Turning to my side and tucking the blankets tightly around me, I tried to go back to sleep, but a single word kept playing over and over in my head, "vocation". I had read an article before going to bed this night entitled “The Vocation of Christians in American Public Life” which led me to reflect on my own vocation as a Catholic wife, mother, grandmother, and woman in the world today.
As I thought about the vocation I have been called to, I thought about the strong women of faith in my own life, the ones closes to me that have led me by their examples, like my mother and grandmother. I thought of the many women of faith that I have prayed with in our times of need; I thought of the women of courage and conviction I have read about like Mother Teresa and Dorothy Day.
The woman I thought about the most however, was our Blessed Mother Mary. Called to be the “Mother of the Redeemer”, Mary showed us how to fulfill our call to spritual motherhood by becoming the handmaid of the Lord. She was ready to serve God according to His will.
I came to realize that in following Mary's example our vocation cannot be a passive one, but an active call to action; after all her beloved Son was considered quite radical.
According to St. Louis de Montfort’s "The Secret of Mary", this calling requires a sincere desire for the gift of humility, unceasing prayer, complete self-denial, abandonment to divine Providence, and obedience to the will of God.
This is a tall order for most of us; it sure is for me, and the grace and help of God is absolutely necessary for us to put these virtues to practice. But, just like anything we strive to achieve; we must first desire to achieve it.
God bless you and yours always.
Take From Ave Maris Stella
Virgin all excelling,
mildest of the mild,
free from guilt preserve us
meek and undefiled.
Keep our life all spotless,
make our way secure
till we find in Jesus,
joy for evermore.
9 comments:
At the time of Mary it was a great scandal for an un-married woman to become pregnant. She would be shunned by her family and friends.
To then claim that the unborn baby is the Son of God would have been blasphemous.
She could have been stoned to death; or treated as a mad person.
Yet; despite the fear of shame and the fear for her own safety; she trusted God and said "Yes" to the Angel Gabriel.
We have a lot to thank Mary for.
God bless.
I agree that we can really be strengthened by reflecting on the strong women of faith in our lives. I also often think about my mother and grandmother (she live with us when I was growing up). Also my Aunt Alice who is now 93. Then there are the wonderful women in my community whose lives have been ever faithful. Thanks for reminding me to think about them all and to try to "absorb" some of their faith into my own life.
What a lovely post honoring our Blessed Mother and encouraging us to follow her example. I couldn't help but think of Mary Nicewarner and her tag-Mary 333. I remember reading one of her posts about the number and it has something to do with the fact that she wakes up every day at 3 AM and begins to pray at that hour.
God is so powerful and calls us even in our sleep! What a blessing!
Yes Victor, we have so much to thank Mary for. Thank you for commenting.
God bless you Sr. Ann Marie for being such a strong woman of faith!
Following Mary is a tall order to be sure, but we have tools to help us on our way; the Rosary, prayer and her supreme example as proclaimed in the Magnificat. As you know the road at times is hard but the rewards are endless when one consecrates to Jesus thru Mary. Peace to You! k
Beautiful post. The darkness and the quiet of night can really get a person thinking, contemplating, etc... thanks for letting us in on yours. k
Wonderful post and good motivator to take a more active role.
Like Victor, I am always in awe of the circumstances around our Blessed Mother's decision. I am so thankful for her strength.
Hi Grace
Just a quick visit to wish you a HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY for 17th March.
God bless you.
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