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Honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary

2016-10-18-anthonyHow lucky are we as a Church to venerate the greatest of all saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary? Every year, on these special days and during the month of May, I practice certain devotions to help me show thanks to Mary for her presence and intercession in my vocation. I pray that many who read this post will take a step to foster beginning or increasing a devotion to Mary.

My devotional practices are not something out of the ordinary, but they have a significant impact on my prayer life. I always seek to show my thanks after invoking Mary’s intercession having, encountered some struggles in my vocation. I show thanks in two ways, one is through devotional prayer and the other way of honoring Mary in the world. First, every Saturday I pray the Novena in Honor of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. I usually stand or kneel before a statue of the Immaculate Conception or Our Lady of Grace, these two statues are widely used in many churches in our diocese, as I pray this novena. Some parish communities pray this novena together after a morning Mass during the week or on a Saturday. One of my earliest memories was at the conclusion of the Wednesday night Mass at Saint Agnes Parish (Our Lady of Hope Parish), the community would pray the novena.

A way I honor Mary on Saturdays is a practice that may seem out of the ordinary, yet permit me to explain. Each Saturday during college football season, I wear a blue and white t-shirt for Penn State football team. If you have never met me, I am a HUGE fan of their football team. One day, a parishioner from my home parish, Our Lady of Peace, pointed out I always am wearing blue and white on Saturday and thought I did this to honor Mary. Originally I was taken aback and said it is for the Penn State football team. After reflecting on his comment in prayer, I realized that I was doing this and immediately my mind gravitated to Mary and honoring her by wearing blue and white, as well as showing my support for the football team. Today, when anyone asks why I wear my t-shirt, I first say it is to honor Mary on Saturday and then to support the Penn State football team. As I said before, this way of honoring Mary may seem a bit out of the ordinary, but I reference a similar practice by a group of women from a parish in Glassboro who wore blue hats on Saturdays to honor Mary. Going out on a limb, I would say what I do here is similar to their practice.

Devotions can have a more formal tone, while some others grow out of habits, rituals, or daily practices. Do you have a devotion to Mary? If you do, how do you honor her in your life? Do you pray the Rosary or Novena in Honor of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal? Do you wear blue and white for her on Saturdays or wear a pin of an image of a Marian apparition? All in all, there are many ways to honor Mary as Jesus’ and our Mother. I encourage the youth, young adults, and adults to seek her intercession when discerning their vocation. As one priest in the seminary said last year, Mary prays for our vocation and Jesus calls us to that vocation. I wish you all much success in fostering or continuing a devotional practice to Mary.

Father Anthony Infanti
Father Anthony Infanti was ordained on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Father Anthony Infanti

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