Pentecost Sunday Reading: Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Gal 5:16-25; Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15

“We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek – Jesus, her Son.” – Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

I love lists . . . maybe a little bit too much.

I don’t so much like reading them; I’m more into list making. For me, making a list is the third step in the complicated process of how I deal with stress.

Step 1 is really simple: I freak out and start panicking.

Step 2 is where I calm down by wasting time. This is my favorite step, and there are several options, such as: Netflix, iPod apps, and a little slice of paradise I like to call “the internet.” I’m especially good at these first two steps.

Finally, after panicking and wasting time, I eventually make a list so I can take care of one thing at a time. As I start getting things done, momentum builds and all of a sudden the list doesn’t seem so impossible.

To-Do: Become Holy

Way too often, my relationship with God can seem like an overwhelming list of things I need to change. I am stressed out enough by the 10 things that I have to get done today, never mind the 400 things that I need to work on to become a better follower of Christ.

This whole month of May, we are invited to take time to honor Mary, the Mother of God. Can you imagine how stressful her “to do” list could’ve been? All God was asking her to do was care for His Son! (Feed Him, teach Him everything, and protect Him because He depends on you. No pressure at all, right?)

What’s Her Secret?

How did she do it? How did she manage to remain focused on God while she had the most unique and challenging role in all of human history? And how could I possibly be anything like her, when I get stressed out by the everyday pressures of my comfortable life? Her Immaculate life was so unlike my own awkward existence that I had no idea where to even begin if I was going to try to imitate her.

Then someone told me about St. Louis DeMonfort’s 10 Virtues of Mary. This “Top 10” list is taken from what we learn about Mary from Scripture. Rather than just being 10 more reminders of how pathetic I am compared to Mary, I love this list because I know I can pray and work on growing in these virtues one at a time.

The 10 Virtues of Mary

1. Ardent Charity: Letting her love for God be the driving force behind every decision
2. Profound Humility: Knowing who she is before God, nothing more and nothing less
3. Universal Mortification: Seeking to lay down her life and her will at every moment
4. Constant Mental Prayer: Always being aware of God’s presence
5. Blind Obedience: Following God’s call without counting the cost
6. Divine Wisdom: Always begging for God’s Spirit to guide her
7. Surpassing Purity: Having a heart immaculately clean and unstained by sin
8. Angelic Sweetness: Radiating joy and peace to everyone she encountered
9. Lively Faith: Constantly seeking God’s will and never settling for complacency
10. Heroic Patience: Always trusting that God was on the move; having more faith in His plans than her own

Don’t be overwhelmed. Choose one virtue at a time; maybe it’s one that you really feel drawn to or just one that you really struggle with. One of the coolest things about Mary is that she is not just someone from history; she is still our Mother today and she is always praying for us, supporting us, and leading us closer to her Son.

Click here to download “A Mother’s Song” by Danielle Rose, from the Mysteries CD, courtesy of World Library Publications, wlpmusic.com

Why do you have a strong relationship with Mary?

When I was 19, I realized that although I knew a lot about Jesus, I did not know Him the way that I wanted to – to hear Him, see Him, touch Him, and be truly intimate with Him. I realized that there was someone who knew Him that way – Mary.

For the first time in my life, I spoke to Mary from my heart, and I asked her to please teach me and show me how she loved Him and knew Him. Our Mother Mary is very gentle; she waits for us to come to her and ask her for assistance.

I didn’t have any visions or hear any voices. A greater miracle happened. Mary quietly entered my heart and began to plant seeds of desire for prayer. I began to long to go to Daily Mass, confession, dates with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and to pray the rosary. Instead of fitting prayer “into” my busy schedule, prayer became the #1 priority that everything else was ordered around. Through Mary’s heart, I fell in love with Jesus.

She knew that the intimacy I longed to find with Him was waiting for me in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. Through her invitation, I began to know that Jesus was truly present in the Eucharist – and that I could receive Him each day and know Him, hear Him, touch Him, see Him – the way that Mary did. And once I knew Him as Mary knows Him – to hold and receive His Body and Blood just as she held Him in her womb, her arms, and her heart – then my relationship with Jesus was forever transformed.

