A child in his mother's arms

A quick update. My posts have been so spotty and infrequent in the last several months. I announced a while ago that I was having a baby... and I did! Sweet little Fulton, named after Venerable Fulton Sheen. I'm loving my new vocation as wife, mother, and homemaker. I keep very busy, but along with having a new baby, we had another life change. My husband and I moved to Wisconsin a couple months before Fulton was born. I know without a doubt that God's hand was all over this, so I am excited to know for what purpose we had to move from Montana to Wisconsin!

Now, back to the reason why I'm writing.

God is teaching me so much through my vocation as mother and wife.

Our vocations in life, assigned by God, are our paths to holiness. Whether we are called to married, single, or religious life, each brings us to a path of holiness when we rely on God's grace that is given to us to fulfill the vocation. Already, my son is teaching me so much about my faith and relationship to God. 

 "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you..." Isaiah 66:13

"Rather, I have stilled my soul, like a weaned child to its mother, weaned is my soul." Psalm 131:2

I see these verses in a new, illumined light, thanks to my baby. Through all the moods and ups and downs that my son has, I know he is most relaxed, happy, and at peace when he is resting in my arms.. when he can just lay his head on my shoulder and melt into my embrace. Of course, being a baby, he's not always so calm. Sometimes he screams. He cries. He squirms. He seems to fight my embrace and all the love and comfort I long to give him. I know he knows that he feels so much better when he is just calm and will let me hold him, but sometimes he fights it.

Often, this is how I treat God.

I can think back to some times in my life where I just let go and fell into His arms. When I put all my worries aside and fell, peacefully and with total trust, into His embrace. I know this is how I should be all the time, with such complete trust in Our Lord that nothing can trouble me. But way too often I find myself being the fussy baby. I'm kicking and screaming because I want things my way or I want something that I can't get. I turn into that squirmy, screaming baby when I feel anxiety in my heart. When I'm relying too much on myself and refusing His grace. When I have fears and I let them consume me. I know it's easier just to give it to God and let Him love me. Why, then, do I fight it?

I never really understood this until I became a mother. But now I am more aware of the state of my soul and the trust I have (or have not) placed in God. When I feel frantic, like God is far from me and things are out of control.. when I'm looking around wondering why God won't hear my pleas to calm me down, now I'm able to think of my son. I'm able to take a step back and look at myself. Is God really trying to hold me and love me, but I'm squirming and crying too much to notice? How do I get to the point of pure, blissful inner peace, like this?

I'm thankful for the many hours I have spent just holding my baby as he sleeps. Not only has it given me precious time with my boy, but I have had long hours of prayer and meditation with Our Lord, just resting in His arms, feeling the love He longs to give me.

To feel the agony of abandonment: Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about my revelation from the Divine Mercy chaplet about Jesus’ Mercy and Passion, especially at His agony from the moment of abandonment in the Garden.

 

It was a blessing that I came to this understanding when I did, because that set the stage to open my heart to graces in similar times of need. I can read about and meditate on Jesus’ agony in the Garden. I can imagine how alone He felt. How disappointed He was that His beloved friends could not stay awake with Him. How He was far from His loving family. How His humanity just wanted to be comforted and embraced by friends and family, but the only embrace He would receive was the kiss of deception from a supposed friend. How He must have realized (or probably already knew, but rather proved) that humans are not 100% reliable because “the flesh is weak,” but the only constant that remains, no matter what, is God. That is why Jesus prayed, prayed hard, and then prayed harder when His anxiety grew. That is why even when His friends abandoned Him, He returned to God and found only His consolation. Humans don’t mean to, but they will often hurt and disappoint.

 

Since my re-version to my Catholic faith and my re-dedication to Jesus Christ, I can admit that I have changed. I have a fire and a light in me (Matt 5:15) that I can’t hide, but I don’t think this change has settled well with people who do not share my passion. And for that reason, I have lost some old and good friends.

 

It is painful to my heart to see my once-friends show up in the “People You May Know” list on Facebook because they silently chose to “Un-Friend” me. It is painful to try and keep in contact with other people and get the strong feeling like they don’t want to talk to you anymore. It is painful to be told that I make someone’s conscience uneasy, and so their only choice is to cut off all ties with me. It’s painful for me to hear vile words and accusations spewed at me for my religious beliefs from someone who once so tenderly called me “friend.” Even among my own Christian brothers and sisters, I have been attacked for “not being Christian” and “unable to be saved” just because I am Catholic.

