“Oh! That looks nice!” we say with deadly naïveté. This flower is deadly in its every part in every way.
Naïveté refuses to see reality. Naïveté is escapism. Naïveté is all about entitlement. Naïveté can be deadly.
There is no situational awareness with naïveté. There is no possibility of helping others with naïveté.
It is not the sinless who are subject to naïveté. Mary, immaculately conceived, was able to continue to avoid sin because she could see sin for what it is, because, in turn, she was well aware of The Standard of comparison, God, who is the living truth.
Because the Immaculate Conception, standing under the cross, was able to see all of our sin, all of our lack, all of our need, from Adam until the last man is conceived, she was also and therefore able, in her solidarity with Jesus, to intercede for us.
Sinless, immersed in the deadly hell of Calvary, Mary beheld the glory of God, of Jesus, laying down his life that we might live. Those subject to naïveté just say that Jesus looks like a sinner condemned to death on the Cross, and therefore, with the accusation being proof of guilt[!], He is therefore guilty. And those with naïveté go their merry way with murderous hearts, with self-centered souls.
The other one who is not subject to naïveté is Satan. He’s fully aware of what he does in his hatred of God, in his hatred of us because of God’s love for us.
Meanwhile, we struggle with naïveté, trying so desperately to hang on to it, as if naïveté provided us security. But with naïveté the darkness closes in, alone-ness locks one down, escape no longer seems possible. Much better to be lifted out of this quagmire by those much more adept at dealing with evil because of their sinlessness, Jesus and His good mom.
A certain neighbor to the hermitage, introducing a prayer for the volunteers at the soup kitchen, said that none of us has anything that we can truly call our own, not even our own bodies, which we will have to give back to God, telling Him what we did, perhaps trying to claim naïveté, which will instead be our condemnation. He added that even our sin, which is the only thing we have come up with, is claimed by Jesus on the Cross, He taking away our sin by forgiving us, having the right to do so by having stood in our place, the innocent for the guilty, the One who is wise for those who subjected themselves to naïveté, ever so deadly naïveté, the naïveté that tortured Jesus, Mary’s Son, to death.
So, a flower for you Mary, a deadly flower, with no worries that it will hurt you, as you are not subject to naïveté. And because of that, you can, with continued innocence, behold all the beauty, taking it only for its proper use, not using it for which it’s not intended. Thanks for creating this flower too, Jesus. It helps us to open our eyes, to see what’s going on, not to afraid, but so that we might look to you.
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 