The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Our Lady in Waiting

Episode Date: August 25, 2023

Have you ever heard of Our Lady of Waiting? Jeff Cavins shares about this Marian devotion and explains its origin in Scripture. He encourages us to seek Mary’s intercession whenever we are facing challenges or are worried about the future. Snippet from the Show Mary is our mother. Not only can she pray for us, but she wants to pray for us and bring our intercessions to her Son. 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!

Welcome to the Jeff Kaven Show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together in living as activated disciples. This is show 338, Our Lady in Waiting. Well, welcome to the show. Good to have you with me. Once again this week. I'm Jeff Kavans, and this is the Jeff Kavins show. we talk about discipleship, studying the Bible, evangelization, everything we can talk about as far as becoming better disciples of the Lord. That's what we typically get into. Hey, you know, when I came into the Catholic Church, or I should say came back to the Catholic

Church because I was raised in the Catholic Church and I left it around 20 and then came back about 15 years later. But when I came back to the Catholic Church, one of the things that really surprised me was how many really cool devotions there are. And growing up, I wasn't aware of really, you know, many devotions at all. I mean, I knew the word novena, but I didn't really know what that meant. And I knew about the rosary, but I didn't really know how to pray that on my own. And I couldn't repeat the Apostles' Creed or any of that. So when I came back to the church, it was like every day I was discovering these morsels, these juicy, tasty bits of Catholicism that really enhanced my faith and gave me a more comprehensive view of the family of God and the kingdom of God.

And for that, I am very grateful. And by the way, that's one of the reasons that you'll never hear me put down any kind of devotion. You won't hear me do that because I am very aware, I'm very aware that God can reach people's hearts through various ways. And I've seen this over in Israel with some of the places in Bethlehem and in Jerusalem where the devotion is a little different that I'm used to. And it doesn't particularly draw my heart, but somebody in our group, it's like they go down under the power of the spirit.

They mean, it really grabbed their heart, you know? And it's like Magigori. I've never been there. My daughter and my mother have been there. and I know of dozens of people whose lives have been changed. Father Beard, I just let you in on his tremendous preaching. He was touched over there. So, you know, God has all kinds of ways of touching people.

And I want to share with you today a devotion that I didn't know about until just recently. And when I found out about this devotion, pow, I mean, the lights went on and I saw all kinds of practical ways that this could be applied in my life. And I hope you do too. I want to share it with you. And to set the stage for this, well, let me share this with you first, get this out of the way. If you want the show notes, that means that on every show I typically have some scripture, I have some catechism, I have some quotes, you know, and I want to give those to you, absolutely free. I want you to have them. And if you want them and you want them ongoing, all you've got to do is text my name, Jeff Kaven's, one word,

J-E-F-F-F-C-A-V-I-N-S, and text it to the number 3-3-7-7. And we'll put you on the list and we'll get you. We'll get you those. And no need to pull over on your bike and try to take notes or pull over on the side of the road when you're driving. I'll give them to you. So before I get into the devotion, I'll just ask you this. is there anything in your life right now that you know of that's that's up ahead by up ahead

meaning it could be tomorrow could be tonight could be tomorrow next week next month later on in the year something that you know you're going to be facing something you have to do figure out you know a challenge could be something in your own life personally it could be in your marriage it could be in your family at work parish so if you have something up ahead the devotion that I'm going to introduce you to today is really good at assuring that you have somebody praying for you and someone's got your back when you're on a mission. And I have found that to be very, very fruitful in my own life. You know, the Carmelite sisters in California, they told me years ago that they pray for me every single day and some sisters in Wisconsin and also the Ann Arbor Dominican

sisters pray for me. And just knowing that they have my back when I'm doing things brings me a sense of joy, a sense of protection, knowing that family members are praying for me. And by the way, I pray for you. I pray for you every week. I pray for those that join me on the show. And that would include you now, if this is your first time. And it's a pleasure to pray for you and lift up your needs to the Lord. Well, the, this divine. Votion is regarding Mary, the mother of Jesus, and it really stems from Matthew Chapter 15, verses 21 through 28, and I'll put all that. I'll spell it all out and put it in the show notes for you. Let me read it to you. It's the story about the Canaanite woman,

and she is from this region of Tyre and Sidon. Now, Tyre and Sidon is technically out of bounds for the Jews of the first century. It's up by Phoenicia, and that's northwest of the land of Israel, and Jews don't typically go wandering around up there. And yet Jesus breaks rank in a way, and he goes up to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and he runs into a Canaanite woman who exhibits tremendous faith, and it blows Jesus away, so to speak. And the faith that she exhibits is surrounding the need for her daughter who is demon-possessed to be set free. This lady will stop at nothing. She humbles herself. She begs like a dog, and she wants her daughter healed and delivered. Let me read it. It's not very long. Let me read it first of all to you. At that time,

Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, have pity on me, Lord, son of David. My daughter is tormented by a demon, but he did not say a word in answer to her. Now pause there for a moment. Isn't that kind of strange? here she is probably bawling her eyes out and she's begging and he just looks at her. He just looks at her. And then the disciples must have thought he's not interested. We're going to get this lady out of here. So it goes on and it says, his disciples came and asked him, send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.

