Today we celebrate the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. This is a fairly new feast for Catholics, as it was 2018 when Pope Francis decreed this Memorial would be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost. In honor of this beautiful feast, we have a story of the powerful role that Mary can play in a person’s life – even when they least expect it.

Sarah Coffey is a convert to the Catholic faith, and she stopped by Morning Air® to share how she went from being afraid of Mary to making her a major part of her marriage.

Speaking of how she viewed Mary growing up in a Protestant landscape, Sarah said, “I often heard that Catholics worship Mary, and that’s kind of the general consensus among non-Catholics, unfortunately.  So when I was in RCIA, I was actually really afraid of giving Mary too much attention because of that. At least the direction that I was coming from was that giving Mary too much attention and veneration takes away from Jesus. And I was just really afraid of opening that can of worms at all.”

“What helped me get over those fears was learning what the Church teaches about her, and really meditating on how she lived and how she loved throughout Scripture,” she continued. “And what was really a game-changer for me was realizing that everything that Mary does points to her Son. Whether it was at the Annunciation or the Wedding Feast at Cana or at the foot of the Cross, it’s always all about Jesus when it comes to Mary … and so that was kind of the turning point when I realized that Mary is not someone you should be afraid of. That’s kind of when I wanted to figure out how to bring her into my life.”

But Sarah didn’t only bring Mary into her own personal life. She and her husband Jesse have made a point to bring Mary into their marriage as well. She shared what they do as a couple to bring Mary into their relationship, and how it has impacted their life together.

“We pray a weekly Rosary together, and that’s a really important part of our marriage and our devotion to her,” Sarah said. “It’s a time to be together, to pray, and to bring our petitions to Mary and just keep our marriage united in that way. And of course, we have at least one image of Mary in every room of our apartment.”

“She’s the one we look to,” she explained. “Of course we look to Christ, but we also look to her in the good times and the bad times, and how we respond to certain situations. Whether it’s needing more humility or needing greater faith, we look to how she has such great humility and faith and trust in the Lord. She’s a great model for us in everything.”

Morning Air can be heard weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. Central on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.