These words have been coming to me each time I begin the first Glorious Mystery: The Resurrection.  At first I thought my neurotic mind was making up some weird rhyme but after it repetitively kept going through my mind, I decided to reflect on it a bit.

The Spirit is certainly leading me to do a lot of that these last few months…mostly regarding my trial of leaving my childbearing years and the last two children I lost.  No doubt, there have been many graces since becoming involved with Hannah’s Tears and this has impelled me to write on this subject.

My focus was on Mary Madgalene as she approached the tomb Easter morning.

In my reflection, I realized that the empty tomb was, at first, a source of sorrow for her.  She was overcome with loss and confusion.  No one could console her in her grief.  Except…for Jesus Himself.  When Jesus spoke her name, she immediately recognized Him and was filled with inexpressible JOY!  The empty tomb was now a source of joy and hope.

The empty womb…can be a cause of great sorrow for many women whether due to infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth and those entering the premenopause years.  I wrote especially of my own sorrow.

How can this be a source of joy or hope?

As Mary Magdalene did, we need to listen to Jesus calling out name in the midst of our grief and turn to Him.  In Isaiah 51:12 we find God speaking, “I, I am your Consoler…”.  He is the One, the first, we should to turn to in our sorrow.  And, as Mary uttered his title, “Rabboni”, we are to utter and cry out in prayer, “My Lord and my God!” as we cling to Him.

It will no doubt be a prayer of lamentation and a plea for divine assistance, but it also has to be a prayer of hope, love, and trust in the Divine Plan for our life.  Regardless of the outcome, God will bring great fruits from out trials and losses.  We need to be open to where God is leading us and to be aware of how He is filling us in our emptiness.  Through this, God is calling us to an ever deepening relationship with Him.

Even though the saints suffered greatly, they were able to experience joy within their souls even in the midst of suffering.  They possessed the knowledge that Jesus is already victorious over loss and death.  They experienced the joy of eternity right here on earth.  They did not merely *bear* with their crosses, but embraced them willingly…joyous to be following the same path of their Beloved Crucified.

Are we not all called to be saints?

Let our eyes of faith stay ever focused on the joy that is ours NOW to possess…the joy of the empty tomb…and eternal life with the risen Jesus.  In your emptiness…be filled!

{Theresa lives out her vocation as wife, mother to four (and two in Heaven), Classical homeschooler, Secular Carmelite, and part-time ultrasonographer in Pennsylvania.  She shares her fumbling writings at my desert heart when the Spirit nudges her.}