I’ve heard, as I’m sure you have too, that Mary is the new Eve and Jesus is the new Adam. The idea being that Mary and Jesus came to undo the damage done by Eve and Adam. Leave it to Bishop Robert Barron to bring it to another level of depth. As I was reading his Advent reflection on the Immaculate Conception, he raised a point I had neither heard or thought of before. Speaking of Adam and Eve Bishop Barron says: “God did not block their access to the tree because he wanted to prevent them from having what He had; He blocked access because He wanted to give them gifts.”. The bishop goes on to say “Now let’s turn to Mary. The angel’s greeting to her is important. He says ‘Hail Mary, full of grace.’. Mary is greeted as someone who is able to accept gifts. Eve and Adam grasped; Mary is ready to receive!”. Then the kicker: “the heart of the spiritual life is the conviction that your life is NOT ABOUT YOU…………… the real spiritual life is about allowing oneself to be overwhelmed by the one who loves us, to be carried away by the Spirit.” AMEN! How many of us “get it?” What are you grasping? Are you ready, willing and able to receive? What do we need to change about ourselves in order to be less like Adam and Eve and more like Mary?
Mary realized exactly what Bishop Barron said. She realized that her life was not about her. Because of her realization she was able to receive the gifts God had in store for her. Think about that for a moment – the possibilities when we open ourselves up to receive and leave our egos behind. GOD, the all -powerful, all-knowing, ever-present being, turned to Mary, depended on Mary and in the process gave her all the tools, all the strength she needed to be the mother of His Son. When we think of how Mary stood by Jesus’ side, every step of the way on the road to Calvary, we wonder how she was able to maintain her composure, to remain so graceful. Do we REALLY have to wonder? Why do we feel like we would never be able to do it? Wasn’t Mary human? She had no “special” powers, other than the gifts God equipped her with – He wants to give them to us too and we’re told all we have to do is be open to receive!
Lord knows, for us, being open like Mary is not easy. We like to grasp like Adam and Eve. What is it that we “grasp” at? One of the things I think we all grasp at is routine, familiarity. We get so caught up in our routines that we rarely venture to try something new, do something different. We don’t want to “rock the boat.”. When I think of this in terms of practicing our faith, I am reminded of so many who are trapped in the practice of WHAT they are as opposed to the practice of discerning WHO and WHY they are. What do I mean by this? Well, “what” I am is Catholic but “who” I am is a spiritual being and “why” I am is to know, love and serve God. “What” I am introduced me to the Trinity and provides a community of support and fellowship which is awesome because we all have so much to teach and so much to learn. I realize that my religion, though an integral part of my life, is simply a guidepost leading me to God, it is not the “last stop” on my spiritual journey. It is my responsibility, as a child of God, to take what I get from my religion and delve deeper, seek more in order to fully understand the who and why I am, in order to truly understand the power of the Spirit.
I believe there is something we can all learn from faith traditions outside of our own. It doesn’t mean we are going to convert or stop being obedient to our own, it just means we need to break out of our routine. I’m not even suggesting we subtract from our routine, I’m just saying we should add to it. My point here is this: think outside the box, continue on the journey, don’t get stuck. If you’re Catholic, listen to or read books written by other Christians or spiritual teachers, AS WELL AS, The Catechism and books written by clergy and lay Catholics (sometimes while driving I’ll listen to Joel Osteen or if I stumble upon Joyce Meyer on television I’ll stop to listen, I read books recommended by Oprah on Super Soul Sunday and much more – all this in addition to studying church history, reading the catechism and various books written by clergy). If you’re Protestant or any other religion, do the same. Take what you can – little bits of wisdom here and there and leave the rest! Don’t be closed-minded, stop grasping at routine and familiarity and allow God to work in you in whatever way HE chooses to “gift” it. Remember, the real spiritual life is not about YOU, it’s about being carried away by the Spirit. It’s about making the unfathomable, fathomable! My philosophy: if it’s bringing me closer to God, if it’s strengthening my relationship with the Almighty, then HOW can it be wrong? God bless you!
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