Mary, the Virgin in Prayer

Mary is the Virgin in prayer because she lived in intimacy with God, proclaimed Him as her Lord as she sang her Magnificat, invoked Him for the need of the spouses at Cana, and finally prayed with the Church in the Cenacle of Jerusalem.

Mary’s prayer is praise, thanksgiving, and intercession, but above all daily communion with her Son—the ability to stay in contact with the mystery of the Son and to contemplate it, letting it transform her life.

Prayer is not simply formulas, but it is growing in intimacy with God, caring for that “inner room” where God lives. Prayer is entering into ourselves again and finding God who loves us tenderly beyond all sins. But if we do not enter into that room, how can we hear the Voice that calls us? Life makes sense if we allow ourselves to hear Him say, “I love you,” “Come,” “You are precious to me,” “Follow me.”

St. Maximilian made prayer the cornerstone of all his activities. So he stated:

“Prayer is a means that people do not know about, and yet it is the most effective way to restore peace in the soul, to give them happiness, because it serves to bring them closer to God’s love. Prayer revives the world. Prayer is the indispensable condition for the regeneration and the life of every soul...” (KW 903).

Biographers recall an episode:

“Niepokalanów is at its best. Maximilian is asking the young friars what, according to them, is the next step to take. After several replies, one focused on this: ‘We must first increase inwardly, and then the productivity will be a consequence.’

Maximilian was so happy with this answer and added, ‘The expansion of our work will not be a demonstration of progress. Nor vast new buildings... So what would it take to make progress? What is the real Niepokalanów’s progress? And above all, what is our Niepokalanów? Is it this visible activity? Is it the industrial productivity? Or the circulation of the magazine? No, there is something better! Our Niepokalanów is the inner world of our souls! As a result, even if it were necessary to suspend our work, even if we had to disperse like leaves swept by the autumn wind, if in our hearts the Niepokalanów’s ideal remains and continues to flourish, then and only then can we say that we are in full progress’” (cf. L. Faccenda, OFM Conv., Ho visto Padre Kolbe, Edizioni Milizia Mariana, 1970, pp. 27-28).

St. Maximilian gave primacy to the care for the inner-supernatural life, the relationship with God that is the basis of everything, as Jesus said: “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit” (cf. Jn 15:5).

Listening to the word and prayer are closely related. Prayer is the sounding board of the word, the “room” in which we can converse with the Father who sees in secret. It is the intimate place of the encounter with Him who alone gives meaning to our existence, our being, and our actions. We often have to come back to that room, to hear Him reminding us that He loves us and to tell Him that we love Him in return and that we want to be always with Him and remain in His love (cf. Jn 15:9).

Questions for discussion:

• How much space does the Lord have in my life?
• What does it mean to pray?

Commitment in our life: Listen to the word of God and turn it into a life experience.

Closing Prayer

Hail Mary… 

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all those who do not have recourse to you, especially the enemies of Holy Church and all those recommended to you.

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