luke 1:38

L'Innocence by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1893.
I. Love. This. Painting.
I recently saw this image and almost fell over. It has become my favorite image of Mary…definitely one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen of her.
Wouldn't it be great to be that little lamb snuggled up with Jesus right there in Mary's arms? Well, that's what we are. We are lambs in Jesus' pasture. We follow the True Shepherd. And Mary is our Mother - she holds us close and cradles us in every moment.

I've decided to create a post just to honor Mom. Recently, I have just been reminded over and over about the importance of Mary in my life and how her faith constantly is challenging me to become more like her. She is the perfect example of surrender.

The Annunciation by Henry Tanner, 1898

Again, another favorite. This was my great friend Mrs. Nick's favorite painting. 

Before she joined the angels and saints in heaven, she told me that this painting reminded her of me. 

Really? Me? I couldn't believe it. I still don't believe it. 

This has become another one of my favorite images of our Mother in the past year. How calm she looks! How patient and willing to do God's will! This painting shows the archangel Gabriel and a young Mary, as she is told she is going to be the mother of a King. I doubt I would have been as calm as Mary. Were her parents in the same house at the time the angel appeared? How did she tell them she was pregnant? Did she have younger siblings who didn't understand what was going on with their sister? Yet she sits at the edge of her bed - completely willing to do whatever is told to her. Waiting patiently to do the will of the Lord. Such a beautiful lesson for all of us. 

In a tiny chapel in the mountains of northern Georgia is my favorite statue of Mary. I used to love to sit at the base of the statue and pray. This statue has been so comforting to me. Shes reminds me that Mary can be super calm, but she is also really strong. She knows how to beat up on evil. She's got this. By following the Lord, she showed us how to live a life of beautiful surrender and perfect love. She is full of grace and is our perfect Mother in heaven. She's got us and she is holding us close and has us wrapped in her mantle. Whenever I look at this statue, I am reminded of her goodness and her gentleness, and also her willingness to do whatever it takes to bring our requests to her Son.

Mary, Queen of the Universe. What a comforting thing! We have a Mother in heaven who loves us and is Queen over all of Heaven and Earth. The beauty and deep love that comes of this is so joyful.
This statue originally had a scepter and a crown that were lost over the years... I think that this brings Mary back to who she is… just an ordinary Jewish girl who was chosen by God to be great. We are all chosen by God to be great. Of course, we are not without sin as Mary is… and we will not raise the Son of God… but we are all chosen by the Lord and called to greatness. Through Mary's example we can achieve our greatness - as she directs us to Jesus and brings us closer and closer to her Son.

Our Mother of Good Counsel. How beautiful! Mary offers us prayer and counsel and loves us as her own children. This title of our Mother, beloved by the Augustinian Order, reminds us of the perfect hope we have in knowing that Mary is constantly inviting us to grow closer to God and helping us to grow in holiness. She has our back.

Lastly, this statue is one of my absolute favorites. It is in my favorite chapel on campus and really reminds me of the love that Mary had for Jesus. What was it like for Jesus growing up? Mary cooked for Him, helped Him grow into adulthood and was with Him until the very end: the Cross. She nurtured and loved and cared for Him daily. She held him at birth and held His limp body after His crucifixion. She cradled Him and brought Him to Jerusalem and traveled with Him and followed Him as the first disciple. She loves Him with a love that she has for each of us. She prays for us. How beautiful it is that we may ask for her assistance and guidance in our lives? What an amazing example of faith that we have been given by the Lord to follow. She welcomes us, she encourages us, she is watching over us.

We have a friend in Mary, the Mother of God.
Mary helps us to be the best version of ourself.
My favorite title of Mary is "Cause of Our Joy." Joy is perfectly brought about in Jesus. Joy is happiness in the presence of God. Mary said yes and brought perfect Joy to Earth. She is the Cause of Our Joy.

"'When you're unsure of yourself,' she said, 'when you start pulling back into doubt and small living, she's the one inside saying, "Get up from there and live like the glorious girl you are." She's the power inside you, you understand?'...'And whatever it is that keeps widening your heart, that's Mary, too, not only the power inside you but the love. And when you get down to it...that's the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love - but to persist in love."
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Ave, Maris Stella.
Wees gegroet Maria.
Mary, Cause of Our Joy, pray for us.
Momma, pray for us.

