Since the early Church, Mary has
been given countless titles that focus on a particular aspect of her
life or an image of her (Queen Assumed into Heaven and Our Lady of
Perpetual Help, for example).
At the foot of the cross, she is "Our Lady in
Need." A widow who is losing her only child, she has no one
primarily responsible for taking care of her in her later years. From
the cross, so close to death, Our Lord asks St. John to meet that
need. And he asks his mother to accept John’s help.
In every parish, there are those who – because of
poor health, a chronic condition, or the frailty of age – are in
need. Today Our Lord asks others to be caregivers. And he asks those
needing help to accept it.
Heaven knows it isn’t always easy to provide help. Heaven knows it isn’t always easy to
take it.
To acknowledge the need for care and to graciously
accept it is to imitate Our Lady in Need.
And just as Mary remained a part of that new community and prayed with and for its members (she was there when the
Holy Spirit descended upon those in the upper room on Pentecost (Acts
1:13-14; 2:1-4), so too is one receiving care a precious member of the
parish.
Perhaps now unable to attend many community
functions, to take part in many group meetings or events, or even get
to Mass, the person receiving care – like Mary – can pray in union
with and for its members. For caregivers. For all those in need of
prayer.
Even when the one receiving care can’t be
physically present at the church, he or she can – throughout the day
and throughout the week – both say prayers and ask that God accept
the hardships he or she must now bear as a sacrifice prayerfully
offered to him on the behalf of others.
Within that faith community, they play a central
and key role.
Within the Friends of St. John the Caregiver, they
are the core, the foundation, the fuel that makes all the rest
possible. It’s their prayers and their hardships and
sacrifices offered in prayer that – like the prayers of Mary in the
early Church – transform, enrich, and bless others. That give others
hearts and minds and souls more receptive to God’s wisdom and grace.
