 I was convicted when I went to confession over, it was on Good Friday, I was standing in line and you know doing that review trying to come up with what do I need to say. And one of the things I was really convicted about was the need to really talk more about Mary, to be more intentional in my friendship with her. As I mentioned the other night, it's easier to think of her as like an additional mother-in-law like I'm trying you know for Scott he says I feel like I found a birth mother and for me it's like okay okay we have a relationship let's see how far we want to take this and and I was really convicted and then I made a huge error well I shouldn't say an error it actually was the mercy of God. I was also convicted that I had not spoken well about our bishop and needed to to bring that to confession and so as I'm standing in line all these things are happening I get get into the confessional I go through the whole confession and then and then the priest says okay let's go through this and he begins to talk to me about it and all of a sudden I realize oh dear God I am talking to the bishop it's like okay this is the mercy of God this is the mercy of God and when we finished I put my head around and I said can I also ask you personally for forgiveness and he was very gracious he said I thought I recognized your voice Kimberly cool thing about it it was so humiliating but the cool thing about it was on the way home I called my brother who's a minister and I said I really just I just want to tell you what happened and I walked him through the whole thing he laughed with me about confessing to the bishop but then I said I also confess that I don't talk enough about Mary and I just want to share my heart with you and it was the day before he's having his big Sunday service he was working on his homily but he took moments and let me share and so in the last few months I have been asking her more and more how can I know you better how can I walk alongside you you know there were four long years between Scott's conversion and mine and and there were many many obstacles I would say that sort of littered the path to Catholicism but no one loomed larger than Mary for me she was representing a diversion from true devotion to our Lord to a statue that was made of ceramic or marble or maybe even just plastic she was the box that held the gift but did it honor the giver to play with the box instead of focusing on the gift like children do maybe at Christmas time depending on which Catholic friend I spoke to I heard qualities attributed to her that bordered on divinity titles like queen of heaven and mother of God so how could I reconcile on the one hand the love for Jesus that I knew I shared with my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ and an antagonism I felt toward his mother and for those who experience husbands sorry for husbands who experience their wives conversion sometimes there's almost a jealousy toward Jesus where their their wife all of a sudden wants to spend all this time with Jesus well I knew the sound of rosary beads being picked up by Scott off our his dresser and as he walked out the door I knew he was going to take a very lovely walk with Mary and then come back into the house and pace me and so I I really struggled with this in our conversation Scott really began to challenge me why Mary was so excluded from faith you know apart from just an occasional crush at Christmas time I had never heard a sermon about her not even highlighting how she was a model disciple and I thought well maybe as Protestants we're trying to balance Roman Catholics you know they talk so much about her we won't talk much about her it'll all come out in the wash but I knew how special even just mothers of dear friends of mine were to me and how dear my mother-in-law was to me that the mother of my spouse how could the mother of my lord mean practically nothing to me so I began to examine the scriptures describing Mary which recorded her words and her actions and I realized I had never even acknowledged her as a primary role model for me but now I really wanted to and I developed a new appreciation for the gift of Mary's yes apart from her yes I would not have had Jesus Jesus is her gift through her to me and Mary is so much more than a collection of dogmas and devotions she is a person she isn't just the packaging Jesus came in she is a gift to us she is a holy and heroic mother who teaches us through her joys and sufferings to be a disciple and at applied biblical studies I walked through 10 different joys and 10 different sorrows that are really helping to form my my devotion to her today I want to share something different if you're not a Catholic you might be tempted to think well this talk is just for Catholics but I want you to know that even as a Protestant Mary is still your spiritual mother and you need to know what she has done for you so that her son could be your saver your redeemer and if you're a new Catholic maybe embracing Mary as spiritual mother is still tough I hope my words today will help bring you to a understanding and appreciation of her have you ever thought of Mary as the very first and the best disciple from the beginning Mary embraces the call of discipleship I want to walk through the enunciation and the visitation and highlight believe it or not 18 ways that I see her as a primary disciple I want to to model after if you have your Bibles and I hope some of you do I hope you'll turn to Luke one because we're going to really focus on Luke one starting in verse 26 so we begin with the enunciation verses 26 and 27 quote in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary and quote in the sixth month from what well previously in just the verses right before it's the encounter with Zechariah and the pronouncement that Elizabeth is going to conceive and this is going to be the precursor to the Messiah so it is six months from the conception of John the Baptist that the angel Gabriel appears to Mary principle number one of the