Mother Mary Sings to Me

Mary, Our Guide

"Ecce Noster Feminia" Julie at The Corner with a View
"Simple Things" by Trista at Not a Minx, a Moron, or a Parasite

"Mary's vapor rub" by Elizabeth at Startling the Day 

"Be Apostles of The Divine Mercy under the maternal and loving guidance of Mary …"
— Pope John Paul II, in a Papal Blessing to the Marians on Oct. 5, 2001.

Have you ever stopped and thought about the amazing concept of maternity? See, it seems so natural, I think it's easy to take for granted. Let me break it down for you:

Selfless giving of time, energy and love
Supersonic protective skills
Foresight
Ultimate comfort in discomfort

Just to name a few. It seems like a list on the application for canonization! A woman houses and loves her child for 9 months, then raises her child, fending off evil, be it an ominous crack in the sidewalk or a hostile vigilante. She sacrifices her sleep, her lack of patience, her shyness and her self concern--funneling all of that energy into her child. She puts her child above herself. Period.

Mary, the mother of God, gets extra kudos for this. Can you imagine? You get a text message/tweet/status update:

 AngelGabe
Angel Gabriel
@Mary Don't fear, God loves you and wants you to carry His son. Name him Jesus. He's going to be better than you can imagine and be king.



Talk about pressure. Unsuspecting Mary suddenly has been presented with an awesome and terrifying gift: motherhood. More than that, it is motherhood in partnership with God!


Mary
Mary
@AngelGabe Um, I don't think that is possible -- I have no way to get preggers.



Yet, despite the shock of the situation, she fixates on how it could be possible. Isn't that interesting? She doesn't say, "Whoa whoa whoa, ummmm are you serious? Is this a joke? Whatchu talkin' bout Gabe? You've got the wrong girl!" But rather, "How interesting, but wait, how can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" [Luke 1:34]. Her concern is with its practical possibility, not whether it should be or not.

AngelGabe
Angel Gabriel 
@Mary No worries.God'll send down the Spirit for that.The child'll be the Son of God too.O yeah, your cousin's prego too.Isn't God awesome?



Gulp. Okay, lets not worry. God's going to send down His spirit. I'm going to become pregnant, just like my cousin who is aparently pregnant even though she has been thought to never be able to have children. Wow. Heavy. Well, I guess if God made that happen, what can I worry about? Elizabeth is much older than me and the shock of pregnancy at her old age was probably pretty tough, but she's doing it. God's got this. Worries gone. God has asked me to carry and love His son! Wow! :D


 Mary
 Mary 
@AngelGabe Whatever God wants, I'm His servant. Let's do this.




Check!: Ultimate comfort in discomfort.
Check!: Foresight.
Check!: Selfless giving of time, energy and love.
Check!: Supersonic protective skills.

With that simple fiat Mary took on motherhood. Shabam. Transformation instantaneous. As we all know, thing didn't slow down for her once Jesus was born, hardly, it is almost like it became progressively more challenging. She was Christ's first disciple, following him from his very conception. It is no wonder that we are called to follow Mary's example as our guide.

I'm pretty sure when your child is Love itself, your heart expands and envelopes all whom Love loves; Motherly traits extend to everyone.