Mother Mary
26 September 2013
Terri Potts-Chattaway
September 26, 2013
Some people have patron saints. One prays to a saint to intervene with God on their behalf. I pray to Mary.
At the time I began praying to Mary I was a young mother struggling to raise two children. I thought that if anyone could understand the joys and heartbreaks, as well as the infinite challenges of being a mother, it was she.
It wasn't long after I converted to Catholicism that I was sitting in our church one Easter season (Easter is my favorite holiday. A time of renewal and full of hope.), listening to The Passion. This is a story that should be considered from many perspectives, but this day, I saw it through the eyes of Mary. How she must have suffered, despite her faith, watching her son carry the cross to his death.
My prayers to Mary are both comforting and powerful. So it was particularly poignant when I walked into St. Agnes for Sunday mass and saw the statue of Mary holding Jesus in one arm and a sailboat in the other.
There it was. A message directly from Mary to me. (You see, I had intended on attending another church but circumstances led me to St. Agnes. Circumstances? Hmm...I wonder...) Instantly, I was full of emotion as a big smile came across my face as well as a tear fell from my eye. Mary's message was clear. She is watching over us on our journey. Truly a comforting thought.