A Lost Art: Compassion (Part 2)

By Mary Therese.

1. The Prophecy of Simeon: 

On such a joyful day, Our Lady’s heart was so full, so ready, filled with anticipation as she completed her purification and came to present Our Lord at the temple. It was a climatic day and the Holy Family came prepared, bringing two turtle doves that showed their humble poverty. But that day suddenly became clouded by the words of the prophet Simeon. And the first dolor pierced her heart…

We see a theme of preparation and offering in this Sorrow. We see in this Sorrow that Our Lady understands that feeling of bringing your whole heart, everything, before God, only to be met with an experience that shatters and rocks your whole world. This Sorrow, for me, harkens back to the experience of the young woman entering the convent as a postulant. We prepare our hearts, minds and bodies for that big day, when we will inhabit the house of the Lord. We come with a heart so ready and aglow for our Bridegroom! We hold in the arms of our heart Jesus, our greatest joy. He is the very reason we found ourselves there at the convent door. We also come with our “two turtle doves” — that is, we have only the clothes on our back and the few essentials needed for entrance. Our poverty is seen and literally worn.

Then one day we are met with hard news. Many of us never thought our joyous days in the “temple”, enjoying the Light of lights, would end so suddenly. As a young mother, Mary’s days turned bitter. She knows the heartache of receiving sudden difficult news, that shocking realization that nothing will be the same going forward. For some of us, our joy is turned into sorrow when we leave the convent. But Our Lady reminds us to cling to Jesus who is our Light and our Love, and that it is always worth loving Him even if it hurts, even if He calls us on a path we would not have chosen for ourselves.

2. The Flight into Egypt:

In this Sorrow, Our Lady finds herself packing up her few essentials and leaving the comfort of her home. Poverty, hunger, and uncertainty closed in around her.

She found herself in a foreign land among strangers. Her travels, as she fled into Egypt, I imagine, were extremely difficult. What tremendous trust it took to step into the unknown. What a risk that was to take! There was no looking back. Only ahead and only at the Little One pressed against her heart! She knows what it’s like to face the world with all its unknowns and be plagued with the fears of the future.

Sometimes after we have made a choice, we ask ourselves, “Why am I doing this? I can’t believe I’m leaving the convent! Why would I do this? Am I out of my mind? Why would anyone put themselves through this?” But I have always found that the answer was love, even a healthy love of self, for the sake of one’s soul.

Our Lady probably found herself sleeping in less-than-comfortable conditions, with the mule for warmth and a lantern for light. If anyone else were in her situation, lying on the cold desert sand staring up at a starry sky rather than a roof, they would have asked themselves, “Why am I doing all this… putting myself through this?”

Then comes Love’s gentle reproach.

I remember thinking something similar, after I left the convent. It was another restless night as I lay there in bed, as I brushed my hand over my very, very short hair, in disbelief that I was no longer a Sister. Maybe I could have spared myself so much suffering and heartache, so much humiliation and loneliness, so many stresses and worries, so many painful adjustments, so many goodbyes… so much grief! If only I had stayed, I would have been spared all this! (But I knew that the alternative of staying would have been painful in a different way.)

In response to this, I’d say, “Jesus! I wouldn’t do this for anyone but You! BELIEVE ME, I wouldn’t go through all of this for anyone but You!” I know Our Lady would have said something similar in difficult times. I can imagine the devoted, boundless love she has for you and me. Every time she swaddled Our Lord, she wrapped us in her mantle: “For you, my child,” she’d whisper, thinking of you and me, exclusively. She listens closely to all our troubles and heartaches, tells us how proud she is of us, and how Jesus will reward our love and loyalty beyond all our expectations! Oh, how He can’t wait to crown His brides!