Pondering Heart (Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

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A child does not fall from heaven. He or she is conceived and born of a woman. A child must have a mother. Under normal circumstances, there must be a very strong emotional link between a mother and her child. A mother is much more affectionate towards her child than whoever. The state of the child must affect the mother. No matter how good or bad a child is, the mother's heart is always deeply touched by the situation of the child.

Yesterday, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. And it was a great opportunity for us to remember that the Heart of Jesus was/is a Heart filled with love and compassion for humanity to the point of bleeding endlessly for humankind. Jesus was filled with so much love and compassion for us that He went about doing good, suffering for the sake of goodness and dying for the sake of those He came for. Yes, it is only a Heart that is filled with love that can willingly choose to suffer for the beloved.

Let's not think that the mother of Jesus was not affected by the woes, sorrows and sufferings of the Son. Beginning from Jesus infancy up to His last breath on the cross, Mary continued to ponder everything in her heart. From the time that Simeon the old man prophesied that the sword shall pierce her heart (cf. Luke 2:35), Mary's heart began to bleed because of the imminent pains and the sorrows of her son and because of so many other things she didn't fully understand about her divine son.

In today's Gospel passage (cf. Luke 2:41-52), Mary failed to understand what her child, as small as he was, told them that "he must be busy with his father's business." Which father's business should a child of that age be busy with? Why did he even choose to respond to them (his parents) in a such a manner instead of apologising for hiding away and staying back in the Temple? A lot of things didn't add up, but Mary did not shout or respond to Jesus her son in a harsh manner. The Bible says that "SHE PONDERED EVERYTHING IN HER HEART". Even at that very time that the Son suffered greatly at the hands of the Jews, Mary suffered silently, pondering everything in her heart.

Our generation seems to be a generation of impulsiveness: quick to act on everything without much thinking. Many of us are too quick to act, judge, condemn, write off, disown and label because we hardly ponder, discern, assess, reflect on and pray about certain situations that we may not completely understand. Many parents are too quick to strike and punish without thinking more deeply as to why the child behaved the way he or she behaved.

Mary's heart is immaculate, a heart that learned to connect the events of life in the light of the bigger picture of God's plan. Of course, she reflected upon, pondered through and through all the happenings around her. All in all, she didn't contemplate evil despite the storms of life. Rather, she submitted to the will of God in everything that concerned her and her child.

We need such pondering hearts in our time more than ever.

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