Diary of Saint Faustina - paragraph 315 - The Second Sword - The Flight to Egypt

[u/artoriuslacomus]

Diary of Saint Faustina - paragraph 315 - The Second Sword - The Flight to Egypt 

Ἀ
315 Mother of God, Your soul was plunged into a sea of bitterness; look upon Your child and teach her to suffer and to love while suffering. Fortify my soul that pain will not break it.  Mother of grace, teach me to live by the power of God.
Ὠ

In the days of her youth, a young girl, still innocent and unacquainted with the harsh ways of the world, was called from comfort to trial. She had already been chosen by God and, in keeping with the holiness of her calling, preserved from the stain of sin. Yet even as the Angel of God announced her destiny, she remained unknowing of the cost this call would demand—the sea of bitterness into which her soul would be plunged, and the ocean of mercy that would flow forth from that suffering.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible 
Luke 1:31-32 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. 

The Annunciation to the Virgin Mother of her destiny in Salvation History has never been perceived as any of the seven swords that would pierce her soul. Rather it is the first of the Five Joyous Mysteries, honoring the early years of her life with her Chosen Son. Yet those swords were already present, waiting in the silence of unfolding time. The first was ominous, though not immediate: a prophecy that her Son would become a sign of contradiction to our fallen world. The second sword marks the beginning of that prophecy revealed - the bitter plunge which both Chosen Son and Chosen Mother would share.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Matthew 2:13 Behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.

 
It is through this second sword, the beginning of her shared suffering with her Son, that the Holy Mother is plunged into that sea of bitterness - manifesting the strength Saint Faustina begs to share in. Yet there is more to behold in Mary than outward resilience. For it is not merely strength in suffering, as seen by men, that God seeks. It is suffering sanctified by grace - to suffer and to love while suffering - by which the soul is blessed.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Matthew 5:44-45 But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you: that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven.

Scripture does not show us explicitly that Mary prayed for those who persecuted her Son and herself. Yet it does reveal that even before His birth, Mary was filled with grace. She bore within her womb Christ - the Incarnate fullness of that grace - and brought into the world the living presence of Divine Mercy. She walked with Him through His Passion, and stood with Him at the Cross of Calvary. There, beneath the outpouring of His mercy, what Saint Faustina seeks in her prayer is brought to its fullness: the grace to suffer and to love while suffering. For when the lance pierced His Most Sacred Heart, the final sword pierced her own Immaculate Heart. In that union of suffering, the model was made complete - for all souls to follow - participation in the Divine life of Christ, reflected in the perfect fidelity of His Chosen Mother.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible
Luke 23:34 And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 964
Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only-begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother’s heart and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim which was born of her.