The Apostles, after having witnessed Jesus’s ascension, stayed in Jerusalem and kept vigil in prayer, waiting for the one who was promised them—the Holy Spirit. There is no way to really know what they were feeling or thinking as they waited, but the author of Acts says they devoted themselves to prayer along with some women, and with Mary (Acts 1:14). Our Lady’s presence amongst the apostles must have been a sure and steady anchor of fidelity and hope for them. I imagine Mary’s quiet presence and reassurance, her prayerfulness and trust. I imagine just being around her gave the apostles confidence.
Mary is the model Christian. She is the model Christian at prayer. She is the model Christian at work. She is also the model Christian at waiting. In many instances in Scripture, we see her in a posture of waiting. Mary experienced the stillness of waiting after the Annunciation, during her pregnancy, then during her exile into Egypt, after losing Jesus in the temple for three days, when Jesus began his ministry, at the foot of the cross as her son was dying, and now waiting for the one he said was to come. Mary’s waiting is expectant, knowing how the Incarnation has unfolded in her own life. For Mary, the silence of waiting is an expectation of promise and fulfillment.
In a way, the upper room becomes a sort of “school of waiting” for us, where we can join the apostles and be taught by Our Lady. We mothers have many moments of waiting—waiting for the baby to finally fall asleep, waiting for the chronically-late-child to finally come to the car (because we will be tardy. . . again), waiting for the pregnancy test result, waiting for the good news, waiting for that check we need. There seem to be dozens of instances of waiting in a single day of our lives. How many times do we sit in the school of waiting in the Upper Room, and, rather than pass it in joyful expectation, are filled with anxiety? How many times are we tempted to lose hope while we wait, allowing a negative attitude to creep in? There are times when we are given a promise but not any clarity about how it will be fulfilled, or we are asked to trust without knowing how it will unfold. Our Lady’s life teaches us that faithfulness is often born out of obscurity—we cannot see what lies ahead. We can only hope and trust that the Father will see it through. Mary is the perfect model of fidelity.
Our Lady’s presence in the upper room also teaches us another important point. The apostles were waiting with friends. They were praying with friends. They were not alone. It is crucial for us mothers to remember not to go at it alone. We need to reach out to our people and ask them to be with us in our waiting, in our obscurity. We must cling to our community of faith.
When Pentecost finally comes, the Holy Spirit comes with power! The entire world was set ablaze with the witness of the apostles, but only because the school of waiting and prayer in the upper room during that novena of days, with Mary as model and teacher to the apostles, gave space in their hearts for the Spirit to dwell. May Our Lady be the same model and teacher for us, who find ourselves in this season of waiting.
Beautiful!!!
We remain in this School of Waiting with Hope,
Trusting in His Boundless Mercy,
hoping to be Faithful to Him,
singing our “National Anthem”: Salve Regina!
We are
“mourning and weeping in the valley of tears,”
constantly begging Our Husband/Lord/King and Our Mother:
“after this our exile, show us the Blessed Fruit of your Womb, Jesus.”
Alleluia!