"The name Mary, from the Hebrew source, means bitterness. Yet how truly, because of her love, she changed that cup of bitterness into a cup of sorrow. Her cup of sorrow overflows into a cup of compassion."
Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr, "Living Faith"
Wow, I sure didn't know that the Hebrew source of the name Mary was bitterness, did you? But Mary, our Mary, did indeed, turn what could have been bitterness into compassion. God worked that miracle in her and God works that miracle in any of us who will allow it. As I shared yesterday, the lesson of this past weekend's retreat was serving as disciples in the Vincentian way...that is, to the people in the margins; the people no one else wants to serve. And a huge part of that is having genuine compassion for others. And compassion for ourselves, because, when we serve those who society marginalizes, we ourselves are enriched and our lives are enhanced. The gifts flow both ways. Mary is the Mother of Compassion. Joyce Rupp says, "When I think of the great sacrifice that compassion asks, I see Mary, the mother of Jesus, standing at the foot of the cross." (from "The Cup of Our Life") Compassion can seem too difficult when we think of it that way. But we are called to genuinely give compassion to the world, as Mary and Jesus gave compassion to the world. Love, heidi
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