Each Jan. 17, the Church celebrates Mary under the title Our Lady of Hope, one of the oldest Marian devotions, with a link to France.
Given my love of Mother Mary and my favorite Scripture is Jeremiah 29:11, I am particularly drawn to this Marian memorial.
Mary, after all, is the epitome of hope.
How can we live hopefully in this world so full of distress and injustice, sorrow and suffering?
Our Lady shows us the way.
Ponder.
“Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Amid the joy of Christmas, Mother Mary pondered.
She later pondered when Jesus was found in in his Father’s house:
“He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51).
Pope Benedict explained what this means:
“The Evangelist Luke repeats several times that Our Lady meditated silently on these extraordinary events in which God had involved her.
“The Greek verb used, sumbállousa, literally means ‘piecing together’ and makes us think of a great mystery to be discovered little by little.”
He continued, “Yet, by learning from Mary, we can understand with our hearts what our eyes and minds do not manage to perceive or contain on their own. Indeed, this is such a great gift that only through faith are we granted to accept it, while not entirely understanding it. And it is precisely on this journey of faith that Mary comes to meet us as our support and guide. She is mother because she brought forth Jesus in the flesh; she is mother because she adhered totally to the Father’s will. … And in her heart Mary continued to treasure, to ‘piece together’ the subsequent events of which she was to be a witness and protagonist, even to the death on the cross and the resurrection of her Son Jesus.
“Dear brothers and sisters, it is only by pondering in the heart, in other words, by piecing together and finding unity in all we experience, that, following Mary, we can penetrate the mystery of a God who was made man out of love and who calls us to follow him on the path of love; a love to be expressed daily by generous service to the brethren.”
Mary, maybe more than any other person who ever lived, experienced the heights of joy and the depths of sorrow. She held Christ in her arms as a baby and as our slain Savior, holding onto hope through it all.
When we are overcome with joy, or relief, or sadness, or whatever other emotion, we too should ponder, to piece together, as we walk with Jesus and his Mother.
Trust.
Recall what Simeon told Mary: “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35). (Read more about Our Lady’s sorrows here.)
Mary did not allow fear to overtake her. Nor did she let it shake her trust in God.
St. John Paul II reminded the faithful: “This woman of faith, Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of God, has been given to us as a model in our pilgrimage of faith. From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary, we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God. For Mary is not only the Mother of God, she is Mother of the Church as well. In every stage of the march through history, the Church has benefited from the prayer and protection of the Virgin Mary.”
Mary trusted that God would do what he said he would.
Mother Mary is with us in all we encounter on this side of heaven, as we:
- love God the Father.
- follow Jesus,
- imitate her,
- pray without ceasing,
- call on the aid of our friends the saints,
- love those God has blessed us with in our domestic church,
- go about our vocation,
- face the unexpected and stressful amid daily life,
- care for those who are sick,
- encourage friends and co-workers,
- support Church and community,
- lift up in prayer all who need our prayers, especially those who mourn, whether due to the long illnesses of loved ones or tragic violence or myriad other reasons,
- defend the dignity of life, from the littlest to the oldest — and
- witness to hope.
She shows us what it means to hope.
I keep returning to Pope Francis’ beautiful explanation:
“Our Lady spent that Saturday, the day that would be dedicated to her, in prayer and hope. She responded to sorrow with trust in the Lord,” Francis explained at the Easter vigil 2020.
When the worst was happening, she trusted — she knew the cross was not the end, that Hope would rise.
Most of all, stay close to Jesus.
“Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). We all know the Marian instruction at the Wedding at Cana. In five words, Mother Mary delineates the aim of the Christian life.
In the aforementioned homily, Benedict explained why we must stay close to Christ:
“We may be certain of it: if we never tire of seeking his Face, if we never give in to the temptation of discouragement and doubt, if also among the many difficulties we encounter we always remain anchored to him, we will experience the power of his love and his mercy.”
Our Lady of Hope always points to Christ our Hope.
To Jesus through Mary.