Mary with Jesus, with me
I love the month of May. My name is Mary, and Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, has just been a wonderful partner to walk with and to pray with along my spiritual journey. Mary brings my soul closer to Jesus. When I slip and fall, which is often, Our Lady is always there to pick me up just as she was with her son, Jesus, on Calvary. As he was walking to Calvary, she picked him up in her heart. In the same way I find that she picks me up and carries me.
The church’s teachings on Mary are very beautiful. The four main teachings consist of her being ever virgin, her Immaculate Conception, her being the Mother of God, and her being assumed into heaven. These are key doctrines that the church formally holds and wants her people to hold and believe in. It wraps up who Mary is in a very special way for us, because of her unique role in salvation history.
In 1995, I had the great privilege of going on pilgrimage to Medjugorje. From very early in my family life, I had learned about Mary. Our family always said the rosary together. One day, after saying the Act of Total Consecration to Mary (St. Louis de Montfort) in the chapel, the thought came to mind, “This is Mary’s lamb.” What did that mean? As I pondered and prayed some more, I have come to understand that when Mary said “yes” to the angel Gabriel, she said “yes” to raising a lamb who would be sacrificed.
She already knew that from having studied the Scriptures and Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 is like a person standing at the foot of the cross saying, “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” Thus, Mary gave her “fiat,” her yes, to raising the lamb of God. She carried the lamb in her womb. She held the lamb in Bethlehem, and she knew why she had him — he was to be sacrificed for the world. It was a very painful part of Mary’s life, yet also one of great joy.
How can you develop this relationship with Mary? Mary with Jesus, and Jesus with Mary are in dual partnership. If we have a relationship with Jesus, he will always introduce us to his mother. He never leaves her out, because she never leaves him out. Look at how Jesus treated his mother and see how Mary treated her son. He would want us to honor her as he honored her. Further along in the relationships are Mary with Jesus, with me with the Father and the Spirit, in the Spirit. We truly are one family. The Scriptures are given to us to be shared and the insights unfolded like bread broken and applied to our daily lives, not to be just left in the writings of the time. Let Mary be your walking and praying partner as you draw closer to Jesus.
Sister Mary Jo McEnany is a Benedictine Sister of the Congregation of Our Lady of Monte Oliveto. She has been professed 60 years as a religious. She is actively involved in the Basic Christian Community of Hawaii and in the ministry of spiritual direction. She lives at the Benedictine Monastery of Hawaii in Waialua.
