This afternoon, I sat on the back stoop with Mini snuggled up beside me and Omelette clucking around my boots like she had something important to say. I had my copy of The Glories of Mary opened on my lap—Chapter 3 Today—and I just couldn’t stop thinking about that poor shepherdess girl and her visits to the little chapel in the mountains.
She didn’t have much, but oh, how she loved Mary! Instead of fancy things, she gave what she could—a little crown of flowers she made herself. And do you know what happened? At the end of her life, Mary came herself, with a whole group of heavenly girls, to take her soul to Heaven! I could almost see it in my mind—a crown in Mary’s hand and music so sweet it could carry a soul home. Sister Mary Claire says Our Lady never forgets a single act of love we do for her.
That’s when I got an idea.
I tied a sprig of goldenrod and clover into a ribbon and made a small garland—just like the shepherdess did. I walked down to the grotto in the cave and placed it gently on Mary’s stone head. I said, “Oh Mary, I wish I had something prettier to give you, but please take this little crown from me. It’s just from a girl who loves you with all her heart.” Mini stayed real still and even Omelette stopped fussing like she was praying too.
Sometimes I feel so small. But then I remember what I read: Mary doesn’t need gold or greatness. She just wants our love. And if I keep loving her every day, even in my clumsy little ways, maybe she’ll come for me someday too.
I’m going to keep trying to be more like her—gentle and good and not so quick to pout when things don’t go my way. And maybe someday, if I love her enough, I’ll be a little flower in her crown too.
Love,
Kathy
Dear Blessed Mother,
Thank you for letting me read your beautiful stories today.
Help me to love you more and more,
even if all I have to offer is a crown made of weeds and wishes.
Please make my heart more like yours,
and don’t ever stop helping me become the kind of girl
Jesus would smile at.
Watch over Sister Mary Claire, Mini, Omelette, and me
while we sleep under this starry sky.
Amen.
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