Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
MONDAY, May 24th Jn. 19:25-34 “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”
Words of the Saints about Mother Mary…
+ “In trial or difficulty I have recourse to Mother Mary, whose glance alone is enough to dissipate every fear.” –St. Therese of Lisieux
+ “Let us run to Mary, and as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with perfect confidence.” -St. Francis de Sales
+ “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” -St. Maximilian Kolbe
+ “From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all 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!” -St. Pope John Paul II
Words of Mother Mary to us…
+ “Am I not here, I, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more? Let nothing else worry you or disturb you.”
-Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego and to us!
TEN WAYS YOU CAN LOVE MOTHER MARY by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
We often discuss who might be the best athletes, the best artists, the best writers, the best musicians; also, it must be said, there are the best of mothers. By far—and in a class by herself—the Blessed Virgin Mary was, is and always will be the best of all mothers.
This being said, mothers should recognize the fact that Mary is the best of all mothers and contemplate Mary’s words, actions, gestures and life to become better and better mothers.
For our great consolation, Mary is the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church, but also Mary is our dearest Mother! Let us try to please Mary our Mother and as a consequence, we will please her Son and our Heavenly Father.
Below we will present ten different ways that we can show Mary, our Mother, our great love for her and without a doubt, through her most powerful intercession, she will attain for us the most choice graces to help us become the saints that we are called to be, and many of us as mothers.
1. Talk to Mary
We want to get in the habit of talking to Mary, our dearest Mother very often. Confide in her, speak to her from your heart, share your joys and sorrows with her. This is most pleasing to her, as well as to Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary. She loves you so much and desires to have frequent conversations with you. Mary is your Mother, but she is also your friend and confidant.
2. Start Your Day with Mary
Upon waking every morning, our first action should be that of prayer, and what prayer? Why not start your day by giving yourself totally to Jesus, in all you say, do and think, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Give to Jesus through Mary your eyes, your ears, your mind, your heart, your body and even your intentions—in a word, give everything to Jesus through Mother Mary. How important it is to start your day well through the Heart of Mary!
3. Love Mary
A Mother never gets tired of hearing her child say: “Mom, I love you; you’re the best!” The temptation might be to think, she knows I love her, why tell her something she already knows. True, a good Mother most likely already knows. However, it still should be expressed in words. By saying: “Mom, I really love you”, the heart of a mother leaps with joy. The same must be said about our Blessed Mother Mary. When in the simplest of words we say: “Mother Mary, I love you”, then Mary, our loving Mother, experiences great joy in her most pure and Immaculate Heart. Therefore, during the course of the day we should simply say: “Mother Mary, I love you!”
4. Walk with Mary
There is a well-known song in both Spanish and Italian dedicated to Mary related to this topic with the title: Santa Maria del Camino—meaning, “Our Lady of the Way”. Therefore, when we travel, and it can be a short trip or a very long one, we should invite Mother Mary to come along with us. She is a good traveling companion and can protect us from many dangers in our travels. How many accidents, both physical and moral, have surely been prevented by traveling with Mary—Santa Maria del Camino!
5. Imitate Mary
If we come to know and admire someone, that often leads to imitation, and imitation to following, and following to a deep love for that person. Saint Louis de Montfort highlights the ten principal virtues of Mary that we should strive to imitate: her deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom. (True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort #108) What virtue or virtues of Mary would you like to work on acquiring right now? Ask your loving Mother Mary to help you—she will rush to assist you with many special graces.
6. Trust and Entrust to Mary
If we truly have confidence in a person, we can entrust our cares to them, knowing that this special person will care for us and protect us. God the Father entrusted His only begotten Son to the care of Mary. Therefore, we can entrust our lives totally to the care of Mary, our dearest and most loving Mother. “Never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother.” (from The Memorare by St. Bernard)
7. Tell Mary of Your Sorrows and Failures
We could be tempted by the enemy, the devil, who truly hates Mary, to feel inhibited about telling Mother Mary our sorrows and deep sufferings. The contrary should be the case! The best of mothers, Mary knows very clearly that when a child is most hurt and wounded, that is when the child needs the most tender love and care. So it is with us! When our days are cloudy, bleak, gloomy and downright depressing in the depths of our soul, it is then that we really need to open up and talk to Mary our loving Mother! Mary is both refuge of sinners and health of the sick—two titles for Mary in her famous Litanies!
8. Call On Mary When Tempted
Our life is a constant battle; we are soldiers of both Jesus and Mother Mary. That means that we are constantly on the battle-ground, in the fray. Our enemies are three: the devil, our own weak flesh, and the world. Aware of this intense reality of spiritual combat, we must call upon the Holy Name of Mary in the midst of the battle and the victory will be ours! The famous Battle of Lepanto proved a striking victory through invoking Mary and the recitation of the most Holy Rosary, at the insistence of Saint Pope Pius V. May we entrust our battles to Mary, who is more powerful than a whole army in battle array! The mere name of Mary causes terror and fear in all of hell! But let us do our part! Try to pray the Rosary every day! Wield that weapon, and let Mary do the rest!
9. Promote Love for Mary as Our Mother
If indeed we have truly experienced the love, care, and tenderness of Mary in our daily lives, then undoubtedly we will want to make Mother Mary known far and wide. Mary is not loved and honored due to one principal reason: she is not known! How can she be made known? In many ways!
1) Encourage the reading of good books on Mary like The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori, True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort, and Mater Redemptoris and The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary both by Saint Pope John Paul II.
2) Encourage recitation of the Holy Rosary, praying it daily. Give out Rosaries with pamphlets on how to pray the Rosary.
3) Finally, encourage the wearing of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. That is our armor front and back that keeps the enemy from slaying us!
10. Die in the Arms of Mary
The most important moment in our life is the very moment that we die. This moment will determine for all eternity, our eternal destiny—either heaven or hell. Why not prepare to die in grace, to die a holy death, at least 50 times a day? How, you might ask? Simply by praying the most Holy Rosary. Every time we pray the Hail Mary, we are preparing ourselves for a holy and happy death with these words: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Finally, let us rejoice with the keen awareness that we all have a heavenly Mother, Mary the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and our dear Mother. She knows us, cares for us, protects us, but especially, she loves us! Indeed, in the midst of the trials, struggles, and intense battles of life let us find our refuge in the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
