Virgin Most Faithful
A wealthy man who had just died, left money to his wife, children; and to charitable institutions. Then his will stated: "I leave $10.000 to Margaret - who has been our faithful servant for years; in fact, ever since I was a baby." Now the full truth was this: Margaret had looked after him from his childhood days. She nursed him. She took him for rides in his pram. When he started to walk, she held him by the hand and guided his baby's steps. She cooked for him; she mended his clothes; she put him to bed. In fact, she told his mother that she would work for him and her as long as she had life in her body.
When he grew old enough to attend school, it was Margaret who brought him, and then called for him when school was closed for the day. So you can see that Margaret was a reliable and faithful servant, and that is why she was remembered in his will.
Now, not only was Mary faithful to her divine Child as a fond mother is to her baby, but Mary was faithful to Him as to her God. Her aim was ever ready to do His divine bidding. And what a model of obedience she has been to the human race! We are all traveling along the dusty path of life, and most of us are concerned with earthly things, the earning of our daily bread, the fulfillment of domestic obligations. With us the daily round of duties will not always be peaceful or an easy road to follow. Accidents will happen. Things are sure to go wrong. The whims of fortune will worry us and tempt us to lose sight of the things of real value.
Falsehood spreads it wings over things visible and present, completely shutting out the great realities of the future. For the ways of conduct that fit in with the laws of God are, to the worldly minded unprofitable and out of date, they belong to the past. So, we may be tempted to abandon those things which are of real value; our hearts could swell into revolt against the laws of God.
In the hour of temptation and trials, we need a model, urging us to be ever faithful to God, our Creator and Redeemer. And it is in times like these that the figure of Our Lady rises up encouraging us, inspiring is. For throughout the different scenes in her life - in maidenhood and maturity - in sorrow and gladness - within the narrow domestic circle of the holy home at Nazareth or during those days of separation while her divine Son was absent in the work of ministry - or while she was in the quiet contemplative years of her life after Calvary - throughout those days, Mary never failed to choose the right path; she was ever faithful to God.
Mary's greatness lay not in worldly circumstances, but in the hidden life of the soul, perfectly united to her Divine Son. By leading that common life, Mary gave to it a royal dignity. Her faithful life is a very simple answer to any question raised as to the value of our earthly career. For it is not the material things that we do, or the mighty things we achieve that make our life great and glorious before God. Her life is a lesson of peace and contentment to the restless hearts of men.
How sad Mary must be when she finds us unfaithful after so much care! Have we been faithful to God? As we look back over the past, there will be some misgivings, some self-accusation, some self-reproach, some sense of lost opportunities, abuse of grace. How many of us pass days wholly empty of any record of advantage to ourselves or of any effort for God! Perhaps, for some of us, there is a record, offensive to God and harmful to our own souls.
All God asks of us is to be faithful to Him, to carry out His wishes. We need not go outside our ordinary duties, but to be faithful to what ever vocation we are in and to do everything to the best of our ability for love of Him.
Source: The Litany of Our Lady - Fr. Patrick J. Gearon.