And he said in reply, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But the woman came and did him homage, saying, Lord, help me. He said in reply, it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs. She said, please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters. And then Jesus said to her in reply, oh woman, great is your faith. Let it be done for you as you wish. And her daughter was healed from that hour. That's the story there that took place up at the region of Tyre and Sidon with this Canaan.

woman. Okay, fast forward now. A little while ago, I was getting together with one of my friends. He's the core bishop, Charbel, the bishop of the Catholic Maronite community in Minneapolis. He's a lovely man of God, just a passionate, a passionate Maronite bishop. And I love this guy. He's so passionate about Jesus. And he loves his Lebanese culture. And I got to say, I've got some really outstanding Lebanese friends, brothers and sisters, in the Minneapolis area. And I absolutely love getting together with them. Not only do they have incredible festivals at their parish, but the cooking, I'd go to Tyre and Siden any day for that kind of cooking. They have this one, I don't know why I'm telling you, but I'm going to tell you, it's this one garlic spread.

it's white, it, they make their own bread. I may have to put this on pause and just drive over there, but I love their cooking. They're just beautiful people, okay? So he asks me one time, we were getting together and he asks me. He said, have you been to Lebanon? I said, no. I've been to Israel over 60 times, but I've never been to Lebanon. I've been up to the border of Lebanon at Metula in other places, but I would like to go

someday. And he said, you've got to go sometime. The Lebanese, the Maronite Church, is rich in tradition that a lot of people in the Roman Rite don't even know about. And so he started to tell me about this tradition of the Maronites and about a chapel outside of Tyre and Sidon. And in the village of, I believe it's pronounced Magdusha, Magduchet, Magduchet. And so he went on to tell me this tremendous tradition. Here's the tradition, okay? The tradition is that when Jesus broke rank, in a sense, and went up to the region of Tyre and Sidon, Mary, his mother, went with him. And she ended up waiting for him. She stopped. She didn't go into Tyron's Sidon. She waited outside of the cities, and I think it's overlooking the entire Mediterranean

there. She stopped there and she was going to sit and wait for him and intercede for him and pray for him when he goes into Tired and Siden. And he meets up with this Canaanite woman. To some extent, that's real spiritual warfare, you know, when Jesus is casting out demons. So as Jesus is in Tired and Siden, his mother is waiting back for him and interceding and praying for him. Now, the Maronite church has a beautiful, beautiful title for this devotion. And I want to share that with you and some practical applications of that. I can't wait for this. You're listening to the Jeff Kavenes show. Have you discovered the graces of praying novenas? I'm Annie Deddens. And I'm John Paul Dedens. We're the creators of praymorenovenas.com, a ministry that helps Catholics pray

this nine-day prayer, and the authors of Ascension's pocket guide to novenas. We've found that the tradition of praying novenas bears great fruit today, just as it has for centuries. Mother Teresa, Padre Pio, and other great saints prayed novenas. This form of prayer has helped many faithful Catholics to grow closer to Christ. The pocket guide to novenas is your guide through 20 different novenas, 14 of which we wrote especially for this book, from a novena to St. John Paul II, to praying the novena for healed. or even praying for the Blessed Mother to undo knots in your life. This little book can be your go-to guide for Novenas in your home or in your travels.

You can order your copy today at Ascensionpress.com slash Novenus. Thanks for coming back. We're talking about this tremendous Maronite Lebanese tradition regarding Mary and Jesus' trip in Matthew 15 up to the Canaanite woman in Tired in Sidon. And the tradition is, is that Mary waited back for Jesus, and she interceded him while he was on mission in Tired in Sidon. So at the time when this lady, this Canaanite lady's daughter was freed from demonic possession, Mary is waiting in intercession and prayer, and she's praying for her son, of course.

I think it's sweet, actually. And I can just, can't you picture that in your mind? I can picture that so easily in my mind. She's, you know, people walking by, what are you doing? Well, I'm waiting for my son. What's he doing? He's casting out devils, you know? No, he's over and tired inside, and I'm waiting for my son.

And she's interceding and praying for him. And the devotion is called, now I've heard two different names for this. One is Our Lady in Waiting. Our Lady in Waiting. The other tradition that I've heard is called Our Lady of Waiting. Our Lady of waiting. And this, of course, is when she stayed back and waited for him. And you can go there today.

