A Poetic Reflection On The Virgin Mary

Having converted to Catholicism in my late teens, I had little experience or knowledge of The Virgin Mary, our Blessed Mother. I honored her mostly at Christmas time, knowing that she was called “Blessed” in Luke’s gospel, and that she carried our Savior in her womb and stayed with him through His death, resurrection, and ascension.

By Virginia Herrera Aguirre
14 May 2019

The Virgin Mary was, I knew, revered in my new faith; so I set out to know her better.

I began to pray the rosary. I found the mysteries of the rosary to be a beautiful way to ponder the life of Our Lord. After daily mass I began to pray the rosary while I walked along the trails near our home. Often, while I was praying, I would become distracted by thoughts of daily chores, activities, places I’d been and places to which I hoped to go. Still, I kept to my walks and prayed the rosary, allowing the mysteries to pour over me.

Read more about the Virgin Mary here and here.

Slowly I discovered that I wasn’t walking alone. Our blessed mother walked along with me. When distracted I would imagine her pulling me back to the path and leading me to her son. In honor of her presence I wrote the following poem about our walks:

Our Mother
I am an unruly child,
reaching for everything I see.
Here’s a golden bobble,
there, a pretty toy.
A stage on which to perform is just within my reach.
I pull away towards a different path,
one of games and promises of fun.
Gently, lovingly, firmly, the hand that holds me,
Never lets me go and
Guides me back to the path.
We continue on our journey,
and I continue to pull away.
I forget about our journey, I want to go to play.
But I am held fast, with love.
We climb a mountain,
to the foot of a cross.
Always talkative, I am at a loss for words,
She stands beside me; I am lost in love,
My heart becomes still;
looking up to her glowing face
she looks down to me,
Saying, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
And with a breath I find my way.

Sometimes, people think building a relationship with Mary is unimportant or unnecessary. However, this thinking is incorrect. To state it simply, if we want to more fully know this Jesus to whom we’ve entrusted ourselves, wouldn’t we want to know his mother better as well?

How can we expect to really know Jesus, if we’re uninterested in knowing his mother? It seems difficult to see how Jesus is pleased by a dismissive attitude toward his mother. Besides, Mary always points us toward her Son. She never detracts from him. Yes, we Catholics “go to Jesus.” But we don’t neglect the Mother of God whose “yes” brought him into the world and made salvation possible.