disciple a disciple prayerfully listens for the voice of God in verse 28 quote and he came to her and said hail full of grace the Lord is with you and quote hail I remember one time we were praying the rosary and our daughter was six years old and we were sitting around the table we and Scott asked her if she would lead and she began hell Mary full of grace the Lord is and Scott might kind of open her eyes and then shut them piously and second one hell Mary full of grace and when she started in the third time Scott said honey honey what what are you saying and she said you know hell Mary and he's like no no no the word is hail like hi she's like oh she's six years old how many hell Mary's did she say but it's even more than high it's actually the word for rejoice rejoice I'm about to give you incredibly joyful news Mary might have remembered in that moment Zechariah 3 14 to 15 which reads this way quote sing aloud oh daughter of Zion shout oh Israel rejoice and exalt with all your heart oh daughter of Jerusalem the Lord has taken away the judgments against you he has cast out your enemies the king of Israel the Lord is in your midst you shall be your evil no more and quote it's that same word rejoice and instead of greeting Mary by name the angel greets her full of grace in the Greek it's carcata many only place in scripture where someone is greeted by an angel not by name but by a title the angel Gabriel having come from the very throne of Almighty God recognizes God has filled her with his divine life to prepare her for this incredible mission he's about to share with her to translate this as highly favored is really missing the mark of course she is highly favored but it is because she is full of grace and when the angel says the Lord is with you that's a phrase used in the Old Testament when the angel is about to say a very important mission verse 29 quote but she was greatly troubled at the saying and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be end quote why would she be greatly troubled angels are not these little baby cherubs with tiny little wings that look chubby and or some artist draw they are magnificent creatures and she's wondering why is this angel appearing to me and then that phrase the Lord is with you what is this mission he's about to tell me about second principle disciples may not fully understand what God is calling them to initially verse 30 quote and the angel said to her do not be afraid Mary for you have found favor with God now fear is an understandable response the angel isn't rebuking her for being in awe and wonder and yes even fear the angel said this to Zechariah when he saw the angel and was afraid just before he received his mission bothering John the Baptist the precursor to the Messiah the angel also says this to Joseph do not fear taking Mary your wife the angel continues in verses 31 and 32 quote and behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus he will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and as of his kingdom there will be no end and quote your mission should you choose to accept it is to conceive and bear the long-awaited Messiah now Mary knows Isaiah 7 14 quote therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel end quote and she knows Emmanuel means God with us the angel tells Mary the name of Jesus which means God saves think about that she is the first person in the universe sorry I shouldn't the angel already knew she's the first person in the world to know the name of the Savior Jesus don't you wonder how many times she said that precious name before anyone else knew it how many times she may have touched her her belly and just said I Jesus I love you and the angel also tells Joseph Jesus name and so he's the second person to ever utter the precious name of Jesus and then according to form in Luke 2 21 we read that quote at the end of eight days when he was circumcised Jesus he was called Jesus the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb end quote this is the fulfillment of God's covenant promises to king David in 2nd Samuel 7 11 to 13 and 16 quote moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come forth from your body and I will establish your kingdom he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever I will be his father and he will be my son and your house in your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me your throne shall be established forever and quote third principle a disciple discerns God's will asking does it square with what I know in sacred scripture verse 34 and Mary said to the angel how can this be since I have no husband now Mary is not unbelieving when she says this Zechariah when he was responding to the angels news about the baby his wife was to conceive response this way quote how shall I know this for I'm an old man and my wife is advanced in years and quote and after that the angel has him struck dumb until the birth of the baby because of his lack of faith Mary's response is not one of unbelief but one of wonder if the Greek can actually also be translated how will this speak and her response is I have no husband her phrase really speaks more to her virginal status than it does her marital status she is betrothed but we really believe that she always intended to have that special kind of marriage with Joseph in which they remained virgins otherwise she would have said when will this be I'm not planning to get married for a few months is it after that or should we move up the wedding date how would this be in verse 35 the angel reveals to her the work of the holy trinity that will envelop her quote and the angel said to her the holy spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you therefore the child to be born will be called holy the son of god and quote the holy spirit will come the power the most high god the father will overshadow her and the child will be the son of god the catechism says quote in 723 by the holy spirit's power and her faith her virginity becomes uniquely fruitful and