“Mary” by Patty Griffin

Mary, you’re covered in roses
You’re covered in ashes
You’re covered in rain
You’re covered in babies
Covered in slashes
Covered in wilderness
Covered in stains

You cast aside the sheets
You cast aside the shroud
Of another man who served the world proud
You greet another son
You lose another one
On some sunny day
And always you stay
Mary

Jesus said, “Mother, I couldn’t stay another day longer.”
He flies right by and leaves
A kiss upon her face
While the angels were singing 
His praised in a blaze of glory
Mary stays behind and starts
Cleaning up the place

Oh Mary, she moves behind me
She leaves her fingerprints everywhere
Every time the snow drifts
Every way the sand shifts
Even when the night lifts
She’s always there

Jesus said, “Mother, I couldn’t stay another day longer.”
He flies right by and leaves
A kiss upon her face 
While the angels were singing
His praises in a blaze of glory
Mary stays behind and starts 
Cleaning up the place

Oh, Mary, you’re covered in roses
You’re covered in ruins
You’re covered in secrets
You’re covered in treetops
Covered in birds
Who can sing a million songs
Without any words

You cast aside the sheets
You cast aside the shroud
Of another man who served the world proud
You grieve another son
You lose another one
On some sunny day
And always you stay
Mary

Dear God, I have tears in my eyes as I write this to you. My wife introduced this song to me recently, and I’ve had it going in my head ever since I heard it as I arrived at this retreat yesterday.

Mary is a complicated figure in Christendom. Satan has used her beautiful life to divide a lot of Christians over the last 500 years. But there are some things that are simply undeniable about her. One of them is this image of her dealing with the ascension of Jesus. Acts 1:14 tells us that she was among the disciples when they returned from the ascension. I wonder what her interactions with Jesus were like for those 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension. Joyous? Sorrowful? Bitter/sweet?

I know Mary as mother is a huge inspiration to some women. And as I’ve gotten an up-close look at Catholicism over the last 13 years, I’ve learned a lot about the Catholic theology about Mary—and it’s not as scary as I expected it to be as a boy raised in a Southern Baptist Church. If there is a cloud of witnesses, then she is among them. She’s not granting prayers, but she is joining us in prayer. She is caring about our prayers. I can accept that.

The second verse of this song really speaks to me:

Oh Mary, she moves behind me
She leaves her fingerprints everywhere
Every time the snow drifts
Every way the sand shifts
Even when the night lifts
She’s always there

I’ve seen mothers who have experienced great sorrow receive a lot of comfort as they feel Mary’s empathy—maybe in a way that even you, God, never experienced. That’s probably too far. I’m sure that with the completion of Jesus’s earthly life and your own experiences there is absolutely nothing you cannot empathize with, but I can certainly see why women would find a special kinship with this woman. Motherhood can bring every emotion. From great joy to great sorrow. Sometimes it’s nice to know there’s a woman in heavenly places who knows how these women feel. Mary certainly was not spared any joys or sorrows.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, you know what’s currently on my heart. Things I cannot say publicly for the privacy of others. But you know. Oh, please be in these thoughts and prayers. Please move. Please grant them. If it is your will, Father, please, please grant them. The tears are here again. Oh, Father, please grant this prayer.

I offer this to you through the power of Jesus’s conception, birth, life, death, and resurrection, all of which Mary was a witness,

Amen