Mary, A Model Of Virtue

5 May

“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” ~ St. Maximilian Kolbe

When I was in grade school, every year, May became a very special month.  The good Sisters would teach all of us about the wonders of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We would construct May altars in every classroom and would say extra prayers to Mary each day.  We were encouraged to make May altars at our homes as well.  My mother would always allow me to go hog wild on the altar construction up to the point of candles.  She didn’t trust us with lighting candles at our altars in the basement.  (Smart move, there, Mom.)

It was good to have an introduction to Mary at such a young age.  Because of it, I have carried a special devotion to Mary throughout my life.  If you ever come into my office, you will see statues of Mary, busts of Mary, and a picture or two of Mary.  The same holds for the house.  I have a special love for her and it is rooted in one thing:  her very special devotion to her Son, Jesus.

To me, Mary is a great model of virtue in that she, like us, had a free will and was invited to make a choice. Her choice was a resounding “Yes” to God’s invitation to be the mother of His Son.  You cannot find a better role model than that, in my opinion.

Many times, it has been exceedingly difficult to say yes to God.  It has caused me to be uprooted after getting comfortable in different communities.  It has caused me to stretch the bounds of my comfort zones as I have gone to schools, orphanages, inner cities, and even prisons.  Saying yes to God does not mean that life will be easy.  However, saying yes to God will come with a deep level of fulfillment.

Mary did not know where her life would lead after her yes but she went confident and unafraid.  She was led into exile and into communities in which she probably never planned to live.  She could not know that her yes would place her, one day, at the foot of the cross of her Son.  But she knew one thing, she was the maidservant of the Lord and if the Lord asked her to do anything then, by golly, she was going to do what He said.

The month of May has traditionally been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Take the time this month to pray with extra devotion to Mary, asking her to intercede for you to her Son.  She was given to us as our mother by her Son when He hung on the cross.  Count on her loving devotion.

FAITH ACTION:  Ask God to give you the same grace to say Yes to His will as Mary had.