quote that word of overshadowing of hovering brings to mind two different references in the old testament one is the holy spirit hovering over creation in genesis one bringing about new life and the same greek word for overshadow here is used in exodus 4035 when the presence of the lord overshadows the tabernacle filling it with its glory likewise the holy spirit will overshadow mary so she conceives by the holy spirit the holy one of israel and her body will become a living dwelling place for god the angel gabriel informs mary of another miracle verse 36 and behold your kin's woman elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son and this is the sixth month with her who was called baron for with god nothing will be impossible and quote the catechism in 273 says that mary believed nothing was impossible for god she had deep lively faith she heard god's word she struggled to grasp god's mysterious ways yet she yielded profoundly principle for a disciple yields to the holy spirit cooperating with grace in verse 37 she says quote behold i'm the handmade of the lord let it be to me according to thy word and the angel departed from her his mission was accomplished hers was just beginning in the catechism in 494 sanair anesis quoted as saying being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race and quote and the catechism goes on hence not a few of the early fathers gladly asserted the knot of eves disobedience was untied by mary's obedience what the virgin eve found through her disbelief mary loosened by her faith comparing her with eve they call mother mary the mother of the living and frequently claim death through eve life through mary and quote and now we it brings us to the visitation the fifth principle of discipleship a disciple is eager to share the good news what god has done through the gift of his son a disciple shares the good news and i like to think of this as the little visitation because mary goes to joseph before she travels to elizabeth she shares what is incredible news and joseph needs space to process it there are a lot of different theories about how why he was thinking what he was thinking but in the midst of his sorting through what do i do what do i do he has an angelic encounter in which all that mary has told him is verified and he his mission becomes very clear and he fully commits fully embraces god's will for his beloved and for their family verse 39 quote in those days mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a city of judah and quote notice how quickly mary leaves to go be with elizabeth she goes with haste she is so eager not only to share her incredible news but to celebrate with elizabeth who also has had a miracle they have so much to share po benedict the 16th in may 2010 said this quote we've come to the truest meaning and the most genuine purpose of every missionary journey to give people the living and personal gospel which is the lord jesus christ himself end quote now i want to highlight as i go through this some really beautiful comparisons to mary as ark of the covenant which scott alluded to last night we begin to see these comparisons even just at the beginning where the verbs are she arose and went with haste the same verbs are used to describe king david when he came out to retrieve the ark of the covenant from the house of obeditum which actually was in the hill country of judah which is where mary is heading the the the hill country of judah that's where mary and elizabeth and zekariah have their home in i'm cream we'll pick that thread up in a moment six principle of discipleship a disciple responds with courage versus 40 to 42 quote and she entered the house of zekariah and greeted elizabeth and when elizabeth heard the greeting of mary the babe leaped in her womb and elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb exclaimed as a verb here in the greek if you look back in this sub two agent which is the greek form of the old testament it is only used in five different passages directly relating to the ark of the covenant some of the references are the ark of the covenant being returned from philistine capture bringing it back into jerusalem where the levites who lead the worship of god through song and instrument exclaimed their praise of god and when solomon transfers the ark of the covenant from the city of david into the new temple in jerusalem the people proclaim their praise of god so elizabeth greets mary with the same words and she uses this phrase blessed are you among women recalling salvation history where god acted through two different women with heroic courage helping to free god's people from an enemy by striking the head of the enemy now we don't really write news reports this way but we need we need to appreciate how the people of god loved these two heroic figures and i'm going to quote both the first one is the woman named jail that is her actual name jail it's spelled j a el not j a i l but in judges five 24 to 26 we read this quote most blessed woman be jail the wife of heber the kenite of tent dwelling women most blessed he this is cissura the general of the philistine troops that were attacking the israelites asked for water and she gave him milk she brought him curds in a lordly bowl she put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workman's mallet she struck cissura a blow she crushed his head and shattered and pierced his temple and quote you catch what he's doing he's passing out because he's exhausted from battle and as he lays there she puts the tent peg on his temple and drives it into the ground and thereby frees the israelite people and the israelites call her blessed okay and of judith judith 13 18 to 19 after she cuts off the head of the enemy general in his private tent hides it in a bag slips out of the camp and brings the head back to the people of israel they say this quote oh daughter you are blessed by the most high god above all women on earth and blessed be the lord god who created the heavens and the earth