J.M.J.
When I entered the seminary on August 24,
1984, one of the first seminarians I met was Peter. From Chicago but studying
for one of the dioceses in Minnesota, Peter was generous and helpful. We
recited the Holy Rosary together. More than once, we walked along the highway
to an ice cream parlor a few blocks away. We discussed many things and laughed
a lot. He even told me that his grandmother came to the United States on a ship
from Italy with Mother Cabrini.
Peter was serious about spiritual matters.
And in a short time after our friendship began, he introduced me to the “Total
Consecration” Ad Iesum Per Mariam—“To
Jesus through Mary”—advocated by Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.
With a copy of A Treatise on True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis Marie along with
a slender book that offered recommended prayers and readings for the
thirty-three days period of preparation, I started to ponder just what is this
way of going to Christ through the Ever-Virgin.
Thirty-five years later, I understand
better that what this inspiring missionary proposed requires a lifetime of
continual effort. To know, love and serve Jesus Christ via the mediation of
Mary is an awesome privilege—and a sacred responsibility.
This encounter with a revered method of
drawing closer to the Son through His Mother remains a significant event in my
life. In fact, it was pivotal. It opened an inviting horizon for me, and it
taught me how Saint John Paul II himself related to the King and the Queen of
the Universe.
That was not my initial contact with Our
Blessed Mother. At home, we had a large painting of “Our Lady of the Grapes” in
the dining room. My parents, five siblings and I honored Mary every evening
during our night prayers with a decade of the Holy Rosary. One of my own
sisters is named “Mary.” The Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary
were our teachers in our parish’s school. Mary was all around us, and we were
glad.
Our Lady’s importance was reaffirmed for
me when I, then as a priest, was sent by my Bishop to Rome to study Mariology.
Now, I contemplated in-depth the Marian truths that before I knew
experientially. What a treasure to have whole semesters dedicated to
investigating the Divine Maternity, the Perpetual Virginity, the Immaculate
Conception and the Assumption, not to mention other facets of the Marian
mystery!
And, as if that were not enough, my
current assignment allows me to work in the diocesan Office of the Marian
Apostolate, encouraging the veneration of Mary and noting how she is present in
the hearts of the Faithful.
The day-to-day interaction with my
Spiritual Mother, however, is “where it’s at.” No amount of books, classes,
presentations or pilgrimages can substitute for the consistent, needed
receptivity to the love of Christ that Our Lady mystically models for me. She
is the best human template of charity and mercy that I possess.
What more magnificent gift can I give to
Our Lady other than my sincere conformity to Jesus Christ the Great High
Priest? This is her desire. And, despite my weakness, I know that it must be
mine, too.
That spirited, zealous Peter of decades
ago? He was eventually ordained in another diocese in the Midwest. His death
only a few years after his ordination was tragic, shrouded by uncertain
circumstances. I will never forgot Father Peter’s kindness in ushering me into
a fresh manner of venerating Our Lady. May his soul rest in peace.
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