Mondays with Mary

40 Reflections: 40 days of raw recollections during the Lenten Season

No. 5

Every Monday during Lent I will honor the Mary’s in my life, and there are many. There’s just something about Mary that brings my life spiritual solace.

The Virgin Mary

In the Bible, the angel Gabriel guides Mary into motherhood like an air traffic controller…landing her the role of the Mother of Jesus. Then life got busy. There were feast days, appearances, suffering, and intercessions, you know, regular mom stuff.

At church on Sundays when our kids were young, we’d sit by the choir during mass. It was loud enough to drown out whining, the kids were fascinated with the instruments and if there was a breakdown it was easy to slip out the back door. During mass, I would glance at the opposite side of the church where families sat calmly with their children. What was it about that side?

Then one day we found ourselves amid the “right-side” pew dwellers. It was a busy mass and an insistent usher herded us over before I could church whisper, “We’ll stand, really.”

Then I saw Mary.

Standing there with her hand waving me in, like she was offering me a bottle of water and a comfy chair to rest my soul. So we sat next to Mary, amid the quiet group and stared back at the choir families. And when the matchbox cars started flying or everyone had to go to the bathroom, I’d glance up, and there she was, Mary…no longer in my blind spot, confirming all was well.

Today I listened and sang along to the song “Let it Be” while my mom and I made tortillas. The Beatles song was written by Paul McCartney in 1969. Paul sings about when he finds himself in times of trouble, “Mother Mary” comes to him. For years I thought he was referring to the Virgin Mary, but instead, he was singing of his mother, Mary who died when he was a young boy. McCartney has said he is grateful people find spirituality in his words, no matter which Mary they are thinking of while they sing along.

Thankfully, when I find myself in times of trouble, my mother and Mary are always there for me.

Please continue to pray for families in Ukraine.

“It doesn’t have to be blue iris, it can be weeds in a vacant lot. Just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate. This isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks. A silence in which another voice may speak.”

– Mary Oliver, Praying