He approached the table where I was seated and took the seat next to mine posing a question about how I knew that Mary really interceded in my life, and could the blessings I encountered really be possible? Perhaps, I could give him some “concrete examples?”

I had just finished giving a little personal testimony about the generous graces that I had experienced in my life, and most recently after completing the “33 Days to Morning Glory, Marian Consecration.  He opened by saying he was a cradle Catholic for nearly sixty six years, and had never experienced anything remotely similar to what I had detailed. He seemed desperate to want to believe me but guarded because his own personal experience did not include circumstances such as mine.

I was not talking about the deaf hearing, the lame walking, or the dead rising, rather little answers to long prayed for petitions. I tried to help by giving other examples, but he persisted further in his quest for definitive proof. Perhaps it was just “wishful thinking on your part”, or maybe you “manifested the feelings that created preferable conditions.”  I gently questioned if he had ever felt a zing in his heart, (for lack of a better word), in response to something proclaimed in Scripture, or in a homily, regarding something that weighed heavily on his heart? Was there a song that ever spoke to a place deep inside where he sought answers? “No, not that I am aware of.”

I pressed further, “You know that response to a prayer, that yearning in your heart that is suddenly satiated, something you recognize as an answer in the depth of your very being. A fit so perfect that only God could have reached that place?”

No, it seems he had not.

He was leery, but craving so badly to understand. How do you convince a blind man that color exists even though he has never seen it? I knew with assurance beyond words or explanations, and yet I could not convey to him the reality of my knowing.

Have you ever had an experience of God or an answer to a prayer in something so every day and ordinary? An unexpected solution so clear that it made you well up with tears instantaneously in response. You just knew when you heard it? That zing that hit its mark inexplicably, but with deadly accuracy?

That is God’s answer to what our hearts are longing for. It is a little taste of heaven, a minute experience of the infinite, a reminder that He is listening and that our prayers do not fall on deaf ears.

I have always felt I had a good relationship with Mother Mary. Through the preparation and consecration, I have learned to let go, giving it all to Mary, so that she may apply any merits I have gained  to the intentions of the Most Sacred Heart of her Son. It is an exercise in trust and surrender. Mary is one of the best teachers and an example par excellence. Her fiat rang throughout history for the benefit of all humanity. Mary always points to her Son. Her last recorded words in Scripture were, “Do whatever He tells you.” (Jn 2:5) You need not worry about God being offended by loving the Mother of His Son. It was He who chose her. She who bore, nursed, and raised Him to be the God-man we read about in Scripture and love so tenderly. He must have learned so much through her gentle humility, great love, and complete trust in the Heavenly Father. She unwaveringly stood at the foot of the Cross as He poured His love out on Calvary for us. She is no threat to God’s Divinity, but only His perfect daughter.

Mary, our Blessed Mother wants only to lead us closer to her Son. As a Mother she wants what is best for us and knows exactly who can help. I invite you to include your Heavenly Mother Mary in your prayer life. Mothers know how to get things done and she is closest to her Son in Heaven. I once heard the Rosary described as, Mary sharing with humanity the family album, telling us about the story of our salvation through the life of her Son.  

On this Journey Toward Holiness, that we will embark on starting Monday, pray “one decade of the Rosary, daily.” Meditate on Christ’s life and His infinite love through the eyes of His Mother.

Prepare to be amazed at what she can do with our hearts and lives when we give her the honor that is due her. Remember too, mothers are ferocious forces to be reckoned with when someone wants to mess with her babies. Devil beware!