CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
In 1967, I married Mary Ryan in a little country Chapel. We held
our wedding reception in Mary's home, a lovely thatched cottage,
which was over a hundred years old. There were only two rooms in
the house, a very large kitchen and a bedroom. Because of its
isolated location, the cottage was not connected to an
electricity supply or a water scheme. The house was lit by Tilly
lamps, which were kept topped up with paraffin oil. Enamel
buckets were used to fetch the drinking water from a well in a
nearby field, while the water needed for washing was drawn from a
stream. All the cooking was done on an open - hearth fire, the
flames of which were fanned by a bellows, which was operated by
turning a wheel. The oven - pots in which Mary's mother baked the
home - made bread were suspended on hooks which were attached to
the crane over the fire. The large black kettle was constantly on
the boil, and there was always a cup of tea in the pot. It was
the ideal location for our wedding reception.
While Mary's mother was busy making all the necessary
arrangements for the reception, we were carefully working out who
we should invite to the wedding. Because the cottage couldn't
hold a large crowd, we decided to limit the number of guests. But
we definitely needed to invite a car owner , as we didn't have
any transport of our own. We also needed a photographer, and
someone to play music at the reception. After careful enquiry, we
discovered that a cousin of mine owned a car and a good camera,
and was also a talented accordion player. Needless to say, his
name was put at the top of the list. As far as we were concerned
, he was a very important guest.
When the Apostle John writes about a wedding which he
attended, he does not tell us the names of the couple who were
getting married, but he does give us a glimpse at the guest list.
The first name mentioned is 'The mother of Jesus'. Jesus and His
disciples were also on the list of those invited to the wedding
at Cana, in Galilee. Apart from these guests, we don't know who
else was present, and John doesn't tell us an awful lot about the
wedding except that at some stage in the proceedings someone
realised there wasn't enough wine. The Apostle tells us that Mary
then approached her Son, and explained the situation to Him. She
then directed the servants to Jesus, and said to them, "Do
whatever He tells you."1
When I read this, I said to myself, "This is surely
Mary's desire for the people of Ireland today, that we would be
directed to her Son and do whatever He tells us."
Jesus alone could meet the specific need at that wedding, and
Mary knew this. She knew a miracle was needed, and that she
herself could not help. So she directed them to Jesus. I noticed
that Mary's advice to the people was that they should go directly
to Jesus. She did not indicate that they should come to her
first, and that she would then go to the Lord, and mediate on
their behalf. Nor did she direct them to go to Christ's disciples
first, that they might mediate for them. No, she instructed them
to go directly to Jesus.
The possibility of approaching the Lord directly was
completely new to me, for I had been taught at school that, if we
needed favours from God, we should first approach the Blessed
Virgin, or some of the Saints, and they would mediate on our
behalf. But as I read the Scriptures it became clear that neither
Mary nor any of the Saints can mediate for anybody, for there is
only ONE mediator in Heaven, and His Name is Jesus: "For
there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus - "2 Jesus Himself said, "Come unto me,
all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest."3
What a different place Ireland would be, I thought, if our
people took the Blessed Virgin's advice, and heeded her
instructions to go directly to Jesus and "Do whatever He
tells you."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A large holy picture of Saint Patrick hung in one of my
grandparents' bedrooms. It depicted the legend of Patrick
banishing the snakes from Ireland. It also depicted the shamrock
which, tradition tells us, was used by Patrick to explain the
Trinity.
I remember going with my Grandfather to Cummins' quarry,
shortly before St. Patrick's day, to pick shamrock. Some of this
would then be packed in a little box, and sent to his daughters,
who lived in England. Jack himself always wore a large sprig of
shamrock on his coat, and also on his cap, on St. Patrick's day.
My grandparents had a lot of holy pictures in their home. In
fact, they had some in every room in the house. Over the years, I
had seen many such pictures in different peoples' homes. But the
one which I found to be of most interest was that of the Blessed
Virgin standing at the foot of the cross upon which Jesus was
dying.
Later on, as I read in the Scriptures the account of the
crucifixion, I could picture the broken - hearted mother who
lovingly remained with her suffering Son. Her love for Him was
evident from the moment of His birth in the stable, to the moment
of His death on the cross. As Mary witnessed her Son dying, she
must have remembered the words of Simeon, who had said to her,
"And a sword will pierce your own soul too."1 The sword
of sorrow was indeed piercing her heart, as she watched her Son
dying.
