Take a Mary Break at Work
We're taking a "Mary break" this week. We'll continue our discussion of imitating Christ at work next week. For now, during this grace-filled time between the Ascension and Pentecost - two of the most important celebrations of the Liturgical Year - we turn to Our dear Blessed Mother. We pause to remember her in a special way even in the midst of our busy work days, during this, her month of May.
Working first and foremost for the greater glory of God, we know that offering all our efforts of the day to God is a form of prayer. We need no special words or actions to form this prayer. Our best efforts, and the intention to perform them for His greater glory, suffice. And yet, it's important for us to step back to refresh and reinvigorate our minds and hearts with words that raise our thoughts above our every day work. These prudent thoughts or meditations on the supernatural help us to "super-naturalize" our everyday work. (That's why we spend some time each day reading Scripture, some good spiritual works, studying the doctrines of our Faith, etc.)
And so, with May now more than half over, we pause to think about and pray to Our Blessed Mother. We seek her counsel and consolation this day, her gracious assistance to help us raise our daily work from the common and ordinary to become a great song of praise. She can do this for us. And we would do well to remember that she can, and why she can.
We remember that our Blessed Mother was given to us by Our Lord Himself, as He looked down from His Cross on Mary and St John standing beneath His bleeding and broken Body:
The Mother of God became the Mother of us all. We Catholics know and understand this. Our knowledge and understanding informs our daily thoughts and actions. That's why we pray to her, and through her to God.We don't suffer from the ignorance and consequent misunderstanding of those who hold that praying to Mary is some sort of idolatry. (Many, if not most, Protestants think this way.) How can such people read the words of John's Gospel and not realize the profound nature of Our Lord's words and their permanent impact on our spiritual lives?
Perhaps these words of St Bonaventure might help them realize the folly of their misunderstanding: “God could make a bigger world or a wider sky, but He could not raise a pure creature higher than Mary, for the dignity of Mother of God is the highest dignity that can be conferred on a creature.”
If not, perhaps this more direct pronouncement of Pope St Pius X. Speaking "of those men, who seduced by the wiles of Satan, or deceived by false doctrines, persuade themselves that they can dispense with the aid of the Virgin Mary," he reminds us: "They err deplorably who, under pretext of honoring duly Jesus Christ, ignore His Mother. They fail to see that one does not draw near to the child without drawing near to the child’s mother.”
I hope we've given you some encouragement to remember Our Blessed Mother, to pray to her, for her assistance in whatever need you may have during your busy work day. For all of us, pray that she will help us honor her Sacred Son through the medium of our work.
Next time, some beautiful, inspiring words from one of our greatest spiritual writers...
Working first and foremost for the greater glory of God, we know that offering all our efforts of the day to God is a form of prayer. We need no special words or actions to form this prayer. Our best efforts, and the intention to perform them for His greater glory, suffice. And yet, it's important for us to step back to refresh and reinvigorate our minds and hearts with words that raise our thoughts above our every day work. These prudent thoughts or meditations on the supernatural help us to "super-naturalize" our everyday work. (That's why we spend some time each day reading Scripture, some good spiritual works, studying the doctrines of our Faith, etc.)
And so, with May now more than half over, we pause to think about and pray to Our Blessed Mother. We seek her counsel and consolation this day, her gracious assistance to help us raise our daily work from the common and ordinary to become a great song of praise. She can do this for us. And we would do well to remember that she can, and why she can.
We remember that our Blessed Mother was given to us by Our Lord Himself, as He looked down from His Cross on Mary and St John standing beneath His bleeding and broken Body:
Jesus said to His mother: "Woman, this is your son."
Then He said to the disciple: "This is your mother."
(John 19: 26-27)
The Mother of God became the Mother of us all. We Catholics know and understand this. Our knowledge and understanding informs our daily thoughts and actions. That's why we pray to her, and through her to God.We don't suffer from the ignorance and consequent misunderstanding of those who hold that praying to Mary is some sort of idolatry. (Many, if not most, Protestants think this way.) How can such people read the words of John's Gospel and not realize the profound nature of Our Lord's words and their permanent impact on our spiritual lives?
Perhaps these words of St Bonaventure might help them realize the folly of their misunderstanding: “God could make a bigger world or a wider sky, but He could not raise a pure creature higher than Mary, for the dignity of Mother of God is the highest dignity that can be conferred on a creature.”
If not, perhaps this more direct pronouncement of Pope St Pius X. Speaking "of those men, who seduced by the wiles of Satan, or deceived by false doctrines, persuade themselves that they can dispense with the aid of the Virgin Mary," he reminds us: "They err deplorably who, under pretext of honoring duly Jesus Christ, ignore His Mother. They fail to see that one does not draw near to the child without drawing near to the child’s mother.”
I hope we've given you some encouragement to remember Our Blessed Mother, to pray to her, for her assistance in whatever need you may have during your busy work day. For all of us, pray that she will help us honor her Sacred Son through the medium of our work.
Next time, some beautiful, inspiring words from one of our greatest spiritual writers...
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