The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Mother of Pearl: Quarantined with the Mother of God

Episode Date: May 22, 2020

How are you handling quarantine? Have you asked your Mom for help? Today, Jeff shares some insight on the imagery of a pearl, and Mary as the mother of pearls. As we continue to have our lives altered and interrupted by the Coronavirus, Jeff offers some practical advice on how to lean on the support of our Mother, who knows all our sufferings. _Snippet from the Show “A beautiful pearl can come from this confinement.”_ Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail] Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven Show, episode 167, Mother of Pearl, quarantined with the Mother of God. Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven Show. Hey, welcome. Welcome back to the show this week. Thank you for joining me once again as we are talking about things that are related to being a disciple. And right now, it's a challenge for a lot of people to be a disciple, particularly because we're still quarantined. If you're listening to this show out of order, yep, we're living that period of history that everybody was talking about. And probably will continue. to talk about, and that is the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that everybody is quarantined. And at this particular time, people are starting to come out a little bit, but I'm still hearing a lot of people talking about the effects of being, you know, locked up in an apartment, townhome

or whatever kind of shelter you are at, and it can be very, very difficult. I have a perspective today on being quarantined that relates to the Blessed Virgin Mary that I think you're going to find it encouraging, very, very encouraging. And if you need that kind of encouragement right now, well, this is the show for you today, because I have found that even, you know, as I've been preparing for the shows and reading and praying, that this is one of the things that came out and really ministered to me. And naturally, I thought, you know what, I want to, I want to share it with you. To be quarantined is very difficult. It's very, very difficult. It wasn't very many months ago, actually, that I was down in Houston, Texas, and I was at a parish down there in the

woodlands, St. Anthony at Padua, Father Tom is a pastor down there, good friend of ours. And I was invited by Jerry. Jerry works at the church there in the area of a prison ministry, and they allowed me to go into, outside of Houston, a place called Ferguson Unit. Now, Huntsville, Texas is just, it's an amazing city with a lot of, you know, dozens of units where inmates are housed. Ferguson unit is particularly difficult because this is called a gladiator prison. This is where you have, I think it's over 300 men in solitary confinement. When I say solitary confinement, I mean solitary confinement, cells that are about four feet by eight feet and just not a lot of room.

Well, anyway, I had the chance to go there and to give communion to, I think it was nine inmates there and share Christ with them. I mentioned that in an earlier show, but I just bring that up simply to illustrate that there are some people, you know, in life that are living in quarantine for life. And there's not a lot they can do about it due to the crimes that were committed. They are in solitary confinement or for their own protection or for the protection of other inmates. When you are in solitary confinement, as I discovered in talking to these inmates, you can go a little batty. You know, you can think you're losing it at times. In listening to them, that's what many of the guys

said. They said, you know, you feel like sometimes you're going to lose it. You're just, you need relationships, and you need to get out. And the situation that you and I find ourselves in is not a Ferguson unit by any stretch of the imagination. But when you're in the difficult time, it can certainly feel like solitary confinement. And I want to talk about that today and talk to you about something beautiful that can come out of this. It really is, I think that it's an encouraging insight. By the way, if you want the show notes for this show and all the shows coming up, all you've got to do is text my name. That's just the full name, Jeff Kavens, no spaces, Jeff Kavens, and you can text my name to the number 3377. Don't you like that, biblical number 3377? And you'll get the show

notes for today and all the shows coming up in the future, at least one every single week. Well, the title of this episode is Mary, the Mother of Pearls, a new perspective on being quarantined. And I want to start off by talking just a little bit about pearls in general, because pearls are mentioned in the New Testament. In fact, the kingdom of God is liken to a pearl. It's likened to a pearl, but not just any pearl, but a pearl of great price. In other words, a pearl that is distinguished, it's different, it is amazing, it's an amazing pearl. And that's the way the kingdom of God is described. It's like a pearl of great price, where all else is sold to have that great pearl, right? And that's what we ultimately want, and everybody wants it. And, you know, in the world, what is considered a pearl can be

