A pilgrim statue of the Queen of the Rosary is welcomed into a different home of our Catholic community every Sunday.
This week, it is in our house, and seeing the peaceful statue in our dining room has an immediate effect on my thoughts and heart.
As I look at Mary’s serene face, it makes me wonder how she would handle our boys if she came to our house. I really, really wish I could watch her guide the boys to goodness with her love and patience. If ever there was a perfect mom, it was (and is) Mary.
How would she handle the sibling quarrels that seem to get out of control so quickly? How would she correct a child who just hit his brother for no reason? What would she say to the boy who stomps his foot every Sunday morning, frowns, and says he doesn’t like Mass, and that he doesn’t want to go?
Sometimes being a mom is just so hard. And so frustrating. I make mistakes every day and sometimes I wonder how everything will work out in the end.
Again, I look at Mary’s sweet smile, and then I remember that she loves me. And my wild and crazy boys. I know that I can trust her to watch my boys when I won’t be able to. She’ll fill in the gaps where I fail as a mother, because she is always available, always willing to help them. And since she is my mother, too, as soon as I ask for her help, she will be right there, with me.
From up in Heaven, she has seen millions of children be selfish, disobedient, and downright rebellious at times. She’s also seen mothers lose their tempers because motherhood gets the best of them sometimes. But she also sees the heart, and sees that we want to be good. Mary Reed Newland says in We and Our Children:
She knows how you are in your secret inside, where you always want to be good, and she never wearies of waiting for it to show on your outside, where all you seem to do is be bad. She is the most beautiful, the most kind, the most loving. She is the most generous, and forever forgiving. It’s the truth: she’s a heavenly mother.
And so, this week, I beg of you, Mary, to show me how to love these boys as you love them. When a situation arises, remind me to ask you for help. You can read the hearts of my boys…show me how to touch their hearts so that they love you and your Son Jesus.
Help me, Mother Mary, to be the mother God wants me to be.
All the mothers and fathers of the world are remembered in my prayers this week. God bless you!
