May Drinking Companion
Mary is this month’s drinking partner for 3 reasons. First is the Wedding Feast at Cana, for obvious reasons, she intercedes for those in need with Jesus, by asking Jesus help those in need in that moment, symbolically the wine means joy, and when there is no joy left, Mary asks Jesus to help restore the joy. Second is an old 16th century devotion to Our Lady of Milk (Leche in the original Spanish). This devotion is to the obvious fact that Jesus was nourished by the milk of His heavenly mother. Mary as the first Christian can provide nourishment for our faith. As a Catholic we ask her for help in our faith, just as she asked God “how can this be?” We do not doubt God’s goodness in these moments, but sometimes we would like clarity to what’s going on around us. Mary is that assistant, just as on Calvary and everywhere else in the Bible that she appears, she is always God’s vessel and sharer in the grace of Jesus Christ. We call her mediatrix of grace for this reason, her yes makes her a co-redeemer with Jesus who is the source of all grace. The third and biggest reason, is May is her month in the Church.
This is always one of the challenging parts of faith, I even struggled with it at times, but I was always reminded, everyone one of us, is the mystical body of Christ, aka the Church. We are all participators in His grace, and sharing of His light in the world. This is the beauty of the all the saints, all who are very much alive in Christ whether we see them in this physical world or not. St. Paul says they are always there cheering us on to finish the race (Hebrews 12:1).
Why does Mary have so many titles though? More than Jesus it seems sometimes. It’s just what we do as humans, we have nicknames for everything, and while Jesus is the Lord of everything, Mary is the Mother of our Lord (Luke 1:43). She is the vessel and new tabernacle which brings God the Father to us in the physical being of Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God. She is also the spouse of the Holy Spirit (1 of 3 persons that makes the Holy Trinity of God), meaning that she is married to God, thus why we as Catholics believe she never had relations with Joseph, and he was simply protector and provider for Mary and Jesus on this earth, thus why we call him “protector of the church.” Back to Mary though, this divorce of her as God’s spouse and Mother of the Church is just a small microcosm of our bigger picture today. As the dislike of her marriage to the Church as grown, ironically society has grown a dislike to marriage as well, thus why divorced couples is actually the new majority.
We are all struggling in this world, and there are 2 titles of Mary I have come to enjoy the most, first is “Our Lady of Perpetual Help” and second is “Our Lady Undoer of Knots”. First she helps us in all situations, I learned this as I spent time with my uncle’s religious group who is devoted to this icon of Mary and teaching. The other devotion is one loved and promoted by Pope Francis. During this time in history, man has done a great job of causing more problems than solutions. It’s true, we live in one of the greatest societies in human history, and have some of the greatest blessings one could imagine, especially as a citizen of the U.S.A. The other thought is something as simple as a nuclear bomb, we literally have created the power to eliminate the entire world if one chose. We have figured out how to extend life, sometimes even create it, but we especially exterminate it in record number genocides, from stuff like the Holocaust which accounted for 7 million, to modern day abortion which averages close to a million a year in the U.S.A. since 1973. As a world we are struggling to care for our blessings and life, individually we all have some problems and sins we are struggling with. Consider running to your mother for help, she will point the clear path back to her son, just as the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help suggests. Mercy is there, we just have to say yes to it, and no to the wrongs we have done, aka confession and accountability. Take her hand as Jesus does, and have a good heart to heart with your Mother of Grace over your next drink of choice.
The original icon of what is now widely known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help at the Chiesa di San Alfonso in Rome