who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies your hope will never depart from the hearts of men as they remember the power of god end quote so when you think of mary and you're thinking of rish just very meek and very mild and very beautiful and she is all of that never forget she is the warrior maiden of god elizabeth and mary are both keenly aware of the prophecy given in genesis 3 15 which is both a curse on the serpent and a prophecy of salvation through a woman quote i will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel end quote mary's victory will be even greater than jail or judas because she is god's instrument through whom her seed will crush the head of the serpent later when jesus is in his mission in luke 11 27 and 28 a woman cries out in the crowd quote blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked and his response is blessed rather are those who hear the word of god and keep it now he is not dismissing his mother this is not a put down on her he's not saying she's unimportant the only thing that matters is if you follow me what he's saying is what is truly remarkable about my mother is everything flowed from a heart of obedience yes she bore me yes she nursed me but even more it's that response of obedience and that's what you and i can all have look deeper look deeper number seven a disciple is to offer himself or herself as a living sacrifice long before jesus said this is my body given for you this is my blood mary in her actions said this is my body given for you jesus mary gave herself completely loving god with all of her heart and all of her soul and all of her strength verse 43 elizabeth continues quote and why is this granted to me that the mother of my lord should come to me and quote though baby jesus is incredibly small most likely only a week or two along ingestation elizabeth recognizes mary as the mother of the messiah mary isn't becoming the mother of the messiah you know when jesus is viable or something she is his mother and that phrase that elizabeth uses that the mother of my lord would come to me is echoed by king david in second samuel six nine quote how can the ark of the lord come to me it's the same phrase and quote like king david elizabeth is awestruck that the mother of her lord would come to her the catechism in 495 says quote called in the gospels the mother of jesus mary is acclaimed by elizabeth at the prompting of the spirit and even before the birth of her son as the mother of my lord in fact the one she conceived as man by the holy spirit who truly became her son according to the flesh was none other than the father's eternal son the second person of the holy trinity hence the church confesses that mary is truly the mother of god and quote she is the mother of god not because she created god but because jesus is the second person of the godhead one person two natures she really gave him his human nature he didn't just take up residence he wasn't renting an apartment he got his flesh from her and so because he's she is truly his mother we say properly she is the mother of god then elizabeth goes on in verse 44 for behold when the voice of your greeting came to my ears the babe in my womb leaped for joy and quote john filled with the holy spirit within elizabeth leaps for joy within her greeting his savior as a six month old preborn child to a very very tiny child and the same greek word is used in the septuagint for david david leaping and dancing before the ark of the covenant as he brought it into jerusalem second samuel six 14 and 16 says quote and david danced before the lord with all his might and david was girded with a linen effort as the ark of the lord came into the city of david michael the daughter of sol looked out the window and saw king david leaping and dancing before the lord this is the response before the ark of the covenant both by king david and then by john the baptist principle eight the disciple not only knows but believes god's word it's not enough to just understand it to just pass a test in religion class that you that you've got the concepts we've got to take it into our heart verse 45 this is continuing with elizabeth's word to marry and blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the lord elizabeth affirms mary's faith to believe in god's word and to act i don't have time today to encourage you to look up uh to read through first samuel two one to ten but i hope on your own you will because you'll see that mary's magnificat in many ways is a reflection or an expansion of hannah's beautiful prayer of praise when she conceived samuel but i want to go on and look at the magnificat now number nine a disciple shares what the lord has done in his or her life beginning in verses 46 and 47 mary says my soul magnifies the lord and my spirit rejoices in god my savior yes mary acknowledges that jesus is her savior now if she never sinned which we confirm how how could he possibly be her savior because he saved her at the moment of conception and this is an integral part in preparation for her being able to conceive him without any sin or stain of sin and then she's preserved from sin the rest of her life by the grace of god but it is all by the grace of god she responded to those graces from the beginning but like us she is utterly dependent upon god for her salvation with this one added thought she is the only mother whose son created her it's not a rich thought mary echoes psalm 34 1 to 3 quote i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth my soul makes its boast in the lord let the afflicted hear and be glad oh magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together that is actually our extended family on my side that's our extended family verse and my dad frequently reminds us when we're together my father and mother are still living and frequently he will say and what is our family verse and we will say oh magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together number 10 a faithful and faithful disciple will impact generations