Can you tell us about this song?

I didn’t pray the rosary growing up. It wasn’t until college that I discovered the creative wonders and joys of praying with Mary to ponder the life of Jesus. Praying the rosary is like having a bible study with Mary. We look through her eyes, and she walks with us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Mary helps us cooperate with the Holy Spirit to take up our cross daily and to say “Yes” to God in all the joys and sorrows of our lives.

The mysteries of the rosary are living, and when we ask Mary to help us turn to Jesus, we begin to see and experience these mysteries in the events of our own lives. In order to share with others what Mary has shared with me, I wanted to write a meditation song for each of the 20 mysteries of the rosary, so that others (especially young people) could receive the gift of this prayer coming alive in their hearts anew.

This particular song is the meditation for the 5th sorrowful mystery: the Crucifixion. The song is from the perspective of Mary at the foot of the cross, as she recalls her the story of loving Jesus from the cradle to the grave.

Readings for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Eph 1:17-23 or Eph 4:1-13; Mk 16:15-20

Dear Mary,

Nat

I’m a girl and I love weddings.

Big surprise, huh? I’ve spent many of my 22 years dreaming up the most perfect wedding. And since the creation of Pinterest, the harmless dreaming has become a borderline-addictive pinning-spree of dresses, cakes and the world’s most adorable flower girl outfits. So, it’s only natural, that I fell in love with the story of the Wedding at Cana when I started praying the rosary regularly last year.

This photo may or may not be from Pinterest . . .

I was never a daily rosary person, in fact, praying the rosary was my least favorite way to pray. But once I discovered how much I could learn from praying and meditating on the mysteries, it became one of my favorite prayers.

I started with what I liked (weddings), opened my heart, and the next thing I knew, I had a much deeper understanding of the importance of the Wedding at Cana and Mary’s role in my faith grew in leaps and bounds.

They Have No Wine

Mary’s first line in this wedding story is, “They have no wine” (John 2:3). Those four words never seemed that important to me until I put them into context. You see, no one knew who Jesus truly was at the wedding, He hadn’t performed any miracles yet, or given any teachings; but Mary took the servant’s worries of having no wine to her Son anyway.

Mary didn’t need to explain the situation or even ask Jesus to do anything; she just trusted and believed in Him. Those four, simple words were Mary’s prayer, “They have no wine.” She let Jesus know what was wrong, and then left it in His hands. When I have a problem, my prayers usually become a long session of whining, complaining, and worrying. If we live by Mary’s example, she teaches us that God only needs us to put our problems in His hands and trust Him.

Do Whatever He Tells You

Mary’s second and last line in the story of the Wedding at Cana is, “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). This might be the best piece of advice anyone can give. Ever. In all of eternity. Period.

Mary lived her whole life following God's will

After Mary told Jesus about the lack of wine, He didn’t tell her what He was going to, but she already knew the solution. That’s because Mary’s entire life was based on doing God’s will.

Mary has shown me that what Jesus says is always the answer I am seeking and the solution to every problem I have. When Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them, she became a perfect mirror of Christ; and she remains one today. You can’t look to Mary for guidance without seeing her Son; she wants nothing more than to point us back to Jesus and His will. Because of this, the more I grow in my relationship with Mary, the more I grow in my relationship with Jesus.

A Lesson from Mary

So what began as a girly obsession with weddings, has ended up teaching me just how important Mary is in my life. Her example at the Wedding at Cana showed me how to approach the Lord with complete trust. I’ve learned how much Mary desires me to follow the will of her Son. Who would have thought all that could come from two short sentences in a simple story?

If you take the time to pray through the mysteries of the rosary, I guarantee you’ll find some pretty life changing stuff hiding between the lines. I know I did.