 

At times, I get a glimpse of what Jesus felt in the Garden.

 

Listen, God, to my prayer;

do not hide from my pleading;

hear me and give answer.

I rock with grief; I groan…

For it is not an enemy that reviled me –

that I could bear –

Not a foe who viewed me with contempt,

from that I could hide.

But it was you, my other self,

my comrade and friend,

You, whose company I enjoyed,

at whose side I walked

in the house of God.

Psalm 55:2-3,13-15

 

LORD, the God of my salvation, I call out by day;

at night I cry aloud in your presence.

Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry.

For my soul is filled with troubles;

my life draws near to Sheol…

Because of you my acquaintances shun me;

you make me loathsome to them;

Caged in, I cannot escape;

my eyes grow dim from trouble.

All day I call on you, LORD;

I stretch out my hands to you…

Because of you friend and neighbor shun me;

my only friend is darkness.

Psalm 88:2-4,9-10,19

 
But I have come to understand that my humanity is frail; it is easily hurt by others. We were made for pure happiness which this world cannot offer, so I know I am made for Heaven instead. My only consolation comes from God. So my prayer increases. My love for God increases. Though my heart is heavy, I bring it all to Him, Who will never disappoint me. Who will never abandon me. Who will always love me, especially as I draw closer to His will and farther from the ways of the world.
 
This is why this prayer, from St. Faustina, has become one of my favorites and one I can say with confidence, even if it’s with a heavy heart.

O my Jesus, nothing can lower my ideals, that is, the love which I have for You. Although the path is very thorny, I do not fear to go ahead. Even if a hailstorm of persecutions covers me; even if my friends forsake me; even if all things conspire against me, and the horizon grows dark; even if a raging storm breaks out, and I feel I am quite alone and must brave it all; still, fully at peace, I will trust in Your Mercy, O my God, and my hope will not be disappointed.

To feel the agony of abandonment

I have become a very firm believer that when you pray and meditate, and ask for understanding and knowledge, it will be given to you. When I started praying the Rosary every day, I would ask the Blessed Mother to teach me something about one of the Mysteries that I was to meditate on. Sure enough, every single time I asked Her, I came to know something new. Even when you meditate on the same 20 Mysteries every few days, you can learn something new if you just ask.

Such was my experience with the Divine Mercy chaplet. Jesus said to St. Faustina:

At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion." (Diary, 1320)

I believe that when we think of Jesus' Passion, we automatically focus on a few key parts: the horrific scourging at the pillar; thorns plunged into His sacred scalp; a bloodied, weak, flesh-exposed body carrying a heavy cross up a hill; large nails being plunged into those Hands and Feet; and of course, after all that, enduring the pull of gravity while nailed to a cross. These events are so brutal that it is still very difficult for me to wrap my mind around them, but these are all physical Passions. It's what we think of and relate to most, being physical beings. So then for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why Jesus wanted us to meditate on His Passion, "particularly in [His] abandonment at the moment of agony." Jesus' emphasis on this phase of the Passion must have been particularly important and painful, but I still couldn't shift my focus from the physical pains.

And one day, after a few days of asking for understanding, my answer was given to me. The worst moments of Jesus' Passion must not have been those unfathomable, physical beatings... it must have been the emotional, spiritual, and mental pain. This seems so strange to us in a culture where we do all we can to make ourselves comfortable and pain-free: taking Tylenol at the first sign of a headache, resting after a sports injury, buying ergonomic chairs to sit in at work. We like as little pain and discomfort as possible, which is why we focus so much on the physical pains of His Passion. But I don't think that was His worst experience.

Meditate on His moment of abandonment, as He says, and you will get it too. Put yourself in His shoes: He knows what is ahead. He knows that one of His best friends just turned Him in and sentenced Him to a gruesome death. He is the most afraid and anxiety-filled He has ever been--He was a pure and blissful God who clothed Himself in humanity so He could not only understand our physical pains, but our emotional, spiritual, and mental pains as well. When you're this afraid, don't you just want to surround yourself with loved ones? Don't you just want the full presence of someone else to ease your mind? How sad then He must have felt to repeatedly return to His friends and to find them fast asleep each time.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.” He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.  Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.” Matthew 26:36-46

At that moment, Jesus was completely abandoned and alone in the world. His beloved parents were not around. His friends couldn't muster enough will power to stay awake with Him through His agony. Every individual soul that He loved personally, who just a week ago exclaimed, "Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest!" would soon be shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!," spitting in His face and kicking Him down.

