(Originally shared this past Tuesday, October 24.)

Today we celebrate the 29^th anniversary of the establishment of our Diocese of Palm Beach. Since the beginning, we have taken Mary, Queen of the Apostles as the patron saint of our diocese. Who better to oversee, model for, and guide us than the mother of God. Mary is not only the mother of Jesus, but we are blessed to have her as our mother as well.

Mary does not appear often in the Bible but when she does, she is a powerful witness to the faithfulness and trust in God that we can all aspire to. At the annunciation, Mary trusted Gabriel’s message and she was willing, though she did not fully comprehend, the gravity of her yes. In that moment, she showed us the gift of humility. She placed her whole trust in God.

In today’s gospel, Mary is present again, this time not at the birth of Jesus, but at his agonizing death which she experiences with him. In the midst of such pain and suffering, Jesus offers these words of hope. “Woman, behold, your son,” and then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother.”

I invite you to hear those words again. “Behold your mother.”

Mary is our mother as well. She cares for us, watches over and intercedes for us. Each night after supper, I experience a great sense of peace and rest as I pray the Rosary and walk around the lake on our seminary campus. I begin and end the reciting of the Rosary at a beautiful statue of Our Lady.

I will also reach out with my thoughts and prayers in thanksgiving as well as when I need some extra strength as I have needed this past weekend in preparing for two midterm exams and a presentation which I finished last night. (One of the reasons this and other postings have been a bit off schedule!) Jesus and Mary are the last ones I say goodnight to before I go to bed each night.

Mary is not just a person from the past. She is very much in our present.

May each of you turn to Mary and Jesus as well this week in the Rosary or speaking from your heart. Know she has been and will continue to be with you to guide you, to pray with you as she did with the apostles when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, and she will accompany you through your days and evenings, through your sorrows and your joys, and your challenges and overcoming of them all the while leading you to experience the love of her Son.

Continue to trust in Mary, trust in Jesus, and may we follow Mary’s invitation to do whatever Jesus tells us!

Photo: Beginning of Rosary walk this week. St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.