(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 Even his own family found him withdrawn and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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