Shadows

The angel told Mary: "The power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow" (Luke 1:35). Now this shadow is whatever duty, temptation, or trial that every moment presents to us. It is exactly like those natural shadows which veil and hide objects from our sight. These ever-present duties conceal the fact that they are expressions of the divine will. That is how Mary always saw them; so, far from being deceived by them, she had her faith strengthened in him who never changes. The archangel departs, for he is one of these shadows. He has had his moment. Mary has gone ahead of him and henceforth a great distance will separate them, but the Holy Spirit, who came upon her under the shadow of the archangel, will never leave her. ~from Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Dear Mary, my life is like yours, full of shadows. Help me to see them as hiding-places of our Father's adorable will. Teach me to do His will happily and serenely, faithfully and confidently, magnifying the Lord as you did with every heartbeat, every breath. Dearest Mary, Handmaid of the Lord, pray for me! Amen.

Photography Credit: "Fogged Farm" by Ann L. Krumrein