Alfred McBride - Holding Jesus: Reflections on Mary, the Mother of God

holding jesus

Holding

Jesus

R eflections on Mary

the Mother of God

A lfred M cBride , o.praem.

Quotes from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the

Editio Typ i ca copyright 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
Libreria Editrice Vaticana are used by permi s sion.

Cover design by Candle Light Studios

Cover image Annika Photography | Belgium

Book design by Mark Sullivan

PRINT ISBN 978-1-61636-480-9

E-BOOK ISBN 978-1-61636-481-6

Copyright 2012, by Alfred McBride, O.Praem. All rights reserved.

Published by Franciscan Media

28 W. Liberty St.

Cincinnati, OH 45202

www.FranciscanMedia.org

To Mary, the Mother of Jesus,

who has been a faithful mother figure to me

throughout my sixty years in the priesthood.

Her prayers and spiritual encouragement

have guided and carried me

through it all.

I offer her this book as a thank you

for holding me close to Jesus.

Ave Maria.

Introduction

Part One: Holding the Child Jesus |

First Sunday of Advent: Wait With Mary for Christs Co m ing |

Monday of the First Week of Advent: Learn From the H u mility
of a Soldier |

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent: Dream of Peace With
the Spirit |

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent: Dine at Christs Table |

Thursday of the First Week of Advent: Staying Faithful in Tough Times |

Friday of the First Week of Advent: Believing Is Seeing |

Saturday of the First Week of Advent: Mercy Flows From Hea v en Above |

Second Sunday of Advent: Through the Messiah We Come to
Know the Spirit |

Monday of the Second Week of Advent: Spiritual Wel l ness |

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent: Without Gods Son, Nothing Could Exist; Without Marys Son, Not h ing Could Be Redeemed |

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent: You Will Run and
Not Grow Weary |

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent: John the Ba p tist Is the
Voice, Jesus Is the Word |

Friday of the Second Week of Advent: The Best Way to Li s ten to
God Is to Pray |

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent: Our Lady of Gu a dalupe
as the Star of Evangelization |

Third Sunday of Advent: Jesus Used the Proof of Joy as the Sign of
His Messiahship |

Monday of the Third Week of Advent: The Heavens D e clare the
Glory of God |

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent: Jesus Is Close to the Broke n hearted |

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent: Banish Inju s tice With Humble Love |

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent: God Is Always Li s tening |

Friday of the Third Week of Advent: Be a Shining Light of
Christ |

Saturday (See dated days)

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Nothing Is Impossible With God |

December 17: Roots: The Human Ancestors of J e sus |

December 18: Fling Wide the Portals of Your Heart |

December 19: Come, Divine Messiah. Lead Your People to
Freedom |

December 20: And the Word Was Made Flesh and Dwelt
Among Us |

December 21: Blessed Are You for Having B e lieved |

December 22: How Then Should We Sing for God? |

December 23: Behold the One Greater Than You |

December 24: Rejoice! Rejoice, O Israel! To Thee Shall Come Emma n uel! |

December 25: Sing, Choirs of Angels |

Final Thoughts o n Holding the Child Jesus |

Part Two: Holding Jesus During His Adult Mi n istry |

Family Life at Nazareth |

The Mystery of Children |

Our Relationship With Christ |

Mary Calls Je sus to Begin His Ministry |

Believe in Miracles, You May Need One |

Marys Stories of God |

Mary s Contemplative Prayer |

Final Thoughts on Holding Jesus During His Adult Mi n istry |

Part Three: Holding Jesus During His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Sending of the Holy Spirit |

Mary Walks the Way of the Cross With Jesus |

Stan d With Mary at the Cross |

Mary Receives Chri sts Body From the Cross |

Christ Is Risen, Alleluia! He Is Risen Indeed, Alleluia! |

Mother of Je sus, Mother of the Church |

Final Thoughts on Holding Jesus During His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Se nding of the Holy Spirit |

Conclusion |

Notes |

In faith we love to think of Mary as our Blessed Mother.

Throughout the last two millennia, we have seen Mary depicted again and again holding the infant Jesus in her arms. The most po p ular image of Mary in paintings, icons, stained glass, and statuary is her role as the Madonna, the Mother of the Word made flesh. The imagination and genius of artists supply us with images of the maternal wo n der, innocence, and affection that our faith discerns in this holy Mother of God.

But the story of Marys relationship with Jesus goes beyond her nu r turing him as a child. She will also accompany him throughout his life from childhood to the teen years, from young adulthood to his m a turity, from his thirtieth year to his Passion and Death, from his Re s urrection to his Ascension.

Through all these stages, Mary continues to hold her Son in her love and in her outstanding prayer and contempl a tion. As a young wife and new mother, she holds him as a baby in Bet h lehem. As the Mother of sorrows, she holds him again when he is taken down from the cross. And then in the Upper Room at Pentecost, she extends her love by holding the mystical Body of Christthe infant Church, made real by the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Holding Jesus approaches Marys relationship with her Son in three parts:

Part one provides a walk with Mary as mother of the child Jesus, with reflections for each day of A d vent leading up to and concluding with Christmas. The Advent readings are the most fertile source in Scripture about Mary and J e sus.

Part two offers meditations on Marys relationship to Christ in his public ministry.

Part three considers Marys participation in Christs Passion, Death, Resurrection, and sending of the Holy Spi r it.

How to Use This Book

Holding Jesus is an ideal resource for anyone who already has or wants to cultivate a deep relationship and unde r standing of Mary as the Mother of God. I suggest that you consider the meditations in part one as nourishment for your Advent-to-Christmas spiritual r e newal. Parts two and three can become your spiritual food during Ordinary Time and Lent. Of course, you should feel free to adopt these r e flections for your prayer and reflection at any time of the year.

Each of the forty-two reflections in Holding Jesus offers Scripture to ponder, an inspirational quote, and a brief medit a tion whose first half is derived from a scriptural reading and whose second half, most of the time, is devoted to a s pects of Marys relationship with her Son.

I conclude the meditations with a prayer and a question that a p plies the teaching to your daily life. Finally, I have tried with these meditations to i n volve you in some way through stories, images, or familiar acts of piety.

Holding Jesus, while certainly appropriate for personal use, would also be a valuable prayer resource for Bible study groups, book clubs, womens or mens groups, small faith-sharing comm u nities, and so on. One person in such groups could act as leader and read or ask for volunteer readers to speak aloud the different parts of the refle c tion. The question could provide a starting point for group discu s sion and faith sharing.