But though Mary's heart was breaking as she watched her Son
suffer, she also knew that she was witnessing the outworking of
God's plan of redemption for sinners. The very purpose of
Christ's death had been highlighted by the prophet Isaiah, when
he wrote:
"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and
afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities; The punishment that brought us peace
was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like
sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."2
In other words, the Lord has put the guilt of our sin to His
Son's account. Christ became our substitute, and bore the
punishment due to our sin. The apostle Paul wrote: "He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all - "3
Mary stood and watched as her Son became the sin - bearer for
all who would put their faith in Him. God's plan of salvation was
unfolding before her very eyes. She had faithfully fulfilled her
role in God's plan. She had given birth to God's Son, and had, as
a devoted mother, reared Him. The work that God had given her to
do was now completed.
Now she was watching her Son fulfil His unique role, as
Saviour. He was willingly laying down His life, as a sacrifice
for sin. The apostle John, who stood by the cross as Jesus was
dying, later wrote, " - God has given us eternal life, and
this life is in His Son."4 John is saying here that eternal
life is found in Christ alone, and that there is no other person
involved in the salvation of sinners. Luke puts it like this:
"Salvation is found in no - one else, for there is no other
name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."5
The last words Jesus spoke to Mary, were uttered from the
cross. In the midst of all His suffering, we see the great
concern Jesus had for His mother. The sorrowing mother, grieving
for her Son, was in great need. Mary needed someone to comfort
and console her. She needed someone to provide for her, and to
look after her for the remainder of her days. Jesus told Mary He
was committing her into the care of the apostle John, who would
be like a son to her. He then spoke to John, and asked him to
take care of Mary, and to treat her as if she were his own
mother. We read in the Scriptures that, "From that time on,
this disciple took her into his home."6
Shortly after making provision for His mother, Jesus cried out
from the cross, "It is Finished."7 He could say to His
Father, " - I have finished the work which thou gavest Me to
do."8 He had led a sinless life. He had preached that men
should "Repent, and believe the gospel."9 He was now
dying as a substitute for sinners. The Lamb of God was being
sacrificed.
I asked myself some very important questions at this point,
like: "How many times did Jesus have to die?, How many times
has this sacrifice been repeated since He died on the cross?, How
many more times will Christ need to be offered before sin can be
forgiven?"
I had been taught at school that Jesus is sacrificed during
every Mass. This does not mean that His sacrifice is just
remembered, or commemorated, but it means that He actually dies
again each time Mass is said. This means He dies thousands of
times each day.
But I discovered in the Scriptures that Christ's death is
described as a "Once for All" sacrifice: "Unlike
the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day
after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the
people. He sacrificed for their sins ONCE FOR ALL when he offered
Himself...And by that will, we have been made holy through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL...But he
entered the Most Holy Place ONCE FOR ALL by his own blood, having
obtained eternal redemption"10
In other words, Christ was sacrificed just ONCE: "So
Christ was sacrificed ONCE to take away the sins of many
people....Because by ONE sacrifice he has made perfect for ever
those who are being made holy....And where these have been
forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin."11.
I could now see very clearly in the Scriptures that Christ's ONCE
FOR ALL sacrifice was sufficient, and cannot be repeated. He
cannot be sacrificed again, for Jesus Himself makes it very clear
that He died ONCE, then rose from the dead, never to die again.
He says, "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I
am ALIVE FOREVERMORE."12
Jesus was about to die, and leave His mother. Thirty three
years earlier, she had cradled Him, as an infant, in her arms.
Since then, so much had happened. She had seen wise men from the
East fall down before the child, and worship Him. She had to flee
with Him in haste to a foreign country when, as a child, His life
was threatened. She had heard Him, at the age of twelve, astound
the teachers of the Law, in the Temple. Throughout His three
years ministry, she had heard Him preach the Gospel. She had seen
Him relieve the heart - break of mourning parents by bringing
their children, who had died, back to life. But now death was
going to claim her Son, and who would comfort her?
The grief Mary suffered as her Son died, was surely compounded
by the manner of His death. Though He had led a Sinless life, He
had been crucified as if He had been a criminal. But even before
He was crucified, He was tortured so much that, in the words of
Isaiah the prophet: "His appearance was so disfigured beyond
that of any man and His form marred beyond human
likeness."13 The sorrowing mother could only watch as her
Son, the Lamb of God, laid down His life in sacrifice.
But Mary's sadness soon turned to joy when, after spending
three days and nights in the tomb, her Son arose from the dead.
Over a period of 40 days, He appeared to several of His
disciples, over 500 of them at one time. Then He ascended to
Heaven, to His Father.
Jesus had promised His disciples that He would send the Holy
Spirit, and so they waited and prayed for His coming; "They
all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."14 On
the Day of Pentecost, as they prayed in the upper room, they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit.
This is the last glimpse we get in the Scriptures of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is praying to her Saviour.
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