MAY IS THE MONTH OF MARY: our mother and teacher
As we begin another week under lockdown we place our trust and petitions in the loving hands of Our Lady
With Mary, I offer you my day… These are the words that, every day, conclude the “Offering Prayer”. Who knows if we pronounce them with mindfulness; if we are convinced that the Mother of our Lord truly accepts this invocation and lovingly accompanies us in our desire to offer us in the mission of feeling with the same heart as Jesus, the pains and wounds of the world?
Mary’s heart is a watchful heart that we can seek to persevere with in waiting and to be strong in faith when the cross is placed on our shoulders. Hers is a heart that guides us to a tender and intimate familiarity with the Lord. Feeling like your children makes us want you to hold our hand and guide us in every moment of our lives.
We look to Mary as our mother and teacher. Because it is nice to think that it was she who educated Jesus a way in which she accompanies us to be more and more like Him, Eucharistic men and women.
Mary, teacher of the Word. In her the Word, welcomed, meditated and tasted in depth, has become flesh. Mary teaches us to listen to God, to remain silent, to give space to the mystery. From her we learn to make our hearts good ground in which the seed of the Word can take hold, grow, and give fruit.
Mary, Eucharist teacher. Mary is abandoned into the hands of God. From there comes the style of her heart that leads her to offer herself totally, even through pain and contradiction, in order to give life. Mary is also the one who knows how to thank God for the “great things” God has achieved in her (cf. Lk 1:39-56), especially under the Cross, becoming a woman of communion. She is entrusted with the unity of the Church.
Mary, teacher of Mission and Witness. Mary’s feet have walked in the footsteps of Jesus. From her we learn to follow Christ, to witness the joy that inhabits those who follow in his footsteps. Wine at the wedding can never be lacking (Jn 2:1-11)! Mary is a teacher of Love: she teaches us the service and proclamation that arise from the presence and action of the Spirit of God in us. She accompanies us and guides us on the paths of the world.
