Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Welcome to Blessed is She, where we love Jesus and you.

Lent 2023 has arrived. And you've got to get it.

FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS $75+

Shipping FAQ Contact
Search
  • About
  • Prayer
  • Community
  • Shop
  • Experiences
  • Free Resources
Blessed Is She
Account Search Cart
  • About Toggle menu
    • About Blessed is She
    • Staff + Writers
    • BIS Quiz
  • Prayer Toggle menu
    • Devotions
      Devotions
    • Blog
      Blog
    • Blessed is She App
      Blessed is She App
    • Teachable Tuesdays
      Teachable Tuesdays
    • Podcast
      Podcast
  • Community Toggle menu
    • Regional Groups
    • Blessed Brunches
    • Blessed Conversations
    • Blessed is She App
  • Shop Toggle menu
    • By Product Type Toggle menu
      • Accessories
      • Apparel
      • Books
      • Candles
      • Cards
      • Crucifixes
      • Jewelry
      • Lent
      • Posters & Prints
      • Stickers
    • By occasion / use Toggle menu
      • Gifts
      • Home
      • Kids
    • Featured Toggle menu
      • Lent
      • New
      • Sale
    • SHOP ALL
      SHOP ALL
  • Experiences
  • Free Resources
LENT 2023 IS HERE: NEW WINE ➔
LENT 2023 IS HERE: NEW WINE ➔

Your Efforts Don't Make You Holy

Your Efforts Don't Make You Holy

The Mother of God and I had some difficulties in our relationship. And, let’s face it, since she’s the sinless one, the fault lies with me.

Growing up Catholic, but with little understanding of God—let alone the Blessed Virgin Mary—I had a shadowy understanding of “Our Lady.” Sure, I enjoyed weekly viewings of the classic cartoons The Day the Sun Danced and the live action The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima—the only two television options during our post-Mass visits to my paternal grandparents’ house—and the kitschy statue on my dresser, but Mary was not real to me.

In later years, as I learned more about Mary, including the fact that today’s feast celebrates Mary’s and not Jesus' conception, I was afraid to get close to this Immaculate One. Faced with her perfection, sinlessness, and immaculate purity I couldn’t handle the challenge to my sins, faults, and failings. I could never be like Mary, I was her exact opposite. Holiness was not possible if Mary was the measure.

But, I had it all wrong. I was looking at myself compared to Mary, thinking I was responsible for making myself like her, that holiness was about my efforts. I was mistaken. Sanctification is about cooperating with grace, freely given to us in Christ Jesus, not our efforts at powering forward and willing it.

Saint Paul reminds us today that “God chose us in [Christ] . . . to be holy . . . making us His adopted sons . . . such was His will and pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4). The best part of this “being chosen” is that we’re not on our own; Mary is with us, along with her Son, picking us up, brushing us off, and binding our wounds—because she’s our mother!

Sister, our holiness is not about how we prove ourselves any more than the Immaculate Conception was Mary’s doing. God chooses us, we must cooperate with His grace in order to receive that blessing. Doing that enables us to echo Mary’s humble Fiat: “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord, be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

God chooses us. // Sister Maria FatimaClick to tweet Twitter

listen to today’s devotion

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Sister Maria Fatima
About Sister Maria Fatima
View other posts from the author

Sister Maria Fatima entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005 and teaches middle school religion in Ohio. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. She delights in helping her students to draw closer to Jesus through the Eucharist and to discover their truest identity as beloved children of the Father. She was a contributing author to All She Had. Find out more about her here.

LENT 2023 IS HERE
JOIN THE BIS APP
COME BACK TO FIRST LOVE
Share
  • Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Pinterest Pin it
December 08, 2020 — Sister Maria Fatima
Tags: Author_SisterMariaFatima Devotions
Left Older Post Back to Devotions Newer Post Right
Welcome to Blessed Is She

Blessed is She is a sisterhood of women who want to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through their Catholic faith.

Blessed Is She
Quick links
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Affiliates Program
  • Internships/Volunteer
Social
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Amazon
Amazon American Express Apple Pay Diners Club Discover Meta Pay Google Pay Mastercard PayPal Shop Pay Venmo Visa
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shipping & Returns
  • Terms of Service
© 2023 Blessed Is She. Powered by Shopify