This is the eighth blog post in a series from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion!
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Week Eight: Why Mary?
A Life Spent Loving and Looking to God
| Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God "Of the Sign" |
Yesterday afternoon, as I wandered around my house hoping for inspiration, I walked the staircase and looked up. My jaw dropped. When I'm walking up the staircase, I look at the Hall of Mary (hallway with lots of Marian images). When I'm walking down the staircase, I see the crucifixes. My mother arranged it so that Mary and Jesus are constantly looking at each other in our house. I can't help but believe this mirrors their places in heaven.
Some people seem to fear that if you love Mary, your love for Jesus must lessen, or that you can love Mary too much. How can this be true when all of Mary's life was spent loving and looking to God? As a young woman, she died to self for the life of Christ. What do I mean by this? I don't know what she dreamed her life with Joseph would be like, but I can't imagine it was pregnancy before marriage; exile from family and friends; life-threatening danger; and sorrow at the death of her son.
Mary was fearful; we know this because Gabriel says "Do not be afraid." Did she tremble with anxiety at telling Joseph her news? Was she disappointed when he left her, his face a mask of confusion and hurt? Did she worry what might happen to her and her precious babe? Did rumormongers spread tales? Despite the many emotions that ran through her and the loss of dear plans she'd probably made, she said yes to the Lord, and she didn't hesitate: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)."
Is it possible we can love Mary too much? I doubt it. We can never love her as much as God does. And He certainly loves her - He asked her to raise his Son. "Her hands steadied the first steps of him who steadied the earth to walk upon," St. John of Damascus wrote. "Her lips helped the Word of God to form his first human words."
The Holy Spirit loves her - He overshadowed her "so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:34)"
Jesus, of course, loves her - she is his mother! He listened to her promptings at the wedding at Cana, and he asked his beloved disciple to take care of her after his death. My heart has always been moved at this event in Luke: Jesus sees a dead man being carried out of a city; the dead man's widowed mother, alone with no other children, cries as she follows the procession. "When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother." (Luke 7: 11-15) Was Jesus moved with pity because he was face-to-face with the sorrow his mother would experience at his death? He loves her; he truly does.
If we look to Mary as our example, we will always arrive at the foot of the cross. She will not hold us back for herself but will patiently push us towards her son. Mary spent her life saying yes to God; she will encourage us to do the same. To every inquiry we present to her, she will respond, "Do whatever he tells you."
"Say to her: Mother of mine - yours, because you are hers on many counts - may your love bind me to your Son's cross; may I not lack the faith, nor the courage, nor the daring, to carry out the will of our Jesus." - St. Josemaria Escriva
Well done Trista.I love the way you began by telling us how you mother is drawing your family's attention to Christ and then ending by echoing the words of our heavenly mother to "do whatever he tells you." Awesome Job! My mother died 5 years ago and I am still afraid of the emptiness sometimes. This posting is cold drink of water to me. It refreshes my heart just enough to continue the difficult task of opening wide that wound for Christ to heal. Please pray that I may continue to do so without fear of suffering. Thank you for your 'Yes" to God...Peace
ReplyDeleteThat is such a great point in graf 3!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that you asked this: "Was Jesus moved with pity because he was face-to-face with the sorrow his mother would experience at his death?"
What a great thought. Wow, Mary, the pain you suffered.
Beautiful Trista! I never knew it but I learned in a Trinity course recently that even Mary will never fully comprehend the Holy Trinity, and she is the highest creature. I can't imagine being that intimate with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and still not being able to fully comprehend it. She is the highest example of faith for us all, Our Mother!
ReplyDeleteMoving post. Really beautiful. Lots of insight you have.::yoda voice::
ReplyDeleteWhen you said "rumormonger", all I could think about was Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed!
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness though, these are some great thoughts! I especially like this part:
"As a young woman, she died to self for the life of Christ."
I've never thought about it that way before, but it's completely true! If only we all could also die to self for the life of Christ as well as Mary did!
Love the quote from St. John of Damascus. So poetic.
ReplyDelete"Her hands steadied the first steps of him who steadied the earth to walk upon."
ReplyDeleteWhat a great line to meditate on! The Son, in His humility, learning to walk from the mother that chose to say "yes" to Him. There's something profound about the relationship between a mother and son. A mother often knows much more about her son than he realizes, and it often need not even be said. That has certainly been the case for me.
I can't think of anyone better to show us more about Jesus than His mother!
Great post!
I love the image of the Hall of Mary. It is important to realize Mary did not praise herself, she always points to her Son and God the Father. May we follow her example in our daily lives.
ReplyDeletewell said, I couldnt have said it better myself. There are so many lenses to look through when thinking of Mary but the light that always shines through is her love. I love this :)
ReplyDeleteI also love the image of the Marian hall, as well as the three crosses on the wall to signify Christ as the center of the family. This type of symbolism plants a religious imagination which is so vital for a healthy faith.
ReplyDeleteFabulous post, T. Thanks!
Awesome post! I loved reading about your family's "hall of Mary" and how it is an apt reminder the Mary is always beholding Christ and praying for us. I enjoyed the St. John of Damascus & St. Escriva quotes, too.
ReplyDelete"If we look to Mary as our example, we will always arrive at the foot of the cross. She will not hold us back for herself but will patiently push us towards her son."
ReplyDeleteThat is powerful! I love it! That's definitely what happened to me.
I love the Marian hall too! That's some family you've got!
Julie: You are so right! It plants the religious imagination. We need more of that in all Catholic families.
Great post!