May is a month of special devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. On the Saturdays of May, Pause for Prayer will focus on Mary. The scriptures tell us that Mary was with the apostles and others in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came down upon them at Pentecost. What memories might have been stirring in Mary’s mind as the Holy Spirit (by whom she had conceived Jesus) once again came upon her and the others with the wind, fire and power of the most high God. Mary’s memories of her son’s life… Luke’s gospel tells us « she kept all these, reflecting on them in her heart… »
Who could know all you kept, Mary,
what you held, all you pondered in your heart?
Only a mother, I think, might know the joys,
the hopes and fears and dreams,
the bonds that bound your soul in love
to the child born of your womb…
And as he grew and you saw the man be came to be,
as you took pride and joy in him, your own,
as you watched to see the friends he chose,
as you listened to his words and wondered at his wisdom,
was there room enough within your heart
to store your love for him,
your faith in what he’d come to do?
And in those last few years and final days
when you saw where his path was taking him,
did the simple joys of years before
And in those last few years and final days
when you saw where his path was taking him,
did the simple joys of years before
suffice to soothe the ache,
the pain you held within,
as you watched and saw his suffering
the pain he bore for all of us?
Like your heart, Mary, mine fills and overflows
Like your heart, Mary, mine fills and overflows
as I keep and hold and ponder
all the joys and all the sorrows
I gather day to day and year to year…
Whatever my heart carries
I gather day to day and year to year…
Whatever my heart carries
I know your Son will reach to lift me up,
to lighten any load that weighs upon my soul
to lighten any load that weighs upon my soul
and heal my wounded heart with grace and mercy…
Mary, you held, you kept
Mary, you held, you kept
so much within your heart
where you carried Christ within you,
where you carried Christ within you,
where he found a place to dwell;
help me make a place in my heart, too,
where Christ can come
to mend my broken spirit
and heal my wounded soul…
help me treasure in my own heart
all your Mother kept in hers:
all the burdens and the blessings,
all the sorrows and the joys
where you come with peace to meet me,
where my life is one with yours…
