Our Lady’s Maternal Loving Presence and Intercession

The Collect (opening prayer) for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter reveals a short list of God‘s relational titles to the people of faith. For me, these names or titles are very moving because they are very personal but at the same time, very deep and life-giving. He is truly the life of the faithful, the glory of the humble, and the blessedness of the just! If we link and relate these attributes to the very own life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will be able to see how she inspires, assists, and guides us to become humble, loving, and faithful disciples of the One who truly loves us. Her maternal, loving presence in our very own lives and constant intercession do not diminish or dismiss God‘s greatness and importance, but through her silent humility, we are reminded to thirst for Him and trust in His generous promise to fill us with His plentiful loving providence.

Too many times, I hear too many non-Catholics (and even Catholics, at times too) telling me that Mary stands in the way of genuinely devoting ourselves to the Lord. She somehow stands in the middle and acts like an obstacle that impedes us from Him! Her maternal intercession and protection could be misinterpreted in many wrong theological understandings or settings that tend to idolize a saint or individual. Nonetheless, true Marian devotion keeps one focused on Christ Jesus and a healthy relationship with the Blessed Mother. In my very own life as a Catholic and priest, Mary never stood in the way of her Son, but at times, she helped me understand who I am and return to the love of our good Lord. She taught me the valuable and counter-cultural lesson of quiet and humble service that is both genuine and sacrificial, life-giving, and holds nothing back for the love of God. Over and over again, Mary teaches me the lesson of faithful discipleship through her very own “Fiat” in letting God‘s will be done in her own life.

It was through my paternal grandparents, especially my grandmother, that I came to have a personal devotion to Our Lady. She was an example for me, of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Visiting the Blessed Mother was always the first thing she did when we took her to church. She would always ask us to take her to the Marian shrine (since she was blind and could not go by herself) so she could visit the Blessed Virgin. She would always spend a good amount of time there, in silence — on her knees, as she gave thanks and prayed for us. She prayed for her children, grandchildren, and family, that we would care for one another and that we would keep the faith. How do I know it? Since I was the youngest, I was often “picked” by my family to guide and be with her at the Marian shrine. When I was young, I always grinned at the opportunity but slowly began appreciating the visits as they became a habit. Perhaps this was my grandmother’s gentle, habit-forming invitation that led me to a great devotion to the Blessed Mother. I began to appreciate her time in prayer when I realized why and who she was praying for.

My grandmother’s simple faith taught me more about the faithful love of God than any seminary professors or theologians could explain in lectures. She impacted my life and showed me the beauty of faith because she spoke from the heart and dared to live it first. It was more than knowledge or information because it comes from a personal example of a committed heart that is based on the faithful, real, hopeful love for God. My grandmother never forced her faith upon anyone, but she was very sure to let her faith be enlivened in her everyday interactions with others. I remember that even though we were poor, she always tried to cut back on our weekly spending budget in order to hire a poor man who lived near our neighborhood to take us to church with his humble xích lô (Vietnamese-style front-bucket cycle). She tried to share what we had with him so he could take care of his little family, even though we had little. She always helped others as she could. My mother told me that when my father was in political imprisonment, my grandmother hid the little extra that she had and gave it to my mother so she could have some money to buy a bus or train ticket to visit my father or get him something nutritious. My mother was not a Christian at that time, but because of my grandmother’s constant care, she found a personal example of Christian love that enlightened her own conversion journey.

The Sacred Scriptures tell us that the Blessed Mother always walked silently and close to the Lord in His ministry. Furthermore, she spoke very little; every time she spoke, she always led (and continues to lead) people to her Son. Over and over again, her personal testimonies in the Bible and apparition messages were never about her nor her own glory but inviting the children of the Church and humanity to return to true faith and devotion, seek conversion, and love the Lord. Even the Rosary is not about her if we truly listen to the words! It is and has always been Jesus Christ, “the fruit of your womb.” When we pray all of our Marian devotions, whether, through the Holy Rosary, the Seven Sorrows, or a particular novena to one of her titles, we are reminded of her virtues and intercession before the Almighty God.