problematics. You know, Steinbeck's novel, The Pearl, is case in point, and if you haven't read that, it's a great read. But people do sacrifice other things in life for what they perceive as the pearl of great price. Now, for us as Christians, that's the kingdom of God. That is Jesus Christ and the rule and reign of the king of the universe in our own lives. That is the pearl of great price. to give up a lot of things to apprehend this amazing, this amazing pearl. Now, people do this, they do this all the time. And maybe you've done it. Where? Well, on eBay, maybe, you know, maybe you're on eBay looking for something that you really, really want. It can be, it could be anything. It could be jewelry. It could be, it could be a hat. It could be shoes. It could be,

you know, some kind of power tool or anything, really. And what do you do? Well, you go on, there and you sell five items in your house to buy the one thing that you really, really want. And that's the way the kingdom is described by Jesus when he talks about a field, a treasure in a field, you know, or the pearl of gray price. We divest ourselves of things that are not as valuable to apprehend that which we perceive as very valuable. So it comes natural. But what about life in confinement, quarantine. Have you been finding yourself giving up some things, not participating in some activities, not buying some things, you're not going out to restaurants? Have you found yourself giving up some things for things that are better? Well, that's one of the things I'm discovering

while I'm going through this quarantine, is that, wow, you know, in fact, we even mentioned this to the neighbor the other day, Emily and I were talking to one of the neighbors, six feet apart, I might add. And we were talking about how, you know, we haven't gone out to eat, but maybe once or twice we went and picked something up at curbside. We've actually been cooking meals and things like that. And I'm finding that there's a lot of things that I don't need really anymore. And when this is over with, I don't see myself going after those things. in fact, I see myself giving up some of the things that were valuable to me before for something better, which is this beautiful relationship with the Lord and the Lord's mother and the saints

and the church. So that which is better, it doesn't always come easy, does it? In fact, it can be very hard at times. It can be very, very difficult, as you know very well in what you're going through right now. And it is difficult. We just, we just had a story, a very sad story. There was a young couple not too far away from our house, actually, and I think that the pressure of the quarantine got to this newlywed couple, and the sad thing is, is that the young husband ended up murdering his wife and got caught. And there was a news commentator saying that this type of thing of domestic violence and so forth, is one of the fruits, or the bad fruits, we should say, of people being quarantined, is they may do things that they don't normally, it wouldn't normally do,

and they experience a level of rage or anger that they normally wouldn't have experienced. So apprehending that, which is good and great isn't always the easiest thing. Oftentimes, we do struggle with our own passions in our life. Well, let me introduce you to a pearl, okay? We've been talking about pearls here. I came across a really interesting article online about how pearls are formed, and as I was reading it, I got to thinking about the blessed mother, the Virgin Mary, our mother. And let me share it with you. You know, there are essentially three types of pearls. There are natural pearls, and there's cultured pearls, and there's imitation pearls. And maybe you have a real natural pearl, and that's pretty valuable. And many cultured pearls are

valuable, too. Imitation, not so much. Now, natural pearls form when an irritant, usually a parasite and not the proverbial grain of sand. They work their way into the interior of a clam. muscle or an oyster. And as a defense mechanism for the muscle, the oyster, or the clam, a fluid is used to coat the irritant. And then what we have is layer upon layer of this coating called a Naker, Naker, is deposited until a lustrous pearl is formed. That's a natural pearl in the wild. A cultured pearl undergoes the same process, but the only difference is that the irritant is implanted. It's an implanted bead, or in many cases, it is a piece of shell. And that piece of shell that is implanted is called, get this, mother of pearl. That's where the term comes from,

mother of pearl. And these seeds are most often formed from muscle shells. And quality cultured pearls require a sufficient amount of time. Now, I found this interesting because the article said that it's generally at least three years. And I think that's interesting that the Lord spent three years with the disciples before he was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended. And so generally about three years, and that forms this thicker layer of the nacre, and then you have a quality pearl. Now, the culturing process, as I said, it usually takes about three years, and it's in that three-year period where you are this piece of sand or whatever is implanted, is is, uh, undergoes this process and it becomes, it becomes a pearl. Now imitation pearls are the different

