Happy Mother’s Day Mary :)

I often think of Mary with awe! Although we often talk of Jesus’ sacrifice, we don’t talk of Mary’s nearly enough.

As a Mom, I can’t even imagine the horror and pain she endured watching her Son dying on that Cross.  A million thoughts must have raced through her mind and heart.  That she didn’t simply collapse is a testament to her courage and faith, her love for Jesus, as well as our Father’s strength and the Holy Spirit’s Comfort.  It’s was a miracle in and of itself!

Personally, I know I would have collapsed.  Just as I know I would have begged our Father not to allow my Son to die, especially in such a horrific way.  But that was not Jesus’ Will.  He came to save us from our sin, no matter the cost.  Instead, Mary gave Jesus what He needed most, Her love and strength, and Her faith in our Father’s Will.  Mary trusted our Father.  She knew God’s ways were, and are, “higher than our ways”. And I am sure she prayed for Him! For Mary knew just how important prayer was and is!

Mary gave God Her all and trusted God with the outcome…

As a Mom, the sheer horror of watching my Son crucified would have broken me, but it didn’t break Mary.  Because Her love for Jesus and our Father was that pure and that strong.  And that love helped Her to overcome all.  And for that alone, I will always be grateful to Mary.  Just as I will always hope to be more like her!

Too often, modern day churches seem to argue about Mary’s role in the “church”.  But the truth is – there really is no need for we are all the “church” 

Mary was Jesus’ Mother and one of the best role models we will ever have.  By Her sacrifice alone, she has not only proven Her love for our Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, but for each of us as well. 

And Jesus loves Mary so very much too, as only a Son can love His Mother.

As for the confusion of “praying to Our Blessed Mother Mary”.  It is not that we are “praying to Mary”, but rather we are asking Mary to pray for us!  And why would we not?

Mary is in Heaven with God and I talk with her every day!  Sometimes simply to thank Her for all she sacrificed for us.  And sometimes to ask her to pray for me or others.  And I know she does, because She loves each of us. 

Mary has enriched my faith and brought me great joy and peace!  She can do the same for you. Happy Mother’s Day Mary, and thank you!? 

Mary, Jesus’ Mother :)

When I think of Mary, I am always awed by her courage and strength and how much she loved Jesus! To stand as the foot of the Cross to offer what comfort she could, how she must also have suffered watching her beloved So ! And yet she, just a young girl herself, did it ! I don’t think I could have. I would have wanted to, but I don’t think I would have that faith and that strength!

Often we hear people dispute whether or not we should pray “to” Mary. But isn’t the real question, should we ask Mary to pray for us? After all we ask our family and friends to pray for us, why wouldn’t we ask Jesus’ Mother, beloved and chosen by God Himself, to pray for us? She was te bravest and strongest woman I have ever heard of, and loved more and better than I could ever imagine doing myself. And Mary’s faith was amazing!

I ask Mary to pray for me all the time, and am grateful for her amazing example of what a mother’s love should look like 🙂

Surely asking Mary to pray for us can only help us 🙂

I love Mary, and I am grateful for her prayers for me !

Can Mary Help Us? Yes!

Personally, I can’t tell you how much praying the Rosary has helped my Faith to grow. And when I talk with Mary after, I thank her not only for helping my faith to grow, but for allowing me to pray the Rosary!

Mary always points the way to her Son, Jesus. And Mary loves us like a Mother does. And because Mary was human; she truly understands how we feel and why we feel the way we do. She understands why we worry about family members and those we love, because she did too! She was very close to God, but she was human too!

She understands how life can be busy, because her’s was too!

And because she was so very obedient to God, she understands our desire to obey God as well!

And like any loving mother does, she warned us when we were headed for trouble. In both her appearance in Lourde and Fatima, and in Her appearance in Ecuador (Our Lady of Good Success)-Mary warned us of what would happen to our world if we did not turn back to God. She loves us and does not want us to suffer!

Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for Mary, a young girl, to have Jesus in a Manger? For many of us, we can well imagine just how difficult it would be to have a baby in a barn! There were no epidurals then, or any other pain relief! And she was so young!

