“The Loftiest Sentiments of Which the Human Heart Is Capable”: Serving With a Heart Like Mary’s
“The world being unworthy to receive the son of God directly from the hands of the Father, he gave his son to Mary for the world to receive him from her” (St. Augustine).
How do you celebrate New Year’s Day?
For many, the first day of the year is a day for sleeping in, watching football, or driving back home from spending Christmas with family. Catholics may partake in these traditions, too, but we also have a Solemnity to observe on New Year’s Day: the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
This year, it’s not a holy day of obligation, since it falls on a Saturday. But, it’s still important to pause and meditate on this awe-inspiring title of Mary—Mother of God—and consider how she can be a model for us this year.
“In the light of Mary,” writes Pope St. John Paul II in “Redemptoris Mater: On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Pilgrim Church,” “the Church sees in the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement.”
Let’s take a look at each of these “lofty sentiments” and how we, as Catholic women, can strive to emulate Mary in them:
The Self-offering Totality of Love
As Bishop Robert Barron likes to say, “Your life is not about you.” Just as Christ emptied himself out during his passion and death, we are asked to give ourselves to others. This self-gift doesn’t mean that we ignore self-care; after all, we need to replenish in order to give, and we must treasure the mind, body, and soul that God gave us. It does mean, however, that we follow the two most important commandments as Jesus instructed: to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).
As women, we are called to step outside our bubble, to go beyond our own self-interest, to nurture and care for the people God places in our lives. Mary is the ultimate example of this totality of love, as John Paul II points out. She gave up her life for her love of God and his Son. When she agreed to do so, she immediately went “in haste” to visit her cousin Elizabeth and help her in her time of need. And, since her death and assumption into heaven, she has appeared many times to her children here on Earth to guide us and show us her maternal love for us.
The Strength That Is Capable of Bearing the Greatest Sorrows
Every September, we honor Our Lady of Sorrows, a title that may seem on the surface one that we shouldn’t remember. Why should we focus on Mary’s great sorrows? Because she is an example of how to bear them. We all must suffer, and we are called to do so with love and in union with Jesus’ suffering on the cross. Mary shows us the strength that is required to suffer in this way, and she is there to intercede for us when we ask God to give us that strength.
The last two years have been difficult for all of us. Many of us have never experienced suffering like we have in 2020 and 2021. We don’t know what 2022 holds, but we do know that Mary has us under her mantle, as she told St. Juan Diego, and she can show us how to handle whatever comes our way.
Limitless Fidelity and Tireless Devotion to Work
I don’t know about you, but I don’t often (ever) feel very tireless these days. I’m up during the night with a baby, I’m caring for her during the day and writing while she’s napping, I’m taking care of the house (badly), I’m trying to be a good Christian, wife, mother, daughter, sister …
Life is a lot of work. And, while I am devoted to the work that I do for my family and for my community (online and off), I’m not always tireless in that devotion, and I don’t always feel like I have limitless fidelity to my vocation. Mary had no dishwasher. She cleaned her clothes (and Jesus’ diapers!) by hand. There was no microwave to heat up leftovers. Yet, she was tireless in her devotion to the work God had given her.
Penetrating Intuition and Words of Support and Encouragement
Intuition is one of the feminine gifts Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) identifies in her “Essays on Woman.” She writes that because of our intuition, women are able to understand and support others.
This year, my husband and I received an outpouring of support and encouragement from family and friends. We had a meal train after our baby was born that meant we didn’t cook for about a month. I had daily text messages from my sister (a mother of two), reminding me that the postpartum period didn’t last forever and giving me encouragement in those difficult days. My mom came over as often as we needed her to, giving us the opportunity to nap even if the baby wasn’t. We felt so loved, so cared for by our little community.
In 2022, I hope to be like Mary, to give that love back a hundredfold. I’m back on my feet and want to share my own words of support and encouragement, particularly with other women. Mary is my model (not to mention a heavenly source of support and encouragement herself), and I encourage you to join me in considering how we can follow her example to serve our family, friends, and community this year.
May Mary, Mother of God, pray for us and guide us in 2022 and always. Happy New Year!
Taryn Oesch DeLong is a wife and mother in Raleigh, NC. In between changing diapers, reading stories, and singing lullabies, she is also a freelance editor and writer. Passionate about supporting women in work, in life, and in health, she is the managing editor of Catholic Women in Business; a contributor at Natural Womanhood, CatholicMom.com, and Live Today Well Co.; and a fertility awareness advocate and FEMM instructor. In her free time, Taryn enjoys relaxing with a cup of Earl Grey and a Jane Austen novel. She also volunteers with the pro-life ministry at her parish and plays the piano and the flute. Taryn’s favorite saints are Sts. Joseph, Zélie, Thérèse, Teresa of Calcutta, and Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein). Follow Taryn on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or read her blog, Everyday Roses.