Growing up, I never had a devotion to Mary. I mean, I liked the idea of her . . . but I didn’t have a relationship with her. The Virgin Mother was a porcelain statue, a gold-etched picture on a Christmas card. She wasn’t real to me. My only connection to her, at best, was a panicked “Hail Mary” before a pop-quiz.

What I’ve learned is that Mary is way more than a boring stained glass window. She lived an exciting life and did amazing things. And outside of Jesus, she is one of the greatest gifts we’ve been given as Catholics. Although I didn’t have a relationship with Mary growing up, I have fallen in love with my mother since then, and let me tell you: OUR MAMA ROCKS!

Here are the top five reasons why:

1. She’s God’s Mother

   Think about this, over the centuries prophets and kings spoke of the coming of Christ. What makes Mary so amazing, is she didn’t just “talk” or bare witness to His coming: she bore Jesus. She actually carried Him (the God of the Universe) in her womb and brought Him to life. That is a big deal!!!

   As God’s Mother, she deserves our reverence. In the gospel of Luke, the angel appears saying, “Hail Mary, full of grace” (Luke 1:28). In Mary’s Magnificat she proclaims, “From now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:49). The mother of a king is given a place of honor next to the king’s throne, and all generations have honored Mary as the Holy Queen, Mother of God. Jesus honored her, too . . . and so should we.

2. She Crushes the Head of Satan

   Our mama wears army boots! That’s right. Mary isn’t just any woman. She was “the woman.” Mary was chosen from the beginning of time to play a role in salvation history as the “New Eve” (CCC 411). Remember the story in the Garden of Eden? Just as Eve’s disobedience led to the fall of Adam, bringing death to humanity, it’s Mary’s obedience, her “yes” to God led to the “New Adam,” Jesus who brings life for humanity. Satan no longer has power; she crushes his head (Genesis 3:15).

   Whatever sin or temptation you face in your life, you can turn to your mama and she will be a fierce butt-kicking power for you. When I am under my greatest spiritual trials, I reach for my rosary like my “spiritual nunchucks.” And Mary, a powerful warrior of love, comes charging in to show Satan who’s boss!

3. Fastest Way to Jesus and Our Greatest Intercessor

   Mary knows what Jesus likes to eat for breakfast; she spent 30 years with Him – sharing cereal bars and pop-tarts. (Okay, Mary probably cooked.) But think of how much time Our Lady must have spent with her Son . . . the deep conversations they had and probably some great inside jokes too. Mary’s heart beat in union with Jesus in her womb, and she journeyed side by side with Him to His tomb. Who better to teach us about Jesus than the one who knows Him best?

   Mary is our greatest advocate. At the Wedding Feast of Cana, she was the one who asked Jesus to work His first miracle (John 2:5). And if we come to her in need, (even if it’s the slightest annoying issue with your brother, a test, or our deepest, unspoken fears) she will ask Jesus for you. And trust me, what son doesn’t listen to his mama?

4. Model for Holiness

   Kate Moss. Cindy Crawfod. Heidi Klum . . . These supermodels have nothing compared to Mary. She is our perfect model. Her life teaches us how we’re all called to obedience and faith even through suffering.

   As a teenage girl, Mary was faced with fear about the road ahead. We all have our own fears too – college, friends, and relationships. But the beauty of Mary is that she surrendered to whatever God asked. She said “Let it be done to me according to your words” (Luke 1:38). Mary journeyed with faith to the cross. I can’t imagine how much a mother would suffer if she had to watch her son be tortured to death. But Mary stood at the cross. That’s what we’re called to do too – to stand in faith through our daily trials, knowing Christ’s love will triumph.

5. She is our Mother

   At the foot of the cross Jesus gave Mary to the world as our mother (John 19:26). Maybe your mom is bossy, wonderful, controlling, or just really busy. Regardless of our earthly moms, we can know that we have a beautiful heavenly mother who’s always there for us – Mary. Like any good mother, Mary wants a relationship with you. She wants to wipe away our tears and teach us her Son’s ways. Even when we mess up, she will bandage our wounds and point us back to Jesus.

