Call Mom

As I reflect more and more upon it, God’s revelation in my “young” life as a renewed Christian has followed an observable pattern thus far. It began with a homecoming, the acceptance of a wayward child by an immeasurable, overwhelming forgiveness of a loving Father. Then came a period of straying, of being found and taken home again, of intense pruning, of getting to know the One True Love, of submitting, of following Him. And all that entire time, Jesus Christ was all I knew – establishing a relationship with Him was the one consuming passion. Maintaining and deepening that Friendship is still my “one desire.” But, as a few people already know, lately, the Friend who holds my heart in His hands has recently allowed – or should I say implored? – me to love some others, for loving them is a necessary part of loving Him.

He asked me to love His Church. And He asked me to love His Mother.

Sometime in 1990, one of my closest friends tried to get me to accept Jesus into my life as a Born Again Christian. I felt so drawn to what he had experienced, but in that moment, I told him that I could not leave the Church until I knew what it was all about. And I told him I could not give up Mother Mary. It made no sense for me to say what I did at the time, since I was a non-practicing Catholic who grew up in U.P. without any religious formation. But it makes all the sense in the world to me right now. The mere fact that I remember the incident vividly despite my notoriously Alzheimer-ic memory is proof enough of how it would impact my life many years later.

I have no profound, intellectual arguments to sustain this newfound affection, although there are such brilliantly powerful ones that eventually caused the likes of ex-Protestant pastors Scott Hahn and Marcus Grodi to deeply love the Woman they had previously reviled. When I was still new in my relationship with Jesus, it made little sense to let anyone else “in on the action,” since Jesus was sufficient, more than enough. And truly He is, but I recall the first time I truly understood how Our Mother perfectly fit into the scheme of His love.

A couple of years ago, my family went through a very anxious period when my grandfather, the 94-year old pillar and patriarch of our family, underwent delicate surgery to relieve a blood clot in his brain. Prior to that, he had a pace-maker installed, and suffered from various other problems, that he was constantly the source of worry when it came to physical ailments. I praise God that he’s been healthy thus far in body, mind, and soul since surviving the operation that even he didn’t think he’d get through. After that mega-traumatic time in our lives, I was not prepared for the sudden news that my hale and happy grandmother, who is the heart and hearth of our family, was found to be suffering from cancer.

It was like being kicked in the stomach after you’d just begun to get up. If you know the feeling, it was like I had no more strength to pray. In the middle of this tribulation, I prayed to Our Lady for the first time after my renewal – I asked her to pray on my behalf, since I had no more prayers to say. And the Queen of Heaven did. She took up my burden, the burden which I could not even lift up to Her Son, and prayed FOR me. I cannot describe how I felt her move in that moment, but I was at peace, knowing that my petition was in good hands. And Praise Her Holy Son, today my Lola is sound and healthy as well.

She prays with us, she prays for us. Even when we sometimes forget that she’s there. Just the other day, during my prayer time, I turned my attention to her, while asking the Lord to help me love her more. And she spoke in my heart a bittersweet understanding: she reminded me of my own mother, and how, despite the busy-ness of the day or the week and the fact that I usually am too preoccupied with other things to call or see or talk to her, I know that my Mom is always, always praying for me. And Our Heavenly Mother said that that’s the way it is with her too…she’s always praying for each of us even when we never take the time to even say “hi, Mom.” It’s always a good time to give Mom a call – Mom on earth, and Mother Mary in heaven.

By the way, when I was explaining to my Christian friend how I was not yet ready to give up the Church, I compared leaving Catholicism to changing one’s name – you were born with it, you lived and suffered all this years with it, so you might as well find out all about your name and why you have it before making the decision to change it. My real name is Maria Lourdes – after the French town where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous, and after – guess who – Lourdes, my grandmother. :-)

Praise God for giving us His Holy Mother to love and be loved.

14 April 2004

(N.B. My grandfather has since joined our Heavenly Father - on 2 December 2004 - but my Lola is still with us on this pilgrimage on earth.)