A few weeks ago National Geographic honored Mother Mary as the “Most Powerful Woman in the World.”   The article by Maureen Orth notes since 40AD, over 2000 appearances of Mother Mary have been deemed miraculous with a high degree of certainty by the Catholic church’s strict vetting process. Yet Mary has appeared to thousands more with 7000 miraculous healings attributed to her at the spring baths of Lourdes alone.

As I tell of my own experiences of God leading me to Mother Mary for support, love, compassion and wisdom as I face challenges as a parent, others have approached me with incredible stories of visions, messages and miracles from Mother Mary that may never be verified by the church but are no less real to them. Mother Mary is an important figure for us all that despite very few references of her in holy books, she has a message to share with us and we have much to learn from her.

Think of the miracles we know have happened because of her. She spoke with angels and they guided her all her life. The angel Gabriel visited her with tidings of joy – she was chosen to be the vessel to carry the light of the world!  She said YES!  It is through Mary that we were given Jesus.

She proclaimed her gratitude and joy for this wonderous gift within her that she was to care for with an unconditional love and compassion as well as an understanding that all of God’s goodness was within this child – it only needed to be nurtured to be expressed. She helped Jesus let his light shine!

Where ever she went, people were moved by Jesus’ presence and it was her duty and honor to share him with the world. She encouraged Jesus to perform his first public miracle at the wedding in Cana and she supported his many miracles to follow. Mary was so important and instrumental in Jesus’ life that he implored John to take her in as his own.

Mother Mary appears for all people, of all faiths, all over the world. From Guadelupe, Mexico to Rwanda, Japan and Ireland, Mother Mary serves from a place of love. She acts as a mother to all as she warns of consequences if changes are not made and she does everything in her power to heal our sorrows, our diseases, and to give us hope.

She most often appears in places where she is most needed…war torn countries, people in crisis, desperate mothers. Her sightings have never been as prevalent as they have been in the last 50 years.

Mother Mary is the sign of free will choosing God. Mother Mary is the woman who redeems us from the original sin by bringing us back to the fruit of her womb – Jesus. She is the one who conquered the evil temptations that lead us away from God.

Mother Mary is a uniting presence – creating peace, bringing people together, lovingly showing us our oneness with each other. She brings us all together and gives us a path to God.

She is revered as holy by both Christians and Muslims. She is the ultimate Jewish mother bringing us to the light of the world. She is a goddess in the Hindu faith and the Buddhists admire her for her similar qualities of love and compassion as their Maria Cannon.

Mother Mary is here for us if we call upon her. Mother Mary is considered the Undoer of Knots – she can get us out of any entanglement we find ourselves in. She intercedes for us. She is a patient, loving, protectant and compassionate mother who desires us to live a joy-filled, abundant life. She seeks to lead us to live on earth as it is in heaven as she taught Jesus and he in turn taught us.

Mary herself was joyful and full of gratitude. She connected with God through constant prayer each and every day. Mother Mary’s power of course is in the way she lived her life from the moment of her birth to be pure in mind, body and spirit. It is how she was chosen to become the Mother of Jesus. She had the faith in God’s hand in her own creation to do God’s will.

In this advent season I look to Mary to know how to prepare my heart and soul for the coming of the Messiah.

Mother Mary was no more divine than us and yet she created a relationship with God that gave her incredible strength, courage, wisdom and faith to love others unconditionally and continue to be present for us even from heaven.

Mother Mary desires to helps us open our hearts, knowing it is our joyful souls that will connect us to God’s grace as it did for her and she believes in the gifts bestowed within us are our greatest hope for a loving, safe and abundant world.

Mary is often seen with her foot crushing the serpent of evil. Evil has no power over her. She is so clear, so pure with her love for God that she is without fear. She invites us to be the same.

There is so much we have to learn from Mary. There is so much power in seeking her as an example of how as humans, we can create a strong connection to God that is so powerful we can be a vessel to save the world.

If you have a story to share about the influence of Mother Mary and the message or miracles she brought to your life, I would love to hear from you. These are messages that the world needs to hear and many people don’t have a way to share it so I am inviting you to use this space to do so.

Our time is now for making a difference. Our time is now for creating change. Our time is now to listen to the one who was connected to God like no other. Tell us your story. Tell it here and with the grace of God, I will help her messages reach the masses. Help me share with others, “what would Mother Mary do?”