What a dark night in that Garden. Meditate on it. You will open a treasure box of understanding about His role in our salvation, how He is able to relate to our suffering and intercede for us, and most importantly, you will come to a greater understanding of His Divine Mercy. He knows how weak and dependent we are--He knows first-hand.

O my Jesus, nothing can lower my ideals, that is, the love which I have for You. Although the path is very thorny, I do not fear to go ahead. Even if a hailstorm of persecutions covers me; even if my friends forsake me; even if all things conspire against me, and the horizon grows dark; even if a raging storm breaks out, and I feel I am quite alone and must brave it all; still, fully at peace, I will trust in Your Mercy, O my God, and my hope will not be disappointed.

Reflections on The Last Supper from Fulton Sheen

I just love the way that Venerable Fulton Sheen has with words. This is an excellent reflection of the Last Supper from his book, "Life of Christ." It's a relatively short chapter, of 7 book pages, so for the sake of soaking it all up, I would encourage you to read the whole thing. If you're pressed for time, feel free just to read the parts that I highlighted in bold.

I pray that this brings you into a deeper understanding and union with Christ at the Last Supper, that you may prepare your heart and soul for Good Friday. Many people attended Ash Wednesday services and wandered with Jesus through the desert of Lent. Let us now bring ourselves closer to Him in His final days. Many of his disciples were with Him throughout His ministry, but abandoned Him in His final days. Do not be like those disciples, I pray. Meditate on these events. Fast on Good Friday to empty yourself and make room for Him. I promise you, Easter Sunday will be the most fulfilling if you sacrifice and fast in the final days. There can be no celebration of the Resurrection without the celebration of the Death, and there can be no Easter without a Good Friday.


The Last Supper

Some things in life are too beautiful to be forgotten, but there can also be something in death that is too beautiful to be forgotten. Hence a Memorial Day, to recall the sacrifices of soldiers for the preservation of freedom of their country. Freedom is not an heirloom, but a life. Once received, it does not continue to exist without effort, like an old painting. As life must be nourished, defended, and preserved; so freedom must be repurchased in each generation. Soldiers, however, were not born to die; death on a battlefield was an interruption to their summons to live. But unlike all others, Our Blessed Lord came into this world to die. Even at His birth, His Mother was reminded that He came to die. Never before did any mother in the world see death wrap its skeleton arms so quickly about an Infant Birth.

When he was still only an Infant, the old man Simeon looked into the face of Him Who turned back eternity and was made young, and said that He was destined to be a "sign to be contradicted," or a signal that would call out the opposition of the deliberately imperfect. The mother, on hearing that word "contradicted," could almost see Simeon's arms fade and the arms of the Cross take their place to enfold Him in death. Before two years of His life had been lived, King Herod sent out horsemen pounding like thunderbolts, and with swords flashing like lightning, in an attempt to decapitate His Infant Head, not yet strong enough to bear the weight of a crown!

Since Our Divine Lord came to die, it was fitting that there be a Memorial of His death! Since He was God, as well as man, and since He never spoke of His death without speaking of His Resurrection, should He not Himself institute the precise Memorial of His own death and not leave it to the chance recollection of men? And that is exactly what He did the night of the Last Supper. Our Memorial Day was not instituted by soldiers who foresaw their death. But HIs Memorial was instituted, and this is important, not because He would die like a soldier and be buried, but because He would live again after the Resurrection. His Memorial would be the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets; it would be one in which there would be a Lamb sacrificed, not to commemorate political freedom, but spiritual freedom; above all, it would be a Memorial of a New Covenant.

A Covenant or Testament is an agreement or compact or alliance, and in Scripture it means one between God and man. At the Last Supper, Our Lord would speak of the New Testament or Covenant, which is best understood in relation to the Old. The Covenant that God made with Israel as a nation was done through Moses as the mediator. It was sealed with blood, because blood was considered as a sign of life; those who mixed their blood or plunged their hands into the same blood were thought to have a common spirit. In the Covenants between God and Israel, God promised blessings if Israel remained faithful. Among the principal phases of the Old Covenant were the one with Abraham with a guarantee of progeny, the one with David and the promise of kingship, and the one with Moses in which God showed His power and love to Israel by delivering them from bondage to Egypt and promising that Israel would be for Him a kingdom of priests. When the Hebrews were in bondage in Egypt, Moses received instructions for a new rite.

