Day Five of Lent – Total Surrender

REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Day Five of Lent
Total Surrender

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38a

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

Our Blessed Mother always said, “Yes.” This “Yes” was her fiat of perfect love. At the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel revealed to her the beginnings of the life of the Savior of the World. The Archangel revealed that she would be His mother and He her Son. Our Blessed Mother inquired with openness and submitted without reserve.

Mother Mary’s fiat resounded throughout her life. Though faced with the great mystery of the Incarnation, she submitted with free and total consent to the will of God. As a result, God became one of us, incarnate in her immaculate womb.

Though her Son was God and was perfect in every way, He chose to imitate her perfect fiat as He agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane. That night, just hours before His brutal Crucifixion, He fell on His knees and cried out, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” His prayer was one of perfect surrender to the will of the Father in Heaven. But it was more than that. His prayer also united Him ever more deeply to His own beloved mother. This prayer in the garden echoed Mary’s fiat to the Father at the Annunciation. Just as His mother had said “Yes” to the will of God, so did her Son the night before He died.

As our Blessed Mother stood at the foot of the Cross, she would have pondered the union of her fiat with that of her Son. She would have seen that this moment was the culmination of their united surrender to the will of the Father.

Reflect, today, upon your own surrender to God. Say with Jesus and our Blessed Mother, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” And, “Not my will but yours be done.” Pray these prayers and know that you are saying “Yes” to the Cross. By entering into this great mystery of our faith, you are offering your life in union with the Son and His mother. Do not hesitate. Offer yourself freely and you will be blessed to be at the foot of the Cross, gazing at our Lord with our Blessed Mother.

PRAYER

Dearest Mother, as you stood at the foot of the Cross and recalled your own perfect “Yes” to the will of the Father; you became immediately aware of what that “Yes” truly meant. It meant total sacrifice, surrender and death to all in this world. It meant you believed in the will of the Father above all earthly goods. It meant you chose to trust at a depth divine grace alone could make possible.

Draw me in, dear Mother, to your perfect fiat. Help me to say those words with you as I face the mysteries, hardships, crosses and sufferings of my life. Give me the vision of your faith so that I may have hope and trust in all things.

40 Days Journey with Our Lord
Day Five: Barrenness

Though Heaven is best symbolized by the most luscious and fruitful garden or a glorious city with streets paved in gold, the barrenness of the desert is the pathway to the abundance of God’s Kingdom.

In Israel’s desert, near Jericho, are the caves believed to be the places Jesus dwelt for those forty days. At first, a cave might be interesting to explore. But neither a cave nor the desert provides the comforts this world has to offer. A cave offers no soft and comfortable places to sit or sleep, and there is very little natural light. In the desert, shade and food are scarce, or even nonexistent.

Jesus entered into this barren and desolate place, in part, to teach us that the riches and comforts of this world do not come close to comparing with the riches and blessings of a life of grace. Could you be happy living in a cave in the desert? Or perhaps the better question is this: Was Jesus happy while He lived in the barrenness of the desert, deprived of all the material blessings and comforts of the world? Most certainly He was, because His happiness was dependent upon His communion with the Father, fulfilling the Father’s will. Nothing delighted Him more than this. Therefore, by freely entering the most barren place on earth, Jesus teaches us that nothing on earth compares to deep communion with God.

When you look at your own life, could you describe it as “barren?” Or would it better be described as comfortable, indulgent, extravagant, or worldly? Perhaps it’s somewhere in-between. Though there is nothing wrong with having some of the comforts of this world, you must always understand that every delight you possess in this world will act as a temptation to believe that obtaining more is the pathway to happiness.

Ponder the simple fact that God wants your soul not to be barren, but to be abundantly filled. For that to happen, you need to keep in check and purify the competing earthly luxuries that tempt you to long for more of the passing delights of this world. Learn a lesson from Jesus’ choice to enter into the barren state of the desert. As you do, identify ways that you can follow Him into that barrenness. Where there is excess in your life, work to purge it. Where there are worldly desires and wishes for comfort, work to tame them so that these things do not compete within your soul with the only thing that truly satisfies: God Himself.

PRAYER

My Lord of earthly barrenness, You came into this world poor and freely embraced that total poverty when You entered the desert for forty days. Please set me free from the temptation to turn the comforts and luxuries of this world into my goals in life. May I learn from You Who chose the poverty of the desert and follow the example You set.

My Precious Lord, I choose to live Your perfect surrender and to make it my own. Grant me the grace to be one with You as You were one with the Father in Heaven and one with Your own dear mother. I love You, my Lord, and I give myself to You without reserve. Let it be done to me according to Your most holy will.

Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source: mycatholiclife