I have been noticeably absent from my blogs since March. March marks the beginning of my family’s travels along a short road, but one filled with shock, fear and ultimately sadness and grief. It also marked the time when my beloved mother began the end of her pilgrimage in this world as she walked closer to her Creator and Heavenly Father. My sweet mother, of happy memory, entered the Heavenly Jerusalem on April 18, 2012 at 2:10 pm CST. Prior to then, we were catapulted into a battle against terminal cancer – a battle that my mother courageously fought because of her devotion and love for her family.
As you can imagine, my brother and I have lived each day with a profound and quiet sadness. Mom was the hub of our little family so her absence has created a large void. However, through God’s grace and mercy we are continuing on our personal pilgrimages. I don’t want to dwell too much on my grief on this blog. However, I do want to share some spiritual insights that I have encountered. I will share these with you in the hope that perhaps someone in need reads them.
As I mentioned above, I feel a large void in my life. Time and space that my mother occupied in my life are now empty. During these times of “emptiness” I reflect on Our Lady’s “aloneness”. She stood helplessly and watched Our Lord, her Divine Son, endure his painful passion and cruel death. Then, for three days she was alone in this world – the time and space that Jesus occupied in her life were now empty. The title that Holy Mother Church has bestowed on Our Lady depicting this time period is La Virgen de la Soledad …the Virgin of Solitude. Our Lady is remembered under this title in particular on Holy Saturday. She is portrayed wearing mourning black and often holding in her sweet hands the instruments of Our Lord’s passion and death: nails, a crown of thorns and a spear.
Certainly my sorrow and grief is incomparable to the Virgin’s suffering. But, undoubtedly, she understands my pain. I think of her in her soledad and ask her to intercede for my brother and me by asking God to send us the necessary grace to overcome and withstand.