Saturday, February 26, 2011

Mary is Our Mother Too (Part 2)

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 26 February 2011)

In last week’s sharing, you heard the first installment of a true story of survival where a group of young boys experienced that Mary is not only the Mother of God, but also their mother.

At the ending of last week’s story, the remaining 16 boys who survived the airplane crash held nightly Rosary prayer sessions in the shell of the plane, which became a tremendous source of strength for the boys. 

Now there was a boy named Arturo. He was a rather sullen person. Even his own family found him withdrawn and hard to communicate with. One night Arturo surprised everyone by asking to lead the prayers. As he prayed, he spoke with such deep feeling that the others were struck with a new affection for him. After the prayer ended, everyone was silent.  Only Arturo could be heard weeping softly. “Why are you crying?” someone asked. “Because I feel so close to God,” Arturo replied.

Days inched into weeks. Finally, in the eighth week, signs of life began to show: a bee, a butterfly. The season had changed. It was now warm during the day. At night, however, the temperatures still dropped to well below freezing.

Two of the strongest boys, Nando and Canessa agreed to try to descend the mountain for help.  They made their final preparations for the long walk; clothes, food, maps, medications and toiletries recovered from the luggage for skin protection, a walking stick, a compass. The going was extremely difficult.  They were tied together by a nylon cord. One bad slip and both would go tumbling down the mountain. One boy began a continuous dialogue with God.  He had seen the movie Fiddler on the Roof, and remembered that one of the characters prayed this way.  “God”, he said, “You can make it tough; but please don’t make it impossible.”

Nine days later the two boys made it down. Within hours, army helicopters flew to the top of the mountain, guided by Nando, to rescue the remaining 14 boys. Everyone then gathered for a reunion and celebration in the Sheraton San Cristobel Hotel. Sorrow for those who had not returned and joy for those who had. One of the boys, Delgado, explained to his parents and newspaper writers who had gathered to hear their story:

‘When one awakes in the morning amid the silence of the snowcapped peaks – it is majestic, sensational, something frightening – and one feels alone in the world but for the presence of God. For I can assure you that God is there. We all felt it, inside ourselves, and not because we were the kind of pious youths who are always praying. Not at all. But there one feels the presence of God. One feels, above all, what is called the hand of God, and allows oneself to be guided by it.’ 


‘We had an enormous desire to live’, said Mangino, ‘and faith in God. Our group was always united. We prayed the Rosary. We kept our faith. I’ve changed. That’s the best thing about it.’

The boys gave much credit to Mary for helping them survive those 72 days. By actual count, they had repeated the phrase “Holy Mary, Mother of God” over 50,000 times in their prayers. During those 72 days on the mountain, the 16 boys experienced that Mary was not only the Mother of God, but also their mother.

In his homily on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Fr Mark Link said this:

“If we are looking for a new year’s resolution, we might do no better than follow the example of the 16 boys on the mountain.  We, too, might make the decision they made, that is, starting today, we will make prayer an important part of our life in the days ahead.

If for you, prayer is already a part of your life, why don’t we try an ever richer experience, that is doing what the boys did, to seek Mary’s help in our prayers. If we do this, we can be sure that we will experience her help, just as they did.”

Let’s end today’s sharing by praying the Salve Regina. I invite you to pray it along with me, in silence:

Hail Holy Queen, mother of mercy.  Hail our life, our sweetness, our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve.  To you we direct our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.  Be merciful to us loving advocate, and after this our exile, show us your son, Jesus. Amen.

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