It’s the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the week following Mother’s Day. For those who may have missed last Sunday’s scripture, or for people who want to revisit the readings but with a Marian spin and a focus on motherhood and God’s blessings through motherly care I invite you to read on, or print it out to read at your bedside tonight or any night this week before you go to sleep.
Settling into prayer with Mary
Begin quietly, breathing slowly, and making the sign of the Cross.
“Lord Jesus, You promised, ‘I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.’ Tonight I come to You with Mary, Your Mother and mine, asking for light to see this day as she would see it, with a mother’s heart.”
Pause and imagine Mary simply standing beside you, as at the foot of the Cross, present, silent, attentive.
Step 1: Gratitude – Joy in the city, joy in Mary’s heart
Philip brought the Gospel to Samaria, and “there was great joy in that city.” Mary knew that joy first, when she received the Word in her womb and sang her Magnificat.
- Where today did I glimpse that same Gospel joy—perhaps in a child’s smile, a word of encouragement, a meal shared, or a quiet moment of peace at home?
- How did I experience Mary’s maternal care—maybe through my own mother, a spiritual mother, my spouse, or a woman who quietly “mothered” me with counsel, prayer, or simple presence?
- What “Magnificat moments” did I live today: times when my soul, even briefly, “magnified the Lord” in gratitude?
Thank God for these graces and thank Mary for her hidden, ongoing motherhood in your life, as Mother of God and Mother of the Church.
Step 2: Presence – “I will not leave you orphans” and Mary’s motherhood
Jesus promises: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” From the Cross He also said to the beloved disciple, “Behold, your mother,” giving Mary to the Church and to each disciple as mother.
- Where today did I feel alone, overwhelmed, or “orphaned” in my heart—perhaps in parenting, work, marriage, or unresolved family tension?
- In those moments, did I remember that I have not only a Savior but also a Mother in the order of grace, who intercedes, comforts, and protects?
- Can I recall one moment today when I sensed quiet help, a soft strength, or a gentle nudge toward trust that might have been Mary’s maternal care at work?
Speak simply: “Jesus, thank You for not leaving me an orphan. Mary, Mother of the Church and my Mother, thank you for staying close, even when I forget You are there.”
Step 3: Love in action – Keeping the commandments with Mary’s “Yes”
Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Mary is the first disciple who lived this perfectly with her fiat: “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
- Looking back over this day, where did I echo Mary’s “yes” in small ways—choosing patience over irritation, service over comfort, listening over distraction, especially within my family?
- Where did I resist God’s will—through anger, selfishness, or indifference—especially toward those I am called to love most closely?
- As I think of mothers and spiritual mothers, where did I see Mary’s style of love: attentive, persevering, quietly sacrificial, helping others closer to God?
Ask Mary: “Teach me, Mother, to keep Jesus’ commandments with your same humility and courage. Help my love become more concrete, especially at home.”
Step 4: Witness and hope – Mary, Mother of hope
Peter urges us to “always be ready to give an explanation… for your hope.” Mary stood at the Cross in a hope that did not deny suffering but trusted God’s promise beyond what she could see.
- What kind of hope carried me today—hope grounded in Christ’s love, or in my own control, plans, and fears?
- Did I speak or act today in a way that showed my family that God is truly present and trustworthy, even when things are difficult?
- How have the mothers in my life, including Mary, taught me to hope: by their prayer, their endurance in trials, their forgiveness, or their quiet fidelity over many years?
Ask gently: “Mary, Mother of hope, lend me your heart, that I may stand firm in love and trust, especially in the places where my family story feels fragile or unresolved.”
Step 5: The Spirit’s anointing – Mary and the Advocate
Jesus promises the “Advocate… the Spirit of truth” who will be with us always. Mary received the Spirit at the Annunciation and prayed with the Church at Pentecost, welcoming the same Spirit for the whole Body of Christ.
- Where in my vocation—mother, father, son, daughter, spouse, friend—do I most need the Holy Spirit’s help tonight?
- What situation in my home needs a fresh Pentecost: reconciliation, courage for a hard conversation, guidance in parenting, healing of a wound?
- Are there mothers, women, or families who especially need the Spirit’s consolation and strength, and whom Mary may be asking me to pray for or support?
Pray: “Come, Holy Spirit, through the heart of Mary. Anoint my family and every mother and spiritual mother. Let Your gifts blossom in our home.”
Step 6: Entrustment – Into Mary’s hands, into God’s heart
The psalm invites all the earth to “come and see the works of God” and “cry out to God with joy.” Mary magnifies these works and helps us see God’s hand in our ordinary days.
Gather your day and place it in Mary’s hands:
- Offer her the bright moments: joys, successes, tenderness, and gratitude.
- Offer her the dark and heavy moments: sins, failures, arguments, fears, and fatigue.
- Offer her the people you carry: your mother, mothers you know, your spouse, children, parents, and any who feel alone or “orphaned.”
Then say: “Mary, Mother of the Church, carry these intentions to Jesus. Arrange the details I cannot fix and keep my heart close to His.”
Rest for a moment in quiet trust.
Marian closing prayer for the end of the day
Heavenly Father,
You have given us Mary as Mother of Your Son and Mother of the Church.
Through her, You show us a heart that listens, trusts, and loves without reserve.
On this Mother’s Day, I thank You for every gift of motherhood in my life—
for my own mother and all who have mothered me in faith,
for my spouse, for spiritual mothers, and for the quiet, hidden ways
You reveal Your tenderness through them.
Lord Jesus,
You promised, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you,”
and from the Cross You gave us Mary as our Mother.
Tonight I place myself and my family beneath her mantle.
Where there is fear, may she bring trust.
Where there is division, may she sow peace.
Where there is weariness in parenting or in daily responsibilities,
may she whisper to us the words she once spoke at Cana:
“Do whatever He tells you.”
Holy Spirit,
You overshadowed Mary so that the Word might take flesh,
and You descended upon the Church as she prayed in the upper room.
Through her intercession, come upon my home tonight.
Renew the hearts of mothers and fathers, of children and the elderly,
of the lonely, the grieving, and those who quietly carry heavy burdens.
Let Mary’s fiat echo in our hearts,
that we may welcome Your will with love and courage.
Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, and my Mother,
I entrust to you this day that is ending:
my joys and my failures, my love and my lack of love,
my family, my worries, and my hopes.
Hold us close as we sleep.
Teach us tomorrow to listen more like you,
to serve more like you,
and to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in all things.
Jesus, living Lord,
because You live, I too will live.
Through the prayer of Your Mother and ours,
draw my heart deeper into Yours
so that my home may become, little by little,
a place of Easter joy, of Marian tenderness,
and of the quiet, steady love of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hail Mary…
10 Minutes For God 