Anything that blooms is fair game on my property. The little girls in my house can’t help it…they are drawn like bees to the colors and the scents, whether they’re picking dandelions or peonies. Their first reaction, after picking whatever treasure they’ve found, is to give it to me, always with a smile, usually with an exclamation.
And I take them, always with a smile, usually with an exclamation. How can I not?
Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, is the title I’m exploring over at Today’s Catholic Woman today. It’s a title that reminds me of the many times my girls bring me flowers. It’s a title that makes me want to pick a bouquet for Mary, my friend and sister, a companion who prays for me like a mother, a mother who smiles at my small victories. Maybe you’ll enjoy my reflections and add some of your own to the discussion.
So often, in my reflections about Mary, I think about how my prayers are like the blooms my daughters bring me throughout the spring and summer. I pray, and sometimes the bouquet I offer is full of wilted dandelions and tulips with not enough stem. Mary takes those prayers just as I take the flowers from my children, with a beaming smile and an exclamation of thanks. She doesn’t care that I’m bringing her regular old prayers, things she’s heard hundreds of times. She doesn’t mind that I’m distracted and struggling. In fact, I think she might cherish them more, knowing the effort it takes me on those days. I imagine her putting my prayers in a special vase, where her Son can smell them.
