Jesus said, “Behold your Mother,” and gave his beautiful Mother Mary to the Apostle John, and to us, and so we have received this amazing invitation to a relationship with she who is gentleness, the world’s first tabernacle, the one who cradled baby Jesus in her arms and remained steadfast on the Way of the Cross.
In those powerful words that Jesus spoke from the Cross, we are reminded that Mary has a special place of honor in our lives. She is perfectly united with Jesus in His desire is help us love Him more, to be more like Him and to daily live out these words, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
It is a daunting journey in this life to do the will of the Father in all things, and yet, we have everything we need to persevere with the love of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit — and Jesus gives us Mother Mary as our gentle and loving spiritual companion, advocate and guide.
She waits patiently for us to invite her into our hearts and into our homes. She offers us rest in her Immaculate Heart, loves us as only a mother can, and presents our needs to her beloved Son who hears and answers our prayers.
It is comforting to know that Mother Mary delights in us as her little children. She sees our inner beauty, our needs and our efforts, our failures and triumphs and nudges us ever so gently toward the will of her Son. How much can we love Mary? “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did,” said St. Maximillian Kolbe.
There are seasons of our lives when Mother Mary may be especially dear to us as she too is a mother — and whether we are physical mothers, spiritual mothers, grandmothers or great-grandmothers, she is with us.
Mother Mary is a beautiful example for us in living the challenges of everyday life with trust and surrender to God, caring for family, friends and home, responding with obedience to what is required spiritually, physically and temporally, and never allowing the uncertainties and inconveniences of everyday life to deter her from doing the will of the Father.
Mother Mary “pondered all things in her heart” and models for us the importance of retreating to our inner sanctuary to pray and to be with God in silence often — much like Jesus did in seeking the solace in the mountains and other quiet places to be filled and strengthened by the Father’s love so he could continue to pour himself out for us.
Let us joyfully seek our beautiful Mother Mary with loving confidence and pure, childlike trust.
“To succeed in your intentions, entrust yourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary always, but especially in moments of difficulty and darkness. ‘From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s will in things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God. Learn from her to be always faithful, to trust that God’s Word to you will be fulfilled, and that nothing is impossible with God.’” ~ St. Pope John Paul II.
Lori Crock is a St. Joseph-Plain City parishioner, a SoulCore Rosary prayer and exercise leader, a strength coach, a Holy and Healthy columnist for the Catholic Times, founder of the St. Gabriel Radio Holy and Healthy Minute, a member of the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference Leadership Team and a Catholic blogger and speaker. Lori enjoys sharing the prayers of the Rosary, with movement and reflections, as a means of growing closer to Jesus through his Blessed Mother. Lori is online at holyandhealthycatholic.com.
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