More Mary in Our Life

Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is alive and active. As Jesus made it clear that those who have gone before us are still alive in eternity, so Mary lives today. In our Pauline communities we honor Mary as "Queen of Apostles." The pictures or statutes depict Mary holding the little boy Jesus out, extending her arms so we can reach out to him. An apostle's mission is the same as Mary's: to give Jesus to the world. When I first visited a Daughters of St. Paul convent, I was attracted by the statue of Mary as Queen of Apostles. The Sister who explained why Mary is holding Jesus out to us rather than hugging him tight emphasized "That's what an apostle does...give Jesus." What we write, film, broadcast and speak about are to be channels where people can find out about Jesus, Mary's Son, and Son of God. St. Peter Julian Eymard was ready to give up his dream to become a priest when he found out that a letter supposed to be a recommendation for his entrance to a seminary was, instead, a vote against him. In the city where he was to present himself to the seminary authorities for admission he found a church where he resorted to prayer. He laid his problems at the feet of Our Lady, asking her to help him in his hopeless looking situation. As he came out of the church, he met Bishop de Mezenod, founder of the Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate. "How are you doing?" the cordial Bishop asked. Bishop de Mezenod remembered Peter Julian from his days as a young teenager whose poor ill forced Eymard to leave the Oblate seminary. The young man poured out his heart and his good intentions to the Bishop. "Don't you worry about anything," the Bishop reassured him. "I'll take care of this for you." Mary had intervened once again in the life of Eymard. Have you turned to Mary in a time of difficulty? I am moved when I see film clips or photos of Iraqi and Syrian Christians, especially women rosaries in hand , praying for Mary's intercession. Both my grandmother and my mother prayed the rosary very often. I can still see their large blue crystal beads glinting in the sunlight. Our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, had a mother who took her little son to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Flowers in Northern Italy. There she dedicated the boy with very fragile health to the protection of Our Lady. Alberione confided that he never did anything, written or verbal, that was not preceeded with rosaries or at least Hail Mary's. Sister Marianne Lorraine Truve' put together a lovely book called "Mary Help in Hard Times." You can find that at www.pauline.org.\It's been 100 years since Father Alberione started the Daughters of St. Paul. Here's a link to an on-line magazine about us. God bless you! 100 Years of Hope: Stories Celebrating the Centenary of the Daughters of St. Paul