Sent to Serve

My dear brothers and sisters, ever since I was a small child, I can remember May being a special time in my heart to express much love to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As we begin this special month dedicated to honoring her, I can think of no better person to focus my first Bayou Catholic column on than our Mother Mary. While I look forward to sharing more of my life and my experiences here with you in the months ahead, I want to begin by turning to her as a diocesan family and growing close to her this month in particular.

I can remember when I was young praying the rosary every day during the month of May together as a family. I even remember loving to make a small altar each year in my home honoring Mary. I would put a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and decorate it with candles and flowers. I really think these memories and traditions created a deep love for Mary in my heart. This love was much more than just saying rosaries though. Love is about following and imitating the one you love.

Even from a young age, I wanted to imitate Mary. I can remember once I had joined the seminary, there was a grotto on the seminary grounds that was dedicated to her. I would often invite some of my brother seminarians to pray the rosary at the grotto every night to dedicate our day to her and ask her to be with us as we discerned if God was calling us to the priesthood.

The love that I had as a young child grew bigger as I grew up, and I wanted to share it. Why would I want to keep that love to myself?! It was a great grace to pray to Mary and to bring others to pray with her, too. When I was ordained a bishop, I knew I wanted to remain close to Mary, and that is why I dedicated my coat of arms to her. The golden tower on my coat of arms is a reference to Mary, the “Tower of David” and “House of Gold.” I want to dedicate everything I do to her.

The month of May is for all of us an invitation to follow Mary very closely in our own prayer and to imitate by our lives the way that she lived her life. I think Mary’s whole life can be defined by her “yes.” She lived her life not for herself, but rather for God. Following God’s will was the single most important thing to her. Nothing was more important than doing what God wanted, even when she didn’t understand the full picture herself. Her answer to the archangel Gabriel, “Let it be done to me according to your will,” is a reminder to us that our lives should be rooted in the same truth – following God’s will and trusting in him, even, perhaps, when we do not understand what he is doing. Many times in our lives, that kind of trust is hard. That is why it is so important to turn to Mary to teach us how to trust.

May is a beautiful time to turn to Mary as a family, as a parish community, and as a diocese so that she can teach us. Many parishes foster devotion to Mary with special traditions this month. I want to highlight the great importance and the beauty of praying the rosary, especially with others. When we pray the rosary together as a family, we focus on her “yes” and ask her to help us to make that same “yes” to God in our lives. It is easy for the rosary to become something mechanical, repeating the same words over and over. It is also easy for the rosary to be something that is only jewelry or something that hangs in our cars. But the rosary is for me the most powerful way to speak to Mary, to meditate on her life, and to develop a real relationship with her. I want to encourage everyone to pray to Mary every day this month. Even if you don’t pray a whole rosary every day, starting small and simple can have a big impact. Any time I finish a meeting with someone, I pray a Hail Mary with them. While I may not have time to pray a rosary at that moment, I can dedicate that time and that person to her by that prayer.

Mary had such an important role in our salvation. God needed her “yes” so that Jesus could become man, so that he could suffer, die and rise from the dead for us. Without Mary’s “yes,” it wouldn’t have happened. In the same way, God needs our “yes.” If we give God permission, he can do incredible things in our lives and in our hearts. As we begin this month dedicated to Mary, may her “yes” inspire us to give that same answer to God, no matter what he is calling each of us to.

May God bless each of you and your families.