Her soul proclaims the glory of God in the name of her son, Jesus.
Lived: First century
Feast days: Multiple
Missioner Saint might not be the first term that comes to mind when considering the Virgin Mary. Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Our Lady of Guadalupe, or Lourdes, and others might top the list. But Mary, Mother of Missioners, would not be far off the mark.
Mary of Nazareth, of course, cared for, taught, and nurtured her son, Jesus. She followed him closely. People in mission, of course, strive also to follow Jesus closely. But more to the point, we consider Mary to be the Mother of the Church, that is, the person who had everything to do with the founding of the earliest Church, from the days of the Nativity and every day after. Here are 5 ways that Mary might inspire missionary spirit in all of us:
1. She was a woman who prayed, then acted.
2. She followed her son, Jesus, to the Cross and beyond.
3. She wasn’t afraid to be prophetic. Her Magnificat really proclaims that.
4. She gathered people around her, helping them to understand Jesus as she certainly shared stories of faith. In that sense she is considered Mother of the Church.
5. She lived a pure life, something that we especially celebrate on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
More Missioner Saints
St. Oscar Romero
Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher
St. Mary Bernard Butler
St. Columban
St. Catherine of Siena
By Leopold Kupelwieser – Own work, Diana Ringo, 2013-09-22 04:30:40, CC BY-SA 4.0,