The difference a Mary statue can make
It’s a bit hard to explain why we have a Mary statue in our front yard. Honestly, I would describe my relationship with Our Lady as... complicated. I love her, and at the same time I wouldn’t really say I’m close to her.
Not yet, anyway. I keep working on it, because, at least on an intellectual level, I’m in awe of her incredibly special role in salvation history, and I trust the Church when it tells us that Mary is not only the Mother of God but our mother, too.
And I’ve witnessed firsthand how she really does care for us in this valley of tears and brings us closer to her Son. Recently I was sitting on our front steps reading, when a car stopped and the driver rolled down her window and shouted something at me.
I didn't recognize who it was and asked her to repeat what she had said. So she yelled out louder, "Can I ask you for a prayer request?"
A bit stunned, I started walking toward the car, and soon realized the driver was my neighbor from down the street. We'd only crossed paths once in the last few years, but she seemed nice.
Now, out of the blue, she was reaching out to me for prayers, because she’d just heard her dad’s cancer was back for a third time. We ended up praying and talking together for a good while on the driveway, and she shared why she had stopped in the first place: because of our Mary statue! She figured it meant we were people she could go to for prayers.
She also shared that she grew up Catholic, but when she was younger her family had left the church and she hasn't been back since. But with her dad sick, she was feeling called to pray again and maybe even go back to Mass. I truly believe that in the moment she decided to pull over, she was giving her own small "fiat" to the Holy Spirit. Grace is always, always waiting for us!
It was pretty convicting, actually, to hear that the Mary statue inspired her to ask for my prayers. In reality, it makes me a bit uncomfortable to have the statue in our yard. I love the faith, and at the same time I’m also super introverted, and having the statue out there feels bold and somewhat scary. For reasons I can’t explain, though, it’s really important to me that we have it, and I love seeing this simple reminder of Our Lady. And it always makes me smile when I see other homes with a Mary statue, and I pray for the folks who live there as I drive by. And now with our neighbor, I was given the gift of seeing that our Mary statue mattered to someone else, too.
So I keep working on being closer to Our Lady, and by that I mean first and foremost that I'm asking for help in prayer to know her and her Son better. Sometimes I pray along with a recording of the Rosary, rather than trying to struggle through it on my own. Often I can enter into the mysteries more deeply when someone else is leading, and I’ve found the recordings by Kenrick-Glennon Seminary very prayerful. Worth checking out!
It's also been helpful for me to meditate on Mary through reading. I highly recommend the works of Caryll Houselander, who has incredible insights into Our Lady (and pretty much everything!). Brant Pitre's Jesus and The Jewish Roots of Mary was a life changing book for me, and one I return to often. Also, there's some beautiful poetry on Mary in this post: Celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation.
If you have any recommendations on how to draw closer to Our Lady, please do let me know.
Mary our mother, pray for us!
Not yet, anyway. I keep working on it, because, at least on an intellectual level, I’m in awe of her incredibly special role in salvation history, and I trust the Church when it tells us that Mary is not only the Mother of God but our mother, too.
And I’ve witnessed firsthand how she really does care for us in this valley of tears and brings us closer to her Son. Recently I was sitting on our front steps reading, when a car stopped and the driver rolled down her window and shouted something at me.
I didn't recognize who it was and asked her to repeat what she had said. So she yelled out louder, "Can I ask you for a prayer request?"
A bit stunned, I started walking toward the car, and soon realized the driver was my neighbor from down the street. We'd only crossed paths once in the last few years, but she seemed nice.
Now, out of the blue, she was reaching out to me for prayers, because she’d just heard her dad’s cancer was back for a third time. We ended up praying and talking together for a good while on the driveway, and she shared why she had stopped in the first place: because of our Mary statue! She figured it meant we were people she could go to for prayers.
She also shared that she grew up Catholic, but when she was younger her family had left the church and she hasn't been back since. But with her dad sick, she was feeling called to pray again and maybe even go back to Mass. I truly believe that in the moment she decided to pull over, she was giving her own small "fiat" to the Holy Spirit. Grace is always, always waiting for us!
