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Behold Your Mother

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"My soul magnifies the Lord..." (Luke 1:46) and it can be said that Behold Your Mother magnifies the life of Mary. In this devotion to the Blessed Mother, author Heidi Hess Saxton first shares personal reflections and anecdotes of how she developed a more meaningful and intimate relationship with Mary after converting to Catholicism. The latter part of the book includes a collection of powerful meditations that reflect Mary's natural, divine and spiritual motherhood. As a cradle Catholic and as a mom, I've always embraced Mary and prayed to her frequently. Now thanks to Heidi's new book, I now have a collection of Marian meditations and prayers on hand to give me "new material" for days when I need my Mother.

Each of the 48 meditations begins with Scripture and ends with a short prayer. But my favorite part of the meditations is what comes in the middle: lyrical, narrative passages that offer a glimpse into the life of Mary and those who were close to her, including people like Juan Diego to whom she revealed herself. Here, in Heidi's beautifully-written verse, we can imagine the sometimes gritty and absolutely human details of Mary's days - the love she felt as she nursed her baby as "He nestled close, wisps of hair glued with sweat, /his eyes closed in concentration," her exhaustion, her fear, and the way she kissed "[Jesus'] bruised face./ Her Baby, but God's Lamb." Through her perceptive and descriptive writing, Heidi paints a vivid, faithful and authentic picture of our Holy Mother and the many roles she played and still plays in all of our lives while offering us an opportunity to deepen our relationship with the Mother of God.

Behold Your Mother is a wonderful gift that will help to introduce you to Mary or rejuvinate your relationship with her. It begins with three stories of how Heidi came to know our Mother and then had 48 reflections about Mary. It is beautiful.

In Behold Your Mother, Heidi Hess Saxton invites us to tug on Mother Mary's apron strings to get her attention. Through personal stories and scripturally based reflections, Heidi offers us a glimpse of our Blessed Mother's eminence but also her humanness to alleviate our fears of approaching her.

This a beautiful book to get closer to our Mother Mary who brings us ever closer to her Son, Jesus. Perfect to give as a gift and to leave on the coffee table or night stand to pick up for a needed dose of inspiration!

I tried to zip through it. Goodness knows, I have had it long enough to have been done with it long before now. But I just couldn't.

Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert might sound like it's a stuffy book. Perhaps you will stop reading now, before I shatter the preconception you may have just from reading the title.

Yes, it's a book about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Yes, Heidi Hess Saxton is a Catholic convert. No, it's not stuffy.

I couldn't put it down, though that seems to contradict the fact that I couldn't read it all in one sitting either. I was caught completely off guard by the style of the book. I don't know what I was expecting - it's not a very thick book, 70 pages - but I wasn't prepared for the impact this little collection would have on me.

The book is divided into two parts. In the first, Heidi shares three short stories from her own life about Mary. They're not of the rolling-your-eyes-this-lady's-off-her-rocker variety; instead, they're candid tales that were probably written only after Heidi had done a bit of shaking her head and trying to attribute them to something other than Mary's intercession. (My mother-in-law has a fair share of guardian angel stories of this ilk.)

In the second - and my favorite - part, Heidi has put together 48 reflections on the life of Mary. They were as surprising in their point-of-view as they were fresh in their styling. There were a few that made me tear up, and there are more than a couple of dog-eared pages that I'll be turning back to again and again.

It's the kind of book that I buy for all of my close friends and family, whether they're Catholic or not. That's partly for selfish reasons - I don't think I can part with this book to lend it out, because it's really that good. (The list of books I don't lend out is very small, just so you know. It probably includes two books, come to think of it.)

I challenge you, for a second, to let go of your preconceptions about Mary, Mother of God. Even if you have a devotion to her. Start out with a blank slate, and pick up this book. You may find that you come away changed. You may find that you come away smiling, with tears in your eyes. You may find yourself looking around you with new eyes.

While it would make a great Mother's Day gift, or birthday gift, or it's-Tuesday-I-love-you gift, don't wait to share this book with your favorite person. As a mother, I think automatically of other women and mothers to share it with, but last night, at our parish's May Crowning, I looked at Padre standing in the shadow of the be-flowered statue of Mary, and I realized that HE needs a copy of this book. Then I thought of my own father, and my husband, and my brother-in-law.

