge et la J.O.C., l’ Abbé René Mougel, Marianiste, E. Neubert, p. 144. 3 Ibid., p. 145

L i f e o f U n i o n Wi t h M a r y

shocked by the news. One of his intimate friends relates: When I learned the nature of René’s sickness, I avoided making any allusion to his condition. But one day he himself told me that he knew he was condemned. Then I asked him what he experienced when they told him he would die, perhaps in the very near future. With his habitual smile, he replied: “George, I was overwhelmed with happiness.”1

Another consolation which Marian souls find in suffering is the prospect of being able to aid the Blessed Virgin in her coredemptive mission. It was this prospect which sustained the courage of M. l’Abbé Mougel. He noted his progress in understanding the relationship between suffering and the salvation of souls and, as a consequence, made this resolution:

At the moment of rising in the morning and at the beginning of all my principal actions I will say: “O Jesus, O Mary, all that you will, and as you will it. I offer it to you for the salvation of the world.” I will do the same whenever Mary invites me to make a particular sacrifice. First of all, though, I will say: “Thank you.”2

The following lines were written by a person living in the world:

I must constantly remember to say: “I am all thine, O Mary, obtain for me the grace to be entirely thine.” Whenever I think of saying this, it brings me happiness and gives me courage. When I am sad and burdened with cares, the thought of the Redemption immediately confers light and joy. To belong entirely to Mary is to be coredemptrix with her and like her, and this thought

immediately changes the whole aspect of suffering. Sickly, dejected, dragging myself along with difficulty, and sad as I am, to reflect that I help Jesus in his Redemption, consoles me and gives me strength to love.

Common to all the citations above is the fact that Marian souls think rather naturally of uniting their sufferings with those of Jesus. This is only logical, seeing that the mission of Mary is to lead us to her Son.

A person closely united to Mary confided to her spiritual director that she was apprehensive at the prospect of crosses that might overwhelm her, for she felt herself so weak. The priest recommended the practice under discussion here. She replied:

I have adopted your principle: “When the trial comes, ask Mary to unite your sufferings to an analogous suffering of Jesus or of her own, and then you will be happy to suffer because you will be happy to love.” That must be my program, and I acknowledge that it is a mark of predilection to have a cross to bear like that of Jesus, and I am happy to know that He is pleased to see me carry it. . . . My cross is not so heavy as that of others, but to realize that I am carrying it like Jesus and Mary makes a difference, and that is a grace for which I pray.

Sometimes the suffering surpasses the powers of endurance in human nature. Once more, recourse to Mary will make this suffering endurable. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus acknowledged to her sister just before her death:

Oh, if they knew what I suffer! Last night, I could not endure it any more; I asked the Blessed Virgin to take my head in her hands so that I could support it.1

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN