Praying with Mary through May: Cleaning the Floors

Throughout the month of May, we will be sharing posts focused on journeying alongside the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Share your experiences in the comments or on social media using #praywithmary.

"Sweep clean the floor of your soul," were the words that inspired Fra Angelico's painting, "The Annunciation" at the Convent of San Marco in Florence. We see that Mary's surroundings are simple and swept clean. Her inner room, symbolizing her soul, has a small window with light shining through, gently cascading on the crisp, clean floor. You get the feeling she was ready for the angel Gabriel's visit. She had so much room prepared for the Lord in her soul! She was ready to accept his plan, "Let it be done to me according to your will."

I wish the rest of this devotional was a tidy step-by-step way to sweep your soul clean so you have as much room for the Lord as Mary. But it's not. It's about the phenomena of my kitchen floor getting spontaneously re-crumbed seemingly after every sweeping. See, with three littles running around, my kitchen's and soul's floors don't stay swept clean for long before third breakfast rolls around or I lose my peace over someone's mini-melt down.

But I'm encouraged because Jesus implores me, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock." That's right, he wants to come into my little, crumby- floored soul! Making room for him is merely the act of opening the door to my soul to accept his love and mercy; not tensing up and getting numb when I see the crumbs of sin that spot my soul, but tenderly allowing his Divine Mercy to enter and meet me in the mess.

It’s Jesus’ greatest desire to be with us in the mess of our kitchen floors and the mess of our souls. How do I know? Fast forward to nine months after the Annunciation to Mary in the midst of the Nativity scene: surrounded by livestock, hay and dirt. I know she was welcoming the Lord into the mess, trusting in his promises of love and mercy. And I know it was the Lord's greatest joy to join us all in it on that day, and every day.

Can we accept his amazing gift of love and mercy, despite the re-crumbing phenomena of our souls? Yes, let’s pray for that acceptance now and everyday, “Let it be done to me according to your will."

Danielle Turner is married to her college sweetheart and is enjoying the adventure of being a stay-at-home mom of four-under-six. As a former elementary school teacher, she's now pouring her creativity into making hand lettered and painted keepsakes to celebrate the sacraments which you can find in her shop.

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