31 Ways to Grow in Devotion to Mary

I have a confession to make. I was raised a cradle Catholic, but for most of my life I have had a bit of a “distant” relationship with the Blessed Mother. The idea of this perfect, sinless woman was a bit of an obstacle to me – I mean, I am far from perfect and light-years away from sinless. She and I, it seemed to me, had very little in common.  Oh, I prayed my rosary and attended May crownings at my parish like the good Catholic woman I am striving to be,  but honestly, I always felt like a bit of a fraud. I just couldn’t get my heart to catch up to where my mind told me I should be with regards to Mary.  That is, until recently.Over the past several months, by the grace of God, I have come to realize that the Mother of God is my mother too, entrusted by the Lord himself to me (and all of humanity) from the cross. I have discovered that at several challenging times in my life, it was the intercession of the Mary that saw me through – without me even deliberately asking for her help. She anticipated my needs, much like she did for the couple who had run out of wine at the Wedding Feast at Cana, and through her powerful maternal influence with the Lord, she obtained for me the good in these situations that would ultimately lead me closer to her Son.This recent experience and new-found discovery of Mary’s love has enkindled in my heart a burning desire to know more about her in order to come to truly know her. I have listed below 31 ways in which I plan to enter into a journey of deepening (please God) relationship with the our