story completely. In most cases, it's a glass bead and it's simply dipped into a solution made from fish scales and the coating is so thin and that it eventually wears off. In fact, it wears off pretty, pretty easily. So most people don't want imitation pearls. They want a cultured pearl or they want a natural pearl. Now, here's what I thought was interesting is that this beginning of a pearl is called Mother of Pearl. Mother of Pearl. And I got to thinking about being in a quarantine situation, I guess you could say, kind of stuck in a very confined area, like a clam, a muscle, right, or an oyster. And as the pearl comes from an irritation, in the close quarters of a clamshell, I got to thinking that something beautiful, a beautiful pearl

can come forth from this confinement, and we can entrust ourselves to the mother of pearl, or what I would call today the mother of pearls, our lady, and that our lady, the blessed Virgin Mary is our mother, and she continues to hold us and she comforts us in the difficulties that we face in this confinement, the irritation that we experience like this small piece of shell, the mother of pearl in a clam. Now, here's the good news, is that, yes, you might be quarantined. Yes, you might feel confined. You might feel quite irritated. like it being in a clam or an oyster or a muscle, you might. But the good news is this. Of course, we know that the Lord is with us, but the mother of pearls is with us as well. She is with us

as our mother. Now on the other side of this break, when I come back, I want to share with you some insights from John Paul II, the great St. John Paul II, that are insights that I think are going to have a profound impact on you, if you do them, if you walk in these truths, it's going to have a profound impact on you, and it's going to make this clammy feeling that you might have as you're being quarantined. It might just transform your experience. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. Hi, I'm Sonia Corbett, the Bible study of Angelista. When I became Catholic, I had a really hard time understanding the role Mary was supposed to play in my life. So I went to her and I told her, I just don't get it. I need your help. And guess what? Mary

did just that. She showed me a way to pray that has revolutionized my entire life. Mary has been called the mother of listening. She didn't just hear the word. She knew how to hear it in light of her own relationships, circumstances, and habits. And then she let the word transform her. I realized that I had to share what I was learning about Mary's way of praying with others. So I wrote how to pray like Mary, a step-by-step guide to discovering God's voice in the scriptures and letting him transform your heart. I invite you to learn more about how to pray like Mary at ascensionpress.com or on Amazon. Hey, welcome back. Welcome to the life in a clam. Welcome to life in an oyster or a muscle quarantined, gets a little tight, and can be a little bit frustrating. Yes, yes, irritating. But out of that

irritation can come something absolutely beautiful like a pearl, like a pearl of great price. We can experience that even in close confinement. We can experience it. And the good news is, is that we're not alone, you have been given the mother of pearls. I don't know if that's an official name in the church, but it's official in my book in terms of of what I know she's doing in my life right now, and I know what she can do in your life. I'm going to be drawing here from a letter. It's an encyclical letter of John Paul the Second, Mother of the Redeemer, also known as Redemptoris Mater. If you want to sound smart. But it's Mother of the Redeemer. Talks of all about our lady

in her role in salvation history and her role in our life. And specifically in John Chapter 2, It's paragraph 21 in this amazing encyclical that I'm drawing from. John Paul II talks about how there is the new dimension of motherhood, a new dimension, a new meaning of Mary's motherhood that we see in John chapter 2, which of course is the wedding at Cana. And at the wedding of Cana, she doesn't say much, but wow, what she says has such profound meaning in John Paul II. He minds this. He gleanes this, and he gives it to us like it's not just a few words, but a great big filet mignon in our spiritual menu. In John Chapter 2, John Paul II says that there is a new kind of motherhood according to the spirit

that when she says to her son, they have no wine. John Paul II tells us that this demonstrates a new kind of motherhood according to the spirit, not just according to the flesh. That is, to say, Mary's solicitude for human beings, her coming to them in the wide variety of their wants and their needs in their sufferings. And so this new dimension of motherhood, this new dimension of motherhood has tremendous meaning because for us as human beings, she comes to us, and she comes to us in a very wide variety of wants, in a wide variety of needs and sufferings. And you might be experiencing some of those wide variety of wants and some of those wide variety of needs,

and certainly there's a wide variety of suffering that's going on today, from income to your job, to kids at home, to not getting into the doctor's office. We just called the doctor this morning. We were seeing about getting in, you know, for some routine things, and found out, well, that ain't going to happen, you know. Basically, they said, you're stuck in the clamshell right now. Well, that could be true, but I didn't tell them. I should have that I am actually stuck in the clam shell with the mother of pearls.

