Our Church has made much of the mother of Jesus Christ. She is accorded many honors: Theotokos, Our Lady of Charity, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady Help of Christians, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and others too numerous to name here.
Although she is indeed worthy of these titles, I think the example for us inherent within the story of our Blessed Mother is found within the simplest aspect of her story: she listened and obeyed.
We live in a society that has reduced and devalued communication to a few simple strokes of the finger on our smart phones. We participate within a democratic government that places value, not upon our willingness to accept what we are told, but upon our ability to engage in the critical questioning of that which we hear.
Our Blessed Mother, a simple Judean teenager, is told by a divine messenger that she is to be the vessel through which our salvation is to enter the human experience. She does indeed question the messenger, but, when answered, she accepts this responsibility without qualification. In so doing, she also embraces the consequence of this decision: a single woman, with child, participating within the confines of a well-defined theocracy surely will receive harsh judgment once the news of her expected pregnancy becomes common knowledge.
She listens. She obeys.
We are bombarded by messages on a daily basis: television, satellite radio, the Internet, our mail, and other channels, all of which compete for our attention, compelling us to act.
Yet each day, we also are challenged by those whose presence communicates the great depth of hunger in this nation – the un- and under-employed; the ill and impoverished; youth eager for a Catholic education, but unable to afford one; the need for dynamic ordained and lay leaders within the Church.
We hear these messages each day. If we hear those messages, do we, as Mary did, accept the responsibility and share our resources to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, support those called to ministry, and to pass on our faith?
It is my hope that you will consider The Catholic Foundation as a way to respond to those messages of need that you hear each day in your busy life.
Damiano is the President and CEO of The Catholic Foundation and an active parishioner at Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare Parish in Church.