Special Invitation: Welcoming Our Lady into Our Hearts and Homes

Who doesn't love opening your mailbox and discovering, amid the pile of bills and junk mail, the unexpected treasure of an invitation? Whether it is a request for our presence at a birthday party, a wedding, or some other event, receiving a colorful and festive invitation of any sort will often bring a smile to our faces.  

The Wedding Garment of Repentance 

When invited to a special occasion, we often plan to wear something new and appropriate for the event.  Who can forget the fate of the man not dressed in proper attire in the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt 22:1-14)? Because he was not clothed in the wedding garment of repentance, change of heart and mind, and a life of good deeds, he was cast out into the darkness, "where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth" (Matt 22:13).

Each time we approach the Eucharist, we are responding to the invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9). To be worthy of such a blessing, we remember to ask Jesus for our continued conversion and the deepening of our faith and love for Him. In this way, we are fit to participate in the Eucharistic banquet. 

Invitations and Gifts 

We don't show up empty-handed when we attend a wedding or other function. Instead, we bring gifts for the honorees to show our love for them on their special day. Similarly, we can offer Jesus such gifts as love and obedience, along with our prayers and sacrifices.  

My husband and I are in the season of life where our friends are witnessing the marriages of their children and the births of their grandchildren. It is a special time, and we have been blessed and honored to be invited by some to share in their joy. We are happy to shower our friends with love and well-wishes as they celebrate these milestones. 

I think in a similar way, Our Lady responds with love when we invite her into our hearts and homes as a Mother. Just as at the prompting of Jesus, St. John accepted Mary into his home after the Crucifixion (John 19:25-27); we, too, can welcome her into our lives. When we do, we are assured of her protection and assistance, and we receive her abundant blessings.  

Welcoming Mary into our Homes through Prayer 

There are many ways we can welcome Our Lady and respond to her maternal love. Simple acts of speaking to her daily, praying the Holy Rosary, and petitioning her for our families and loved ones are all means by which we ask her to be our Mother and lead us to Jesus.  

Our family was recently blessed with the visit of our parish's Pilgrim Virgin statue to our home. For one week, we were able to spend time before her holy image and pray the daily Rosary. The Pilgrim Virgin is not just a beautiful statue. It is a visual reminder of the reality that we have a heavenly Mother who is truly available to us, who loves us and is watching over us,  guiding us to her Son, Jesus. Hosting the Pilgrim Virgin is one small way we had the opportunity to invite Mary into our home and experience her presence in a special way.  

Inviting Mary into our Hearts through Consecration 

Another fantastic way to invite Mary into our hearts is by consecrating ourselves and our families to Jesus through Mary. Throughout his pontificate, the great St. John Paul II emphasized the importance of Marian devotion, and inspired by St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion to Mary, he exhorted us to give our lives to Jesus through her. He said: 

 "Entrusting himself to Mary in a filial manner, the Christian, like the Apostle John, "welcomes" the Mother of Christ "into his own home"130 and brings her into everything that makes up his inner life."(Redemptoris Mater, 45)   

A recent CatholicMom.com article on Marian Consecration examines more deeply the benefits of entrusting ourselves and our children to Our Lady, who leads us to Jesus. Once we have made a consecration, St. Louis de Montfort recommends renewing it each year. When we invite Mary into our hearts and give her all that we have and are through consecration, she responds to our gift of self with abundant blessings.  

We are invited to give our lives daily to Jesus through Mary so we can one day be with them in heaven. We respond, in turn, with our own invitation to them to come into our hearts and homes, where they transform us and our families and bless us with peace. 

What are some ways you invite Jesus and Mary
 into your life and the life of your family?  

Inset photo of Marian statue courtesy of Tina Mayeux (All Rights Reserved)