Loretto Responds ‘Yes’ to God’s Invitation in Keeping with Mary’s Example
Posted on December 7, 2020, by Loretto Community
The title “Friends of Mary” is an apt one for this season of Advent. The Virgin Mary is for Loretto a central figure in the Advent story. Mary’s “yes” to God’s invitation to be the mother of Jesus inspires Loretto in our heritage as Friends of Mary at the Foot of the Cross. Her life gives us Advent hope in a hurting world.
Mary’s “yes” to God was not naive. She knew that it was rooted in friendship with God, and that her decision to become the mother of Jesus would contain sorrow and compassion. Being a Friend of Mary is not a label to hold lightly. Standing with Mary at the Foot of the Cross, we promise to stand with all those suffering in our midst: people suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, those who are poor, children separated from parents and victims of injustice everywhere.
Loretto Sister Rose Alma Schuler wrote years ago, “In Mary’s lifetime as a woman and a mother, she experienced all the trauma and suffering peculiar to women of all cultures and periods of history.” For each of us standing at the foot of the cross as friends of Mary, we are challenged to do the pragmatic work of the Gospel in a suffering world. That is our charism and the gift that Loretto is for others.
Co-members recite a prayer as they celebrate their incorporation to the Loretto Community beautifully expresses Loretto’s “yes” to God:
Standing here because we belong to Loretto, we agree to be together in the Spirit, support one another in realizing God’s peace on earth, and continuing to create a community of faith, hope and love. We are friends of Mary and friends to one another, committed to following the Gospel.
