When, in our humanity, we are like three-year-old’s, so caught up in our own suffering that we can’t see straight let alone pray straight, what does Mary do?

She tenderly picks us up and carries us straight to Our Lord. And in doing so, He is “magnified” in our own hearts.

Cranky toddlers may eventually calm down without a parent’s tenderness, but how much quicker they find peace when a mother is nearby with two arms ready to embrace!

So it is with Mary. Like a good mother, she wipes away our tears so our blurry eyes can better see Christ.

Her time of waiting to enter Carmel was not wasted. Saint Elizabeth realized that just as we must seek to tend to sacred spaces like churches and chapels, we must also tend to the sacred spaces within our hearts.

We must not forget that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Let us make a safe place for Our Lord to dwell. Remember that no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, no matter how ugly the situation you are in, you have a cloistered place of prayer within your own heart.

Your Beloved waits for you….you need not go far.

Your sacrifice can be a song, though no one may hear it.

Your sacrifice can be a work of art, though no one may see it.

Your sacrifice can be a means of salvation, though no one may understand it.

No...your talents are not collecting dust.

They are not being hidden under a bushel basket.

You have given them back to the Lord to be polished like fine pearls. And now they reflect a Light much brighter than before.