All About Mary

If I talk to her, it’s one-sided – I can’t help it.

There are so many things on my mind and sometimes I make her wait while I give orders and instructions if not jot down reminders in my to-do list. She remains calm, never cross or grumpy and it is a wonder how she has been so patient with me. Others would have brushed me off with a detached, "Take a hike, sister, or better still, get a life!" I’m lucky Mary is made this way. She is dependable, trustworthy, loving and consistent. She believes in me. She’s always on stand by. If I need help, I only need to ask. She’s my 911. She’s my mother.

My mother looks after the rest of my family too. My friends have equally marveled at her influence so they also ask for her help. That’s the problem with having a popular mother, everybody wants to know her. The amazing thing is that she doesn’t mind, in fact, she wants to help as many as her graceful, delicate hands can reach. She’s unquestionably beautiful but she never uses beauty to draw people to her except maybe, to make them see and appreciate their own loveliness. I’ve known her all my life and yet there is still so much I need to know. Sometimes, I catch an essence of her in the morning when the sun peeps through my window and the chirping birds provide a perky wake-up call. I wonder whether she too is having a nice day.

In spite of my best efforts, things sometimes don’t turn my way. That’s when I feel hurt or disappointed and that’s when I truly appreciate her presence in my life. I know anyone would, too. Meet my mother, Mary, daughter of Joachim and Anne, cousin to Elizabeth, auntie to John, wife to Joseph and mother to Jesus.

In a pamphlet published by the Regina Press, New York titled The Life of Mary for Children, the author, Sister Karen Cavanaugh, tells the story of Mary in simple words with beautiful illustrations. Mary appeared in many apparitions in different parts of the world and that is how devotion to her has spread. Through her many apparitions, her icons and images, people have come to know her and share the same universal belief that she is our mother, everyone’s mother. Mary is also known as :

Our Lady Of The Miraculous Medal – "This devotion was begun by Catherine Laboure, a French Sister of the Daughters of Charity in the 1820s. In one of her three apparitions, Catherine saw a picture of Mary standing on a globe with light streaming from her hands. Around the Virgin were the words "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you." Mary told Catherine to have a holy medal made with the picture of Mary stamped on it. As people begun wearing the medal, miracles started happening. The medal soon began to be called "The Miraculous Medal."

Our Lady Of Czestochowa – "The icon of the Black Madonna is enshrined on the Jasna Gora (hill of light) above the city of Czestochowa in South Central Poland. In 1382, the painting of the Black Madonna was brought to the shrine atop Jasna Gora in a monastery run by the Pauline Fathers. The painting was defaced with a sword by thieves and marks can still be seen on Mary’s face to this day. In the years under the communist domination, the shrine became a rallying point for the Polish people who were persecuted for their faith."

Our Lady Of Guadalupe – "On Dec. 9,1531, the Blessed Virgin appeared on the Tepeyec Hill about three miles outside of Mexico City to Juan Diego, a poor Indian convert. She told Juan she wished a shrine to be built there. When Juan Diego told Bishop Zumarraga, he refused to believe and asked for a sign. Three days later, the Virgin appeared before Juan and told him to gather roses from the hillside and put them in his cloak to give to the bishop. December is not the season for roses but Juan found roses and brought them to the bishop. The bishop was impressed because on the poor Indian’s cloak, he saw a picture of our Lady of Guadalupe. Guadalupe is one of the great Marian shrines in the world. Pope Pius XII declared the Lady of Guadalupe as the patroness of the Americas."

Our Lady Of Fatima – "Mary appeared to three peasant children near Fatima, Portugal in May 1917. They were Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta Marta. They saw the figure of a lady brighter than the sun, standing on a cloud in an evergreen tree. They were granted six apparitions. When Lucia asked the Lady who she was and what she wanted, she replied, "I am our Lady of the Rosary; I wish to have a chapel in my honor on this spot. Continue to recite the Rosary every day..."

Our Lady Of Perpetual Help – This title is connected with a Byzantine icon which was stolen from Crete, brought to Rome and according to tradition (upon the instructions of the Lady) was placed in the Augustinian Church of Saint Matthew. After the destruction of the church in 1798, the image was given to the Redemptorists who placed it in the church of Saint Alfonso built on the same site. The inscription in Greek above our Lady means, "Mother of God"; above the child, "Jesus Christ"; above the angels with the instrument of the Passion of Christ, "Michael" and "Gabriel." Jesus looks with fear at the instruments of his future passion while his little hands are clasped around the hand of His Mother."

Our Lady Of Vladimir – "One of the most famous and beautiful of all icons of Mary. She is depicted cheek to cheek with the Christ Child whose arms hold her. It was first heard of in Kiev where it was taken in 1155 to the city of Vladimir. It became famous for miracles and was worshipped as Russia’s most sacred image. In 1395 it was enshrined in the cathedral of the Assumption in the Kremlin in Moscow. Several times the Tartars were beaten back under its inspiration and it was carried to critical places in times of distress; the last time to the battlefront during WWI. Until the revolution, all the tsars were crowned and patriarchs installed in the presence of this image. The Russian calendar commemorates the feast of our Lady of Vladimir on May 21st."

Our Lady Of Lourdes – "The Virgin appeared 18 times in the hollow of a cave on the edge of a mountain stream to a little girl named Bernadette Soubirous. During the ninth apparition, the Lady asked Bernadette to drink from a spring. As none was visible, the child scooped away sand at the back of the cave, knelt and drank of the water that welled up. The next day, a spring was flowing which produced abundant supply of water to this day. Mary asked for prayer and penance for conversion of sinners. A chapel was built at the Grotto in 1862 fulfilling Mary’s request." Miracle cures were attributed to the holy water from Lourdes.

Our Lady Of The Assumption – Mary was assumed to Heaven body and soul and this strengthens our faith in the promise of the resurrection.

No matter who or where we are, it is a comfort to know that we have a mother who intercedes and prays for us and understands all our wishes and dreams including the loneliness of the heart. She is ready to help and to listen.

Maybe the next time we talk to Mary, we should keep quiet and listen. It’s about time we do.