A DAY WITH A MOTHER (Marian Session with Vocation Discerners 2012)

Objectives:
 To get in touch with personal experiences of their "ina" and how that affects them
 To meditate on and pray with the Mater Dolorosa as their mother in faith particularly in
times of suffering
 "Inspice et fac secundum exemplar": looking at Mary, to take up the challenge of
entrusting and imitation i.e., how do they become "mother" of faith to others in the
concrete situation of their lives?

Activity 1: (1 hour)
 Ano o sino ang “ina” sa ating mga Pilipino?
 Ano ang karanasan mo sa iyong sariling ina? Paano mo siya ilalarawan o ipapakilala? (Sa
tooto lang…)
Ano ang hinahangaan mo tungkol sa kanya? Ano pa ang inaasahan mo sa isang ina na
gusto mo sanang makita o maranasan sa iyong ina?

Group Synthesis of personal experiences of “mother”: ideals vis-à-vis reality

Pause for silent reflection and note down any self-discoveries…

Activity 2: (1 hour)
 Sino si Maria?
 Sino siya ayon sa iyong personal na pagkakilala? May personal na karanasan ka bang
may kaugnayan sa kanya? Isulat mo kung meron.
 Masasabi mo bang may debosyon ka sa kanya? Kung oo, sa anong paraan? Kung hindi,
ano kaya ang dahilan?

Song Analysis and Personal Appropriation:

Pieta (Oyayi Sa Paanan Ni Hesus)
Music by: Paulo K Tirol
Lyrics by: MJ Francia

Basahin mabuti ang mga titik ng awit: Pieta.

 Ito ay isang awit ni Maria sa paanan ng Krus sa pagkamatay ng kanyang Anak.
 Paano mo ilalarawan si Maria bilang ina sa awit na ito?
 Kung sa iyo aawitin ni Maria ang mga titik na ito, sa anong karanasan mo ito mailalapat?

Kay lamig na ng hangin, lumalatag ang dilim.

‘Di maabot ng tingin itong lagim.
Narito ang ‘Yong ina, damhin Mong yakap-yakap Ka.
Sa kandungan ko, Sinta, mapanatag Ka, Sinta

Nais ko’y pagmasdan Ka sa ‘Yong pamamahinga.

Minsan pa’y iduyan Ka, awitan Ka.
‘Di ko man nababata, puso ko’y lumuluha.
Sa Iyong pag-iisa, sasamahan Ka.

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At hihilumin ang brasong sugatan, papawiin mga luha Mong taglay.
Lilinisin, mukha Mong dinumhan, paagusin ang luha kong alay.
Madama ko man mga tinik, yayakapin Ka nang mahigpit, Giliw.
Ihehele’t iduduyan Ka; mahimbing na, tapos na.

Aking Ama! Ako’y nilisan Mo na ba?

Bigyang liwanag, alipin Mong aba.
Tinalikuran Mo na ba? Dinggin ang panalangin ko, Ama!
Sumasamong pagpalain Mo, nang minsan pa’y masabi ko sa ‘Yo:
“Ako’y alipin Mo; sundin ang loob Mo, Ama ko.”

Hihilumin ang brasong sugatan, papawiin ang luha Mong taglay.

Lilinisin, mukha Mong dinumhan, paagusin ang luha kong alay.
Madama ko man mga tinik, yayakapin Ka nang mahigpit, Giliw.
Ihehele’t iibigin Ka; tapos na, tapos na.

(Play the video)

 Dalhin sa tahimik na pananalangin ang iyong natuklasan at nararamdaman.
(So as not to break the atmosphere of contemplation, the full-hour lunch can possibly be taken
in silence. After lunch…)
Sharing as one group or two smaller groups (30-40 minutes)
Input (in English 40-50 minutes)
 Video: Pope John Paul II Homily on the Blessed Mother and Family from 1990 in Malta
(10 min)
 Highlights and Deepening (20 min)
John 2 (Wedding at Cana: First Sign of Turning Water into Wine)
Mother of all humankind
As Intercessor, Mary …
 Is sensitive to the (dire) needs, wants , suffering of others out of loving concern
- No wine. No joy.
- The couple and the whole family will be shamed. This will be remembered forever.
- The superabundant superior quality wine is symbolic of the Messianic Age. God saves
us spiritually yet also in the mundane concerns and events of human life and history.
 Urges Jesus to work His first sign but in order for our prayers to be answered, Mary tells
us to do “whatever Jesus tells us to do”. We are not to be passively dependent but
actively cooperative.
 Has a unique maternal role in the plan of grace; she brings all into the radius of Christ’s
saving power

This maternal role shines even more vividly at….