If Mary had everything easy, she would not be able to experience for herself the personal and efficacious love of God and His grace in her very own life. When we pray and meditate on the lives of our Lord and the Blessed Mother through the recitation of the Holy Rosary, we definitely know that if she had everything handed to her and everything was smooth sailing, she would not have been a caring mother to her Son nor a real example of discipleship. Nevertheless, we can tell from the Sacred Scriptures about her courage, humility, perseverance, and continual trust in God‘s will even though it was extremely hard at times in her very own life. As a young girl, she chose to believe and give her everything to His will at the annunciation, and as an elderly woman, she chose to stand by the Cross of her only Son, to suffer and be with Him in His sufferings. As a young girl, she chose to embrace the possibility of death by stoning when she opened herself up to the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit to bear the Incarnate Word; as an elderly woman, she chose to embrace the tremendous grief and pain to watch her only Son died, a pain that no mother would want or wished upon others. From the beginning of her fiat at the first moment when the archangel Gabriel came to her to the last moment when she stood by the Cross and stayed with Jesus‘ own Apostles after His Ascension, Mary showed to us her personal and faithful commitment to God at all costs.

The saints never lost hope amid trials. The Blessed Mother never walked away. She stood next to her Son by the Cross. The saints chose to embrace the crosses that our Lord gave to them. They stayed. They remained faithful and steadfast in prayer. They responded to evil with wisdom, perseverance, and hope because they trusted in the words, promises, and the person of Christ who loved them! He gave His life for us, and He had won the world. The Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the saints who followed in her footsteps, chose to give her all to Him because her heart knew and loved Him. She took the leap of sure supernatural faith even when natural reason failed to comprehend, convince, or grasp the transcendental possibility. The Blessed Mother‘s faith was opened to true love, which gave life through the incarnation. Her fiat was grounded both in reason and faith by her very own understanding of God.

In a day and age where many people are trying so hard to stand out and get attention to themselves at all costs, the Blessed Virgin Mary‘s humility and silence teach a very valuable lesson that we speak louder than our apparent words and actions. Our whole life speaks of God, of His love, and what He has done for us or of ourselves and our own desires to be glorified! Mother Mary spoke little, but her whole life testified to the glory and love of God, magnified His name, followed His will, and served Him in others. She did not waste time trying to justify herself. She simply allowed her life to speak life and pointed to Him.

Even when everything else seemed to fail, this faith in God grounded her in His eternal, never-changing, everlasting, and faithful love that saved, redeemed, and delivered His people throughout history. She knew and understood the stories of old and the promises He gave to her forefathers in the Sacred Scriptures, which all emphasized that their total faith and fidelity to God helped them to overcome the evil of this world. She was able to stand firm in her trials and sufferings, filled with many unknowns, anguishes, and griefs because she possessed the deeper, personal, intimate, and loving knowledge of God who has always been faithful to her, too. In Mary, we see the intricate existence and interwoven reality of faith and reason, anchored and held strong by the intimately deep knowledge of God and who she is in Him.

In our Blessed Mother, we find that God is indeed the livelihood of the faithful because, without Him, we would only be chasing vanities instead of truly living for the transcendental and eternal. He is the glory of the humble because we are reminded that He knows our heart and judges us rightly, not living for vain glories and praises of others who change their minds like their clothes but to seek true glory in being devoted, committed, faithful, and genuine to the One who knows and loves us. He is the blessedness of the just because we are not afraid of what others think about us but know that we are truly blessed, free, and happy when we desire, uphold, and live in His truth and righteousness by keeping the commandments, faithful to our mission and purpose to preach the Gospel and love our neighbors as He has loved us.

By trusting in God and His graciousness, we become generous and truly free to give ourselves totally and completely to Him without worrying about what is only beneficial for us. Like Mary, we are called to really ask, seek, and understand the real questions pertaining to our theocentric vocation, mission, and purpose as children of the Heavenly Father, disciples of Christ Jesus, and instruments of the Holy Spirit. Once we know Who gives us life, what we are called to do, and where is the source of true joy and happiness, we can personally affirm that God is the life of the faithful, glory of the humble and genuine, blessedness of the just. In Him, through Him, and with Him, we find contentment, richness, and everlasting happiness and joy! Nothing in this world can ever satisfy our thirst, hunger, and desire for the infinite, for our hearts are made for Him. There will always remain a void deep within us until we are filled by His providential, caring, loving, infinite love that generously gives from His very own loving heart to us, just as He did with the Blessed Mother. Therefore, let us find our true fulfillment in His plentiful redemption and abundant love that gives life and transforms us deep from within so, through the Blessed Virgin Mary‘s maternal loving presence and intercession, we can become more like her in being humble, genuine, generous, and Christocentric disciples.