by Leonard Gutierrez
In the recent rededication of our diocese to Our Lady of the Prairie, countless titles give Mary proper honor, and each uniquely reveals beautiful aspects of her identity and role. Mary’s life is the perfect model of what it means to be and live as a disciple. Specifically, she models for us four very important themes that we ought to strive to live as disciples.
The first theme is Mary’s “Fiat,” or “yes,” to conceiving Jesus in her womb. In Luke 1:38, we read Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord…” Her “yes” and openness to God’s Will sets the tone for her discipleship with Christ. Saints witness, profess, and follow the example of Mary in her fiat. St. Alphonsus Ligouri reminds us that “the greatest glory we can give to God is to do his will in everything.” He continues, “The man who follows his own will independently of God’s is guilty of a kind of idolatry… instead of adoring God’s will, he adores his own.” Mary’s fiat teaches us to move from idolatry to adoration, thereby leading the soul onwards toward perfection.
Another theme of a discipleship model is found in Luke 2:19, where “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Her thoughtfulness and prayerful disposition should not be viewed as synonymous with passivity but rather as an attentive maturity in the faith. Mary models for us the incredible value of listening deeply. Only in this state of pondering what we receive are we able to then “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
A third theme is to suffer well. A measure of faith can be directly linked to the peace one and one’s family experience in the midst of suffering. Mary’s heart was pierced as she watched her son be scourged and crucified.
Scripture does not tell us that she experienced peace, but it does tell us that she remained close to Christ as she stood by him at the cross. In doing the will of God, we can find ourselves united and close to Christ, even in the midst of joys and suffering, although we may not always feel it.
This brings us to the last theme of Mary, which is Mary on mission. It was God’s will that she gave birth to Christ. It was God’s will that she be the Mother of the Universal Church and help us carry out the mission of Christ, and she did so early on as she prayed with and accompanied the Apostles in the upper room. In this, Mary shows us her unique role as Mother, disciple, missionary, and intercessor. She partakes in the mission of Christ not only by bearing the child Jesus in her womb and giving birth to him but by joining in community with those who would go out into the world to tell the Good News.
As we welcome Our Lady of the Prairie into our lives, may she teach us to do the will of God, ponder in our hearts the voice of the Lord, cling to the cross in our suffering, and live mission amid a community of friends and believers.
Our Lady of the Prairie, pray for us!