Something about Mama Mary
It’s been 100 years since Our Lady of Fatima first appeared to three shepherd children Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. turmarion.wordpress.com
Do you get a thrill whenever you’re on social media? Join the club! There’s one exception: Mama Mary. She shunned the limelight, focusing instead on her son, Jesus. Always.
This should wipe out our fears and anxieties as we recall the Holy Book’s warning on the Anti-Christ. Look now at what’s happening to the cultures being attacked around the world. Many will come disguised as the Savior, but “when dawn precedes the Sun of justice” the only one who can recognize the real Jesus is His own mother — Mary. No cult, no idols, nymphs or cosmic goddesses can, and will be able to. Only Mary.
Who is Mary? Among many titles we already know, she is the Mother of the universal Church. She’s not stuck in heaven either. She’s also here on earth. Pope John Paul II said, “Where the church is, there is Mary.” When Jesus ascended to heaven, He entrusted His church to His mother, “These are my brethren, keep them, love them (like your own).”
At the Marian apparition in Lourdes, France, when shepherd girl Bernadette asked for identity, Mary replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception,” meaning Mary’s very essence is totally filled with grace. She was God’s perfect creation, His masterpiece and nothing more can be added to her. Her graces are higher than all seraphims and cherubims combined and by reason of her dignity, the perfect mother for the Son of God, Jesus. She was holy from the very beginning.
This is why the devil loathes Mary, refusing to accept the mystery of the Incarnation, where Jesus exalted human nature by becoming man. (When Jesus ascended to heaven — body and spirit — He elevated man to be higher than angels); and that Mary, a mere mortal (and a woman), is the Queen of angels.
Tip: In moments of weakness or confusion, whisper “Mama Mary.” Instantly, you’ll experience her presence. The demons will hastily depart. If you pray to Mama Mary devoutly, you immediately attract angels. When Mary is in your midst, there is the scent of fresh and soothing perfume.
Sister Lucia of Fatima described Mary’s spiritual presence as being “more brilliant than the sun; she looks young, 17; her mantle and tunic are filled with light; around her neck is a cord of light with a crucifix, the most radiant of all.”
“Since Mary is a perfect creation of God, her love for us is perfect,” said St. Alphonsus de Ligouri. “Even if you combine all human love with all the love of angels and saints, they can’t compare to the love Mary has for a single soul.”
Tip: When you ask Mary to pray for you, she makes up for the lack of faith in your prayers.
She has such great powers that she commands all angels and saints to pray as well. What makes her intercession unique and more powerful than the saints? She intercedes as the mother of God, plus as our own mother.
Do not forget, however, the sorrows she bore. Saint Bridget wrote that in Golgotha, Mary lost consciousness at the sight of her son hanging on the cross. She was filled with anguish on the lies and insults hurled at her son. Her hands turned numb, her face was white as ghost, yet there was a certain soft, gentle trace of solace, of rejoicing of some sort, because in her sorrow, she knew that her son will not die again. Jesus’ sufferings became her own. In Golgotha, two hearts suffered and died.
Tip: When you are suffering, ask for faith.
The crucifix became the cross of faith for Mary. It is the standard that identifies the real followers of Christ. It projects what is truly in your heart. Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross threw the devil to the abyss of hell.
At the peak of His torment, who did Jesus turn to, and drew courage and strength from? Mary. Jesus, after all, needed His mother.
Aside: In Golgotha, when the crowd and soldiers dispersed, Mary pulled off her veil and covered the private parts of Jesus.
Being part of the human family, Mary stays close and suffers with us in our own Calvary, making our cross more meaningful, bringing out its merits.
Tip: Mary’s motherhood extends to us. The closer you are to her, the more you are open to inspiration. She’ll make you carry your cross heroically and with dignity.
To build up a personal relationship with Jesus is crucial because He alone can take us to God, the Father. Mary’s role is not in conflict with that. She acts as the bridge to her Son, bringing to Jesus our petitions and buckets of wishes, acting as our go-between.
The assault on marriage and family will persist. In the final battle (predicted in the 21st century), the strongest and greatest weapons against evil remain constant: Jesus and His real presence in the Holy Eucharist and Mary in the rosary, the scapular, and Marian devotions. In fact, whenever the rosary is prayed in a group, the demon likens it to a full army attacking him.
We celebrate one hundred years of the apparition of our Lady of Fatima (May 13, 1917 - May 13, 2017). Like Mary, let’s focus on Jesus and pray, “We believe, we adore, we hope, and we love you, Jesus.”
That’s Mary’s Magnificat.
