Mary, Our Mother

Mary, Our Mother

As I prepared for this pilgrimage I thought and prayed a great deal about walking in the footsteps of Christ, but it never really occurred to me how much we would also be walking in the footsteps of Mary. It makes sense though, since Jesus and His mother are inseparable. Mary's fiat, her resounding 'yes' to the Lord's call is a model for each of us. We are called to follow God unreservedly and we strive to do so each day, most pointedly here on pilgrimage.

I was especially struck this afternoon praying my holy hour in the Church of the Visitation. This is the church where we remember Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth that we read about in Luke 1:39-56. Mary, in a very real way, took a pilgrimage to visit her cousin. In the truest sense she traveled with the Lord, something we ourselves are doing now. Mary said, "my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." My prayer was, and is, that my life, my actions, my words, may always show forth the greatness of the Lord.

Today, being Mother's Day in the States, I prayed a great deal for my mom. I also prayed for all of the spiritual moms I have had in my life. What an inspiration the example of holy women can be?! It is our mothers who first pass the faith to us and show us the love of God through their own love for us. To pray for our mothers at such holy sites was amazing. Not only did we pray for our mothers at the Church of the Visitation, but also in the Holy Sepulchre, where she sat at the foot of the cross of our Lord, and at Dormition Abbey, the place where Mary fell asleep in the Lord before her assumption. We prayed for the protection, health, and sanctity of our mothers, who have given us so much, who have given us life.

Mary, the model of perfect motherhood is in a true way our own mother as well. She wraps us in her mantle of love and brings our prayers to her Son. She guides us and protects us on our temporary pilgrimage here on earth until, one day, we will be united with her and her Son in the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Mary, Our Mother and Mother of the Church, pray for us.