We Have a Mom (part 2 of 5)

WE HAVE A MOM (part 2 of 5)
pray the Holy Rosary daily

In this valley of tears, amidst our miseries, afflictions and adversities we find joy and consolation in having a Mother. Just before Jesus expired on the Cross, he gave us one of his most precious gifts, his mother to be our mother (cf. Jn 19:27).

Indeed, Mary is our spiritual Mother. St. Bernardine of Sienna teaches us that at the Annunciation, Mary, by her consent to become the mother of the eternal Word, was so earnestly engaged in obtaining our salvation, that from that time on she has borne us, as it were, in her womb, as a most loving Mother. Then at Calvary she “brought us forth to grace, when she offered to the eternal Father with so much sorrow of heart the life of her beloved Son for our salvation”.* “Wherefore, St. Augustine asserts, that, having then cooperated by her love with Christ in the birth of the Faithful to the life of grace, she became also by this cooperation the spiritual mother of us all, who are members of our head, Jesus Christ.”*

We cannot fully fathom the depth of Mama Mary's love for us, which stems from her love for God. “The fire of love with which she burned for God was so great, that it would in a moment inflame heaven and earth; and that, in comparison to it, all flames of the burning love of the seraphim were as cool breezes. Therefore, as there is none among the blessed spirits who loves God more than Mary; so there is, and can be none, except God, who loves us more than this our most loving mother.” And so she glories in having taken us for her children, and is all love towards us, especially for we have been commended to her as children by her beloved Son, Jesus.

And so as our mother “she is always ready to aid anyone who invokes her, though he or she offers no prayer but a ‘Hail Mary’.”* She “not only hastens but flies to aid those who have recourse to her.” “She has the greatest desire to console all, and she scarcely hears herself invoked before she graciously receives the petition and comes to our aid.” Mary “is more desirous to confer favors upon us than we are to receive them”.*

For instance, at the wedding at Cana “Mary saw the trouble of that pair who were mortified to find that their wine had failed at the wedding banquet; and without being requested, moved only by her compassionate heart, which cannot look upon the afflictions of others without pity, prayed her Son, to console them by merely mentioning to him the necessities of the family: ‘They have no wine’. After which, her Son, to comfort that family, and still more to satisfy the compassionate heart of his mother, performed, as she desired, the well-known miracle of changing the water contained in the vases into wine”.* If then, “Mary, though unasked, is so ready to aid us in our necessities, how much more so will she be when we invoke her and implore her aid”.*

And her prayers are so strong. “We read in St. Bridget's revelations, that one day this saint heard Jesus speaking with his mother, and that he said to her: ‘Mother, ask of me whatever thou wilt, for I will refuse nothing that thou dost ask; and be assured’, he added, ‘that all those who for love of thee seek any favor, although they are sinners, if they desire to amend, I promise to hear them’.”*

And again, “St. Augustine, contemplating the affection and earnestness with which Mary is continually occupied in interceding with the divine Majesty for us, that the Lord may pardon our sins, assist us with his grace, free us from dangers, and relieve us from our miseries, thus addresses the holy Virgin: Oh Lady! it is true that all the saints desire our salvation and pray for us; but the charity and tenderness which thou dost manifest for us in heaven, by obtaining with thy prayers so many mercies from God, obliges us to confess, that we have in heaven only one advocate, that is thyself, and that thou alone art the only true lover watchful of our welfare.”* [*quotes taken from “The Glories of Mary”, by St. Alphonsus de Liguori ]

If then we have such a loving Mother, ought we not to love her back? The best way to do this is by consecrating ourselves to Mary, giving her “our full permission to complete her motherly task in us, which is to form us into other Christs”. (from “33 Days to Morning Glory”, by Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC) In other words to give her our yes, which gives her great joy; for our yes gives her freedom to complete her motherly task in us– to form us into great saints. Truly, this is the “surest, easiest, shortest and the most perfect means to become a saint”. (Fr. Gaitley).

Let us also be reminded of the devotion most dear to our Blessed Mother, the Holy Rosary. Even as we meditate on the mysteries of her Son's life, that we may pattern our life to his, and give her roses, a token of our love, with each ‘Hail Mary’ of the Rosary, she obtains for us manifold graces.

“Sr. Lucia of Fatima relates that “the most holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world or of the religious communities, or even the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.” (Frere Michel de la Sainte Trinite, The Whole Truth about Fatima, vol.3, as quoted in “Credo”, by Bp Schneider).

Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.