Our Lady of Providence

If we believe in God who is intensely personal, taking flesh in mothers and fathers, children and babies, in all of creation, then we believe in Jesus, born of Mary, who emerged from among us to open our eyes to the presence of God working in all creation.

Each winter at the Retreat for Busy Catholic Moms, participants spend part of their time getting to know Our Lady of Providence.  Many of the women write about their experience and then allow us to share them with you. Christy…

As a convert, I had grown to cherish Mary despite my initial unfamiliarity with her veneration. But “Providence” in particular was not a vocabulary word I would have associated with Mary. Upon reflection, I believe this is due to my Protestant background. I was only familiar with the Calvinist-influenced understanding of “Providence” as fate, predestination ... a rigid notion vastly removed from Mary’s love for all people.

This painting of Our Lady of Providence, Queen of the Home, was hung at the entrance of my home in 1946, when I was 10 years old. The painting greeted each person coming into our home, not only visitors but my parents, younger brother and me. It spoke to all of the loving care of Mary for each one that entered.

There were occasions for swimming in the deep, clear water and lounging on the deck afterward, or the churning of the lake water while enjoying a rapid jaunt in a speed boat, or perhaps venturing a solo excursion on the wave runner or enjoying the camaraderie of the paddle boat. True to her title of Our Lady of Providence through all these activities during all the years there was never a mishap or injury.

My Irish Mother introduced me to devotion to Mary the day I was born by naming me Marie Louise. She had a great and lifelong devotion to Mary and was happy when our teachers, the Sisters of Providence, referred to her as Our Lady of Providence.