Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Wait

On the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Mother, I offer a re-post from last year when this sacred Feast Day fell on the WIC Clinic's annual turkey day:


Each year on the Monday before Thanksgiving, the WIC Clinic where I work participates in our local community's "Family to Family Thanksgiving" which distributes 3000 turkey dinners to the needy in our community annually. Since I am the only staff member at work who drives a van, my small role is to drive to the warehouse to pick up the 50 dinners that we are alloted and bring them back to our clinic where we share them with our neediest families.

Every year on turkey day (as it is affectionately known) I leave the house in the morning to find that my husband has already lovingly turned the car seats down to make extra room for all of the turkeys that I will be transporting. As I arrive at the warehouse where the dinners are distributed, I pull into a line of cars, turn my hazard lights on and wait for my turn. When I finally reach the loading dock, I am greeted by about 50 volunteers who open the doors of my van and fill it to the brim with the holiday food. How I wish my weekly grocery shopping experience for my family could be like this! Just pull up to the grocery store and a bunch of people come out and load all of your groceries for you!

Today as I waited in line to present my humble and lowly van to the volunteers who would fill it with food for those who are physically hungry, I had ample time to pray the rosary, and I thought about the beauty of today's Feast Day, the Presentation of the Blessed Mother.

Like me waiting in line, Mary waited, too; in fact she lifted the virtue of patience to an exalted state as she waited to be presented at the Temple by St. Joachim and St. Anne, after which she waited to learn what God's will for her life would be. And His will was for her body to be filled with the Bread of Life who would feed those who were hungry not for physical satiation but rather for spiritual fulfillment. Upon His birth, she waited yet again for his quiet and uneventful years of growth to pass by and for His mission to begin.

And she knew.

She knew that His mission would end in tortuous death, yet she waited for it with peace. As the crucifixion occured, she continued to patiently wait as she stood at the foot of the cross, silently suffering with Her Son. Then, after His lifeless body was placed in the tomb, she waited for His resurrection and ascension into glory.

Today, the time that I spent waiting in my van to pick up the Thanksgiving dinners became a perfect pause of thankful prayer united with the Queen of patience, and I hope that the Blessed Mother will continue to calmly stay by my side and by the side of all of her children, as we wait for our own presentations in the heavenly Kingdom of God. I returned to work, van weighed down with food to nourish the physically hungry and myself feeling a bit more satiated spiritually by my quiet time of waiting prayer with the Blessed Mother on her special day.

To learn more about Aurora Health Care's Family to Family Thanksgiving visit this link.

4 comments:

  1. Oh Anne what a wonderful post!! How comforting to think on our Blessed Mother by all our sides "as we wait for our own presentations.." What a great mission to be involved and thanks for the link as well. Helping to serve the hungry is so pleasing to Mother and her Son. Thanks for all you do with your words and deeds. A joy filled and Christ centered Thanksgiving to you and your family and for all families and singles too, especially those who are struggling.

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  2. Beautiful, just beautiful, dear Anne. A lovely analogy you experienced and formulated in your heart...A perfect connection with Our Lady on this day. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family...I know you must have enjoyed having your seminarian home and everyone together! I count you as one of my many blessings here in bloggyland! Thank you for all you share.

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  3. I too know what it is like to bring food to the hungry, to witness the gifts of time and talent creating a modern "miracle of the loaves." I'll never forget that feeling, and of God's blessing my work. I am sure He blesses yours also, Anne.

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  4. Loved this, Anne. Especially since I am a horrible "waiter".

    God Bless.

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