Moms, Mary knows

It was perfect timing. Today at Palm Sunday Mass I was the narrator in the Passion narrative. While I was reading, a few of the Haitian missionary kiddos that live at our mission base had given Nathaniel their palms that they had tied in the shape of circles. As I got to the part of the story of Jesus’ suffering where the soldiers made a crown of thorns and pushed it into Jesus’ head, I noticed that Nathaniel was trying to get Paul to put the “crown of palms” around his head. 

I choked on my words as I struggled to read the narrative and immediately thought about our beautiful Mother Mary. I wanted to stop for a minute and sob, but I had to keep going. Yes, Jesus suffered and died for us and experienced an unbearable amount of pain. Mary suffered in a different way, though. She watched the closest person to her get publicly mocked, flogged, and ultimately crucified. 

Nathaniel and Thérèse currently have nasty coughs and during the night I feel like crying when I hear their little coughs. Mary knew that feeling but a thousand times more strongly! I imagine Jesus as a child getting a splinter while helping Joseph with woodwork. That alone probably caused Mary pain, never mind nails being hammered into his hands and feet after being beaten, tortured, and made to carry His own cross on Calvary. 

Mary raised Jesus and taught him basic life skills. She knows my current suffering of potty-training a 2 year old. I planned on doing the super-fast plan (“Potty Training in a Day”) but I quickly realized that won’t work living in community, sharing a bathroom with many people, going without water off and on, no washing machine to clean the many pairs of poopy underwear, not having eyes on Nathaniel at all times on a large property, etc.. But, Mary didn’t have the speed potty-training book, and I’m sure she managed just fine. Plus, she didn’t have a washing machine either!

Not only does Mary reassure me as a mother, she also inspires me to be willing to give my children completely over to God, no matter how difficult it might get, whether that be from the day-to-day “boo-boo’s” to the persecution they might later experience as Catholic Christians. Or, maybe they’ll choose to be missionaries someday in an unsafe faraway land, and I’ll finally understand what Paul’s mom and my mom feel.