And so that's not too bad. Well, it was at Cana that we see the concrete aspect of human need, and apparently a small one, John Paul II says. He quotes the Blessed Virgin Mary when she says, they have no wine. I want you to think about this for a moment, that phrase, they have no wine. How about you? Wine? Well, maybe not. But the wine that is mentioned in John Chapter 2, St. John Paul II says, has symbolic. value. Do you ever think of that? Maybe you're not a drinker. Maybe wine is something like you'd think, well, that doesn't mean anything to me, but wine has symbolic value. In other words, you might have

some concrete needs when we speak about wine. It's not wine itself, but it might be some other kind of needs like wisdom to teach your children, or it could be as something as mundane as, my gosh, creativity in cooking meals. You fill in the blank. They have no, you fill it in. Let's do it again. They have no, you fill in. What was wine? John Paul, the second, says, he says that this coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius of Christ's messianic mission, and salvific power. Isn't that powerful? Let me read that again to you. No need, by the way, to write this down, because I'm going to provide this for you in the show notes. All you got to do, remember, is text my name, Jeff Kavins, no spaces. 3377. Okay, so John Paul

the second says, this coming to the aid of human needs means. Means. Here's what it means for you. at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius of Christ's messianic mission and salvific power. Now think about those needs and those wants and those sufferings that you're going through, and now think about this. She, your mother, can bring those needs, wants, and sufferings into the messianic mission and salvific power of her son. If you've got that opportunity, why not take it? He goes on and says, thus there is a mediation. Get this now. This is very, very cool. Mary places herself between her son and mankind in the reality of their wants, the needs, and sufferings. Get it again here.

Mary places herself between her son and what? You. How? In the reality of your wants, and your needs, and your sufferings. So she is a mediator, and she puts herself in the middle, that is to say, she acts as a mediocris, not as an outsider, but in the position as mother. She's there as a mother. Now, think about it for a moment, okay? I love what he says her. He says, she puts herself in the middle, that is to say, she acts as a mediatrix, not as an outsider. Now, that means that the Blessed Virgin Mary is not outside of your needs wants and suffering. Let's put it this way. She's not outside the quarantine. She's not outside the clam. She's not outside the muscle. She's not outside the oyster. She's the mother of pearls.

She's with you. She's with you in that she knows that irritation. and she can pray for you. Is this good or what? I mean, this is amazing. In fact, it's, think about, just think for a moment, do you know if somebody who needs to hear this? Forward this to them. I mean it. Share the goodness of the kingdom with other people who, right now, they might be irritated out of their mind. You see, the Blessed Virgin Mary is not an outsider in that, in the, in the close, you know, outside the close quarantine of yours, she's holding you as you become the pearl. She's with you. Isn't it interesting that we receive the pearl of gray price, Christ, and his kingdom? And we become like the pearl? We become like Christ. We become like

Christ, we become like one who's in the kingdom of God, but not on our own. Jesus gave you his mother. I think that is something to strive for, don't you? We give up everything for the pearl of great price, and we find ourselves becoming like the pearl. We find ourselves becoming like the pearl of great price, and we subject ourselves to the mother of pearl. The mother of pearls, blessed Virgin Mary. So let me ask you this question. As you are in the clam, quarantine, a.k.a. Think with me. What are your wants? What are your wants today? I'm going to give you an assignment here in a moment. They've got to think with me, what are your wants? I'm going to ask you to write those down. This isn't a talk. This isn't, uh, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this,

These are marching orders for us. You know, these are truths that can impact our lives. And we need to put pen to paper. We need to put knees to floor and heart to God and do something. What are your ones? Now, if wine was brought up, that's a seemingly small concrete thing in John Chapter 2. There's nothing too small for your mother. There's nothing too small. There's nothing too minuscule or insignificant. She's your mother.

