May is always an exciting month in our family. With two birthdays (almost three since my youngest was born June 1), school nearing the end, opening our pool, and planting our gardens, our house is pretty lively. Add a First Holy Communion and the start of summer soccer, and you have borderline chaos. Often times, in the midst of all this, we forget to take time to honor the Lady of the Month….the Blessed Mother. Truthfully, I have not always totally been able to relate to our Lady. Respect her? Absolutely! Ask for her intercession? You bet.J Turn to her for interior advice? Not so much. You see, there were three obstacles to a more intimate relationship with Mary: 1.) She had only one child while I have seven. 2.) Jesus was perfect. How hard could that be? 3.) Mary was immaculate, and I am far from that. Of course, anyone with a more mature devotion to our Lady would probably not struggle with these issues, but they were very real to me. I continued to appreciate the rosary and was inspired by her fiat (her total submission to God’s will), but I just could not turn to her for guidance in my mothering. We were just way too different. Because of my love for my faith and my desire to grow, I did not allow myself to be satisfied with this “unrelatable relationship.” Through prayer, conversations with friends, the wisdom of my spiritual director, and reading Pope John Paul’s encyclical on Mary, I slowly began to open my eyes to the real Blessed Mother. Even though she had only one perfect child, she could certainly understand the pangs of a mother’s heart: the worry, the sadness, the anger at His persecutors.
While Mary did not succumb to temptation, she surely felt similar frustrations, exhaustion, and sufferings. Just as I feel insecure in my parenting, she surely must have had doubts in raising the Son of God. Most importantly, I began to see that even if she could not relate to my exact emotion or struggle at the time, she could still be compassionate and wise in her response to me. Just the other day, I was speaking with a friend who is having some problems. I do not have the same problems, but I listened attentively to her, offered her comfort and support and am praying for her situation. Other times, I am able to commiserate with a struggling friend because we share similar burdens. Mary, as the Immaculate Mother of God, does a much better job than I do. And she understands more than I know. I forget that she was a young teen becoming pregnant out of wedlock. She had to give birth in a stable with only Joseph as her support instead of in the comfort of her home surrounded by friends and family. She had to flee to a foreign land to protect her newborn. Very real situations. Very challenging. To think I felt like she could not understand me! The real problem was that I just did not really understand her. Mary, Queen of Mothers, pray for us!
Live It: Let’s pray a daily decade of the rosary or even a whole rosary throughout the month of May.
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