Live with Joy.

romans 15:13

Let me take you into a memory for a moment, if you don't mind.

Today I wanted to relive a day in 2012, during my senior year of high school.
Not the school part, of course. I wanted to be thrown back into the ministry. Into the organizing and the planning and the evangelizing and the writing Call to Worships and Morning Prayers.

Back to sitting wrapped in quilts and rocking back and forth in the rocking chair just because you could, and because why not?

And the smell of pep hot chocolate and whiffs of hyacinths and burnt toast and melting butter that should have been put back in the fridge.

And nutella-covered anything.

And snuggling and not studying and laughing until we cry and crying until we laugh and dancing around to Hillsong United: Live in Miami or David Crowder Band or Switchfoot and praising and forgetting that we still have to go to Spanish class after lunch.

And the times when we should have been studying for our Government test but decided it didn't matter anymore.

When it was completely normal to look up videos of goats and lambs and write notes just to affirm for the sake of affirming. Post-it notes with Bible verses and song lyrics and love etched into each word.

When the women that surrounded me left me in awe every time I sat and talked with them. Great friends and great mentors and you could almost just hear Jesus saying "Bailey, don't let this slip away. Remember every moment. Hold on to the Joy."

I wish I could rewind for a day to talk about how good God is and put up Christmas lights and Nativity scenes and snowflakes were everywhere and in everyone in 80° weather.

And days when I would throw my blazer onto the couch and cry from the amount of work I had to do and come back to my backpack in campus ministry to find it with a gift of a small, white, ceramic bird with a ribbon tied around its neck with a note of affirmation and hope.

Days when I would practically run up to deliver a coffee or an iced tea and a cupcake with cream cheese frosting because it was her favorite.

Where a friendship was born that was all in God's divine providence before we were born and helped to shape me into the woman I am today.

And times before and after school when I just never wanted to leave, since I was convinced that I could almost see Jesus just sitting there in the room with us - smiling that big smile - because of the amount of grace that overflowed from each conversation.

Where Joy was defined to me in both word and action by women who inspired me and challenged me and showed me what life was for. For souls. For fighting the good fight. For the beauty of the Mass and for that special encounter with Christ both on retreat and in a hug.

Where all that mattered was letting the Spirit work as we flew by the seat of our pants to create bulletin boards and liturgies and themes and organize everything. And it was so good. And whole. And holy.

Where there was Joy... and sadness at times... and anger at others... but always hope.

And it was beautiful.

It was a great Joy to clean the cluttered room during study hall - or any time of the day, really - because of the things we found - old CDs and kazoos and rubber duckies and compasses and bells and snowflake erasers and feathers and frisbees and Easter trees and beautiful images of Our Lady and Mary Oliver poems and retreat guides and garbage bags full of sand that seemed to have no purpose and that was the purpose. Because we might need them in the future.

"Why is there a bag of sand back here?"

Why did we have the bag of sand? Because apparently, we might need it in the future. It was just stuffed down in the cupboard in the back room. Nobody knew about it, nobody went looking for it. It was just there, safe and hidden. My memories of campus ministry are like this bag of sand. Put there for safe-keeping. I can't get rid of them and I don't want to get rid of them because I know I am going to need these memories and experiences for something in the future, even if I don't know what it is yet. The experiences of my past, with the grace of God, shape my future. And there is so much beauty in that.

I hadn't thought about my senior year for a while. And I am so blessed to have experienced it the way I did. And I will carry these memories in my heart and I will fight on and I will remember all of the things that these experiences taught me. Like what Joy really is. And that God loves us, and He loves the stories. And like how God does not make mistakes. And that there is not much better than a hyacinth sitting next to a copy of Mulieris Dignitatem. And how some things are just ridiculous. How a platypus is an example of when God was confused (what is it? a beaver or a duck?).

And how all will be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of a thing will be well. And there is always hope.

Live with Joy.