Mary will always be compared to a strong mother who fights for her children, from dawn to dusk. She is a woman who, no matter the difficulties, gets up early and says “Yes!” to someone’s request for help. A woman who walks far to be present in the lives of those she loves.

Mary is a common name, but it has a deep history behind it. For example, Myriam in Hebrew means “sovereign lady”; in Sanskrit Maryáh means “purity”, or “virtue” – it is one of the richest names in the Christian tradition.

The name, “Mary,” will always be synonymous with love and purity, but before anything else, a strong mother who fights for her children, from dawn to dusk; a woman who, no matter the difficulties, gets up early and says “Yes!” to someone’s request for help. She is a woman who walks a long way to be present in the lives of those she loves. Mary is synonymous with being together, even if the other is suffering, even if her heart is pierced when she sees a poor person hungry, thirsty and cold.

In the Gospel of Saint John, Mary shows her strength when she says to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5) – even after hearing from Jesus that his time had not yet come, for she knew that He was able to help. This is the heart of a mother: she knows where her children can walk. She is able to turn a tragedy into a miracle, aware of where a word from her can make others have courage and perform small acts of love for their neighbor.

Mary is planted in the heart of every child that learns from an early age to say the Hail Mary. Every child from a very young age learns that a mother’s love is irreplaceable and that Mary is the universal mother who takes care of us in every new step we take.

Lilian Oliveira
(Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network – Brazil)