The Radical Interior Freedom of Mary

One of my favourite Catholic speakers is a priest named Fr. Chad Ripperger. A few months ago I heard about him from a friend, and after watching some youtube videos, I was blown away–he spoke with such shattering clarity and wisdom. Oh, and I also need to mention that he’s not your regular parish priest. His day job is being an exorcist. So he often brings insight about spiritual warfare and realities from his years of experience as an exorcist into his talks. He actually describes his day job as repetitive, but loves gaining insight about Mary and the saints through his work (reference). 

One of the insights he gained was about the extent of Mary’s selflessness: “When Mary sacrificed herself she never once counted the personal cost… Through her whole life she sacrificed herself over and over and over again to God without ever once taking herself into the equation” (reference). This insight floored me. 

Being currently very pregnant, I instantly thought about Joseph leading Mary to Bethlehem. This insight means that Mary did not complain once or worry about herself- even if she was massively uncomfortable, hungry or cold. She also didn’t throw a fit when the decision was made for them to travel in the first place even though she’s almost due with the Baby.  And this means that when the time came for Mary to give birth, she did not get upset that the birth happened in an unplanned, unprepared way in a stable. She simply focused on God and trusted in Him and His perfect, mysterious will. And as a result she experienced true interior freedom, regardless of the circumstances surrounding her. 

However, Father Chad does say that unlike Mary, “all human beings count the personal cost, (and) that means we are different from her.” Never truer words, Father Chad. So often I catch myself being subconsciously steeped in worries about the future, or in the moment feeling hurt because something didn’t go the way I had planned. In essence, I count the personal cost of sacrifice all the time. And it’s brutal. I say it’s brutal because I have realized that self-focusing (instead of God-focusing) has too often sapped my peace and joy. But I know that I am called to live from a place of greater freedom. So are you. 

We are called to more than living in the confines of self-focused anxiety or fret. We are called to imitate Mary- to experience greater degrees of inner freedom by rotating the internal compass of our heart to God each day and trusting that He will provide. And if we consistently rotate our heart each day, I am confident we will experience a deepened sense of peace and joy. I pray that we will have the courage to say to God each day, without reservation: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

Invitation to prayer:  Lord, help us imitate Your Mother. Give us the courage, strength and detachment to be totally focused on You. We surrender our cares and concerns to You and trust in Your plan for us. You are goodness itself, and through You we ask to experience deeper interior freedom in our life. Amen.