Something to Ponder

I happened upon this passage in Magnificat for the 2/18/10 readings.  It was written by St. Catherine of Siena.

Oh blessed gentle Mary!  She gave us the gentle Jesus as a blossom.  And when did that blessed blossom produce fruit?  When he was engrafted onto the wood of the most holy cross— then we received perfect life.  And when we say that the seed’s husk remained in the earth, what do we mean?  This husk was the will of God’s only-begotten Son. In so far as he was human, he was clothed in this will, in his desire for the Father’s honor and our salvation. So strong was this boundless desire that he ran like one in love, enduring pain, disgrace, and abuse, all the way to his shameful death on the cross. Mary did exactly the same, venerable father, for she could desire  nothing but God’s honor and the salvation of his creatures. This is why the doctors tell us, referring to Mary’s immense love, that she would have made a ladder of her very self to put her Son on the cross if there had been no other way. All this was because her Son’s will remained within her.

A ladder of her very self.  Magnificent!