Catholicism stands in contrast to the hyperindividualism that is often promoted in our culture. This became abundantly clear to me during my discernment to religious life, when I would stop at a church after work and pray a Rosary in front of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Of course, I knew that this wasn’t simply about me. But I also realized that it wasn’t simply about Jesus and me either. Through my Hail Marys, I was living out what I had heard many faithful say before: “to Jesus through Mary.”
In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the retreatant will often do three colloquies or prayer sessions in which he or she has conversations with Mary, the next with Jesus and the last with the Father. It is common practice to use our imaginative prayer to have Mary present us to Jesus and then Jesus and Mary present us to the Father.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” To the Father through Christ, to Jesus through Mary, and similarly through all the holy men and women that came before and those that still walk among us. Thus, we will see the Father and perhaps, show the Father to others as well. We are never alone, but always among the beloved communion of saints.