Imitating Mary

Saturday night we were sitting in our church waiting for a wedding to begin. We were serving at the mass and were without the kids so we arrived unusually early. It's not often I get the luxury of really meditating before mass.

I was gazing at a one of our very large stained glass windows. The image portrays Mary appearing to Bernadette at Lourdes. It is a beautiful image of Mary but at night it has a totally different look. The yellow lights in the parking lot outside cast a rather heavenly glow around her.

I was brought back to my many summers working with the Missionaries of Charity. I used to think that I would like to see an apparition of Mary. Saturday night, although my emotions were high gazing at her beauty, I decided that I would probably be literally scared to death if that ever happened.

It was at this moment that God reminded me that even though I may never actually see Mary like Bernadette did, I am called to be like her. The call of motherhood is a powerful and necessary vocation. Mary's call from the Lord came in the form of motherhood. Her whole life led her to her great magnificat.

She spent her pregnancy in service. She spent the next thirty years raising the Son of God. She then watched the people He loved convict Him to death and crucify Him. At the foot of the Cross, her job did not end. She comforted John. She met Jesus on the way to the tomb. She waited in exile for Him to send His Spirit.

Her whole life was about Him. And THAT is the call for me. A call to holy motherhood. A call to follow Jesus. A call to serve others in His name. A call to abandon self for the sake of the kingdom.

I choked back the tears and watched as the wedding party began to process down the aisle. I thought about the vows I made with Nelson 8 1/2 years ago. I thought it's not about seeing Mary, it's about imitating her.