After the plagues, God struck the Egyptians further to prompt the release of His people by smiting the firstborn in each Egyptian house. The Israelites were to save themselves by offering a lamb, then dipping some hyssop in the blood, and marking their doorways with blood. The angel of God seeing the blood would pass by. The Lamb was therefore the Pesach or the Passover of the destroying angel, that is, a "pass" which secured safety. God then ordered its continuation year after year.

This institution of the slain Paschal Lamb mentioned in Exodus was followed by the implementation of the Covenant with Moses in which God made Israel a nation; it was the birth of the Israelites as the chosen people of God. The Covenant was concluded by various sacrifices. Moses erected an altar with twelve pillars. Taking the blood of the sacrifice, he poured one half of it on the altar, and the other half on the twelve tribes and the people with the words:

Here is the blood of the Covenant which the Lord makes with you. Exodus 24:8

By pouring out blood on the altar, which symbolized God or one party to the Covenant, and by sprinkling blood on the twelve tribes and people, which represented the other party, both were made partakers of the same blood and brought into a kind of sacramental union.

This Covenant or Testament with Israel was meant to be perfected through a more complete revelation on the part of God. The prophets later on said that the exile of the Israelites was a punishment because they had broken the Covenant; but as they were restored to the Old Covenant, so would there be a New Covenant or Testament which would include all nations. The Lord speaking through Jeremias told the people:

This is the Covenant I will grant the people of Israel, when that time comes. I will implant My law in their innermost thoughts, engrave it in their hearts. Jeremias 31:33

The Last Supper and the Crucifixion took place during the Passover, when the Eternal Son of the Father mediated a New Testament or Covenant, as the Old Testament or Covenant was mediated through Moses. As Moses ratified the Old Testament with the blood of animals, so Christ now ratified the New Testament with His own Blood, He Who is the true Pascal Lamb.

This is My Blood, of the New Testament. Matthew 26:28

The Hour of His exaltation having come, for within less than twenty-four hours He would surrender Himself, He gathered His twelve Apostles about Him. In one sublime act He interpreted the meaning of His death. He declared that He was marking the beginning of the New Testament or Covenant ratified by His sacrificial death. The whole Mosaic and pre-Messianic system of sacrifice was thus superseded and fulfilled. No created fire came down to devour the life that was offered to the Father, as it did in the Old Testament, for the fire would be the glory of His Resurrection and the flames of Pentecost.

Since His death was the reason of His coming, He now instituted for HIs Apostles and posterity a Memorial Action of HIs Redemption, which He promised when He said that He was the Bread of Life.

He took bread and blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them saying, This is My Body, given for you. Luke 22:19

He did not say, "This represents or symbolizes My Body," but He said, "This is My Body"--a Body that would be broken in His passion.

Then taking wine into His Hands, He said:

Drink, all of you, of this; For this is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for many, to the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28

His coming death on the following afternoon was set before them in a symbolic or unbloody manner. On the Cross, He would die by the separation of His Blood from His Body. Hence He did not consecrate the bread and wine together, but separately, to show forth the manner of His death by the separation of Body and Blood. In this act, Our Lord was what He would be on the Cross the next day: both Priest and Victim. In the Old Testament and among pagans, the victim, such as a goat or a sheep, was apart from the priest who offered it. In this Eucharistic action and on the Cross, He, the Priest, offered Himself; therefore He was also the Victim. Thus would be fulfilled the words of the prophet Malachias:

No corner of the world, from sun's rise to sun's setting, where the renown of Me is not heard among the Gentiles, where sacrifice is not done, and pure offering made in My honor; so revered is My name, says the Lord of Hosts, there among the Gentiles. Malachias 1:11

Next came the Divine command to prolong the Memorial of HIs death:

Do this for a commemoration of Me. Luke 22:19

Repeat! Renew! Prolong through the centuries the sacrifice offered for the sins of the world!

