My best friend gave me a book at the start of this year entitled, Medjugorje Day by Day to help with my non-existent devotional life for Our Lady. I know this may seem weird, but somewhere in my 4 years of college, I came up with a theory that Mary, the very bearer of God, or theotokos, was overrated. Is she important? Yes - extremely! Did I think she was just a little overrated? Maybe? Whoops...!
It was an interesting dilemma, but one that I spent little time thinking about until I returned home from a road trip this past summer with my best friend. After we argued about the necessity of Mary in our prayer lives, it dawned on me that maybe there was something more that I was missing. My question was simple, why would I entrust my problems and prayers to her instead of going straight to God?
Consider this passage from Medjugorje Day by Day:
"A trusting relationship with God and Our Lady does not always come easy to our human nature; we tend to seek self-sufficiency and self-reliance, proud that we carry our own weight. And yet trust and dependence on God actually liberates our spirits and frees us from much fear, anxiety, and doubt. Perhaps our greatest human need is to be taken care of, loved, made safe. And this is exactly what Christ and his Mother offer us.
What proceeds from this trust and confidence is the very strength, courage and peace that our hearts so desire. St. Paul writes, "Therefore I am content with weakness... for the sake of Christ; for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10)."
Where I saw Mary as an 'either her or God' type of relationship, it has become clearer that the relationship is one of 'both always.' Knowing God more fully means we need to better understand Christ's humanity; something that cannot be understood without an appreciation of Mary.
Tomorrow we will celebrate as a Church and as a University community the Solemnity of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Celebrating this special day is very fitting for a college student getting ready for exams or for anyone who is finding this season a little more hectic than usual. We are reminded that we too can and should be bearers of Christ in this holiday season. It is up to us to trust in God through the most necessary intercession of Mary, most immaculate.
Think about it and hopefully I will see you at Mass tomorrow... 4:00p.m. in Whalley Chapel!
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