If you're hanging on pins and needles to read about the second part of my pilgrimage, you're just going to have to wait...cause Mary was at work today.
When I'm with people who have a relationship with Mary or an experience of Her, I'll say "Mary showed up". And there's a nod of agreement or an "exactly!" proclamation. If you haven't had the experience of Mary showing up, I hope you do sooner rather than later. It is extraordinary!
Today was one of those days.
Mondays are the one day I'm in the office alone. I think it is brilliant. It means I can do all my administrative tasks with minimal interruption, and when you work in the Bishop's Office, that's a really good thing! But I digress...
So I'm in the office today and it's getting later in the afternoon, and I'm knee deep in an email wormhole, and the doorbell rings. To be honest, I dread the doorbell ringing. Didn't they get the memo that this is my administrative task with minimal interruption day?! So I get down the hall, and there's a woman at the door.
I open the door and ask how I can be of help. She explained that she was a former member of the congregation, that after the schism she started attending the Roman church in town, but that she missed the chapel and hoped she could come in and pray. So we walked over together so I could unlock the door and turn on the lights for her.
Believe it or not, this kind of request happens pretty frequently, and I always try to be helpful. People should not have had to make those hard decisions during the schism. And things change...people's hearts change.
As I'm opening up the chapel for her, I notice she's wearing a Mary medallion. I comment on it and show her mine. During my recent vacation, I had acquired a Miraculous Medal, and was eager to show it to someone who would appreciate it.
Well, that's when Mary showed up!
Suddenly this woman tells me her name...Mary!
Then she pulls out her phone and shows me these beautiful Marian icons she's written!
I tell her about my dissertation and how I want to keep the conversation going!
And suddenly...we are friends! We are sisters in our devotion to Mary!
She starts telling me of her experiences of Mary, and I share some of mine, and it's as if we'd known each other for years. There were no obstacles to our conversation. It was full of joy and love and compassion.
Well, I didn't want to take away time for her prayer, so I gave her my email and asked that she be in touch, and I left her to pray.
This evening I got an email from my new friend, Mary. We're going to have tea soon and continue our conversation. In her email, she told me that coming by the church was not her normal route home, but that she felt the need to come across town...
This is how Mary works.
When I'm with people who have a relationship with Mary or an experience of Her, I'll say "Mary showed up". And there's a nod of agreement or an "exactly!" proclamation. If you haven't had the experience of Mary showing up, I hope you do sooner rather than later. It is extraordinary!
Today was one of those days.
Mondays are the one day I'm in the office alone. I think it is brilliant. It means I can do all my administrative tasks with minimal interruption, and when you work in the Bishop's Office, that's a really good thing! But I digress...
So I'm in the office today and it's getting later in the afternoon, and I'm knee deep in an email wormhole, and the doorbell rings. To be honest, I dread the doorbell ringing. Didn't they get the memo that this is my administrative task with minimal interruption day?! So I get down the hall, and there's a woman at the door.
I open the door and ask how I can be of help. She explained that she was a former member of the congregation, that after the schism she started attending the Roman church in town, but that she missed the chapel and hoped she could come in and pray. So we walked over together so I could unlock the door and turn on the lights for her.
Believe it or not, this kind of request happens pretty frequently, and I always try to be helpful. People should not have had to make those hard decisions during the schism. And things change...people's hearts change.
As I'm opening up the chapel for her, I notice she's wearing a Mary medallion. I comment on it and show her mine. During my recent vacation, I had acquired a Miraculous Medal, and was eager to show it to someone who would appreciate it.
Well, that's when Mary showed up!
Suddenly this woman tells me her name...Mary!
Then she pulls out her phone and shows me these beautiful Marian icons she's written!
I tell her about my dissertation and how I want to keep the conversation going!
And suddenly...we are friends! We are sisters in our devotion to Mary!
She starts telling me of her experiences of Mary, and I share some of mine, and it's as if we'd known each other for years. There were no obstacles to our conversation. It was full of joy and love and compassion.
Well, I didn't want to take away time for her prayer, so I gave her my email and asked that she be in touch, and I left her to pray.
This evening I got an email from my new friend, Mary. We're going to have tea soon and continue our conversation. In her email, she told me that coming by the church was not her normal route home, but that she felt the need to come across town...
This is how Mary works.