Mary, Mother of God and my Mother

Four and a half years ago, as God was in the process of reclaiming me, I realized that I needed to understand more about Mary, the Mother of God.  I had been Catholic for more than two decades, but she played a minuet role in my faith life.  I had just finished praying the rosary, a new practice for me, and I felt urged to have both a closer relationship with her and to understand Marian theology.  I immediately walked the four blocks to The Catholic Information Center in DC.

The selection of books was overwhelming.  While I didn’t consciously say a prayer to make a good choice, I do believe the Holy Spirit guided my selection.  I decided to purchase True Devotion to Mary.  I had no idea that it was a Catholic classic, or that it was written in the early eighteenth century and not published until 1842.   Of all of the books available about Mary, I selected the one written by St. Louis de Monfort, a Dominican priest.   

   I curled up with the book at home in the evenings and learned that Mary is the ultimate role model for Christians.  She said “Fiat” (or yes) to God’s messenger when asked to become the Mother of Jesus.      De Montfort’s writings, nearly 300 years old, helped me to understand the theology of Mary.  In the book he promoted a consecration to Mary, something that intrigued me but I was not even close to being ready for it.

Over the past year or so, I have thought of revisiting the book to determine whether I was ready to try the consecration.  It is de Montfort’s belief that the fastest and truest way to Jesus is through Mary, his mother.  My relationship with Mary has grown dramatically in the past few years.  Of all of her names, Mary, Mother of God is my favorite.

In August, at the Catholic Writers Conference, I heard Fr. Michael Gaitley speak about his book, “33 Days to Morning Glory”.  It is a do it yourself retreat in preparation for Marian Consecration. It focuses on how the life of de Montfort as well at Blessed John Paul II, St. Maximilian Kolbe and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta were influenced by an intense devotion to Mary.

It was de Montfort’s plan that the preparation begins so that it ends on a Marian Feast Day.  I pulled the book from the shelf and thought about doing the retreat as a part of my Lenten practice this year.  Over a two week period, I found myself reading the introduction and last week looked to see when I would begin to end on the next Marian feast day. I began this retreat on November 29^th and, God willing, will complete the process on January 1^st, the feast of Mary, Mother of God.

Coincidence?  I think not.  With three days under my belt, I find prayer more focused.  Father Michael uses a conversational writing style, which I didn’t think I would like for such an important topic.  I have actually found the content something that I am reading a couple of times each day.  Thank you, Father Michael, for this book.  I am looking forward to making it to Morning Glory.

Freely choosing what is truly good

               Today (Oct 22, 2011), 33 years ago, an obscure bishop from Poland, Karol Wojtyla, became the Bishop of Rome. The election of Pope John Paul II was a surprise.  I remember following the entire election process as a political science major and a senior in college.  (I’m glad that there wasn’t anything such as CNN at the time.  My grades may have dipped for October 1978!)

                I was not Catholic back then and remember the election of Blessed John Paul II as my first encounter with the Catholic Church as an adult.  Today is the first official feast day for him.   And today I finished George Weigel’s The End and Beginning, the biography about this great man of God.  I didn’t plan to finish it today, but I had 70 pages to go and reading it seemed like an appropriate way to celebrate his first feast day.

                Weigel says, “Freedom, John Paul II taught for decades, is not a matter of doing what we like, but of freely choosing what is truly good.”  Also on this day, I watched a news show about the demonstrations that began in New York and are now present in major cities throughout the country.

                I’m all for demonstrations.  Free speech is a hallmark of the United States and peaceful, respectful demonstrations are a unique American experience.  However, these demonstrations are not respectful and it appears that these people are truly lost.  They don’t have something solid on which to base their life.  “We want, we demand” seems to be their mantra.  Moreover, they all don’t even want the same thing!  They don’t understand that no matter how much they have, if they don’t allow God to fill that hole in their hearts, they will live unfulfilling lives.  A college degree is not a guarantee of success or happiness, or a job or even free healthcare.

                Our current American culture sets us up to focus on material things and on ego gratifying goals.  Yet, each day, we deal with situations in which we can “freely choose what is truly good”.  Much of these decisions are contrary with the norm.  How do we choose to treat others when we are in a hurry to rush to our next event of the day?  Is there time to call that elderly friend or relative today, or is the choice to watch TV or update Facebook.  And as we approach the Christmas holidays, how much of the money I spend will I allocate to those who truly are in need?

                These are simple daily choices that I make that can make the difference between “doing what I like or freely choosing what is truly good”.  Thank you Blessed John Paul II for allowing me to think about freedom in a different way today.