Mary's Month

Thanks, Tom, for flagging that really thoughtful piece by Richard Mouw on praying to the saints.  

I just got back from a May crowning which happened to conclude the noon mass at the parish next door, and the Mouw piece got me thinking, why is it that I love the litanies of Mary and the saints?  Perhaps part of the reason is their tremendous breadth, which speak to the variety of circumstances that I encounter in my own life and work – the same person is both “tower of ivory” and “refuge of sinners…” both “most powerful” and “most merciful,” both “house of gold” and “help of Christians…” and of course, “mirror of justice.”  Yes, it’s as Mouw put it, “a conversation with another Christian”, but also contemplation of an amazing example of what it means to live out the message of Jesus.  Reciting the litany of the saints you can’t help but be taken into the sweep of the whole of church history, and God’s concrete intervention through an incredible variety of gifts of the spirit….

I know we don’t post too much poetry here, but this is something that I wrote a few weeks ago that might capture something of this dynamic.

WAKING UP

Waking up cold

In the middle of the night

The blanket’s right there

It’s enough to pull it up

Or let myself be covered

By a gentle neighbor's touch

Mary in my life.

Waking up to the cold in the middle

Of the other’s night

The blanket’s right there

It’s enough to stretch

To extend its warm cover

Mary in our life.

Awake, to the cold

In the middle of the night

Huddled together to be warmth

The blanket’s right there

Mary for the world.

Amy