Oh Mary, What Did Your Eyes See?

Oh Mary, blessed art thou among women. What did your eyes see? And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, And bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; And of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, And the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: Therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee Shall be called the Son of God. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; Be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. For to us a child is born, To us a son is given, And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And I (God) will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, And you will strike his heel. When the morning was come, All the chief priests and elders of the people Took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away. Then the high priest tore his robes and said, He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion? They said in reply, He deserves to die! Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him, saying, Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you? Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, And gathered the whole garrison around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, And a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! Then they spat upon him, and took the reed, And struck him, many times, on the head. And when they had mocked him, They stripped him of the robe, Dressed him in his own clothes, And led him off to crucify him. A Light Shining in Darkness, on that day, Beaten so badly, and cut so deep, His appearance was marred more than any man, And His form disfigured beyond recognition. Mary, participant in Simeon’s sword of words, Your soul pierced; your heart shattered. The thoughts of many hearts revealed. Illustrated by Rembrandt, "The Crucifixion", The crowd gathered around, The Cross, the vastness of God’s mercy, Jesus on the cross, the limitlessness of God’s love, God’s grace flowing red. Then…the morning. The empty tomb! HE IS RISEN! HE IS ALIVE! Oh Mary, blessed art thou among women. What did your eyes see?