Thought Log 2: Mary and me

Over the past couple years I have been seeking and seeking a deeper relationship with my Heavenly mother Mary.  We visited the shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin, and one good fruit that has come from that trip is that I have said a rosary everyday since: about 4 months.  Considering in the past I couldn't carry this commitment past a week or so I would say that is an achievement.  Part of the reason I couldn't make it many days in a row is that I didn't want to say the rosary out of mere repetition or for the sake of saying the rosary, I wanted it to be out of a desire to grow closer to Jesus and closer to Mary.

All this being said I had a particularly comforting revelation in my rosary earlier this evening.  We were praying the glorious mysteries and we came to the 5th glorious mystery: the coronation of Mary queen of Heaven and Earth.  I pondered for a second on the crown Mary wears and how it must be more glorious and radiant than any crown in heaven apart from Jesus himself, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit.  Greater than St. Francis, St. Padre Pio, St. Francis Xavier, and all the others.  This I accepted without question considering she is the Mother of God.  The really curious thought though is that the seemingly awesome things that we see in the lives of many of the great saints in terms of miracles we don't see in the life of Mary.  We don't hear of Mary raising anyone from the dead,  bearing the stigmata, bi-locating, reading hearts, and on and on.  I am not saying that Mary could not have done any of these acts, but we don't hear of them.  I remembered then something I read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that saint Augustine said of Mary: "Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ" - CCC 509.  This was inspiring to me when I read it,  and even more so thinking about her crown of glory now in heaven.  Mary's great act was to say, "yes," to God everyday of her life.  She didn't need more than that.  She didn't need great miracles and spectacles to bring about faith in her Son.  She just needed her simple, "Yes!"  

This speaks to me and brings me peace because sometimes I think we can get caught up in what we are doing and how are we seeing God move in the lives of those whom I encounter today.  Or, what great things am I doing for the Lord today.  But the reality is, the only thing I need to do today is to say, "Yes."  God will take care of the rest in his perfect plan.  Sometimes that could mean great miracles, but most likely it will follow the great line of St. Mother Teresa: "We can't all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love."