When we idealize Mary, we remove her from ourselves; she becomes an unattainable role model instead of the spokesperson of God's incredible grace. We can only hear this good news when we truly realize we have nothing to give; then, God's greatest gift comes to birth in us.
In what ways to you give too much, or hold too much back? What would it look like to love yourself *and* your neighbor more fully?
Artwork: "The Annunciation," stained glass at Our Lady of Pity Catholic Church, Swaffham, UK. Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/2052404610/). From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56336