Why did Our Blessed Lord use bread and wine as the elements of this Memorial? First of all, because no two substances in nature better symbolize unity than bread and wine. As bread is made from a multiplicity of grains of wheat, and wine is made from a multiplicity of grapes, so the many who believe are one in Christ. Second, no two substances in nature have to suffer more to become what they are than bread and wine. Wheat has to pass through the rigors of winter, be ground beneath the Calvary of a mill, and then subjected to purging fire before it can become bread. Grapes in their turn must be subjected to the Gethsemane of a wine press and have their life crushed from them to become wine. Thus do they symbolize the Passion and Sufferings of Christ, and the condition of Salvation, for Our Lord said unless we die to ourselves we cannot live in Him. A third reason is that there are no two substance s in nature which have more traditionally nourished man than bread and wine. In brining these elements to the altar, men are equivalently bringing themselves. When bread and wine are taken or consumed, they are changed into man's body and blood. But when He took bread and wine, He changed them into Himself.

But because Our Lord's Memorial was not instituted by His disciples but by Him, and because He could not be conquered by death, but would rise again in newness of life, He willed that as He now looked forward to His redemptive death on the Cross, so all the Christian ages, until the consummation of the world, should look back to the Cross. In order that they would not re-enact the Memorial out of whim or fancy, He gave the command to commemorate and announce His redemptive death until He came again! What He asked His Apostles to do was to set forth in the future this Memorial of His Passion, death and Resurrection. What He did looked forward to the Cross; what they did, and which has continued ever since in the Mass, was to look back to His redemptive death. Thus would they, as St. Paul said, "announce the death of the Lord until He came" to judge the world. He broke the bread to set forth the breaking of His own human Body and also to show that He was a Victim by His own free will. He broke it by voluntary surrender, before the executioners would break it by their voluntary cruelty.

When the Apostles and the Church later on would repeat that Memorial, the Christ, who was born of Mary and suffered under Pontius Pilate, would be glorified in heaven. That Holy Thursday Our Lord had given to them not another sacrifice than His unique Redemptive Act on the Cross; but He gave a new manner of Presence. It would not be a new sacrifice, for there is only one; He gave a new presence of that unique sacrifice. In the Last Supper, Our Lord acted independently of His Apostles in presenting His sacrifice under the appearances of bread and wine. After His Resurrection and Ascension and in obedience to the Divine command, Christ would offer His sacrifice to His Heavenly Father through them or depending on them. Whenever that sacrifice of Christ is memorialized in the Church, there is an application to a new moment in time and a new presence in space of the unique sacrifice of Christ Who is now in glory. In obeying His mandate, His followers would be representing in an unbloody manner that which He presented to His Father in the bloody sacrifice of Calvary.

After changing the bread into His Body and the wine into His Blood:

He gave it to them. Mark 14:22

By that communion they were made one with Crist, to be offered with Him, in Him, and by Him. All love craves unity. As the highest peak of love in the human order is the unity of husband and wife in the flesh, so the highest unity in the Divine order is the unity of the soul and Christ in communion. When the Apostles, and the Church later on, would obey Our Lord's words to renew the Memorial and to eat and drink of Him, the Body and Blood would not be that of the Physical Christ then before them, but that of the glorified Christ in heaven Who continually makes intercession for sinners. The Salvation of the Cross, being sovereign and eternal, is thus applied and actualized in the course of time by the heavenly Christ.

When our Lord, after He changed the bread and wine to His Body and Blood, told His Apostles to eat and drink, He was doing for the soul of man what food and drink do for the body. Unless the plants sacrifice themselves to being plucked up from the roots, they cannot nourish or commune with man. The sacrifice of what is lowest must precede communion with what is higher. First His death was mystically represented; then communion followed. The lower is transformed into the higher; chemicals into plants; plants into animals; chemicals, plants, and animals into man; and man into Christ by communion. The followers of Buddha derive no strength from his life but only from his writings. The writings of Christianity are nota s important as the life of Christ, Who living in glory, now pours forth on His followers the benefits of His sacrifice.

The one note that kept ringing through His life was His death and glory. It was for that that He came primarily. Hence the night before HIs death, He gave to His Apostles something which on dying no one else could ever give, namely, Himself. Only Divine wisdom could have conceived such a Memorial! Humans, left to themselves, might have spoiled the drama of His Redemption. They might have done two things with His death which would have fallen so short of the Way of Divinity. They might have regarded  His redemptive death as a drama presented once in history like the assassination of Lincoln. In that case, it would have been only an incident, not a Redemption--the tragic end of a man, not the Salvation of humanity. Regrettably, this is the way so many look upon the Cross of Christ, forgetting His Resurrection and the pouring-out of the merits of His Cross in the Memorial Action He ordered and commanded. In such a case, His death would be only like a national Memorial Day and nothing more.

