Our most admired, adored, sweet Virgin Mary, please pray for us and the whole world. Amen.
Thorns. When we think of thorns we imagine a rose stem pricking a finger, we imagine pain and suffering, we imagine the crown of thorns placed in the head of Christ. But the thorn is also associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary – particularly to Our Lady of Aranzazu.
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Rodrigo de Balzategui atop a thorn bush in the year 1469. The Blessed Mother was not wearing the thorns – an often depiction of stigmatist saints showing their unity with the suffering of Christ. The Blessed Mother appeared above a thorn bush, among the thorns – what can we reflect from this?
Trials, agonies, suffering – these are inevitable parts of our life. These are the thorns embedded into the sweet roses – but sometimes a cut or prick can be too much of a toll. We sometimes let ourselves be overtaken by worry and anxiety. It is not a show of weakness when we fall and become exhausted, it is not weakness to take a break and ask for help.
In these troubling times, let us remember and turn to Our Lady of Aranzazu on top of the thorn bush. Let us ask for help and intercession from her, patroness against natural disasters and calamities of the body and soul (Patrona laban sa Kalamidad ng Kalikasan, Katawan, at Kaluluwa).
A short prayer to use in these hard times is the Memorare to Our Lady of Aranzazu:
Remember us, Our Lady of Aranzazu, handmaid of the Lord, by your FIAT – your obedience to the message of the angel, pondering everything in your heart.
Following your example, help us to abide by the will of the Father and to be ever docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Oh blessed New Eve, we entrust to you our hopes and consolations, trials and agonies, our lives.
May your intercession lead us to surpass the thorns of our lives, and prepare us to respond to the call of holiness in the world – to receive the joy of your Son. Amen.
Let us use these trials, agonies, and suffering as instruments to grow stronger. Christ shares his cross to those closest to Him. Let us not get disheartened in the face of troubles, rather, let us remember the image of Our Lady of Aranzazu – the lady among the thorns. The Blessed Mother is waiting for us and on her arms is Our Lord Jesus Christ – she is there ready to accompany us among the thorns, among all the joys and sorrows of our lives, leading us ever closer to her Son. Dave Axalan / Association of Our Lady of Aranzazu
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