For the Love of Mary

Michelle Hamel reviews Fr. Daniel-Maria Kimek, T.O.R.'s book that focuses on Our Lady of Sorrows.

While I honor Mary for her amazing role as the Mother of God and admire her for the continual Fiat she gave throughout her entire life, I’ve struggled with feeling close or connected to Mary on a personal level. In my own faith journey, God has been leading me on a path that has been bringing me closer to our Blessed Mother. It’s a slow journey, but I try to keep my eyes, ears and heart open for any way God might be placing an opportunity to connect to Mary. For the Love of Mary by Fr. Daniel-Maria Kimek, T.O.R. was one of those opportunities He placed in my path this past year.

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For the Love of Mary wasn’t a quick read for me. I felt that the first third of the book was a little scholarly, which just isn’t generally my own reading preference. That changed as the book continued and Fr. Kimek focused on the suffering of Mary, hearing her voice, and consoling her Immaculate Heart. Throughout the rest of the book, I had lots of underlining and notes written! My greatest connection to Mary is through her title of Our Lady of Sorrows, so what Fr. Kimek wrote just drew me in.

One of the interesting questions that Fr. Kimek raises is regarding the mystical and theological tradition of Mary as the first stigmatic:

It is the truth that the interior trauma that Mother Mary experienced during her Son’s Passion, the emotional and spiritual darkness that pierced her soul, was far greater than if she were to suffer physically. And yet, in a mystical paradox of love, she requests the physical suffering as well in order to be intimately united with Jesus Crucified, her suffering Son, in the most trying way imaginable.

She loved Him so tenderly that she would prefer to physically suffer the horrors that He experienced-the merciless blows, the sharp thorns penetrating the head, the piercing nails stabbing the flesh, the horrifying scourging of the body-rather than see Him suffer all alone. (91)

That really resonated with me as a mom. When any of my children are suffering in any way, I carry it in my own heart. Whether it’s a bad cold, stomach bug, struggles with friends, or a more serious traumatic event, there’s a part of me that can’t rest until things get back to normal. For situations that take months, years, or even a lifetime to resolve, continually asking Mary for the grace of longsuffering and her maternal consolation as the ultimate suffering Mother is so important.

We live in a world filled with so much suffering and confusion. Fr. Kimek shares,

In a modern world that has lost its sense of the supernatural, that has abandoned sacred realities, steeped as it is in the ideologies of secularism and rationalism and no longer believing in the Eucharist or the miraculous witness of the Gospel, Our Lady’s apparitions make a statement, saying; My Son is real. The Eucharist is real. The Gospel is real. The God of the supernatural is real. (135)

How our world, our country, and our families need Mary’s reminders! Mary’s love for her Son and for all of us keeps her reaching out to all of her children; to draw the lost back to her side and to wrap those trying to stay near her in her mantle. Mary is our loving mother and our Warrior Queen. She has lived the ultimate perfection in her role as a Daughter of God.

To be born is to be immersed into this epic cosmic drama that has eternal consequences. (140)

Mary’s role had everlasting consequences that affected each and every person who has been created or will be created. Mary shows us how to say “Yes” and be open to God’s plan in our own lives, which affects all the people connected to us through God. We are all part of God’s story.

If you’re looking for a way to know Mary in a deeper and more meaningful way, check out For the Love of Mary by Fr. Daniel-Maria Klimek, T.O.R. Ask for For the Love of Mary at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, Emmaus Road Publishing.

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