“Mary, Mother of Jesus – Mother Me!

“Mary, Mother of Jesus – Be a Mother to Each of Us!” Beautiful words aren’t they?  Very simply put – “Mother Me!” Oh Sweet Mother of God! Truly a prayer from the heart!  They are words that St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta would teach us in her beautiful and simple way.

The Prayer of St. Mother Teresa

Here is the prayer in its entirety and I can think of no better time than for us all to implore Our Blessed Mother and ask the “Mother” to help us, to pray, guide and protect us!

“Let us ask Our Lady, in a very special way:

Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a Mother to each of us,

that we, like you, may be pure in heart,

that we,

like you, love Jesus;

that we, like you, serve the poorest for we are all poor.

My Own Prayer

It was last Tuesday to be exact that I prayed these very words to Our Blessed Mother.  I felt frustrated and out of sorts and knew I had to get to Holy Mass quickly.  I felt I had been prideful and judged a person unfairly with words that weren’t thought out before they quickly left my lips.  As a precious person tells me in my life, “don’t think with your lips!”  Yet I hadn’t set a guard at my “mouth” – my “big mouth” I want to say….and I found myself running to Mass.

After Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation was offered and I took full advantage of the “absolution” that hopefully would be offered to my soul.  I found myself running into the “Confessional.”

A Visitation

The confessional that I entered into, I had been in before.  I must disclose to you that it rather feels like one is visiting an inmate in prison.  It must have been updated during “covid days” because there was a large glass window that separated one from the priest on the other side..

One side of the glass was frosted for those who wanted “not” to be seen by the priest and the other side was clear glass. There was a chair that one could be seated on and also a chair on the other side as well.  As I wrote above…I felt I was in prison visiting an inmate!

Since the evening before when “guilt” entered into my soul after an examination of conscience, I was imploring Our Blessed Mother “to please Mother me!”  

Hadn’t I heard those very words before in a similar way.  Upon the eve of my own mother dying of breast cancer – I was but a young child of ten years old and heard Our Lady tell me that “She would be my Mother.”  Since that evening, She has never failed to make that quite clear to my soul.  So I was hoping beyond hope – She was going to “mother me” even here in the Confessional.

Here I was feeling remorseful and spilling my terrible conversation out to the priest seated before me.  He had a gentle smile on his face and looked down giving me a sense of peace and forgiveness.  He also had words of wisdom to convey to me  that sometimes God does use us as a “voice of constructive criticism” to another soul that might be blinded to what truth might be in their lives.  I wasn’t sure if that had been the case or not!

But I was grateful for what was transpiring and all angst left my soul.

Mother Me

Towards the end of the Confession and during the Blessing and Absolution – I spotted something behind the Priest.  I saw something “gold” and it seemed to look like a Crown but Fr. Timothy was seated right in front of it.  

I didn’t want to make it obvious of what I was looking at, so I tried to stay focused on the Priest seated in front of me behind the glass window.

But upon standing up – I was “blown away!”  There “She” was!  The Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima looking me right square in the eye.  The statue for whatever reason was placed behind the Priest seated in the Confessional and gazing upon the person seated before him.  She was looking at me.  And what was She doing?

She was “mothering me” in the Confessional with Her Priest Son. I was totally in “Awe!”  Totally in “JOY!” Totally in “Love.”

The Call to Our Mother

As I write this blog, I write it on the eve of the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  

I actually am a “Third Order Carmelite” that was professed on July 16, 2000 – 24 years ago.  I could write volumes on the last 24 years experiences and the beauty of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

This evening, though, I would like to tie the story that I shared above with reaching out to the Mother of God to “Mother me” and changing the “me” to “us” – who live in the U.S.A.

I wish to introduce you to an Archbishop that you may never have heard about before.  He made a specific “Call” to Our Blessed Mother on May 28, 1792 on behalf of the United States of America.

This is where “past” meets “present!”

This is where we ask the Mother of God to “Mother Us” at this moment.  To quote St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once again – here are her words of advice to our souls!

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

Let us begin with our new friend. . .Archbishop John Carroll!

Archbishop John Carroll

First Roman Catholic Bishop and Archbishop in the United States (1735-1815)

When the Catholic Church erected its first diocese in Baltimore in the United States in 1791 Bishop John Carroll was named our first Bishop.  On May 28, 1792 he addressed his diocese which encompassed all that was then the United States of America with these words:

“I shall only add this my earnest request, that to the exercise of the sublimest virtues, faith, hope and charity, you will join a fervent and well-regulated devotion to the Holy Mother of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; that you will place great confidence in her in all your necessities. Having chosen her the special patroness of this Diocese, you are placed, of course, under her powerful protection; and it becomes your duty to be careful to deserve its continuance by a zealous imitation of her virtues and a reliance on her motherly superintendence.”

Mother Us

Our Lady as Patroness of the United States under her title of the Immaculate Conception, has had a special presence in the Americas
for over five hundred years. … Father John Carroll was named its first bishop and was consecrated on August 15, 1791, the Solemnity of the Assumption of our Lady.

Below is the prayer of consecration that was prayed by our first bishop: Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore. 

Most Holy Trinity:

Our Father in heaven who chose Mary as the fairest of Your daughters;

Holy Spirit who chose Mary as Your spouse;

God the Son who chose Mary
as Your Mother,

in union with Mary,

we adore Your majesty

and acknowledge Your supreme eternal dominion and authority.

Most Holy Trinity

we place

the United States of America

into the hands of Mary Immaculate

in order that she may present the country to you.

Through her, we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land

and for the

freedom which has been its heritage.

Through the intercession of Mary,

have mercy on the Catholic Church of America.

Grant us peace.

Have mercy on our President and on all the officers of our government.

Grant us a fruitful economy born of justice and labor.

Protect the family life of the nation.

Guard the precious gift of many religious vocations.

Through the intercession of Mary our mother,

have mercy on the sick, the tempted,

sinners,

on all who are in need.

Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our Mother.

Patroness of our land,

we praise and honor you

and give ourselves to you.

Protect us from every harm.

Pray for us that acting always according to your will

and the will of your Divine Son

we may live and die pleasing to God.

Amen.

 

 

 

“Men do not fear a powerful hostile army as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary.”

St. Bonaventure

 

 

©2024 Anita Guariglia

Featured image and all other picture credits/Instagram and Pinterest

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel – Anita Guariglia

Prayer of Archbishop John Carroll – Our Lady of America.org

Mother Teresa quotes – www.biography.com