"Do not fear to take Mary as your mother on the journey of life! May Mary be a model for your of how to follow Jesus. Do not be afraid of confiding in her, of entrusting to her maternal hands every problem, every anxiety, every expectation, and every project. Above all, trust her with the project that concerns your whole life: your vocation, in the sincere gift of what you are, for your own self-fulfillment." ~Blessed John Paul II
Ave Maria! Our Year of Faith has begun! It is a journey of faith. It is also a journey of life, for does not our faith lead us to life? The One in whom we have believed, in whom we've placed all our trust, in whom we have hoped beyond hope -- of him St. John wrote: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). In due time, according to His Father's plan, He Himself, the Living One who is alive for evermore (Rev 1:17), would emphatically proclaim: "I am the Resurrection and the Life!" (John 11:25).
As I begin this journey of faith that is life, I happily take with me Mary as my mother...Mary, the Mother of Jesus, so beautifully described by the Council Fathers many years ago in Lumen Gentium as the one who...
"gave to the world the Life that renews all things" (#56)
"advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross" (#58)
"cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls" (#61)
"calls the faithful to her Son and His sacrifice and to the love of the Father" (#65)
"shine[s] forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come, as a sign of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on earth" (#69)
Mary, Christ's mother and mine! Who better to take with me on this journey?! For the past 45 years I have often reflected upon these images of Our Lady, and through them I have been blessed with a better understanding of who she truly is, how vitally important she is go us, and how desperately I need her. Far greater, I have come to love her more and more. Ave Maria! Deo gratias!
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