
The Presentation of the Lord
by © LPi Fr. John Muir | 02/02/2025 | Weekly ReflectionWhat is the secret to sharing in God’s power to overcome our difficulties? Mary teaches us this in the prophecy of her pierced heart. This Sunday, the old man Simeon prophecies that when her son faces opposition, Mary’s soul will be pierced by a sword. The seemingly pointless agony of a mother helplessly watching her son be mocked, tortured, killed, and then cruelly desecrated in death by a spear — somehow this piercing of her heart releases a power by which “the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35). What to make of this?
Whatever problems we currently face, the deepest threat is finally that evil thoughts are hidden in the human heart: hatred, envy, pride, lust, greed, and so on. Behind every tyrant’s injustice, for example, is a heart unpierced by love. Evil hides in our hearts. Mary’s pierced heart, and its suffering love for her son, reveals and scatters these evil thoughts, and replaces them with love, forgiveness, generosity, and peace.
This week, I invite us to ponder Mary’s pierced heart. Her heart is quietly at work for us in the Church and world, exposing our evil thoughts and making a path for her son’s divine love. This is how she gently cooperates in our salvation. Closed hearts are our biggest problem; love-pierced hearts are the ultimate power to overcome every difficulty.
BACK TO LIST BACK