Or they might have regarded it as a drama which was played only once, but one which ought so often to be recalled only through meditating on its details. In this case, they would go back and read the accounts of the drama critics who lived at the time, namely, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This would be only a literary recall of His death, as Plato records the death of Socrates, and would have made the death of Our Lord no different from the death of any man.

Our Lord never told anyone to write about His Redemption, but He did tell His Apostles to renew it, apply it, commemorate it, prolong it by obeying His orders given at the Last Supper. He wanted the great drama of Calvary to be played not once, but for every age of His own choosing. He wanted men not to be readers about His Redemption, but actors in it, offering up their body and blood with HIs in the re-enactment of Calvary, saying with Him, "This is my body and this is my blood"; dying to their lower natures to live to grace; saying that they cared not for the appearance or species of their lives such as their family relationships, jobs, duties, physical appearance, or talents, but that their intellects, their wills, their substance--all that they truly were--would be changed into Christ; that the Heavenly Father looking down on them would see them in His Son, see their sacrifices massed in His sacrifice, their mortifications incorporated with His death, so that eventually they might share in His glory.

The Moon reflects the Son

One of my favorite aspects about Catholicism is our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are the lucky ones who acknowledge and embrace Her as our Mother! Of all the differences between Catholics and other Christians, this is the one disagreement that I least understand. Devotion to our Blessed Mother is not only biblical, but logical.

Loving and venerating our Blessed Mother is not the same as worshipping her. We never worship Mary; we only worship God. But of all the humans to ever walk the earth, Mary holds the most special place of them all. She gave birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! She is literally the Mother of God. All of us have earthly parents. Those of us who accept Jesus Christ as our Savior also recognize that we have a Heavenly Family--Christ our Brother, and God our Father. It only makes logical sense that because Christ is our Brother, that His Mother would also be our Mother, as His Father is also our Father. Lucky for us, too, it is written in Scripture, that Jesus gave us His Mother. When He was dying on the cross, overcome with pain and exhaustion, and very near to the end, He looked down to see John, Mary Magdalen, Mary His Mother, and Her sister Mary of Cleophas. St. John recounts:

When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. (John 19:26-27)

He commanded Mary to become the Mother of all men. He commanded all men to embrace Mary as their spiritual Mother. Thank you, Jesus!

Let's back-track a little and go all the way back to the Old Testament. In the Book of Isaiah, Mary's own existence and role in history was prophesied. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." Isaiah 7:13-14. No one can deny that this virgin was Mary. I love to look at St. Luke's first two chapters about Jesus' birth and Mary's importance in history. Particularly, let's first look at the annunciation and the visitation:

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.

I added emphasis to a few parts here. For one, as I stated above, Mary is the virgin prophesied by Isaiah. Mary was no ordinary woman, for Gabriel says, "Hail, full of grace...blessed art thou among women." Mary was full of grace and blessed among all women! God's own messenger said so!

We believe that Mary was conceived and born without sin. This makes some wonder if Mary did not need Jesus to be saved, but that is not true. Mary was just saved first, while we are saved second. Or to us an analogy: sometimes children may play around a well, and only after they fall in do they need to be saved. This is our fall and saving from original sin. However, sometimes a child may also go near a well, and he may be saved before he ever falls in. This was Mary's saving. Later in the Gospel, Mary also confirms that she was saved when she said, "my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." She needed to be saved from Her sin first because She could not have been born with sin. She had to have been a perfect human, the new Eve, to be the only one who could bear Jesus, God, the New Adam. Those who deny Mary's sinlessness must not truly believe that Jesus was both fully human and fully Divine. A sin is any "offense against God." A woman who has even the slightest offense against God on her soul, cannot possibly bear He Who is God. She had to have been perfect in order to give Jesus a perfect human nature. Just as God the Father gave Jesus his Divinity, so too did Mary give Jesus His perfect humanity.

We also know that God created Mary, as He creates all of us. Logic would tell us, too, that God would have wanted a perfect Mother for Himself. Mary was the only mother in history who was created by her child. Who wouldn't want to make the most perfect, beautiful, kind woman possible to be their mom? "Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee..." Jeremiah 1:5.  

