Rocca di Papa, May 26, 1987
(…)
There are a great many ways of honouring Mary.
However, one is the best of all: to imitate her, to act as she would on earth, as if we were other Marys. I believe it would be the way to please her most, because it enables her, in a way, to return to the earth.
We should focus on this, without neglecting all the other opportunities we have to honour Mary. To imitate her.
But how? What do we imitate in her?
Let us imitate her in what is essential. She is a mother, Jesus’ mother and spiritually our mother. From the cross, Jesus gave her to us as such in the person of John. We have to be another Mary, as a mother. In practice, we have to state this intention: during the Marian Year, I will behave toward every neighbour I meet, or for whom I shall be working, as though I were their mother.
If we do that, we will discover a conversion in ourselves, a revolution, not only because we will find ourselves acting as a mother even to our own mother or father from time to time, but also because we will have adopted a particular, specific attitude. A mother is always welcoming, always helpful, always hopeful, and covers up everything. She forgives everything in her son, even if he is a delinquent or a terrorist.
The fact is that a mother’s love is very similar to the charity of Christ of which Paul speaks.
If we have the heart of a mother, or to be exact, if we propose to make Mary’s heart our own, she who stands out as the most perfect model of motherhood, then we shall be always ready to love others in all circumstances, so that we keep the Risen One living in us. We will play perfectly the part asked of us to keep Jesus, the Risen One, present in our midst.
If we have the heart of this mother, we will love everybody, not just the members of our own Church, but those of others too. Not only Christians, but also Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc., and all people of goodwill, everyone dwelling on the earth: because the Mary’s motherhood is as universal as the Redemption.
Even though sometimes she is not loved in return, she always loves, and loves everyone.
So here we have our intention for the start of the Marian Year: to live like Mary, as if we were mothers to everyone.
Chiara Lubich
