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Today I want to share with you a story you may have heard from a homily that St. Padre Pio gave near the end of his life. The story is about evil in the world.
Once there is a mother who was embroidering on a small weaving frame. Her young son was seated in front of her on a small low stool watching the work of his mother. But as he’s watching, he sees only the reverse side of the weaving frame, from underneath. And so he says, “But mother, what are you doing? The embroidery is so ugly!” So the mother lowers the weaving frame and shows him the other side of the work, the good side with all its colors in place and all the threads making a harmonious pattern.
As you may realize, in St. Padre Pio’s story, God is doing the embroidery. Evil is the ugly underside of the embroidery, and we are the young son, sitting on a small stool unable to see the whole picture.
Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and our Gospel today reminded me of St. Padre Pio’s story. The genealogy of Jesus Christ is certainly an embroidery of many different kinds of people throughout the ages. It includes many great people of faith who did incredible things in their life by fully cooperating with God’s plan. It also includes murderers, adulterers and prostitutes.
God certainly wants us to avoid sin, but the genealogy of Jesus reminds us that God is the Master Weaver. He can use all the threads, both saints and sinners to weave a beautiful tapestry. Much of our lifetime is spent seeing the ugly underside of the tapestry like the young son sitting on a low stool watching his mother…but once in a while…God lowers His beautiful work so we can all see it.
Today we celebrate an event like this. The Nativity of Mary and her role in our salvation as the Mother God is one of the greatest examples of God’s beautiful plan coming together.
Together, let us ask for the intercession of the Blessed Mother to help us to better understand how we can cooperate with God’s plan for our lives. Hail Mary, full of Grace….
-Deacon Steve Whiteman