Today is mother’s day. It has been eleven years since my mother passed away. On this day, I usually pray ardently with her and Mary on my mind. Why this focus on Mary? Because Mary is the image and model of humanity redeemed and transformed by Christ. In her humbleness and sinlessness, Mother Mary shows the destiny that is open to us — and that is up to us to pursue. My mother shared her name with her, Maria. When I entreat Mary to pray for her soul,[1] I imagine their mirrored communication and communion. Mary is my spiritual mother. She is my earthly mother. And vice versa.
I say a personal prayer from my heart, which still remembers (and relies on) my mother’s love. As I said it today, I recalled a passage from one of Catherine of Siena’s passionate and beautiful prayers:
And you gave us our will
so that we might be able to love
what our understanding has seen
and what our memory has held.[2]
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[1] “Holy Mary, Mother of God, / pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death” (“Hail Mary”).
[2] Catherine of Siena, OP, “Prayer 20”, 14 Apr. 1379, in The Prayers of Catherine of Siena, 2nd edn., ed. and trans. Suzanne Noffke, OP (San Jose, CA: Authors Choice Press, 2001), 227.
