Hear me, daughter, do not glean in any other field… Keep close to my maids and follow where they glean. – Ru 2:8-9
“Like Ruth, Mary is allowed to gather the ears of corn (glean) after harvesters. The harvesters she follows are evangelical laborers constantly harvesting souls for God. To Mary alone is granted to save the most hardened sinners, abandoned even by the harvesters.” – St. Bonaventure (Mary Day by Day)
There are times when we feel as if the weight of a person’s soul rests on our shoulders, and no matter how many times we try to help, it just seems like a lost cause. I know that I’ve had such experiences, and more often than not, my response is always shame or guilt in not being able to fulfill my responsibilities as a sister.
In reading this, I realized that there are a multitude of things that are beyond my control and understanding, things that probably only Our Universal Mother would understand.
In those moments where we feel helpless in helping others, maybe the Lord’s will is not for us to feel as if we have abandoned that brother or sister, but rather, to trust that there are some things best dealt with by a loving mother’s embrace.