There is something about Mary

"And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, thou favored one! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women" - Luke 1:28

Last week's long weekend afforded me and my roomies a much needed vacation in the beach town of Pondicherry. One of the days I woke up a little early and went to the beach,which was just across the resort we were staying in.It was around 5:45 AM,there was a cold morning breeze,the surf was up and the sun was rising.It was a sight to behold and I felt like praying & thanking the Lord.I was struggling to find words for my prayer and ended up saying the 'Hail Mary'.Slowly,intently and with all the concentration I could muster I said the words of this wonderful prayer.The surroundings made it all the more surreal.It was Bliss with a capital 'B'.

But,why pray to Mary ? All of you must be aware of the big theological debate happening between us Catholic and our Protestant brothers(and sisters) about Mary,Her role in salvation,Her veneration etc. But this post is not about the theology,(If u want some cool Marian theology in plain English click here and alsohere ) its about the relationship.So,why do we end up calling up Mary all the time ? I believe,its that 'mother thing'.I mean generally Mom's are easier to get to,they are more compassionate and tend to have a lot of patience.(Note : Dad's too possess these ,but Mom's tend to possess these virtues in much larger quantities ) They don't waste time while responding to requests and prepare awesome chicken curry (OK,the chicken curry part was  about my biological Mum  Lent-effect ) But most importantly Mother Mary is 'the' perfect example of surrendering oneself to the will of God.Her 'YES' in Luke 1:38 is the perfect example of how our own response to God,our Father,should be.Turn to Her and she'll turn you towards Her Son.One of the coolest advices,for our walk in Christ,given in the Scriptures is from our Mom herself i.e. "Do whatever He tells you"(John 2:5) and He tells us - 'Behold Your Mother'(John 19:27)

So,call upon Mommy today(and while you are at it,say one 'Hail Mary' for me too )