Or how about Her flight to Egypt? Physically, that had to be so difficult. Being a Mom in today’s world is challenge enough, being Jesus’ Mom in yesterday’s world had to be truly difficult and more than we could even comprehend, much less do!

So when we ask her to pray for us, we can ask that we will grow in our faith and obedience, that we will be better mothers, that we will leave fear behind in favor of trusting God-Because Mary gets it – because She lived it :).

And because Mary loves us, She prays for us-always!

Thanking Mary October 7th: Our Lady Of The Rosary

Praying the Rosary has helped my faith to deepen and grow immeasurably.  And I am deeply grateful to Mary that this is so. Just as I am deeply grateful for The Rosary :)

On October the 7th, we honor Mary and The Rosary.

How did The Rosary begin?  In 1208 The Rosary was given to St. Dominic by Mary in the Church of Prouille  (France).  The original Rosary had 15 decades.  Each decade had an Our Father,  followed by ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be To God at the end.  People who said the Rosary used Prayer Beads, Rosaries, their fingers…To learn more about the Biblical basis for The Rosary, please visit Dayton University : https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/r/rosary-biblical-basis.php

There has been some controversy surrounding The Rosary, with Catholics honoring The Rosary and some Protestants saying it’s wrong.  However, in recent years, many Protestants have adopted The Rosary as well.

Some of the Protestants who object to praying The Rosary site reasons such as “only Jesus is God”, but asking Mary to Pray for us is not treating Her as a God, but rather we are just asking someone very close to God to pray for us.  We miss a very real opportunity to strengthen our faith when we fail to ask Mary to Pray for us ?

As for Jesus loving Mary, many of us are mothers, and many of us have sons.  And our sons love us so much and we love them! Does anyone really think that Jesus did not love His mother at least as much as our sons love us?

There is another thought we might want to consider.  Everything that Mary did and does – points the to the way to Jesus.  Even the mysteries of the Rosary are really about the important life events of Jesus.  And when we pray The Rosary, we get to meditate on Christ’s Life.  Could there be anything better?

Mary loves us as a mother loves her children, as we love our children. Only more! And better! Our journey is a difficult one, we need all the Help and Love we can get!

Thank You Mary, for giving us The Rosary 🙂

The Assumption of Mary

The Assumption of Mary is celebrated by many Christian churches through out the world, especially Catholic Churches.  It is a national holiday in many countries such as Italy, Spain, Belgium, Guatemala, Lebanon, Poland, and many more…

It’s a major celebration in countries such as Russia, Ireland, Mexico…

The Assumption of Mary is defined differently by different groups.  The Catholic Church teaches that:

“having completed the course of her earthly life”, leaves open the question of whether the Virgin Mary died before her assumption or not. Mary’s assumption is said to have been a divine gift to her as the ‘Mother of God’.

I could see our Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit giving Mary a “divine gift” 🙂

Catholics and Protestants have long differed on the question of the Assumption of Mary, but we are all Followers of Christ. And with so many attacking Christians through out the world, division is one thing we can not afford!

Mary has been called the “Queen of Heaven”, and She is. She always will be ?.  And Jesus loved her in a special way.  How could He not?  After all, Mary was His Mother, chosen by God Himself, and Jesus was both human and divine.  It is entirely believable that when Mary’s work here on earth was done, Jesus gave her a special gift.  Just as we know that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were so happy when She came Home to Heaven. Just as we know that all of Heaven Heaven rejoiced upon her arrival.

Mary is Jesus’ Mother.  And without Jesus, there would be no reconciliation with God and we would not be going to Heaven.   That She willingly suffered so much on Jesus’ behalf and ours is without dispute.  I personally can’t even imagine having Mary’s faith and strength and I will always be extraordinarily grateful to Her.  Her example is a shining light for all of us and Her love for us is without question.

Catholic and Protestant churches may differ on the Assumption of Mary, but one thing we can all agree on is that Mary sacrificed greatly both for Jesus and for us.  She loved Jesus and she loved us. And She is deserving of both our gratitude and love-always!

There’s a saying “in things we agree, unity” and in” things we disagree, charity”, for the ultimate source of truth on this earth will always be God’s Word.

Mary was a Great Gift both to Jesus and to all of us! She loves us all! And that we can agree upon 🙂