If you’re like me and never got the whole “Mary” thing, I encourage you to ask her to reveal herself to you. Mary isn’t even close to being boring, distant, or dull. She is real, powerful, and a fire-ball of love for her son and for you. Since I began to have a personal relationship with Mary, my life has radically changed. She has taught me, protected me, and led me to great intimacy with her son. I now talk to Mary daily and she is an active part of my life. Her power is real!

Open your heart to the Mother of all mothers, and let her rock your world as much as she has rocked mine!

Read more from Mary at MaryBielski.com

At a conference for High School journalists, Dan Savage gave a talk that was supposed to be about anti-bullying. Instead it was anti-Christian. As he began to talk about the “bullish*t” of what can be found in the Bible, many Christian students stood up and walked out on him – a move he later called “pansy-assed.” Here’s the video. It’s about three minutes, but be forewarned there is some swearing going on in it (not suitable if kids are nearby).

The video has gone viral since being posted three days ago, the vast majority of people giving it a “like.” The comments below the video are horrifically anti-gay and only go to further the disgusting stereotype that Savage is bashing in his speech.

My first reaction to this video was shock. I couldn’t believe that someone could speak like that in such a public forum. If a speaker in a similar forum talked about how Jesus died for all of our sins he or she would have been rushed off the stage. But I quickly got over that. St. Peter wrote, “Don’t be surprised that a trial is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12) Christians should expect to be persecuted.

I Feel Bad For Dan Savage . . .

My next reaction was sympathy. There was a part of me that felt bad for him. Here is a man who has been abused by people claiming to be Christian. He references being insulted and physically beat up while others have died over this. And for him the source of blame is the Bible.

He suggests that we should overlook the prohibitions in the Bible regarding same sex activity just as we overlook things like stoning women who are adulterers. I teach a course on Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville and I’ll be honest: it’s hard to read things like that in Scripture. Interestingly enough, the reason we find it hard to read is because we’ve been transformed by Christ who we also learn about in the Bible. For there are many cultures (who don’t read the Bible) who would still agree with those kind of behaviors.

Barbaric Humanity

If the law of God seems barbaric in the Old Testament, we have to remember that it was because 3,500 years ago humanity was barbaric, at least by our Western civilization standards of the 21st century. When you hear of the genocides that still occur today you can argue that not much has changed in some places in the world.

God slowly revealed Himself to the Israelites so that through them the world might learn what it truly means to live and love through the example and teaching of Jesus Christ. We don’t stone women anymore for adultery—”Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” is one of the most famous lines of Jesus (John 8). In fact, we don’t believe in capital punishment at all (unless keeping the prisoner alive is a danger to society—an argument that makes more sense when prisoners were kept in tents and clay houses than billion dollar penitentiaries.)

Is the Bible Pro-Slavery?

Savage mentions that “the Bible is a radically pro-slavery document.” I believe this accusation to be purposefully ignorant. Yes, St. Paul wrote of the respect and duty that slaves should have for their masters and masters for their slaves. But while the term “slave” is used in broad terms in both the Old and New Testament, it is NEVER used in the way it was experienced in America (capturing people from their native land, selling them off for profit, denying rights, justifying abuse . . . ).

The Jewish people experienced that kind of slavery at the hand of the Egyptians and a strong part of their Law was to not do that to anyone else.

The Jewish people were strongly opposed to slavery since they were slaves themselves for years

In the Jewish custom, a slave was more like an indentured servant who could only sell themselves, not be sold by someone else. And after six years they’d have to be released unless they begged their master to be a servant for life (Exodus 21:5) and even then only the judges could decide if that could happen.

But I understand Savage’s deeper point. In the time of slavery in America, some slave owners used the Bible to justify their actions. They were wrong to do so. In our current time, there are many Americans who bully and discriminate against people with same sex attractions and use the Bible to justify their actions.

Guess what? They are wrong to do so, too.

