Dear Friends in Christ:
As you probably know, my family’s religious background is somewhat “confused”. My natural father was a non-practicing Catholic; my mother was Baptist and my stepfather was a non-observant Jew. I grew up in a neighborhood with many Jewish families, went to a Catholic elementary school, attended the Baptist church, and served as an altar boy in a Catholic church. Have a headache yet? As a result, I did not grow up with Catholic devotional practices and traditions in the home. I never prayed the rosary or a novena or invoked the intercession of the saints. In fact, I had family members, good people trying to be good Christians, who condemned Catholics and warned me as a youngster to stay away from the “idolatrous” actions of “those Catholics”. This was at the same time as Vatican II when many Catholics were abandoning devotions, traditions and pious practices. As a result, my devotional practices have developed gradually over the years. Because I did not “inherit” a devotion to the Blessed Mother or the saints, I have had to discover them on my own. What I can say about my devotion to the Blessed Mother and the saints is that my love and appreciation are continually growing.
The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the northern hemisphere, it is a particularly fitting month as it is Spring. When we look at the depictions of Mary in sacred art, we can see a tenderness, a sweetness, a fairness, a comeliness. When we read about Mary in the Gospels, we see the same. While dying on the cross, Jesus tells St. John, “Behold your mother!” In His agony and hers, Jesus thinks of His mother and His disciples. How can we be true followers of Jesus and not “behold” Mary as our mother? While most people rightly think of Mary in connection to her giving birth to Jesus, there is more to her and to her “discipleship”. In a wonderful way, Mary is the very first Christian as she accepted and believed in Jesus before any other human being. Likewise, Mary is the very first evangelist as she carried “The Word of God made flesh” to others – to St. Joseph, to Sts. Anne and Joachim, to Sts. Elizabeth, Zechariah and John the Baptist, to the shepherds, the Magi, Sts. Simeon and Anna, and to the whole world! She did this without a social media platform or a television ministry!
“Ad Jesum per Mariam” (To Jesus through Mary) is a representation of the spirituality of the 17th Century French priest, St. Louis De Montfort. Admittedly, the language St. Louis de Monfort used in the 17th Century is a bit awkward for many today, but an authentic understanding of this phrase and this spirituality is quite fitting and beneficial for us today. As God the Father chose to bring Jesus to us through the instrumentality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we can rightly approach Jesus through Mary as well. In doing so, we do not put Jesus in an inferior position. We do not in any way elevate Mary above God, but in beholding Mary as our spiritual mother, given to us by Jesus himself, we rely on her and seek her assistance in growing closer to Jesus. Mary never simply brings souls to herself. She always brings us to Jesus and Jesus to us. Our Blessed Mother helps us follow Jesus with greater devotion and love. It is no coincidence that the very last recorded words of Mary in the entire Bible are “Do whatever He tells you!” (Jn 2:5). To love Mary is to love her Son! To be a follower of Jesus is to do whatever He tells us, and Jesus tells us to behold Mary as our mother!
If it is not part of your regular prayer life to pray the rosary, try it! Try praying the rosary together as a family. If you seldom or never pray to Mary, begin by coming sometime to our Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on Wednesday evenings. If all you know is the Hail Mary, try praying the Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven), Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) or the Memorare (Remember, O Gracious Virgin). These beautiful prayers can enrich and deepen your devotion to Mary and Jesus. Ad Jesum per Mariam!
In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy