Perfect and Immaculate ? Impossible to Imitate
The fact that Mary has a completely pure Immaculate Heart doesn’t mean that her children are unable to learn from her example or to follow in her footsteps of virtue.
The image below is one of my favorite depictions of Our Lady.
Often referred to as the “Polish Madonna,” this picture shows Mary hanging up the laundry (even the Holy Family had to wash clothes!) while watching over the sweet Christ Child, who plays on the ground beside her.
It’s easy to imagine Our Lady praying peacefully and silently in Nazareth. But we have to remember that even though He was God, Jesus was also fully man, and before that, He was truly a child.
Mary had to rock Him to sleep. She had to teach Him how to walk and how to help with chores around the house. She had to pick Him up when He fell or was frightened. She had to bring Him to the synagogue and teach Him the Psalms.
Mary ran a household.
Lived in a foreign country with no family or friends.
Watched her beloved husband, companion, and provider die.
Stood by as her only Child left home to begin His ministerial journey
Embraced all of mankind at the request of her Son.
And although she experienced the Resurrection, she first had to watch her Son be stripped, beaten, and brutally killed.
Mary is a woman who embraced every part of her vocation to the fullest, including being a soul consecrated to God, a woman of prayer and service, a spouse, a housewife, and a mother.
Mary’s Immaculate Heart did not exempt her from following God’s will, even in the simplest and most domestic of tasks. In all these circumstances, and more, Our Lady is an accessible model and mentor for us.
In fact, she put her heart totally into whatever task God placed before her, and she invites us to do the same.
No matter what our current relationship is with Our Lady, let us begin anew today by dispelling any walls that we’ve built between ourselves and Her Immaculate Heart. Even now she is calling us—calling us to come to her, and from her, to learn how to live a life that consoles Our Lord and His Sacred Heart.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cause of Our Joy, pray for us!
Source: catholiccompany.com
