When we were trying to conceive we blessed my stomach with holy water from Our Lady of Lourdes and asked for her intercession in helping us have a baby. When we got pregnant, Ted blessed me and the baby every night and continued to ask Mary for her prayers. The Lourdes water came with us to the delivery room and now sits on Hannah's dresser as I type this.
So you can imagine my shock and sheer delight when Hannah "chose" Our Lady of Lourdes for her patron for 2012. At our New Year's retreat we passed a basket around the room filled with the names of over a hundred of saints. When we held the basket out to Hannah, she took her time and moved her hand from one piece of paper to the other before pulling one out of the basket. Our Lady of Lourdes-so beautifully fitting.
Just a month later, on her birthday, Hannah and I lit a candle in front of a statue of Mary at church and asked Mary to continue to intercede for her throughout this year. That very same day, when I picked Hannah up out of her crib after her nap she turned around and pointed to the picture of Mary and Jesus hanging above her crib. The picture, a framed canvas of Our Lady of the Streets, is from Rome and was given to us on our wedding day. It's been hanging over Hannah's crib for months, but she noticed it that day for the first time. She pointed to the picture, babbled a bit while looking at Mary, and smiled her shy, embarrassed smile before digging her head into my shoulder.
She met Mary.
Since then, I can ask Hannah, "Where's Mary?" and she will almost always find her. I'm always amazed that she knows just where Mary is because each image of Mary is different from the other.
She knows Our Lady of the Streets, the image above her bed.
She always finds Our Lady of Guadalupe, the magnet on our fridge.
In Mass she always points to the image of Mary on the misalette that resembles Our Lady of Chestahova.
At Mass, she can find the Mary statue instantly upon being asked.
And at the end of each day she reaches for the Mary statue on her bookshelf when we tell her it's time to pray.
Successfully pointing to Mary is usually followed by a big grin and sometimes kisses for Our Lady. So cute.
Even though she recognizes Mary, Jesus is another story. When I realized this the other day I got worried for a second. "Oh no-she never points to Jesus when I ask her to! What kind of mother am I?" But I quickly figured out the reason for this. Although the many images of Mary look different, she's still a lovely lady with flowing robes. Jesus, on the other hand, looks completely different each time I ask her, "Where's Jesus?"
Sometimes He's a little baby, in Mary's arms. Other times He's a man with a beard and his own flowing gown. Other times He's naked on a cross. And sometimes He looks like a little round piece of bread or golden chalice of wine as I whisper in her ear, "That's Jesus," at the words of consecration.
So for a toddler, "Where's Jesus?" might take a little while longer than "Where's Mary". But that's quite alright. Because knowing His mother is the best thing you can do to know Him. If Hannah and Mary are tight, I know she'll introduce her to Jesus.
It's Mary's sole mission, to bring us to her Son.
This is so beautiful! I love how children so naturally embrace the Faith. Hannah already has a beautiful faith!
ReplyDeleteSo precious! And how neat that H picked her (or that she picked H!).
ReplyDeleteIt's the opposite for Clara. For the longest time, any image that looked the slightest bit religious was "Jesus", which meant Mary on my miraculous medal, prayer cards and pictures. She's starting to differentiate now, but I always just thought it was so cute that she picked up on the religious vibe of something either way.
This is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo sweet!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Kids, in their pure, unstained form, have such a beautiful connecton with the supernatural and holy.
ReplyDeleteSo adorable! My youngest nephew is like that too...if you point to Our Lady and ask, "Who's this?" he'll say in this adorable voice, "Mama Mary!" It's too cute.
ReplyDeleteSo precious.
ReplyDeleteLike Clara, Isabella can find Jesus every where and loves to point to Him and give Him kisses.
Mary, on the other hand, is a little confusing for her. Her Godmother's name is Mary. One of her friend's name is Mary and thus, she thinks we are talking about them, when we talk about Mary. She walks around saying "I love you Jesus" all the time. I know He will lead her to His Mother.
I love the innocence!
ReplyDeleteDH said the other night he noticed that Hannah always reaches for Our Lady when she sees Her. It's so sweet.
I have a "stain" glass sticker of her on my back door and she always reaches for her and Hubs is always taking her over to Her. It's really sweet.
Beautiful entry :-)
ReplyDeleteLove this! So precious!
ReplyDeleteI love everything about this! so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLittle Hannah, knows her and she knows Hannah!
ReplyDeleteSo, so beautiful! And yes, Mary will introduce Hannah to her Son! I wonder how this devotion will continue to play out in Hannah's life?
ReplyDeletePrecious. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Such an amazing thing for Hannah to pick Our Lady of Lourdes! And I think you are right about not being able to recognize Jesus as well .... makes sense to me.
ReplyDeleteYou've got one smart little cookie there! Way to go, Hannah!
Though I'm only just now reading this, I really enjoyed this post! What an incredible thing that your daughter has her own special relationship even now! I, too, have a special place in my heart for Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette. I don't think you could ask for better guides or guardians for your little one! :)
ReplyDeleteI love it! Miriam isn't as devoted as Hannah, but when she gets out of the bathtub I put her hooded towel on her and say "You look beautiful like Mary!" and she smiles and tries to say "Mary." Heart-melting.
ReplyDelete