So, I was happy to be able to go to the church mission again tonight and listen to the dynamic Fr. Leo. The topic for the evening was, “Finding God Through Mary”. I have heard many times the thought that Catholics “worship” Mary. When Fr. Leo was in seminary preparing to become a priest, he took a course on Mariology in Rome. He explained that Catholics do not worship Mary, but we do honor her. She was after all, the first Christian. In Genesis we read about Adam and Eve – the first perfectly created individuals. They wanted to be like God and in doing so, did not listen to Him. They did what they wanted and therefore separated themselves from God. Mary was also perfectly created to bring forth God’s Son Jesus into the world. She is the new “Eve” and Jesus is the new “Adam”. Unlike Eve, Mary said Yes to God and did His will perfectly. She is necessary to bring salvation to the world. Without Mary, we would not have Jesus. She is always pointing us to Jesus. The last words in scripture that she says are, “Do whatever He tells you.” Jesus himself invites all of us into a relationship with Him, to be His brothers and sisters with God as our Father, and Mary as our Mother. I admit that I have a hard time fathoming this whole thing. But I have a hard time fathoming the fact that Jesus Christ took the world’s sins – my sins – upon Himself so that we can live in peace, hope, and love on earth and into eternity. What I do know is that the more I learn about Mary, the closer I feel to her, and the closer I feel to Christ. And the closer I am to Christ, the more I am able to make good choices and loving actions.

I Found God today in learning more about His Mother Mary.