Fr. José Juan Sánchez Jácome / ACN.- Just as February centers on the love that stirs emotion, June has become a month of the heart. The celebration of the Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary has wrapped us in God’s immense love, awakening the desire to consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Christian communities seeking refuge and strength in the Mother of Jesus have long encouraged.
Modern conveniences bring us memberships, subscriptions, and affiliations, yet how much more essential it is to belong to Mary. In these times of danger and immense challenges, we need a safe place that not only shields and comforts us amid difficulties but also inspires us to live our faith with perseverance, as the Virgin Mary did.
Beyond the immense benefits that consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary grants us, as the saints highlight, the celebration of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary continues to inspire many reflections.
How we long to live in peace, goodness, faith, and purity, as we see in Mary. This longing first arises when we recognize our own sinful reality. We are not immaculate like Mary; instead, we must struggle against the passions that cloud our vision and poison our souls.
Our struggle is not only against lust but also against selfishness, ambition, arrogance, and pride—vices that drive us to take advantage of others and live indifferent to their needs. We refuse to lose and are willing to lie in order to preserve our privileges and harm others.
Confronting this reality, we begin to feel nostalgia, for we are not immaculate. Yet, secondly, we feel the impulse to imitate Mary, who, as the Gospel emphasizes, kept all things in her heart. Many events in life are not understood at first glance, and we are not meant to grasp them immediately, contrary to our society’s tendency.
Of course, some things are difficult to understand and accept when they occur. But our tendency is to resolve everything instantly, without allowing time to meditate and rest with them. When faced with something greater than ourselves, we tend to despair, complain, blaspheme, and rebel. We are hasty, reacting in a primal way and leaving little room for reflection.
The Virgin Mary did not understand many things. That is why she kept many episodes of her life in her heart—to clarify them, to await the light, and to learn to trust in God’s presence amid events and messages that overwhelmed her.
Consider Mary’s awe before the angel who kneels to announce the mystery of the Incarnation; her contemplative gaze upon her child lying in a manger; her surprise at Simeon, who rejoices at the sight of the child yet foretells that a sword will pierce her soul; her immense sorrow as she watches her Son die as a criminal on the cross; or her anguish when the adolescent Jesus is lost during the journey to Jerusalem and responds to them in a disconcerting way.
Faced with events beyond her capacity, Mary does not question, rebel, or doubt; instead, she keeps them in her heart and awaits illumination. Mary contemplates, remains silent, and prays. She herself speaks of her pain and anguish when, for example, upon finding her Son in the temple among the teachers of the law, she says to Jesus: “Your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”
“For three days, a prelude to three more that would come later, the Heart of Mary was covered in darkness. She had lost the light, the Child had disappeared, and she wept inwardly, anticipating the heartrending cry of Calvary: ‘My Son, my Son, why have you forsaken me?’ When, after those three days, the light returned, she—who kept all these things in her heart—learned a lesson that would illuminate her like a lamp on Holy Saturday: she would never lose her Son forever” (José F. Rey Ballesteros).
When things are too great, we simply remain silent, like Mary and Saint Joseph. We keep them in our hearts to learn to trust and to wait for rescue. That is why it is so important to seek recollection and intimate encounters with the Lord to process what we face, because life’s mysteries are not understood at first glance, and this must be accepted so we do not despair.
Imitating Mary, we must seek recollection, as well as moments of silence and contemplation, to sift through the things we cannot understand. So many things surprise us and cause us to stumble in life: when a loved one dies, when we lose our job, when we fall ill, when a marriage fails, when we face family crises, when we are threatened, when we wait for a loved one who has been kidnapped or disappeared, or when a doctor reveals we have cancer or another serious illness.
We must keep things in our heart instead of becoming cowardly, blaspheming, cursing, despairing, or protesting. In the face of challenging situations, like Mary: contemplate, remain silent, and pray—to be enlightened, to be rescued, and to be convinced that God will never abandon you.
We learn the same from the Heart of Christ. We may face delicate situations, but sometimes the interpretation we give to what happens worsens the situation and sinks us deeper. In such moments, prayer helps us avoid pessimistic and catastrophic interpretations that prevent us from recognizing God’s presence. These thoughts come from the evil one and torment the soul. They lead us into pessimism, sadness, and despair.
Illness and problems can be very hard, but the interpretation we make of them is worse. In moments of suffering and sadness, we find ourselves defenseless and weak, not only physically but also spiritually. That is why Jesus insists on prayer—so as not to fall into temptation, not to fall into despair, not to turn our backs on God, and not to feel rejected by Him.
The Gospel highlights that the more Jesus suffered, the more He prayed; the more alone He felt, the more He prayed; the more pain reached His soul, the more He clung to God. If sufferings increase, pray more, just as Jesus prayed more the more He suffered.
Ultimately, we must not keep grudges, vengeance, or hatred in our hearts. The heart is meant to hold, as Mary did, the signs and blessings of God. Saint Manuel González exhorted us clearly to act like Mary: “Many will have taught or will teach us to keep things in the head or brain. In the wallet or bank. In the palate or stomach… No one like Mary will teach us to keep everything in the heart.”
“Do not be afraid, do not let your hearts be troubled, trust.” Remembering these tender words of Jesus, we must ask God in our prayer that these sweet words enter our minds and that we learn to keep them in our hearts.
Let us personally say in our prayer: “Mary, my mother, help me to ‘keep in my heart’ and in your heart the weariness and sleepless nights, and to offer my thanksgiving in advance.” We must keep everything, because the Lord will come to enlighten and rescue us, but also because we need to be strong to help and accompany others in the critical moments they face.
Etty Hillesum expressed this movingly: “I want to say this: all the strength, all the love, all the trust in God that one possesses must be kept in reserve for all those one meets along the way who need it.”
Mary is the woman of the “yes,” the woman who surrenders to the Lord and teaches us that when we keep the things of God, we allow ourselves to be surprised by what God can do in us.
It is fitting to hold on to the words of Saint Faustina Kowalska, so as not to cease praying and, like Mary, to keep everything in the heart: “I am at peace beside His Immaculate Heart, for I am weak and inexperienced; therefore, like a child, I cling to His Heart.”