Happy Mother’s Day! This weekend as we honor our Moms, I want to direct our attention to one of the greatest gifts that Jesus has given us: Mary. Just as through baptism in Jesus we have received a heavenly Father, so he also gives us Mary to be our heavenly mother.
She plays the same role in our lives that our biological mothers play best. Mary is that warm, calming presence that listens without judgement and points us to her Son. As a mother, she is also a teacher, encouraging us and walking beside us as we take our first steps in the faith.
As Jesus’s mother, she would have been responsible for teaching him how to pray and educating him in Scripture. She wants to do the same things for us. She can teach us how to listen for God’s voice and, in the Rosary, she helps us to meditate and reflect on the most important parts of Jesus’s life and the Gospels.
Mary modeled in her own life what it can look like to follow Jesus and coaches us in how to do the same. Just like at the wedding in Cana when she told the servers to do whatever Jesus told them, she encourages us to pay attention and follow God’s will for us by listening to him.
This past week and a half when I was in Medjugorje, I saw each of those points playing out in my own heart and in the pilgrims who came with me. Each of us encountered the maternal love and presence of Mary which helps reveal more fully how God loves us.
We walked with Mary by living out the five practices that she encouraged the people of Medjugorje to take on when she first appeared to them.
The Five Practices of Medjugorje
- Receiving the Eucharist at least every Sunday, if not more often.
- Going to Confession at least once a month.
- Reading Scripture every day.
- Praying the Rosary each day.
- Fasting twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays.
These are simply practices that open our hearts to God so that we are receptive to hearing his voice and following his will.
This month, I invite you to call on Mary as your mother and ask for her help. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, simply pray this prayer that Mother Teresa prayed every day:
“Mary, mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.”
God Bless,
Fr. Randy Koenigsknecht
