Carrie Link

"In the dark night of the soul bring some comfort to us all,
O Mother Mary come and carry us in your embrace,
That our sorrows may be faced"
From "Requiem" by Joan Baez

A bunch of us started the pilgrimage with Mary, some started Tuesday, some are getting started today, some will start next week, still others will start when the Spirit moves them. Mary doesn't care. I know, because she told me.

I have had a little "thing" going with Mary for a long, long time (like 40 years) I've been in the closet, but no more. I'm coming OUT, baby! SO out that I bought a Virgen de Guadalupe T-shirt and wore it all over town Tuesday.

I am really loving the book, THE WAY OF MARY, and apparently I'm not the only one. Many of you have ordered the book, too, new copies are temporarily out of stock, but fear not, you can order a used copy and get someone else's Mary ju-ju for FREE!

And, did any of you happen to notice that OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE: Mother of the Civilization of Love is on the BESTSELLER list? Mary is going PRIME TIME, people!

THE WAY OF MARY suggests creating a sacred space/altar/etc... before you begin your pilgrimage, so on Monday night I was scurrying around getting a few things: a Mary candle, a Mary seed, a tea light, that sort of thing. A dear friend gave me a "portable altar" to take with me when I travel, and I got that out. It has all these cool nooks and crannies, all of which I thought I'd thoroughly inventoried/examined. One little cubby beckoned me, I thought for sure it was empty and was going to store my matches and extra tea lights in there, but no, it had one little tiny thing in there. WHAT was it you asked? A MARY PENDANT I had no recollection of every acquiring, thank you very much.

I put all my Mary stuff in my closet, where I planned to hide in in the early morning hours Tuesday before anyone woke up. I set my alarm for 5:30 and went to bed. About 2:00 I woke up and was WIDE awake (fortunately, since the patch, a rare occurrence these days). I decided to head to the closet and start the pilgrimage right away. I'm reading along, all about the annunciation - when Mary is told by the angel that she is to carry the son of God. I'm underlying like crazy, really feeling "it," and I come to a "Reflection Question" that asks, "Has it every occurred to you when something awakens you in the night that it might be an angel of annunciation?"

I'd never thought about it that way, but the book helped me take apart the word "annunciation" and really look at it more as a sign, direction, a message of love.

No accidents.

And that was just the first day...


* Photo from farm4.static.flickr.com