Seeking Our Lady’s Counsel in Motherhood

Discovering the church’s Marian doctrines was a blessing on Leigh Ann Roman’s journey to the Catholic faith.

When I entered the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil 25 years ago, I was an expectant, first-time mother myself. While many converts cite Marian doctrines as a challenge, I welcomed the teachings about the Blessed Mother. I loved the concept that we all have a mother in Heaven, and that we can ask her to intercede for us. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception also made sense to me. It seemed reasonable that the mother of God should be preserved free from the stain of original sin.

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The Rosary played a large role in my conversion, and praying the Rosary regularly helped me to get to know both Jesus and Mary. During my first pregnancy, I purchased a medal of Our Lady of Good Counsel and wore it often to remind myself that, no matter where my own mother was, I could always look to Mary as a guide. During my first three years as a Catholic, I became a mother to two children under two. Because of her struggles with mental illness, my own mother could not be a resource to me, so the Blessed Mother and the mothers in my small Catholic parish served as my role models during those early years. My sister and mother-in-law were also great supports.

As I have grown in my faith, I have tried to stay close to Mary and consider her responses to the challenges of life. When faced with a seemingly impossible request like becoming the mother of the Messiah, Mary said, “Yes” to God. During the flight to Egypt, she courageously traveled with her family to a strange country. During her own pregnancy, she reached out to help her cousin, Elizabeth. Can I, like Mary, respond with courage in a crisis? Can I reach out to others in need in my life?

Faith, humility, courage, and obedience characterize the Blessed Mother, and these are traits I have sought to emulate, although very imperfectly, during my nearly 25 years of motherhood. Humility and obedience are not typically my first reactions to problems. But, by making Mary and the Rosary integral to my life, these responses have become a bit more natural for me.

I have tried to share my love of the Blessed Mother with my children, who are now young adults, reminding them that they have a mother in Heaven to talk to — especially at times when they might be annoyed with their mother here on Earth.

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I recently passed my medal of Our Lady of Good Counsel on to my daughter as a reminder that she can turn to Mary as she navigates the uncertain and sometimes rocky path of young adulthood. Mary is truly a source of good counsel, a wonderful example and guide in life. I am grateful to share my faith with my children, but I know that each person’s faith journey is their own.

At the end of her own journey here on Earth, my mother converted to Catholicism through the nursing home ministry of a Catholic Church in Memphis. I was incredibly grateful for that gift during the last year of her life. Just a few days before her death, I was with her when she received Viaticum. It was a moment I will always cherish, a moment of hope and peace.

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