Mary Our Mother

Amanda Woodiel describes how the Blessed Mother can mother us in the difficult times of our lives.

Dear Little Mama,

I had to laugh when I got your little note: “Lent already? Lent again?” It does feel a bit, doesn’t it, that the last dozen months have been one long Lent. I am reminded of Jesus’ words to Peter: “someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). I don’t know about you, but when I leave the house, I am often dressed in a way I would rather not, and going places no longer has the same ebullience about it that it used to. 

But beyond that, aren’t we all called in this life to go places we don’t want to go? We become gravely ill; a cherished friend passes away. We lose jobs; we discover a child is doing things he shouldn’t. 

Let me remind you, though, that we don’t go where we don’t want to go all alone. Aloneness is a lie. If only we could see our great heavenly family and our dear Mother accompanying us! At the moments of life when we feel most vulnerable, we are wired to wish for and long for a mother. Guess what? We have one! Mary is our mother too. Just as she walked alongside Jesus in His Passion, she walks alongside us in ours. And so I remind you to to turn to her in the Passions of your lives. 

Have you lost a child physically or spiritually?

Mary understands. She lost Jesus for three days (twice! Once physically when He was twelve and then again between the crucifixion and Resurrection).

Do you feel judged by others or misunderstood?

Mary understands. Imagine the tongues that wagged when she was found with child before living with Joseph.

Are you watching someone you love physically suffer and die?

Mary understands. She watched her son be beaten up by the very people He created and accompanied Jesus through His final breath.

Are you grieving the loss of a dream/planned life?

Mary understands. She had thought she would have a regular, simple married life.

Do you feel some sadness at the changes of life, such as when an adult child is getting married?

Mary understands. She shares her only Son with all of us.

Do you miss people you love because you are physically distanced from them?

Mary understands. Her only son traveled about preaching the Good News.

Do you have wayward children?

Mary understands. She is the mother to us all. The very child you grieve, she grieves also and intercedes with tears and prayers.

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Mary will reveal the heart of God to you, and you will find your own cross easier to bear once you realize you do not bear it alone. #catholicmom

If you will let your spiritual mother accompany you in your Lent and in your passion, she will teach you the secrets she learned when pondering her own sorrows in her heart. Mary will reveal the heart of God to you, and you will find your own cross easier to bear once you realize you do not bear it alone.

Copyright 2021 Amanda Woodiel
Image: Pixabay (2018)