It was pretty convicting, actually, to hear that the Mary statue inspired her to ask for my prayers. In reality, it makes me a bit uncomfortable to have the statue in our yard. I love the faith, and at the same time I’m also super introverted, and having the statue out there feels bold and somewhat scary. For reasons I can’t explain, though, it’s really important to me that we have it, and I love seeing this simple reminder of Our Lady. And it always makes me smile when I see other homes with a Mary statue, and I pray for the folks who live there as I drive by. And now with our neighbor, I was given the gift of seeing that our Mary statue mattered to someone else, too.
So I keep working on being closer to Our Lady, and by that I mean first and foremost that I'm asking for help in prayer to know her and her Son better. Sometimes I pray along with a recording of the Rosary, rather than trying to struggle through it on my own. Often I can enter into the mysteries more deeply when someone else is leading, and I’ve found the recordings by Kenrick-Glennon Seminary very prayerful. Worth checking out!
It's also been helpful for me to meditate on Mary through reading. I highly recommend the works of Caryll Houselander, who has incredible insights into Our Lady (and pretty much everything!). Brant Pitre's Jesus and The Jewish Roots of Mary was a life changing book for me, and one I return to often. Also, there's some beautiful poetry on Mary in this post: Celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation.
If you have any recommendations on how to draw closer to Our Lady, please do let me know.
Mary our mother, pray for us!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful story! I also really enjoyed reading Jesus and the Jewish roots of Mary. One of the ways I have grown deeper in my relationship with Mary is by learning about Marian Apparitions. The main way that I have learned about these and the many teachings of the Catholic faith is by praying the rosary with Holy Family School of Faith Daily Rosary podcast. Our Mother Mary only wants what is best for her children and will lead us closer to her Son. Blessings!
Beautiful story and so timely.
We just finished our garden &
my husband placed Mary in the grotto
2 days ago. My heart was overflowing
with JOY… reading your article tonight is
making me think that our Mama Mary desires to be placed in as many homes, yards & gardens as she can.
I would highly recommend making a Consecration to Our Blessed Mother & her Immaculate Heart🩵. I made mine many
many years ago with St Louis De Montfort and continue to renew my consecration daily. Also praying a daily rosary has changed my life. Another book I would
recommend is: “ Mary Teach Me to be Your Daughter,” by Megan Madden.
I am currently reading it with our young adult daughter as a book study. Excellent!
May our Mama Mary take you by the hand as she leads you closer to her Son.
God bless you & we love your candles, keep up the great work!!!!🩵🩵🩵
Hi Anna!! I love the grotto your husband made and the beautiful flowers you planted at Our Lady’s feet! I know She loved these gestures even more! Your story brought me joy, thank you for sharing! I really love Our Mother because She was there for me in my two darkest moments and without Her help, I know I would not have had the courage to go back to Her Son. There are two books I wanted to suggest for you, two of my favs that I return to often whenever I feel myself growing distant from Mother Mary, aka Mama Mary. 1) The Mystical City of God by Mary of Agreda. Look for the popular abridgement one, it’s deep but really worth reading even if it takes awhile and 2) The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus de Liguori, wonderful book by a wonderful saint! Thank you for all that you do and happy birthday to your small business! You’ve really blessed me and many others who I have shared your candles with (always a sacrifice for me, hate to admit it hahah!!). God bless you and my Jesus draw you ever closer to His Mother. She is truly special and the bestest of Mothers. :)
Thank you so much for sharing this special and simple story. Simple just as Mary is. All these stories are uplifting! I sometimes also turn to use a variety of meditations on the Rosary from different books as well as audio meditations. Everything began with her Fiat, and I feel that is how I need to begin my every day also! Thank you so much and God bless you!
My husband has been a deacon in the church for about 7 years. I felt compelled several years ago to get a statue of Mary to put behind our back porch. We often do the liturgy of the hours and say the rosary sitting on the back porch looking at her. It is always restful to see her there as we ready ourselves for a day of working on cars and renting out u-hauls. We love having her there.
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