Now let's continue in Luke's Gospel, where we left off. After Elizabeth's greeting to the "Mother of [our] Lord," Mary, too, was moved by the God Who was within Her and exclaimed her beautiful Magnificat:

My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

Again, I make a few emphases. The first statement is Mary's purpose. We don't look to Mary for the sake of looking to Her, but for Her to magnify Jesus, to make Him bigger, more important, to grow our love for Him, to point us in the right direction. Mary is like the moon. The moon only reflects the sunlight. Without the sun, the moon is just another rock. But with the sun, the moon becomes radiant and bright. We see the moon best when we are in the dark, but we also see the moon during the day. The moon takes nothing away from the sun, but just reflects its light. So, too, is Mary the Moon, reflecting the light of Her Son. Without Him, she is but another woman. With Him, she is the Mother of all mothers, the Mother of God. Her prophesy is that all generations may call Her Blessed. So it is written, so it shall be done. Did you know that even Muslims consider Mary to be "most blessed" in Heaven? Her nearest "rival" is Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, but even upon her death, Mohammed said and it is written, "Thou shalt be most blessed of all the women in Paradise, after Mary." She is mentioned at least 34 times in the Qu'ran, where Her perpetual virginity and sinlessness are taught as truth. Mary may very well be the one common link to bring peace between the Muslim and Christian worlds. Martin Luther, considered the father of the Protestant Reformation, also held Mary to a high regard. In his famous 95 Theses against the Catholic Church, number 75 suggests that violating (or failing to respect) Mary is one of the greatest sins man can make. (75. To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the Mother of God is madness). It can't make Jesus very happy for His brothers and sisters to ignore, or even violate, His own Mother. When we visit a friend's home and family, we do not ignore their mother. Just because we came over to see our friend, it is no reason to ignore their mother! That does not land us in good favor with the mother or the friend. It is more suitable to have conversations with their mother. Even more chivalrous is to do something nice, like bring her flowers! Our friend would not be upset because we are paying attention to their mother instead of them. It would please them more than you showed such respect and love to the person they love so much.

The bond and love between Jesus and Mary was unlike any human and spiritual love that this world has ever known. Jesus the God loved Mary because He loved everyone, and especially She who was full of grace. Jesus the man loved Mary because she was His Mommy! Likewise, Mary's soul purely loved Jesus because He was Her God. Mary the Mom also loved Jesus because He was Her Little Boy! Her only Son of the flesh. We don't stop loving a family member just because they have died, and neither did the love between Jesus and Mary end. For 30 years, ten times longer than His time with His disciples, Jesus was subject to Mary as His Mother. He began His Ministry at the request of His Mother at the wedding at Cana. Jesus cannot refuse the request of His Mother, just like none of us can disregard our mothers' requests. So we turn to Mary to intercede for us and guide us. As She did in Cana, She will tell us, "Do whatever He tells you." She understands the anticipation of receiving Him and seeing His beautiful Face, as She did for nine months before His birth; She can help us to build such anxious anticipation. She understands what it is like to lose Him, when She lost Him at the Temple. She was frantic and felt a darkness without Him; She can help Her children when we, too, lose Jesus in our lives. At Her request, Jesus performed His first miracle and began His Ministry; she can intercede for us. Her requests are powerful and who can refuse their own mother?

My hope is for Catholics to increase their love and devotion to Mary, our Universal Mother, and for other Christians to "behold thy Mother" and "call her blessed." The Church has beautiful prayers for Mary. Of course, we have the Hail Mary (note that most of the prayer is derived from the Gospel of Luke from above):

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Another prayer I have fallen in love with is the Memorare:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who feld to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Of course the ultimate prayer to Mary is the Rosary. Rosary means "crown of roses" and it is a sort of spiritual boquet given to our Mother. It's an incredibly powerful prayer. During each decade (ten Hail Marys), you meditate on various mysteries, and most are about the life, death, and ministry of Jesus. The vast majority of the Rosary is based in Scripture, and it is no more a vain repetition of prayers than it is a vain repetition to tell a loved one "I love you" over and over again. We can never spend enough time in our lives meditating on Jesus and telling Him (or our Mother!) "I love You." The times that I have sincerely asked Mary to teach me or enlighten me through a meditation, my request was answered, and I entered deeper into the mystery, learning something so profound that I never knew before. I can attest to the power of the Rosary. It is something that I pray with my husband every night, and it is like a meal to my soul.

Growing in love and devotion to Her can only keep you on the right path, as any mother would try and steer their children in the right direction. The moon will enhance the beauty of the daytime sky, and shine brightest when you are in the darkness.

Blessed Mother, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, pray for us!

And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered... And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne. Revelation 12:1-2,5