Mary Treasured all (these) things…Seeing Every Moment with a Presence Worthy of Worship

Mary treasured all these things and pondered in her heart 

If Mary is to be seen full of grace from the moment of her conception according to our faith, in her there is also a new creation. In her there was fulness of grace; there was nothing that resisted to the grace of God. 

Every moment of her life also can be seen as moments of encounter with grace, moments worthy to be treasured. Mary treasured all these things and pondered in her heart. This pondering was not seeking meaning for what was happening in trying to understand them. Her pondering was nor a pious emotional submission in nothingness and unworthiness. In pondering, she found something treasurable; she found something worth and valuable. 

She found every event as something worthy of divine presence, an encounter of grace. In every moment there is a worshipful presence. If she was granted the special privilege to be full of grace that was the fist experience she found worth pondering. 

Grace works in us dynamically and progressively, we need to respond to it with openness and patience. Every moment opens the doors of grace. Can we open ourselves to make that a moment of encounter with grace to make it a treasurable presence of God? Let us make this path worthy of worship. Some important treasurable experience we need to encounter come to light here. We may not find in us the fullness of grace and total openness to the Holy Spirit. It is a grace experience to be conscious of the fact that “I am found by God.” It takes us into further affirmations as, “I am found something worth, I am accepted, I am loved, …” These are worthy of being valued, because I am treasured and found valuable without any condition. This is what gradually heals our person, and builds a character that would be mature enough to say ‘yes’ to God when asked for a specific commitment. 

A mere meditative attempt may not form this character, because it is interactive encounters that form our character. Shall we not begin with our own treasures, the very human experiences?  Experiencing such moments open the doors of divine graces too. They are moments of trust, love, acceptance, welcome, sacrifice and pain. The need to offer such human experiences also cannot be neglected. They are the grace channels we are immediately in touch with. Treasure is here! They are the moments we find a worshipful presence of God. They are indeed there.

It is then, that we are able to give an open eye to the wonderful presence of God in every moment, to cherish and treasure those moments with a presence worthy of worship, and to place our trust in God in varied situations and responsibilities. Is that not what we mean by 'giving first place for God', or 'loving God above all things'?