to come she goes on in her magnificat verse 48 quote where he's regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden for behold henceforth all generations will call me blessed and quote mary praises the lord for what he has done for her and mary is at the very apex of human history we know from galatians 4 4 quote but when the time had fully come god sent forth his son born of woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons and quote she is at the apex of human history but salvation history continues and you and I are in the stream of salvation history god's work is ongoing our yes matters our following as mary did our lord jesus and we can look forward to what god is going to do in us and then through us to the next generation and the next generation in all humility mary acknowledges god's work in and through her i used to think well of course she's blessed she got to bear the son of god but it's not that she's just blessed she is blessed she is holy uniquely set apart and highly exalted for her role and as one of the future generations we are to acknowledge this through god's work in our lives we won't have the impact that hers did but god is at work in us and through us for future generations you'll remember god's warning but also blessing in the midst of the 10 commandments in exodus 20 where he says quote for i the lord i'm a jealous god visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who eat me but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments and quote so some of the blessings that come down to us come from the generations of centuries ago where we are blessed through the ages because of faithfulness in our family line but we don't even know or identify and we will have an impact on generations for centuries to come as we say yes i will follow you i will love you the lord my god with all my heart mind soul and strength number 11 a disciple lives gratitude for god's mercy verses 49 and 50 quote for he was mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name and his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation end quote mary expresses such deep gratitude to god for what he has done her words echo the psalmist in 77 11 to 14 quote i will call to mind the deeds of the lord yeah i will remember thy wonders of old i will meditate on all thy work and muse on my mighty deeds thy way oh god is holy what god is great like our god thou art the god who workest wonders who has manifested thy might among the peoples or psalm 98 1 to 3 quote oh sing to the lord a new song for he has done marvelous things his right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory the lord has made known his victory he's revealed his vindication at the site of the nations he has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of israel all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our god end quote do we talk with our children and our grandchildren about the marvelous things the lord has done in our lives as we go forth from this place and we reflect on that take a moment mention it to a co-worker mention it to your spouse if he's not here or she's not here to your children and grandchildren recall god's work in your life and i need to recall this in my life number 12 a disciple witnesses to the power of god at work in our lives we respond to the grace we don't take credit verses 51 to 53 quote he has shown strength with his arm he has scattered the proud and the imaginations of their hearts he's put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree he has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty and quote number 13 a disciple knows god's word verses 54 to 55 quote he's helped his servant israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers to abraham and to his posterity forever mary remembers god's saving promises from the scripture which for her was the old testament and he knew that he was god was fulfilling those promises through her for instance genesis 12 1 to 3 quote now the lord said to abraham go from your country in your kindred in your father's house to the land i will show you and i will make of you a great nation and i will bless you and make your name great so that you are a blessing i will bless those who bless you and him who curses you i will curse and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves end quote abraham trusted god's word and then acted in obedience and that is what mary is doing and that's what she calls us to do mica 720 quote thou will show faithfulness to jakeb and steadfast love to abraham as thou has sworn to our fathers from the days of old end quote so in the catechism 26 19 it says quote that's why the canticle of mary the magnificat is the song both of the mother of god and the church the song of the daughter of zion and the new people of god the song of thanksgiving for the fullness of grace is poured out in the economy of salvation and the song of the poor whose hope is met by the fulfillment of the promises made to our ancestors to abraham and his posterity forever and quote number 14 a disciple loves and serves god's people verse 56 says and mary remained with her mary uh with elizabeth for about three months and returned to her home end quote so elizabeth six months pregnant when mary gets the word from the angel she goes and spends three months with her elizabeth delivers and she goes home so you can get the time frame here mary came to elizabeth because she was eager to share the news but also eager to share to serve i remember going to einkareem for the first time and i discovered that i was newly pregnant uh when i got home so i was about two weeks along about as pregnant as mary the next time i went to einkareem uh i was six months pregnant with my david and as we trudged up the long winding road to get to elizabeth and zekarized home i knew how grateful elizabeth was that mary had showed up and i'm sure she was happy to have sent her to market many times for now just as the ark of the covenant remained in the home of