VIAMARIA!
To Jesus Through Mary
(via maria-by way of Mary)
Mary as Mother
When I met Mother Teresa and heard her speak on Jesus' mother, Mary, she said to ask Mary to be your mother and she will. My heart lept with joy. She went on about Elizabeth's greeting, "who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me...""...for the moment your voice sounded in my ear, the child in my womb lept with joy." Jesus taught us, whoever does the will of my father, are my mother, my brothers, my sisters. He taught us to pray, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed(holy) be thy name." And on the cross Jesus said to he disciple, "behold thy mother". And He said to His mother, "behold thy son." The notion of God as our father and Mary as our mother, and we, their children is odd without faith. But it is in faith, we see, that we are part of an intimate family, a holy family, a spiritual family, with a mother, father, sisters, brothers.
By Way of Mary(via maria)
It is impossible to summarize in a couple of sentences, the book, "True Devotion to Mary", by St. Louis de Montfort. It is a must read for all. The notion put forth is, have recourse to Mary for everything. She is the vehicle God used, and He wants us to use. She leads all to His Son, Jesus. Everything she did and does is for God. And God gave her to us to be a mother to us, as she was for His Son.
Mary's suffering
Like Jesus suffered much, Mary suffered much. For an idea of her sufferings, read the Seven Dolors of Mary at the end of the book, "Victories of the Martyrs", by St. Alphonsus de Liguori. As he said, "..Jesus on the cross suffered more from compassion for His Mother than from His own torments."