So what are your wants? You have a want for finances, companionship, you have a want for food, you have a want for security. So what are your wants? Number two, what are your needs? What are some of the ones? What are some of the ones? of the things you'd say, you know what, I really need this. Now, you're the, you're the author of your list, so you can come up with anything there. And I get a kick out of people sometimes, and I think they do it with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The same thing they do with God, and they'll say, well, you know, I only go to God for the big things because, you know, I mean everybody's going to him, and he's probably pretty busy, and I'm not going to disturb him. And people do that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, too.

I'm not going to go with her with these little puny wants and needs. Really? You do know she's your mother. Go to her with your wants, your needs. Write them down. And your sufferings. Now, I know you've got a list there. You do have sufferings.

Suffering goes on, irritation goes on, in the clam, in the quarantine. Write this stuff down. Now, her mediation is related to intercession. Mary does what? She is interceding for you. And she also wishes that her son's power. John Paul II talks about this, by the way. She also wishes that her son's power would be manifested in your misfortune and the heaviness that you feel right now. In addition to intercession, what would the Blessed Virgin Mary say to you right now? what would she say to you, besides being with you and interceding with you and acting as a mediatrix, what else would she say to you right now in your confines, in your quarantine, in the clam?

I know what she'd say to you. It's in verse 5 of John chapter 2. She would say, do whatever he tells you. Do whatever he tells you. You know, like bookends to the public ministry of Jesus, we see the role of Jesus' mother in relationship. relationship to us. In John chapter 2, she's your spiritual mother. In John chapter 19 at the foot of the cross in verses 25 through 27, it'll be in the show notes. To John, she says, he says, behold your mother. Now let's bring this home. Embrace your mother in this confinement that you find yourself in. How can you do that? Let me give you four quick tips. Number one, cry out for help.

Cry out for help. Your mother has an ear for a crying child, as every mother does. Cry out for help. Number two, pray the rosary. Pray the rosary. The rosary is filled with mysteries, the mysteries of the kingdom of God, the mysteries of the life of Jesus. And she, as your mother, will take you on a tour of the life of her son, and she will intercede. for you. It's the fast track. It is a sure, sure prayer. John Paul II said it was his favorite prayer.

Outside of the mass, of course, the Eucharist, it is the rosary. Number three, thank her for interceding at the foot of your cross. Thank her. You might want to just do that today. Say thank you, Mary, my mother. Thank you for interceding for me at the foot of my own cross, which was filled my cross is filled with wants. My cross is filled with needs and filled with suffering. And you were at the cross of your son, and I know you're at the foot of my cross as well. And number four, make a list, as I mentioned just a moment ago, of your wants, needs, and sufferings, make a list, and ask for her mediation, ask for her intercession. Seriously. Put the list down in your Moleski and put it in your notes on your iPhone. Write it down on a scrap of paper.

and bring it to her and ask her to intercede for you. Don't say it's too little. Don't say it's too little. Nothing's too little for your mother. So let's go to the Mother of Pearls, the one who can make something beautiful out of our cross and out of the irritants in our life.

You see, we're not hopeless and we're not helpless. God has given us a wonderful, wonderful mother in a tremendous relationship, but it's not just a theological truth. It is the truth. The truth is you have a mom. I heard, I saw a bumper sticker a while ago, which I thought was kind of clever, and it said, your mother hasn't heard from you in decades. May she hear from you from that story? From that small area called a clam. And may she be with you and become the mother of pearls, your mother, the mother of the pearl that God is making out of your life. Let me pray for you. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, I thank you for my brother and sister

listening to this right now. I ask you, Lord, to open their hearts and their minds to the truths and all the wonderful, beautiful gems that you have given us, and truly you have given us a gem in your mother, the mother of pearls. We submit ourselves to you, Lord, and your kingdom, and the process that you are bringing us through. Help us to understand what we need to get rid of in order to acquire the pearl of great price,

and we give ourselves over to the care of our mother, the mother of pearls. Help us to become like Jesus. pray. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And let's pray one more time. Shall we together? Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. You have been listening to the Jeff Kaven show entitled Mary the Mother of Pearls. For my show knows,

it's in a complete library of my podcast, visit ascensionpress.com slash the Jeff Kaven's show, and you can also text Jeff Kaven's one word to 33777 to join our email list. My friend, I love you, and I ask you to pray for me, and I'll pray for you from all of us at Ascension. God bless you. Thank you.