obeditum before king david came and retrieved the ark to bring it into jerusalem so mary the living ark of the covenant remained in the house of zekarai and elizabeth for three months and recently in the holy land a guide said that in their tradition and their christian believers saint joseph not only accompanied mary to elizabeth and zekarize home but then he went on to the temple in jerusalem for those three months in preparation to being both mary's husband and the father of jesus now the ark of the covenant held the the actual ark held the word of god in stone tablets the law of moses and the manna reserved in the pot so mary as the living ark of the covenant not only has the word of god dwelling within her at this moment but also the living bread that came down from heaven right number 15 a disciple intercedes on behalf of others at the wedding feast of cana when mary becomes aware that their dear friends are running out of wine she approaches jesus and she says they have no wine his response i used to think was a put down and i have come to a better understanding of it he says a woman what do you have to do with me my hour has not yet come when i was in high school that was kind of a a a colloquial thing if uh in my friend group if one of the gals did something one of the guys would say woman what are you doing you know jesus is not saying that to mary he is not disrespecting her woman is actually harkening back all the way to eve and his references do you know what you're setting in motion if i do this miracle and she does understand it she knows that's the beginning of his public ministry and they both know where that will end but without another word to jesus or from jesus mary turns to the serpents and says do whatever he tells you and by directing the staff to do whatever jesus tells them to do she is giving consent not just to a miracle that's going to bless her friends but she knows it's the beginning of what will be the end and those are the last words we hear out of mary's mouth did you realize that do whatever he tells you she says the same to us the catechism in 2618 says quote the gospel reveals to us how mary prays and intercedes in faith at cana the mother of jesus asks her son for the needs of a wedding feast this is the sign of another feast that of the wedding of the lamb where he gives his body and blood at the request of the church his bride and quote number 16 a disciple does everything in the name of jesus st paul in colossians 317 says quote whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of jesus giving thanks to god the father through him and quote and from her fiat jesus does sorry mary does everything in the name of jesus number 17 a disciple accepts mortifications and hardships mary knows that her fiat is a guest to everything involved in bearing the savior of the world it will include blessings untold and challenges though she doesn't know the specifics in luke 222 she and joseph bring jesus to the temple his temple for the purification rites a righteous and devout man simian comes to the temple at that time led by the holy spirit he takes jesus into his arms and he blesses almighty god because he's now seen the plan of salvation unfolding he blesses joseph and mary and then he says these words quote behold this child is set for the fallen rising of many in israel and for a sign that is spoken against and a sword will pierce your own soul also that the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed and quote those words that parenthetical phrase is spoken directly to our mother mary alone will experience this intense suffering why wouldn't joseph he will not be there he cannot be there there is no father that would permit his son to go through the agony of the cross if he were living and so he will have to accompany jesus to the cross from the other side so that is a prediction of joseph's death number 18 a disciple sets a good example for others to follow to the christians and that's like paul writes this quote and you became imitators of us and the lord for you received the word in much affliction with joy inspired by the holy spirit so that you became an example to all the believers in massadonia and in a kaya that's verse thesilonians one six and seven christ was it was uh commissioning paul paul was imitating christ for the thesilonicans the thesilonicans were imitating paul and christ to the massadonians and the akeans and so forth and we are all believers because someone has imitated christ for us and drawn us into relationship to him and just as st paul says be imitators of me as i am of christ in verse grintians 11 one so can mary say the same to us mary follows christ to calvary uniting her heart with his she witnesses his death for us she witnesses the resurrection in the upper room she's with the disciples as they receive the holy spirit apentecost and she's the spiritual mother of the apostles and the disciples and us how do i show devotion to mary i'm to walk alongside her i remember being troubled by repetition in with a rosary and i read a little clip from a nun who said don't think of yourself as a great big adult christian think of yourself as a small child who is just saying over and over mommy i love you mommy i love you you know if a child comes up to you and tells you three times in an hour you don't turn to them and say that is just vain repetition right and so with the rosary we're just saying mommy i love you pray for me we ask her to intercede for us as a channel of grace for us we honor her as the mother of our lord and the daughter of god and we ask jesus to give us his heart for her so that we honor her appropriately and love her from our hearts let's follow mary as faithful and faith-filled children of god bringing her into our hearts bringing her into our homes bringing her into our relationships and pointing the way for our separated brothers and sisters to know jesus better because they know mary let's close in prayer in the name of the father and of the son of the holy spirit amen