Our Lady of Grace

I have come to love the Blessed Virgin Mary so much since my conversion to the Catholic church. I really started to learn of her in RCIA. Being brought up protestant my whole life I just never really thought about her other than Christmas.  And I knew she was the Mother of Jesus that was about it. While in RCIA a friend came up to me and asked me what my favorite color was and I said blue. He did not tell me why he had asked me. The next week he gave me this blue rosary with pearls on it. It also had Our Lady of Grace on it. It was a beautiful rosary. This would be the second rosary I had received. The very first rosary I had received was a St. Therese Rosary. I told my friend thank you for giving that to me. Receiving that rosary was just something unexpected for me. He just gave it to me out of the kindness of his heart. 

I did not know at the time who Our Lady of Grace was. I was still learning. But looking back it was Mary letting me know she was with me. 

I have grown to love Mary especially though the rosary. As a protestant it took me some time to get use to praying the rosary. When I pray it now I sense her closeness to me. 

I read the most beautiful thing today about Mary. They described Mary like a mother who slips into her child’s room while she’s sleeping and checks to see if the girl's forehead is cool, if she needs the covers to be pulled up, if she is sleeping or staying up too late. Those words just spoke volumes to me. I don't have the closest relationship with my mother and it helps to know that Mary is here with me checking on me and taking care of me. Even when I might be unaware of her presence.

I can look back now and see how she has been with me.  There have been moments since becoming Catholic where she has defiantly let me know she is with me. She was with me even before I was Catholic and that amazes me. 

I am not afraid to love her, to be close to her and to know her more. She's my mother. 

 "Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin Mary too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did." St. Maximilian Kolbe

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

This lent I have decided to read about the seven sorrows of Mary. I feel this is what God is leading me to focus on this lent season. It has been a difficult season for me so maybe this will help me to focus on the suffering Mary went through. I also have a CD called Praying the seven sorrows with the blessed Virgin Mary that I will also be praying. I picked this up at the Catholic Women's conference in San Antonio last fall.  Amazing conference with over 2,000 Catholic women there. Can't wait for this years conference. Praying I learn more about Mary's suffering during lent and to learn to rejoice in my own sufferings.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

You of little faith

Yesterday my friend sent me a devotional on the same scripture I wrote about in my last post Matthew 8:26 "He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm."

This is what the devotional said "There may be times in your life when you feel swamped by all the troubles and disharmony in your life. We must remember that Jesus is there to calm our own stormy seas.
Prayer after the meditation: Yes, Jesus, there is a lot of anxiety, strife and anger at times in my life. Increase my faith and allow healing to make me whole in mind, body and spirit.
I guess God was listening to me. And I need to ask Him to increase my faith and to allow healing to come. This devotional was just what I needed to hear. Thanking God for this and my friend who sent it to me. 
I love it when God confirms something for me. 

Oceans

Lately I have been feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. It seems sometimes in life every which way you turn the ocean waves are just knocking you down. I live near the beach and I have been in the ocean when the waves are coming at you so fast and they are so strong that by the time you stand up you are knocked down again. And you get so worn out that finally you just give up and say I'm done! That is how it has been for me for a while now. It seems by the time I catch by breath there is another wave thrown at me. I feel like Peter when he walked on the water then he started to look at the storm around him and he began to sink. 
Matthew 14:28-33 "Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ 29 He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God."
In this season in my life it has been me asking God where are you? Where are you in this? Can't you see the waves all around me? So this morning on the way to mass I heard this song Oceans by Hillsong. And it stuck a cord within me. Sometimes the only way for me to put my eyes back on Jesus is listening to worship music. And Hillsong is one of my favorites.