MARIOLOGY

Mary Our Guide

by Christine J. Murray

God, in His Divine Providence, has provided us with human, albeit imperfect, analogies to better help us to understand the various truths of the Faith.

Mary's role in our spiritual life can be illustrated by the true story of one young girl's relationship with her beloved horse. Veronica had wanted a horse for years. At age twelve, she finally got her wish when her uncle pulled into the yard with a horse trailer. She loved the horse on sight. Veronica named him Copper and thanked her uncle profusely.

A little while later, she and her parents discovered that Copper had a cataract that clouded one of his eyes. Veronica did not care; she loved Copper anyway. As Veronica grew into a teenager, the horse's vision became worse until he was completely blind. By then, he had learned to trust her completely. Copper could hear well enough to know when hay, grain, and water were around the corner. He could head for the area of the sound. He would also follow the cows up to the barn for a drink when they walked from the pasture to the barn to be milked. Sometimes, however, he would bump into things. He would have to stop, step around slowly around the obstacle, and continue in the direction of the sound.

But Copper got around easier with Veronica on his back. Riders will give their horses signals about when to turn, or jump. She adapted and gave him more precise signals. Bumping into the cement walls of his barn was no big deal to Copper. Running into one would have been another matter. Veronica had to be vigiliant to ensure that the horse would not get hurt while under her care.

Veronica joined a 4-H club and entered herself and Copper into riding events. As a team, they could get through any obstacle course, including jumping, like any other team where both partners are sighted. They also fared well in some horse pulls. As they spent more time as a team, they developed more demanding routines. Some people, even judges, did not appreciate Veronica and Copper's efforts, though. These men refused to place a horse with no sight.

We are often blind in our spiritual life. We stumble around in a direction that may sound good, but in fact presents danger if we pursue it more vigorously. Sometimes we find an obstacle and take great pains to go around them. At other times, we give up in frustration.

Mary, our Mother of Good Counsel, is always with us. She leads the way in deepening our spiritual life so we can run faster to our Father instead of crawling. As long as we listen to her, we need not be worried about the obstacles. We have our Mother to guide us. And she always guides us to her Son, Jesus. She directed people while Jesus was visible on earth. In fact, Mary's last recorded words in the Gospels are spoken during the marriage feast of Cana. She instructs the wine stewards, "Do whatever He tells you" (Luke 3:16). As Mary's spiritual children, we need to follow her counsel and obey her Son.

Many great saints have felt the necessity for the Blessed Mother's direction. St. Louis De Montfort explains in True Devotion to Mary: "If devotion to the most holy Virgin is necessary to all men simply for working out their salvation, it is still more so for those who are called to any spiritual perfection; and I do not think anyone can acquire an intimate union with Our Lord and a perfect fidelity to the Holy Ghost without a very great union with the most holy Virgin, and a great dependence on her assistance" (43).

The reason we can trust Mary to guide us is because of her perfect faith in God. Through her "yes" at the Annunciation, she enables God to work out His plan of salvation for us. She had the faith of Abraham, as shown in the willingness of both to sacrifice their only sons. While all of the Apostles but John fled, Mary was at the foot of the Cross to watch her Son's self-emptying of Himself to take on the punishment of our sins. She never left her Son; she will never leave us.

Without her consent, there would have been no redemption of the human race. Without our consent to God's will, we will not meet our final destiny of heaven. In order to give our consent, we need to trust God completely. Because of our fallen human nature, we can only trust completely when we have a guide. Mary Immaculate will lead us to Jesus, the Father, and her spouse, the Holy Spirit.

Like Copper's kind and mild rider, the Blessed Mother will never coerce us to the Father. She will lead us there gently. In our own spiritual blindness, we either trust or end up nowhere.

Christine J. Murray writes from Mount Pleasant, Michigan.