The month of May is dedicated to Mary, the Virgin Mother of God. In her new book, Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert, author Heidi Hess Saxton talks about the difficulties she had as a new Catholic praying to Mary. She discusses her conversion and also provides reflections for readers based upon Scripture.
To read more, I’ll bow out and share the words of the author herself:
“She was the perfect woman, with one perfect Son. And though she lived two thousand years ago … millions still call her ‘Mother.’ This Mother’s Day … wouldn’t you like to know her, too?”
The Blessed Virgin Mary has captured the artistic imaginations of every time and place. She has been preserved in mystical icons and marble statuary, and showcased as the raven-haired maiden in Mel Gibson’s epic film, The Passion of the Christ.
Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert draws from appellations given to Jesus’ mother throughout history: Textbooks, the New Eve, Queen of Heaven, Immaculate Conception, and Our Lady of the Americas.
The words of her Son from the cross (“Behold your mother … behold your son.”), recorded in John 19, caused the early church fathers to give her the most important name of all: Mother of the Church. By entrusting her into the care of his most trusted disciple, Christ made Mary not only John’s mother, but mother of all who would become His Father’s children by adoption.
Mary’s assent to God’s plan—from Incarnation to Resurrection to Pentecost—put in motion a series of events that changed the course of history. Since that time, many Christians have revered her memory and sought her intercession … and yet others seldom give her a second thought.
For the first thirty years of my life, I fit solidly in that second category. Even after I became Catholic, I resisted claiming Mary as my mother. Why should I go to her, when I could go directly to God?
It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I began to understand why the God who moved heaven and earth to adopt us wanted to share the Lord’s mother with us as well. Why He made her my spiritual mother by adoption … even if I was not the least bit grateful for the gift.”
Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert is a meaningful alternative to a Mother’s Day card.
