What are some of the things you know or remember about the Blessed Mother?
These are some of the things that have been
mentioned when I asked this question to different groups this week:
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Jesus' mom
married to
Joseph
visited by
angels
impetus for
Jesus' first miracle at wedding feast at Cana
intercessor
for us with the Divine
a woman who
understands other women's concerns
a woman who is confident
To all this I would add that Mary can be seen as a strong, grounded, self aware woman. One who is, as one author states: "empty of arrogance and selfishness, and therefore open and oriented towards the Divine in her midst".
When we look at all the many ways we have learned about the Blessed Mother in our past, it can be both confusing and overwhelming. It seems like each nation has a particular devotion to Mary under a different honorific title. Her appearances all over the globe are wonderful and opportunities to grow in faith and holiness for us. Her messages throughout the ages from Cana to today are constant: Listen to her son, look to her son, pray for peace. But to see her only in this light is often misunderstood by others outside our faith, they perceive us as worshipping Mary, as if she were another Divine being, perhaps the feminine face of God.
There's so much more to how we understand Mary.
We believe
Mary was utterly, fully and wonderfully human and it is in her humanity that
she is blessed and we find our connection to her.
The story of the Visitation is a wonderful example of the friendship and love between two cousins, uniquely bonded by very unexpected circumstances. One young unmarried woman and one older well past child bearing years, both suddenly surprisingly blessed by God with pregnancies that will change the course of human history: John and Jesus. When we read between the lines in Luke, we see the story of the love and care these cousins have for one another. We know now that they depend on each other at this most critical moment of their lives for support, and understanding, for friendship and comfort. Who else could possibly know what each of them were going through but the other?
Our own lives can get very complicated, can't they? We can see how crazy things can become just watching some of our TV shows: we might identify with "Hoarders" and then need someone like Marie Kondo to help us let go of stuff...she's made a fortune teaching people how to 'declutter' their lives!
Mary can teach us how to declutter spiritually can't she?
If we keep
Jesus in the center of our lives, and choose only those things and people that
connect us to Jesus, then our lives are pretty focused, pretty simple, pretty
peaceful. Then our hearts have a space in them to look for and recognize the
divine around every corner.
So much of our adult faith life can be reflected in our ability to recognize the divine. Having recently taken over the parish Instagram account, I find myself every morning actively looking for some photo that calls me to a deeper sense of prayer. Who would have imagined that Instagram would be a source of prayer? But that's what I mean...if, like Mary, we empty a space in our hearts-then there's room for the Divine to take root, be nurtured and grow within us. If we are open to looking for God, then we will eventually be able to see God everywhere. Mary can teach us to see:
God in the set of empty swings in the park,
that invite us to sit and relax a bit
God in the
parent holding the hand of their little one, reminding us of the divine's care
for us
God in the
awesome beauty of nature all around us
God in the
tears of a loved one
God in the
laughter of a friend fighting cancer
God in the
silly moments of a work day that make you smile
God is all
around us, if we have the eyes to see
Mary, our strong, capable, incredibly self aware Mother of God, Mary "untie-r of knots", release us from our anxieties, Mary -one who brings God to us, Pray with us, pray for us, and help us be more like you, grant us the grace to see our God around every corner.
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