Friendship with the Mother of God.

Source: britannica.com

 

Some Protestant Christians have been heard to state: “We do not need to go through Mary to ask Jesus for help” referring to the often-used Roman Catholic saying: “Through Mary to Jesus”.

As a convert to the Roman Catholic faith, I have never given that phrase a moment’s thought.

For me, a stronger friendship with Mary gave birth to a closer relationship to Her Son Jesus in my heart and in my life. My friendship with the Mother of the Lord helps to make me a better person, and opens my heart wider to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promised to leave us an advocate to assist us on our journey towards heaven. He left us the Holy Spirit and who better to instruct and guide us with an understanding of this Spirit than His Spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It was only after the death of my mother-in-law, Lucille Earle in 1981 that this Marian friendship was born. Finding her rosary beads and a little booklet of rosary prayers gave me comfort when she died prematurely at the age of 65.

I was packing up her belongings about a month after her passing when I felt called to begin to pray a daily rosary. Before daily Mass I would sit with the little book in one hand and her rosary beads in the other and struggle to memorize the fifteen mysteries and their purpose.

Ironically, just three years later, I was inspired to write a little booklet called A CIRCLE OF LOVE which had simple meditations on the rosary mysteries as well as the story of my new love for the prayers of the rosary.

Then Our Lady inspired me to volunteer to do a radio show with the rosary as its focus each Sunday morning for two years. If you say YES to the Lord and His Mother, they know how to keep you busy.

What a blessing it was to share my faith with others through this broadcast. I received a lot of fan mail, especially from those who were living in nursing homes.

My connection with the radio station also provided a live broadcast of a major Marian event that a small committee organized with me at our local arena. PRAYERS FOR PEACE   was held on Pentecost, 1985 and the rosary was the focus, with students praying and performing before a crowd of nearly 2000 in attendance.

The late Bishop Eugene LaRocque read a telegram from St. John Paul II who was joining us in spirit for this special afternoon of prayer.

There is a commercial that has been airing on television for several months. A little person version of the same person is sitting in a chair, and they are chatting. The narrator says: “You can learn a lot if you listen to the little voice inside of you…”

I chuckled when I first saw this commercial because I hear a little voice inside of my head every day. That voice is the Holy Spirit, guiding and reminding me of things I need to do. As long as I stay close to Our Lady and Her Son, I am never alone.

Sometimes I will be putting on my coat, and the little voice says: “Don’t forget the list on the table,” or I will be locking the door of my apartment and I hear: “Joan, your mail is still on the kitchen table”, and so I go back in and take it with me.

As long as we live a life that is focused on prayer, we will hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and it will be easier to follow the will of God for our lives. If we are friends with Mary and Jesus, life can offer a new adventure every day. We never need to fear the future because we are not travelling this journey alone

Joan Levy Earle was an author and artist living in Cornwall, Ontario. She was the former Associate Editor of the Canadian Messenger of the Sacred Heart magazine.

Print
8 Comments
  • Sami Helewa, SJ
    Posted at 09:38h, 05 March Reply

    Thank you for sharing this important friendship with Our Lady.

  • darcy Mann
    Posted at 11:25h, 05 March Reply

    Thanks for the reminder Joan… I know my father loved Mary very much, and he would pray to her, along with Jesus.

  • Maria Skarzynski
    Posted at 12:20h, 05 March Reply

    Very inspirational Joan – thank you. It inspires me to say the rosary daily as I have in the past in hard times and it helped so much. Then things get better and I get lazy – so I will resume – thank you.

  • Caroline Maloney
    Posted at 12:35h, 05 March Reply

    Thank you, Joan, for sharing your beautiful story about Mary….truly our Blessed Mother, given us by Jesus at the foot of the cross. I can’t imagine my life without Mary, and the Holy Spirit to guide, enlighten and give life.
    It is so uplifting to know and share that precious gift that is always with us….never leaving us alone in this world!

  • Peter Bisson
    Posted at 14:43h, 05 March Reply

    Thank you Joan!

  • Suzanne Renaud
    Posted at 16:48h, 05 March Reply

    Thank you Joan for sharing your experience.

  • Peggy Spencer
    Posted at 00:24h, 06 March Reply

    A beautiful reflection on having a loving relationship with Our Lady. I knew a dear old Irish Cisterncian monk, Fr. Kevin, who had literally adopted Our Lady as his mother as his mother had died in childbirth. He just loved his daily ‘afternoon cuppa’ with her. I can imagine him to this day enjoying his cuppa with her in heaven and making her laugh with his Irish stories.

  • Margaret (Peggy) Wilson
    Posted at 11:10h, 06 March Reply

    I always found the Holy Mother confusing. Why go through her when I could go directly to Jesus. But then I had a crisis in my life, and as Jesus said, when two are gathered. In my anxiety and fear, I found comfort in the rosary. I found love praying with Mary. As a widow I live alone. But I am never alone when I pray the rosary, she prays with me and for me. My time with the rosary gives my soul peace. Thank you Joan for all your quiet patience and explanations as I journeyed toward the mother. Your faith is a gift to those who are blessed to know you and read you.

Post A Comment

Subscribe to igNation

Subscribe to receive our latest articles delivered right to your inbox!