Artist: Liz Lemon Swindle
. . . holy, Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise, for from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God. (Alleluia verse from today's Mass)
Today is the feast of the birthday of Mary. What a wonderful feast! When we think of people who have left an everlasting mark upon our world and upon us, days like birthdays, become very special to us. There is a leap of gratitude that we can claim in our hearts when we think of the birth of St. Teresa of Calcutta, of Pope Francis, or of a good friend or relative that we will always remember with joy.
God asked Mary to be the instrument of bringing Christ into our world. Blessed be the day she was born and gratitude fills us when we recall her personal story of faithfulness, even amidst great suffering.
It is hard for me to realize that some people in our civilized society, do not know who Mary is or why we honor her in our Faith. Some think we treat her as a goddess. Some think we venerate her. Neither of these two notions are true. We only honor her because she had the generosity to bring us our Savior. How different our world and our lives would be if this did not happen.
Resurrection Spirituality encourages devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We call her Co-Redemptrix, for she stood under the Cross and her Son, our Savior, gave the ultimate gift of love for us. It was at that time when, while still alive and suffering, Jesus looked down at his Mother and the apostle John to say "Woman, behold your son (John) and Son,(John), behold your Mother." John, representing all who would love and follow Christ, cherished Mary as his spiritual mother. The Church through the ages, has regarded Mary as our mother too.
As the Cross precedes the Resurrection in our lives, there are times when, in our trials and tribulations, when it is good to pray to Mary, who understands suffering as only a mother could. It matters not what hurts us or blocks our happiness and holiness. She will help us. She will intercede with her Son for us. She will stand beneath the Crosses we accept each day.
Thank you, Mary. Happy Birthday!
Today is the feast of the birthday of Mary. What a wonderful feast! When we think of people who have left an everlasting mark upon our world and upon us, days like birthdays, become very special to us. There is a leap of gratitude that we can claim in our hearts when we think of the birth of St. Teresa of Calcutta, of Pope Francis, or of a good friend or relative that we will always remember with joy.
God asked Mary to be the instrument of bringing Christ into our world. Blessed be the day she was born and gratitude fills us when we recall her personal story of faithfulness, even amidst great suffering.
It is hard for me to realize that some people in our civilized society, do not know who Mary is or why we honor her in our Faith. Some think we treat her as a goddess. Some think we venerate her. Neither of these two notions are true. We only honor her because she had the generosity to bring us our Savior. How different our world and our lives would be if this did not happen.
Resurrection Spirituality encourages devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We call her Co-Redemptrix, for she stood under the Cross and her Son, our Savior, gave the ultimate gift of love for us. It was at that time when, while still alive and suffering, Jesus looked down at his Mother and the apostle John to say "Woman, behold your son (John) and Son,(John), behold your Mother." John, representing all who would love and follow Christ, cherished Mary as his spiritual mother. The Church through the ages, has regarded Mary as our mother too.
As the Cross precedes the Resurrection in our lives, there are times when, in our trials and tribulations, when it is good to pray to Mary, who understands suffering as only a mother could. It matters not what hurts us or blocks our happiness and holiness. She will help us. She will intercede with her Son for us. She will stand beneath the Crosses we accept each day.
Thank you, Mary. Happy Birthday!
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