Notre Dame Academy celebrated its annual May Crowning Mass on Wednesday, May 4. It was a special day to honor NDA’s patroness, Mary, and to reflect on its educational mission as a school dedicated to Mary.
As is the NDA tradition, the honor of Crowning May goes to a senior. All seniors are invited to submit a reflection about the Blessed Mother and how they have viewed her as a role model. This year the honor of crowning Mary went to Malea Rolfsen with the honor of carrying Mary’s crown in procession going to Annie Cheeseman.
Julia Gerwe, Rachel Franzen and Emily Walter made up the honor guard. All five of these young ladies showed great devotion and appreciation for the Blessed Mother in their reflections. You can read Malea Rolfsen’s reflection below.
Malea Rolfsen
Marian Essay 2016
“And Mary said, Behold the handmaiden of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word” Luke 1:38. When I think of Mary and her impact on my life I often reflect on this passage from Luke. When I was younger Mary was like the sun to me: warm, encouraging, and a constant source of love. I saw and still see her today as not only a role model to be looked up to, but as a mother as dear to me as my own, a teacher, and a friend.
I imagine Mary’s love like the gravitational pull between the moon and earth; I am drawn to her grace. It is a kind, gentle undercurrent. In a world where women are often made to harden their hearts so as not to get hurt, I see Mary as the calm voice that calls us not to be sad, but hopeful, not to be tough, but strong. She empowers us not to let hatred rule our lives, but to let love and selflessness lead our way. When Mary said yes, she knew she would face ridicule by her peers, but instead of choosing fear she chose courage. It takes this Marian courage to make the difference we all seek to make. It takes courage to put others above ourselves, and Mary teaches us the courage.
Not only is Mary my role model, but she is also my friend. I often pray the Memorare and it has taught me many things. Many may feel as if they need to be perfect in order to model themselves after Mary, but this is not true. Mary is our mother in front of whom we stand sinful and sorrowful. In a time when many young women are being called to perfection, Mary calls us to trueness: trueness to ourselves and trueness to others. Mary as a friend knows that I will sin and fall far from perfection, but in her mother’s love she gathers all of us to her and forgives. A divine mother so accepting in a time where it is so hard to be accepted by others, and even harder to accept ourselves, is something that many people to not realize they have. Mary is a role model not only in how we should treat others, but also in how we treat ourselves. Many times we as women fall into the feeling of not being good enough, but Mary tells us that we are good enough. I know I myself have often thought I was just not good enough on academic, relationship, and spiritual levels, but when I realized that Mary didn’t care how “good” I was, and that she loved me for me, I finally felt at peace with who I am: the achievements and the shortcomings. Mary teaches us to love others, and also to love ourselves.
As I have mentioned before, I like to think of Mary as the handmaiden of the Lord. She is a model, a mother, and a friend. She is the woman who I strive to become. It is not until recently that I have been able to put into words the quiet grace that I always felt in my life. It has been, as I pictured Mary to be when I was a child, a sun that was so great and powerful and moving that I could not comprehend it. I still cannot, but I have at least been able to define it. What I have come to is this: we are called, like Mary, to be a handmaiden of the Lord. We should strive to be a humble candle for the love of God, so filled with his light and love that others look at us and are enlightened. I desire a soul, like Mary’s, so enflamed with the love of the Holy Spirit that others’ souls cannot help but catch fire when they see God’s love in me. I often doubt if I am worthy of such a flame, such a power. Mary was perfect, and I am not even close to that. But I believe Mary, much like a mother cheering on her daughter, wants me to try. She wants me to try to live her gentle lessons of love, grace, and acceptance. I believe that’s what she wants all of us to do: to try and love God and others with all our hearts, as she has done. Living with Mary as the center of my life these four years has taught me to love with a heart as wide as the world, to live in grace and goodness, and to come to peace with myself and others. I believe if you all look closely, you will realize that softly, gently she has been teaching you these same things all along. And with these teachings, this Marian courage, and our souls on fire, we can surely make a difference.