Entrustment to Mary = The Peace that Surpasses All Understanding

Last week my daughter got married. Last week my husband and I hosted a wedding reception in our backyard that included over 200 family members and friends. Last week we heard from our family and friends how beautiful the nuptial Mass was and what a good time they had eating, drinking, and being merry during the hours following it.  Some even dared to say that it was “just perfect” – and you know what?  It was – because it wasn’t!

I won’t list all the things that didn’t go according to plan, but I will say that God’s grace sufficed for what we lacked. From the day the engagement was announced, I knew I was in over my head. I believed my only recourse was to ask our Blessed Mother to take over at the helm.[1] She gave me her eyes to see the people who were willing and eager to help. She sent us “Marys” who prayed and “Marthas” who labored. And in the final weeks and days – and hours! -  She had us securely enveloped in her mantle, experiencing a peace that surpassed all understanding. Things didn’t always go our way but we were given the grace to accept and trust and believe that God’s will was being done. This hugely affected our experience of the wedding and those who shared it with us.

A few days after the wedding, I noticed I was not experiencing the same peace.  I wanted to say that Someone was taking the mantle back.  But as I shared my experience with others who have also entrusted themselves to Blessed Mother, the reality was clear – I was the one who was kicking the mantle off, as though I didn’t need it any more. How silly is that? Entrustment to Blessed Mother[2] can be experienced EVERY day in EVERY event, big or small. Just as She pondered all things in her heart, She will guide us to see God’s will in all things. Therein lies the peace that surpasses all understanding.  (cf. Philippians 4:7)

- Contributed by one of Mary's Beloved Children, whose pen name is Farrah C. - "My 'happy fault' leads me in search of the tax collector who humbly acknowledges, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' (cf. Luke 18:13)

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[1] For those who are accustomed to planning and organizing everything by themselves, this task of ‘giving over the helm’ may become very difficult. Of course, if God illuminates us with the light of faith, then it will become clear to us that there is no risk involved in this surrender, because – as it was before and it is now – we remain hidden in God’s arms. (S.C. Biela, God Alone Suffices, 3^rd Ed. [Ft.Collins, CO: IAMF, 2012], 136.)

[2] The arms of Mary, where we can find security and happiness, are in reality the arms of God Himself, who completely permeates the one whom the Church calls the Vessel of the Holy Spirit. (Ibid. 137.)