The fourth week of Lent is referred to as Laetare Sunday.

Rejoice

The Latin meaning of the word laetare is “rejoice.” This word taken from Isaiah 66:10:

¹⁰ Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
    all you who love her;
Rejoice with her in her joy,
    all you who mourn over her—

Those of us who have been honoring our sacrifices during Lent, we’ve made it to the half-way mark. This Sunday, March 10th, is 21 days before Easter.

Spiritual Lent

Hallow

We can clear our minds through prayer. If we open the door to the Spirit of God and welcome His presence, the Holy Spirit will take over. On my long walks I pray the rosary and listen to the Hallow app.  Hallow has been a great instrument in my Lenten journey. I praise God for the collaborated work on Hallow. We all recognize the famous names attached to this app like Mark Walhberg and Jonathan Roumie.  But there are so many others, ordinary people like myself, whose contributions have caused me to look deeper into my relationship with God. We grow closer to our Lord when we allow our minds to receive the truth. God is our light, and He teaches us how to be the light to others.

The Light

Sometimes my husband Mike goes to bed before me. To avoid  disturbing his sleep, I do not turn on the light. When the moon is hidden from the earth there is no natural light, so I stumble and sometimes bump my head or trip.  Darkness can only be dispelled by light. Part of today’s readings were from John 3:16-21, where you can find the renowned verse John 3:16.

On the Fourth Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa Jesus Meets His Mother.

Jesus Meets His Mother

At the Third Station of the Cross, Jesus falls for the first time. A few steps from there, at the Fourth Station, Jesus meets His Mother. Our beautiful Blessed Mother Mary is with her Son every step of the way. This was the beginning of His agony, and for this reason our Lord knew He could draw strength from His Mother. The Bible does not tell us what words of encouragement Mary spoke to her Son, but we know that her words gave Jesus enough strength to endure until the end of His Crucifixion.

For many years, playing the part of Mary on the Via Dolorosa was my privilege. Our team reenacted the Passion of Christ in Jerusalem for over 30 years. I have absolutely no training in acting, but when it came to this role, I felt our Blessed Mother Mary’s pain. My tears were real. As I reached to touch Jesus’ face to tell Him how much I love Him, my heart was truly breaking.

The Mother’s Role

As long as your children are alive, you will always be their mother. My children are grown and have families of their own; however, when they are experiencing any pain — emotional or physical — we go through the pain with them. My role has changed into being their silent support. Not a day passes without me lifting them up in prayer. When they are going through a difficult trial, my prayers for them are fervent. These motherly instincts are innate because we mothers have the best role model in the Virgin Mary.

Mary, the Mother of God

I find it disingenuous that some people outside of the Catholic faith have yet to come to an understanding of Mary’s true role. Because she is the Mother of God, much credence should be given her. Consider Jesus’ opinion of His Blessed Mother — would He not take care of her? Would it offend Him if people spoke ill of her? Jesus loved, respected, and protected His Mother. We should follow His example. The Virgin Mary is the mother to the world. She has appeared to many troubled nations to guide and instruct them and to forewarn them of coming chastisements. I will speak of the first apparition.

The Great Commission

With the authority of the Resurrected Christ, the First Commission was sent forth.

¹⁶ The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

The First Apparition

In 2015, our missionary group visited Zaragoza, Spain — the site of the first known apparition of the Blessed Mother. At the Great Commission, the twelve disciples dispersed to preach the Gospel to the world. Saint James the Great’s journeys took him to the Iberian Peninsula, which is modern-day Spain and Portugal.

According to tradition, James the Greater traveled with great effort to Roman Hispania — modern-day Spain — to evangelize the local tribes. He not only confronted great difficulties, but he also saw very little fruit of conversion.

Saint James was discouraged because the pagans were not responding to his message. So as he sat at the edge of the Ebro River, he prayed for the intercession of Mary. This is recognized as the first Marian apparition in the history of Christianity — and the only one that occurred while the Virgin Mary was still alive. Although it was technically a bilocation, because Mary was living with John the Apostle in Jerusalem at the time, it is still regarded as an apparition by the tradition of the Church.

This is the same outspoken James that Jesus referred to as one of the “sons of thunder” — which clearly tells us that even the boldest among us sometimes need encouragement.

Answered Prayer

Saint James heard a choir of angels and, looking to the sky, he saw a bright light. With angels surrounding the Blessed Mother, she appeared to him to offer encouragement. In her gentle voice, she told Saint James not to worry, because the people to whom he preached would be converted. Mary appeared to Saint James atop a pillar of jasper, carried by angels. Our holy Mother Mary handed Saint James a small wooden statue of herself holding the Christ Child. The date was October 12 in the year 40 AD, and the Blessed Mother asked that a church be built on that spot in her honor.

The Church of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza is the first church dedicated to Mary in all of history, and it remains standing to this day, having survived invasions and wars.

We must take into account that this first apparition of the Virgin took place while she was still alive and living in Jerusalem. Our Lady of the Pillar is recognized as the first Marian apparition in the history of Christianity and is the only one that happened while the Virgin Mary was still alive. Although it was technically a bilocation, because she was living with John the Apostle in Jerusalem, it is still regarded as an apparition by the tradition of the Church. The Virgin’s bilocation to Zaragoza, Spain was meant to encourage Saint James on his mission. She also told Saint James to return to Jerusalem. Perhaps called back to Jerusalem for consultation, James became the victim of Herod’s wrath against the infant Church — the first apostle to suffer martyrdom. Historical accounts record that James’s devoted disciples, Theodore and Athanasius, brought the body of the beheaded “son of thunder” back to Spain for burial in the land to which he had been called.

Our Lady of the Pillar

This beautiful basilica is located on the edge of the Ebro River and is the first church dedicated to Mary in all of history, remaining standing to this day, having survived invasions and wars. The pillar itself was carried down by angels. It is still standing, and the jasper of which it is made has long been regarded as unlike any ordinary earthly material — it has never gathered dust in all its two thousand years of existence.

The Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), three bombs were dropped on the church from an airplane. The bombs tore through the roof and hit the floor, but none of them exploded. The three now-deactivated bombs are currently on display in one of the basilica’s walls.

Veneration

The pillar and the statue of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child are both venerated. The small wooden statue given by Our Lady to Saint James — a relatively simple image, just 15 inches high — now stands upon the jasper pillar she arrived on. Like most pilgrims, touching that small statue was a grace beyond words — the same statue our Blessed Mother Mary placed into the hands of Saint James nearly two thousand years ago.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, fill us with the same fire You gave Saint James to preach. May You season our words with love, and may we always look to Your heavenly light. Lord, send Your beautiful Mother Mary to our aid when we are discouraged. Amen.