Love One Another

Christianity has much to atone for in the way we have treated people with homosexual attractions. If only we were as shocked at the way the media portrays sinful heterosexual activity! It’s too easy to be shocked and disgusted at the sins we aren’t tempted to commit because we have no sympathy for the offender. (Whereas we are naturally kinder to people who struggle with our same issues.) Jesus didn’t say, “Love one another . . . except for the gays.”

We are all commanded by Christ to love as He loved us and to treat each other with the dignity that comes from being made in the image and likeness of God. It seems clear to me that Dan Savage has never experienced that love from people who claim to know Christ but instead has experienced the opposite. And that’s why I feel such sorrow when I hear him speak.

However, just because people get the Bible wrong doesn’t mean the Bible is wrong.

Savage (and others) think the Bible and Christianity is the problem. If that were true then cultures not formed on the Bible should be tolerant and accepting of homosexual behavior . . . but that is not always the case.

In a 2007 Pew Survey that asked if homosexuality should be accepted in society, Latin America, Western Europe, and Central Europe found about half agreeing with that idea. But Southern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, huge portions of Asia and all of Africa strongly disagreed. It’s hard to suggest that the Bible has influenced predijuce in China and India. (See the study here, page 35.)

And though I feel some sympathy for the man, that doesn’t mean I sympathize at all with his position. He’s wrong and I think it was horrible that he used that opportunity with high school teenagers to bash the Bible. He would have been way more effective sharing with those teenagers the pain of being judged and condemned by people with religious beliefs than attacking Christianity. He was “fighting back” to a group of kids who hadn’t done him any harm. It was immature and inappropriate.

The Anti-Bully Bully

I was proud of the students who walked out on him. It wasn’t “pansy-assed.” It was just the opposite. In Savage’s attempt to teach teens about not discriminating against homosexuals, he became the bully.

Who's being the bully here?

The world won’t see it that way. His anti-Christian rhetoric will be justified as “righteous anger” that blames all people of faith for any unjust act done against a person with same-sex attraction. More and more in society today, people think to be Christian is to be a bigot. They think that we who believe that sex was made for a man and woman in marriage should hang our head in shame and stay home on voting day to atone for our sins.

Sadly, many Christians are doing just that. These issues are driving many away from the Church. It reminds me of something the artist formerly known as Ratzinger wrote in 1970 (from his book Faith and the Future, this quote taken from here) :

“The church will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning.

She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes . . . she will lose many of her social privileges. . . As a small society, [the Church] will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members…

The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. She may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.”

Smaller but stronger. A Church who’s strength is built not on the amount of her followers but the depth of her love for God and neighbor.

What Do We Do?

So how should we treat those who speak against us? With love.

How should we behave towards those with same sex attractions? Love.

What should we do to those who support and provide abortions? Love.

How should we treat our enemies? Love.

Jesus forgiving the sins of Mary Magdalen

But – and forgive me for using a phrase that Savage employed – not a “pansy-ass” love that says that everything is fine no matter what you do. A love that is rooted in truth. A love that is rooted in mercy. A love that is rooted in Jesus Christ.

Our love of God and neighbor means we can’t be silent on these issues, no matter what persecution we will face, no matter what people may think of us when we do. And when we speak we must do so “with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than from doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:16-17)

Don’t expect to be understood. Don’t be surprised at the trial. And don’t lose hope for this culture. “Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)

Read more from Bob at his blog Bob-Rice.com

Our friends at RosaryArmy.com have some great instructions for how to make your own rope rosary. Do something meaningful (and super Catholic) with some of your free time and get together with your friends or youth group to make a bunch of rosaries for yourselves, or to give away. You could even make small rosaries that are just one decade and wear it on your wrist as a witness and reminder to pray.

The month of May is dedicated to Mary; so it’s the perfect time to put your fingers to good use and make a rosary.

“The holy rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” – St. Josemaria Escriva

• Download printable instructions
• Watch an instructional video
• Get supplies to make a rosary