Bless - December 22, 2018

Sculpture at Holy Cross Monastery, Hyde Park, NY, photo by author

One of the core values of the ECCT is to “Try On”; so last year, I spent a semester experimenting with the devotional life of the Rosary. Every Thursday, I joined the Berkeley “Rosary train” and prayed with a handful of my peers. One week, I almost did not go, but I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit, and I sensed God saying that there was a gift in the experience for me. So I went. While I was praying, I came to understand that Mary’s blessing is for all of us, especially for us women. I began to think about all the women in my family history and all the hardships these women have faced. They are the unsung heroines of my family who were and are the strong glue that held and holds my family together.

So I began to get a little creative. For each “Hail Mary”, I dedicated my prayer to a woman in my family. Hail mother, hail sister, hail daughter… “full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Already I could sense transformational power taking place. I was choosing life, not death. “Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” When I prayed this prayer, it meant for me, I bless your children, your future children, the fruit of your faith, and all the fruitful potential that God has endowed in you; I bless it and I bless you.  “Pray for us sinners…” This came to be a prayer of forgiveness- forgiveness for these women…for their sins known and unknown. I forgave myself for my sins against them, and I asked Jesus to forgive and redeem all of us from the consequences of the sins and the mistakes that have been made.

There are fifty -three chances to “Hail Mary” in the standard Rosary recitation, so I dedicated the entire semester to blessing and forgiving each woman in my family many times over, to set them free, to set myself free, and to make space for new possibilities of Grace in our family line. This Advent, I invite us to explore how we may bless the women in our immediate and extended families. Imagine what breakthrough we may experience in their lives, in the memory of their lives, in our own lives, and in our society by creating a culture of blessing and praise for the women whom God has placed around us.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Post by Tara Shepley