There's a timelessness to this book, and I look forward to sharing it with my daughters someday, and my nieces, and perhaps even my grandchildren. May, the month of Mary, is a terrific time to read it, though I can't think of a BAD time to read it.

Am I fawning?

I'll stop.

But only if you promise to go check it out for yourself. Then let me know what YOU think of it!

"Behold Your Mother" is a soulful, heartfelt look at deepening our
relationship with the Blessed Mother. Heidi Saxton skillfully blends
personal stories, devotions, and scripture into a charmingly readable book
that belongs on the shelf of every Catholic, be he or she cradle, revert or convert.

Heidi Hess Saxton gently and lovingly draws her reader toward a deeper relationship with Mary, and ultimately with her Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ through this resource filled with moving vignettes and scriptural context. Heidi paints vivid and compelling portraits of Mary as an intercessor who will take us by the hand and walk with us toward Jesus, who waits with open arms to receive our hearts and lives. This book is the perfect resource to employ as a daily devotional and as an informative guide to build a deeper prayer relationship and to better know our most gracious advocate.

As a Catholic convert, Heidi Hess Saxton had to learn to have a meaningful relationship with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In "Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories & Reflections from a Catholic Convert," she shares her "own story about how [she] came to regard Mary as [her] own spiritual mother, and reflect upon her earthly life as well as her heavenly vocation."

As an adoptive mother, Saxton feels very connected with Mary's role as our adopted mother. Jesus gave Mary to all of us as our mother while he was on the cross. Some respond to this motherhood quite naturally. Many of us, especially those raised as cradle Catholics, can't imagine not thinking of Mary as our spiritual mother. Others, such as Saxton, need to be invited into that relationship. In the first part of "Behold Your Mother," she shares how she came to know and love Mary. Saxton compares it to when she was first caring for her foster children. As painful as it was, she had to wait for them to come to her before they could forge a bond. Saxton states that Mary "waited for me to express my need . . . such as someone to sit with me in Church when I was feeling lonely, or safety for my children and me in a time of perceptible danger . . . and then found a way to fill it."

The second part of "Behold Your Mother" offers reflections on the life of Mary. Each reflection offers a quote from scripture or other sources that offers a glimpse of Mary. There is then a reflection and a prayer. Many of Saxton's reflections are truly beautiful, offering great insight into the life and heart of Mary, such as this reflection on the birth of Jesus:

The wind moaned, the straw prickled.
You closed your eyes to shut out the dirty animals
and the pacing husband,
and you dreamed of home.
Did you wish for your mother?
Before you could always count on her,
but you are mother now.


Saxton also explores the humanity of Mary:

I am exhausted! This child of Yours has not slept
for three nights running . . . and my breasts are tender
pomegranates . . . and, I could weep from sheer frustration.

"Behold Your Mother" was written for those just coming to know Mary, but it is a wonderful source of reflection for those of us who already love Mary and turn to her as our mother. It is a brief book, but it is full of meaning and value. It is a reminder of the importance of Mary in God's plan for salvation, as well as her role in our lives. Jesus followed the commandment to "Honor thy mother and father." He wants us to honor our adopted mother. Through honoring Mary and forging a relationship with her, she brings us to her divine son.

Full of stories that reach the heart of motherhood and the relationship all people can have with the Blessed Virgin Mary, "Behold Your Mother: Mary Stories and Reflections from a Catholic Convert" by Heidi Hess Saxton will draw you closer to Mary, and therefore, her Son, Jesus.

As a former Catholic, I know the significant role that Mary plays in the Church. It is a part of that faith that used to mystify me; and my husband, who was brought up Greek Orthodox, after nearly 10 years of marriage still asks me what's up with the whole "Mary" thing.

But as I grew into adulthood and became a mother, I gave Mary more thought and realized what an inspiration and source of strength Mary can be to every one of God's children. This is exactly what Saxton has captured with "Behold Your Mother".

