I now affectionately call the Virgin Mary "Mom"

For a long time I did not pray to the Virgin Mary, probably because I carried a deep wound from the relationship with my own mother.

At the age of thirty, I went through the painful ordeal of divorce, but experienced a profound conversion. I discovered the importance of the Virgin Mary in the mystery of salvation and read profitably some saints’ stories where Mary played an important role.

I helped create a prayer group for the separated and divorced, which we entrusted to the Virgin Mary. We called it “The communion of Our Lady of the Covenant”. The co-founder was a fervent adept of the Rosary, so we prayed it at our meetings. But I could not recite it by myself outside those meetings.

About twenty years later, in 1999 - our good mother is patient! - I received the grace to finally start praying it. Following the advice of St. John Paul II in "The Rosary of the Virgin Mary", I prayed while meditating on texts about the different mysteries.

In 2006, Mary granted me two immense graces: first, the healing of the wound I had received in my relationship with my mother; secondly, the grace of being able to welcome the Virgin Mary as my true mother. I now affectionately call her "Mom" and I find consolation in my trials. I will never say enough about my admiration, my gratitude and my affection for this tender mother whom Jesus gave us on the Cross and who loves us infinitely!

(1) Paul Salaün has put together meditations on the texts of the mysteries of the Rosary inspired by the Virgin Mary. See his website: www.paul-salaun-misericorde.com.

Paul Salaün

Retired Professor of Classical Studies, Vannes (Morbihan, France), Pentecost 2021