The month of May is a good time to remember Mary’s maternal tenderness and care for us.
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27)
Jesus gave us his mother. And it wasn’t at just any moment — it was right before He died. At the cross, Mary became the mother of the Church. She was given to be near us, to direct us to Jesus, to help us be open to the action of the Holy Spirit. She herself, the Immaculate, was willing to do this her whole life. On Earth, Mary cared for Jesus as the best and most loving of mothers. We should have no doubt that she cares for us in the same way.
Rely on the Virgin Mary to walk toward Jesus
Ask Mary and confide in her all of your worries, large or small, all your anxieties, from the most spiritual to the most everyday such as family problems or basic material concerns that torment you. Mary pays attention to our needs, as she did for the guests at Cana. And, as at Cana, she intercedes for us (John 2) and brings all our requests and all our prayers to Jesus.
When we recite the Rosary and say: “Hail Mary, full of grace,” we are like small children who need to take their mother’s hand to walk forward. We trust that she will help us, we rely on her to help us walk toward Jesus. We rely on her prayer. As a child, being carried by your mother is the best way to get where you are going quickly, with no risk of falling, especially if you are tired or don’t know the way.
Praying to the Virgin Mary is honoring her
The month of May invites us to “attend the school of Mary.” During this month it is important to say the Rosary, especially for and with our children. There are thousands of occasions to recite it: alone or together, in the morning before starting the daily chores or at night, with the family together in the praying corner; in bed when you can’t sleep … The days you’re exhausted or desperate. We can even recite it almost without thinking, like a call of love and trust, repeated over and over.
Fulfill the will of the Lord
“Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). These are the last words of the Virgin Mary that the evangelists recorded and the only ones that are directed to us. These few words say everything the she wants to teach us. Relying on her tenderness does not mean that we can take it easy or do nothing, thinking that she will take care of our needs. Putting ourselves in the Virgin Mary’s hands does not mean being spiritually lazy. On the contrary!
In Cana, the Virgin Mary intercedes before her son, but later says to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.” And in the same way she intercedes for us, but also asks that we fulfill the will of the Lord. The closer we get to the Virgin Mother, the more she can help us understand that the only thing that really matters, the only thing we should never stop doing is whatever the Lord asks us to do.
Christine Ponsard
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