In the first story, Saxton discusses her own hesitation in praying to Jesus' mother after converting to Catholicism. There are also two other stories that show how Saxton draws strength and receives protection from Mary. The remainder of the book serves as a devotional. Snippets of Scripture are brought together with thought-provoking meditations about Mary and the role she plays in all our lives. Each meditation ends with a short prayer.

After reading "Behold Your Mother", I am more convinced than ever that people can reach out to Mary and gain a closer relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ. In a world of uncertainty, Mary can give us the strength to move forward and she protects us as we reach out to her and seek her intercession.

"Behold Your Mother" by Heidi Hess Saxton is certain to bring people of all faiths closer to Mary and God. It will also make an excellent Mother's Day gift or alternative to a Mother's Day Card.

The book's author, Heidi Hess Saxton, a convert to Catholicism is a blogger at Mommy Monsters, and Behold Your Mother: A Bouquet of Love from Mary to Her Children . She is the editor of Canticle Magazine, the periodical of Living His Life Abundantly, Johnette Benkovic's long running EWTN TV program.

"His soft spot smelled of lambskin
as I lifted him from his tiny bed,
He nestled close, wisps of hair glued with sweat,
his eyes closed with concentration.
First feeding, my favorite moment.
So still, before the house awakens, it is just you
and I and no one else in the world,
My little Lord"
If you were fortunate enough to nurse a newborn, this passage evokes tender memories, yet you may be taken aback by the last line, `my little Lord'" But why is it surprising? Surely this typical moment between mother and infant was repeated many times in the life of the Holy Family. The problem is, as cradle Catholics, we sometimes lose touch with the more intimate moments of Our Lady's life, awed as we are by her purity and holiness. This often leads to an unintentional emotional distance from Mary, and sterility in our prayer lives. She is placed on a pedestal when she wants to hold our hand.

Because of her sinless nature, we may assume that obedience was effortless for Mary, yet in "Behold Your Mother", the trials of Our Lady's life are described with an immediacy that shows her extraordinary grace of her Immaculate Conception in action. We see that Mary's "yes" in the Annunciation wasn't a solitary act, but a constant challenge in her life as Mother of the Lord, one that is possible to imitate in our own lives.

We remember that loneliness and doubt touch every life, including that of Our Lady. She had a life where joys were always tinged with sorrow. We remember that the Flight into Egypt was exhausting, and that Our Lady may have pleaded for God to give her rest. We feel the anxiety of St. Joseph and Mary when young Jesus is left behind from the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and their bewilderment when they find Him so at home in the Temple, teaching the teachers. "Behold Your Mother" finally reminds us how much the Passion of Our Lord cost his Mother. That Man on the Cross was once her baby, He was beaten and bleeding, and there was nothing she could do but stay near Him and pray.

"Her obedience had thwarted Satan's plan.
But the snake would strike again. . .
From the cradle to the tomb, her greatest Joy
was touched by sorrow. Her mother's heart
knew full well the price of Love's victory:
The apple of her eye."
Have we ever pictured ourselves at the foot of the Cross with one of our children on it? "Behold Your Mother", helps us to do so here,

"I can't even wipe that precious forehead
I used to kiss each night.
Or bring a cup of water.
My Son, if I could take your place,
my broken heart for yours I'd do it. "
The last meditations take a few of the more well-known titles of Mary, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe, and bring us into the moments when she touched human lives powerfully, yet always maternally, reminding us that once Our Lord gave her to us as mother, she was walked by our side, ready to help hear our burdens, and bring them to her Son.
After reading this book I had a renewed sense of Our Lady's tender presence in my life, as my mother and friend, my companion as I mother my children and care for my husband. Because I feel more comfortable sharing the little things which life brings me, I find myself thinking about her, and turning to her more often in prayer.

Blessed Mother Teresa had written me a letter in 1990 while I was discerning my vocation. In the letter, she repeated advice from her own mother, "put your hand in Mary's hand and she will lead you to Jesus". The final meditation is just that, an invitation to let our renewed friendship with Our Lady lead us to the embrace of her Son Jesus.