When I started this blog over at Tumblr I was asked by iwritetobreathe: How did your devotion to the Blessed Mother start?
This was my answer:
As far as I can remember I first became aware of Mary when I was about 6 years old. It was my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary and a special Mass was celebrated for the occasion. In the back of the church stood a large white Madonna. I can clearly remember how drawn I was to this kind looking lady, the way she held her child and all the candles in front of her lighting up the dark church. That is when my fascination for Mary began.
Though my father was a Catholic, I grew up in my mother’s Protestant home town and attended a Protestant school. We read from the Bible every morning but there was never any mention of Mary, except during Advent. I made up for this in my spare time and started collecting images and statues of Mary, often bought at the flee markets my parents used to drag us kids along to. A somewhat unusual hobby for an 8 year old! These statues eventually landed up in my parent’s attic, where I set up a chapel with a school friend.
During my teenage years Mary very much disappeared to the background. A small iconoclasm took place in my bedroom. But when I was about 20 I started reading the books of the Dutch writer Gerard Reve, a convert to Catholicism with a great devotion for Mary. Thanks to his words my passion for Mary came back with a vengeance.
In 2002 I visited the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. There I witnessed how real Mary’s presence is in people’s lives. It was the beginning of my personal journey towards becoming a Catholic, which finally happened at Easter this year. For me this defines Mary’s role: she is a loving and protecting Mother who leads us to Jesus, her Son and our Saviour.
