Why We Turn to Mary
A last meditation on Mary during her special month...
Picture yourself perfectly dressed for work - whatever your appropriate garb - masterfully going through the day. Along the way, every bump in the road, every glitch in the process is met with an unperturbed reaction. You smoothly "handle" things, no matter how difficult the task or critical the problem.
Clean and smooth, day after day. Even where personal matters might distract a lesser man, you go on, taking all in stride.
Is this the "man in charge" image you like? A bit silly and superficial? Of course. But if we dig deeper, we find this image contains a reflection of none other than...Our Blessed Mother! Her soul was spotless (immaculate); she was unflappable, unperturbed, through a tough life.
We all know how she was born without sin - and never sinned during her life. Now think of this perfectly "clean and smooth" soul facing challenges - responsibilities and sorrows - beyond any we've ever faced. And not a word of complaint, taking it all "in stride."
Think of the awesome announcement that she would be the Mother of God - with all the responsibilities that would entail, then facing her new husband's suspicions about how she could possibly be pregnant and still a virgin.
Think of the doors closed in her face as she sought shelter to bear the Divine Child, the flight to Egypt, the poor life at Nazareth, her husband's death leaving her a "single mom" with Jesus, and finally the horrors of Calvary, where she stood quietly and witnessed this greatest love of her life - her Son and the Son of God - undergo the torture and death we all know so well but never quite fully appreciate. She "appreciated" every terrible moment.
Mary serves as the perfect example of facing every challenge with a steady, unflappable demeanor. In her magnificent femininity, she yet provides us Catholic men at work (and at home) with the perfect example of someone, present in the moment, facing the challenges of life, handling responsibility, sorrow and crisis "like a man."
That's why we Catholics turn to her as we do. It's a perfectly logical, and perfectly manly response to our own troubles. Our mother brings to the table the knowing experience of having lived through the worst and the best of times herself. She brings all that with a loving, tender, caring soul, ready to listen, ready to share our concerns with her Son and intercede on our behalf.
Picture yourself perfectly dressed for work - whatever your appropriate garb - masterfully going through the day. Along the way, every bump in the road, every glitch in the process is met with an unperturbed reaction. You smoothly "handle" things, no matter how difficult the task or critical the problem.
Clean and smooth, day after day. Even where personal matters might distract a lesser man, you go on, taking all in stride.
Is this the "man in charge" image you like? A bit silly and superficial? Of course. But if we dig deeper, we find this image contains a reflection of none other than...Our Blessed Mother! Her soul was spotless (immaculate); she was unflappable, unperturbed, through a tough life.
We all know how she was born without sin - and never sinned during her life. Now think of this perfectly "clean and smooth" soul facing challenges - responsibilities and sorrows - beyond any we've ever faced. And not a word of complaint, taking it all "in stride."
Think of the awesome announcement that she would be the Mother of God - with all the responsibilities that would entail, then facing her new husband's suspicions about how she could possibly be pregnant and still a virgin.
Think of the doors closed in her face as she sought shelter to bear the Divine Child, the flight to Egypt, the poor life at Nazareth, her husband's death leaving her a "single mom" with Jesus, and finally the horrors of Calvary, where she stood quietly and witnessed this greatest love of her life - her Son and the Son of God - undergo the torture and death we all know so well but never quite fully appreciate. She "appreciated" every terrible moment.
Mary serves as the perfect example of facing every challenge with a steady, unflappable demeanor. In her magnificent femininity, she yet provides us Catholic men at work (and at home) with the perfect example of someone, present in the moment, facing the challenges of life, handling responsibility, sorrow and crisis "like a man."
That's why we Catholics turn to her as we do. It's a perfectly logical, and perfectly manly response to our own troubles. Our mother brings to the table the knowing experience of having lived through the worst and the best of times herself. She brings all that with a loving, tender, caring soul, ready to listen, ready to share our concerns with her Son and intercede on our behalf.
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