John 19 (On Calvary, at the Foot of the Cross: the Seventh [Last] and Greatest Sign)
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  Mary is entrusted to us as our Mother at the foot of the Cross i.e., as model and
companion in loving and suffering.
 We are to trust in her prayers when we feel powerlessness in painful insoluble situations:
- in forgiving long-standing grudges
- in overcoming long-standing feelings of anger, hostility, jealousy, resentment;
- in the desperate longing for a loved one to abandon a way of life or course of
action which we know will only lead to frustration and unhappiness;
- when our hearts go out to someone caught in mental anguish or bitter grief which
knows no consolation

The most hopeless of human situations can be transformed by the saving power of Jesus (recall
Cana), giving life through His death.

 Mary in St. Magdalene’s Experience (20 min)

In “embracing” her Son as she stayed at the foot of the cross, Mary showed the true
response to a call to love and to do so with great courage. Hence, rightfully, Magdalene
calls her the Mother of Love at the foot of the Cross…
Magdalene considers Mary as her surrogate mother and first consoler; she places complete
confidence in Mary’s love and help:
 Caterina Carminati (companion): “She had a special devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows…I
can assert with difficulty such a devotion could be found in others; she practiced towards
Our Lady special acts of homage, of trust, of tenderness linked with a study of the
imitation of her virtues…” Positio No. 6, p. 139 §41
 Eleonora Canossa (sibling): “…under [Mary’s] sound protection, Magdalene lived and
found always help and comfort.” T. Picari’s , Alone With God Alone p. 855
Mary was for her a model of a disposition to obey, of the total “yes” to God, of complete self-
offering:
 Magdalene’s personal prayer: “…from your tenderest years (you) consecrated yourself
without reserve to your God, so also I, in imitation of you, dedicate myself to the love of
my Creator now and always…not to do anything contrary to the Divine Will: my tongue
to praise you, my heart to love you…” T. Picari’s , Alone With God Alone p. 89
Mary is one who grew in faith and nurtured the faith of others:
 Magdalene to Rosa Dabala during economic difficulties in Bergamo: “…our house
belongs to Mary…therefore let us be quiet as in every way she will think to provide.”
18.6.1826, E III/2, p. 1406
Mary is the one who guides and enables Magdalene in the task that God entrusts to her;
Magdalene entrusts to all to Mary as the Foundress and under her mantle, she established the
three ministries of charity:
 “Everything that has been done up to now is her work and you must never make the
mistake of thinking that someone else might have done anything.” UR p. 21

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  “I burn with the desire to show my veneration…to the Great Mother of God, whose
assistance for our poor Institute we recognize and for whom I hope for its full
establishment and expansion.” Letter to Don Gabellini, 27.8.1825, p. 1135, E II/2
Mary is model of a mother totally committed to her son particularly in the mystery of his salvific
suffering:
 “Big hearts, I repeat big hearts, not in comparison with min e but with that great Heart
that on Calvary offered the whole life of her own Son for the good of souls.” To E. Renzi,
2.11.1827, E II/2 p. 1155)

Our Response: (10 mins)

For Magdalene, “devotion necessarily leads to the imitation of Mary as the perfect model for
Christians.” The Church recommends the:
 entrusting our lives --particularly our discernment-- to Mary as Our Mother
 imitation of Mary through –
- Perseverance in our pilgrimage of faith;
- Pondering the mystery of love as revealed in the life of Jesus;
- Supporting others to respond fully to the vocation which they have received as
daughters and sons of God;
- Guide others in the formation to faith and service