I really don’t remember why I chose Mary, the Mother of God, to be my confirmation saint. My 14-year-old mind did not completely understand why this was necessary or if it would have any impact on my life. Yet, I always had a personal draw to learn about our Mother.
I remember going to a friend’s first communion party and eating a cupcake decorated with a plastic figurine of Mary.
I loved that trinket so much that I took the plastic Mary home and gently tucked her in the frame of a picture hung over my bed. Her presence provided me a sense of security. If I had a bad dream or if there was a bad storm, I would say a Hail Mary and feel better.
As I grew older, I learned more about Our Mother both during catechism classes and personal reading.
She had many names: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Fatima. She had many titles: Mediatrix, Theotokos, Queen of Heaven. She had many roles: Advocate, Disciple, Mother. More importantly, I learned she never really left us!
Assumed into heaven, body and soul, means to me that she is still my mother.
More recently, I learned that her most important role is this: to lead us to her Son. By her demonstrated obedience to God’s will, she shows us how to love her son completely. Everything she does is to honor him. My personal draw at an early age to Mary was actually my path to Jesus. Thanks, Mom!
Luke 1:46-47
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
