October is my favorite month of the year. Hands down! There is very little I dislike about it. I love the colors, the crunching of the leaves under my feet during an otherwise quiet morning walk, pumpkins, gourds, scarecrows,a big bowl of chili or beef stew, cozy sweaters and scarves with boots, wearing slippers again, hot caramel ciders, hay rides ….. I could probably go on but I will spare you!
But, one more thing, that I like about October that you won’t see on everybody’s ‘fall favorites list’ is that in October we celebrate Mary in the Catholic Church (the month of the rosary). I love a special time devoted to Mary especially if it means I get to sing “Hail Mary:Gentle Woman” and “Ave Maria”. The more years I spend as a mom and the more children I have, the more my love for Mary grows. First, being a mom is hard work, and even though Mary was born without sin, she still (I’m sure) made mistakes. In fact, we know she did, as we read in Luke’s Gospel, when she “lost” twelve year old Jesus in Jerusalem. We, as parents, can only imagine how she felt walking for three days looking for him. I have a four year old who is a free-spirit and loves to wander and run, if I lose sight of her for more than 30 seconds, I can feel the panic rise in my throat. I like to think about Mary in this way -- as a real mom -- because she was; though she became pregnant in a way different from the rest of us she still spent those years raising Jesus like the rest of us raise our children. I often pray to Mary when I get frustrated with my children or need a shot of patience to help them do something because I know she understands -- she gets me, she’s done this all before me.
I admire Mary for her strength and her courage. Being born without sin does not mean she didn’t have free will. All the choices she made were still made by her but she always chose for God. Mary said “yes” when the Angel Gabriel came to her even though what she was saying yes to must have been terrifying especially the unknown about how this baby in her womb would be our Savior. I recently have thought about Mary more and more since having my baby boy. Everybody told me when I was pregnant, “There is just something special about a momma and her baby boy” and my goodness they were right. It’s not better than having girls and of course I love my girls with all my heart, but each child you have produces different feelings, you have different relationships with each child, that’s what makes the mother/child relationship so special and unique. I think of Mary now and how she cuddled her baby boy, swaddled her baby boy, nursed her baby boy, bathed him, smelled his sweet baby head, rubbed his little chubby arms as he fell asleep in her arms - just like I do….and when you think about all that and experience all that with your child you realize fully all that Mary gave for God, for Jesus and for us. Jesus gave his life; he suffered death and Mary had to watch. She watched her baby boy die for us, suffer for us. Think about that sacrifice. And, because Mary said yes to God’s plan for her, even though it was extraordinarily hard -- like take your breath away hard -- Mary only had to wait three days to see Jesus again and she was greatly rewarded in heaven for her ‘yes’, for her sacrifice.
Since October is the month of the rosary, a month for Mary, I will continue my thoughts on Mary throughout the month. Please consider praying your rosary a few times this month. If it’s been a while and you feel a bit rusty, follow this guide I have linked for you here.
The Joyful Mysteries would be a great meditation to go with this post. Don’t force it -- just enjoy the repetition of the prayer and let the meditation guide you closer to God.
But, one more thing, that I like about October that you won’t see on everybody’s ‘fall favorites list’ is that in October we celebrate Mary in the Catholic Church (the month of the rosary). I love a special time devoted to Mary especially if it means I get to sing “Hail Mary:Gentle Woman” and “Ave Maria”. The more years I spend as a mom and the more children I have, the more my love for Mary grows. First, being a mom is hard work, and even though Mary was born without sin, she still (I’m sure) made mistakes. In fact, we know she did, as we read in Luke’s Gospel, when she “lost” twelve year old Jesus in Jerusalem. We, as parents, can only imagine how she felt walking for three days looking for him. I have a four year old who is a free-spirit and loves to wander and run, if I lose sight of her for more than 30 seconds, I can feel the panic rise in my throat. I like to think about Mary in this way -- as a real mom -- because she was; though she became pregnant in a way different from the rest of us she still spent those years raising Jesus like the rest of us raise our children. I often pray to Mary when I get frustrated with my children or need a shot of patience to help them do something because I know she understands -- she gets me, she’s done this all before me.
I admire Mary for her strength and her courage. Being born without sin does not mean she didn’t have free will. All the choices she made were still made by her but she always chose for God. Mary said “yes” when the Angel Gabriel came to her even though what she was saying yes to must have been terrifying especially the unknown about how this baby in her womb would be our Savior. I recently have thought about Mary more and more since having my baby boy. Everybody told me when I was pregnant, “There is just something special about a momma and her baby boy” and my goodness they were right. It’s not better than having girls and of course I love my girls with all my heart, but each child you have produces different feelings, you have different relationships with each child, that’s what makes the mother/child relationship so special and unique. I think of Mary now and how she cuddled her baby boy, swaddled her baby boy, nursed her baby boy, bathed him, smelled his sweet baby head, rubbed his little chubby arms as he fell asleep in her arms - just like I do….and when you think about all that and experience all that with your child you realize fully all that Mary gave for God, for Jesus and for us. Jesus gave his life; he suffered death and Mary had to watch. She watched her baby boy die for us, suffer for us. Think about that sacrifice. And, because Mary said yes to God’s plan for her, even though it was extraordinarily hard -- like take your breath away hard -- Mary only had to wait three days to see Jesus again and she was greatly rewarded in heaven for her ‘yes’, for her sacrifice.
Since October is the month of the rosary, a month for Mary, I will continue my thoughts on Mary throughout the month. Please consider praying your rosary a few times this month. If it’s been a while and you feel a bit rusty, follow this guide I have linked for you here.
The Joyful Mysteries would be a great meditation to go with this post. Don’t force it -- just enjoy the repetition of the prayer and let the meditation guide you closer to God.