There's a church there. In fact, 300 years after Jesus, St. Helena, who is the mother of Constantine, she donated an icon to the church there, and it remains there to this day. And the place is now called the Shrine of Our Lady of Mantara, our lady of waiting. The Christian history of Lebanon goes back to Peter and Paul, evangelizing the Phoenicians. But if you were to talk to Corbishop Charbel, he would tell you that the Lebanese, their faith goes all the way back to this visit in Matthew 15, where Jesus came to their area, that they were the first to be evangelized by the Lord. And he takes great pride in it. And if you ever come to the Twin Cities, you really check.

it out in Minneapolis, the Maronite Church, and you're in for a treat. I've been over there on certain feast days, and it's always an eye-opener for me. And, oh, they sing an Aramaic. Wow. Oh, wow. It is, you know, some, I heard once someone said Catholics can't sing, go to a Maronite church. You'll find out that's wrong. So the traditions of our faith are beautiful, and it seems there is something for everyone. And in this tradition of Our Lady in Waiting, or Our Lady of Waiting, you have a beautiful picture of Mary, who is given to you as an intercessor and an advocate. And we have talked about this on the show many times over the last number of years, how she is given to us on the cross in John's Gospel. Jesus says,

behold your mother, says to his mother, behold your son. And so she is given to us as a spiritual mother, and as a mother, she intercedes for you, and she prays for you. She understands you. She's at the foot of your cross as well. She was at the foot of her own son's cross. And everybody, because she's out of time and in eternity, she can listen to our prayer requests, and she can pray for us. Now, if you're struggling with that, go back and look at some of the titles in my show where I talk about Mary, and I'll show you from a scriptural perspective why this is so and why intercession is a part of the body of Christ and death, certainly of those saints like Mary and Peter and Paul and Bartholomew and Andrew and

the rest, they're not dead. Yeah, their body died, but they're alive with Christ, just like Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And the Blessed Virgin Mary is in heaven, and she hears our request. she can pray for us. Now, here's the practical part of this for you. If you have something coming up and you really need some firepower, you need some real super duper prayer, then our lady is available to you as your mother. Now, what mother wouldn't want to pray for her kid? And as children of God, Mary has been given to us as a spiritual mother, she would love to hear.

from us. I remember a bumper sticker. You'll get a kick out of this, but the bumper sticker said, Mary, your mother hasn't heard from you in decades. Now, if you're new at this, that decades of the rosary. But so if you have a mission, whatever it might be, here's what I would encourage you to do. I would encourage you to say to the Blessed Virgin Mary, I have to go to a tire inside myself. I have to go somewhere. And I have to work out a problem. I have to solve a situation or whatever it might be, would you please be my mother in waiting, our lady in waiting, would you pray for me on this trip, on this business trip, or this family trip, or going to court with a loved one, which perhaps that's something that you have to do

coming up. She would be more than happy to cover you with prayer and to bring your request to son. And yeah, of course, you can go straight to Jesus. Catholics don't teach you can't go straight to Jesus. But why not have as many people as possible pray for you? And certainly someone that is the mother of Jesus praying for you, give me a break. That is just so cool. And so if you're going to go on a business trip and you're going to go on the airplane, then as you go to the airport and get ready to get on that airplane, just a quick prayer of our lady, my dear mother, Please be in waiting for me and pray for me on this trip. And pray for me that I would be faithful in all that your son has called me to do.

If it's with your children and you have to go and you have to work out a problem with your children, say, I'm going to go and do this. Please be our lady in waiting. Be my mother in waiting for me. For I have this mission and I could use your prayer. And you're kind of setting up right there on the spot, sort of a shrine of Our Lady of Mantara, our Lady of Waiting right there. And when you're done, you can just simply say, thank you.

Thank you for interceding for me and praying for me. Now, isn't that beautiful? Isn't that beautiful? I love that. That is such a beautiful tradition. And I want to thank our Maronite brothers and sisters for the richness of their faith and their zeal for Our Lady. And if you do get a chance to go to Lebanon, which I plan on doing at some point here,

they have so many rich traditions that we can take advantage of. And that's part of the beauty of the Catholic Church, just how big it is and how comprehensive and how colorful our church is, not only in the geopolitical situation, you know, where people are at around the globe, but the different traditions that mean something to various rights in the church. So Corbishop Charbel, thank you for sharing that with me and all my my brothers and sisters, especially those who cook. Thank you so much for your friendship and what you have given to me. And my friend, I hope that that would mean something to you this week and that you can take that and apply it. I'd love to hear from you about that. You can email me

at The Jeffcaven Show at ascensionpress.com. That's The Jeffcaven Show. at ascensionpress.com. Give the show some love with a rating and maybe some comments. Who knows? Maybe there's other people in a month from now, a year from now, two years, five years from now that could use some prayer and intercession and they need someone in waiting and our lady will be in waiting for them. And you can be a part of it.

Let's close in prayer. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, dear Lord Jesus, we love you. And we thank you, Lord, for the richness of the kingdom of God. we thank you for your generosity in sharing your mother and sharing the saints with us we truly are one big family we thank you lord for the traditions that have that have split off from the various rights in the church and lord we thank you for this one our lady in waiting we know that she prayed for you and the success that you had with the canaanite woman lord we ask that we would have success

and our mother, Mary, pray for us. Pray for us in that situation that is coming up and truly be our lady in waiting as we are about the business of your son. In Jesus' name, amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I love you, my friend. I'm praying for you.

Pray for me. Can't wait to get back with you next week. Thank you.