The Rest of Rest

 "Our hearts are restless until they rest in God." 

-St. Augustine

Today we conclude the octave of Christmas and celebrate the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. A dogma that reinforces the belief that maintains the fullness of Jesus's divinity and humanity, Mary the Mother of God brought the Son of God into the world. 

She can also, if we go to her as children approaching their mother, bring Him to us.

I experienced the Blessed Virgin Mary's motherly care in a profound way in the late fall and early winter of 2015. During a period of stress and strain, Mother Mary helped me to remain faithful to the call her Son issued to me to be all in for Him. 

In an attempt to make my school more unabashedly Catholic, the Holy Spirit inspired me to help Incarnation Catholic School understand and have a greater devotion to Mary. So, throughout the month of October we focused on learning about the Rosary so that we could pray the full Rosary as a full school on Halloween.

Despite my teachers' new reason to believe in my insanity, we journeyed together as a school to discover insights about the Hail Mary, repetition in prayer, and the mysteries of our Catholic faith emphasized through the Rosary. In order to lead this effort, I engaged in much behind-the-scenes work to remain a lesson ahead in our collective formation. 

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Annunciation 

Striving for authenticity, I dabbled in praying the Rosary. 

In preparation for our school's auction that November, I prayed a novena of Rosaries.

In two months, I had prayed the Rosary more often than I had throughout my entire Catholic life. 

Then, in Advent of that year, I accepted Fr. Mike Schmitz's Advent Rosary Challenge. For the first nine days of Advent that year, I either prayed the Rosary or went to Mass. On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, however, I did both. 

December 8, 2015 marked the third anniversary of my father's passing into eternal life. It also marked the day that my mother gifted me my dad's Rosary. Furthermore, it marked the day that praying the Rosary became a daily prayer habit. 

My mom had no idea about my Marian studies that fall. I hadn't told her anything about the Advent Rosary Challenge. But, with a mother's intuition, she gave me my dad's Rosary after we went to mass together to celebrate the Immaculate Conception. She said, "I just thought that this would be meaningful to you." 

I reflect on this season of my life often, especially how my earthly and heavenly mothers and fathers conspired to bring me closer to Jesus. Perhaps, if you're reading this, I'm co-conspiring to encourage you to grow closer to Jesus through a relationship with His mother. 

As we begin this new year, consider turning to Mary, Mother of God, to bring her Son to you. 

Go to Mary, Mother of you, and she will take care of the rest.

 

*For one of the many resources that helped me in my understanding of the Hail Mary and the Rosary, check out this talk from Dr. Edward Sri: