Hail, Finder of Grace
I enjoy shopping for gifts. However, I wouldn’t say I like buying any readily available, reasonably priced gift or a standard item on every gift list, like a pen, book, or a popular CD. I prefer to take my time, looking for something I believe the recipient would need or could use and appreciate. I’m not simply looking for anything; I’m looking for something in particular, something special for the person I know and love. It’s a matter of the heart.
Grace is the perfect gift, freely given by God, especially when we are in need. But sometimes, in moments of darkness, we may not always know exactly what we need or who can help.
For instance, there are mornings when I wake up worried about my day ahead. I’m like Martha in the Gospel—it’s just one of those days where I’m anxious about many things. At such moments—and believe me, they are frequent enough—I always pray to Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, because I believe she will find the grace to help me. And I have often been pleasantly surprised by Mary because the grace I have needed has come when I have least expected it and in ways I never would have imagined. I like to call these moments of saving grace “Mary Moments.” She gives me the help I need in the way I need it and when I need it.
In the Book of Proverbs, there is a beautiful, reassuring verse that I have always applied to Mary: “Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me.” Another translation ends with “shall find me,” while another reads “shall find grace,” which implies that to find Mary is to find grace.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori urges people who are in need to go to Mary, and she will find the grace they need. He tells us to urge her with confidence, “Help me find the grace I am looking for!” Saint Bernard of Clairvaux also encourages us to “seek grace and seek it through Mary, the finder of grace.” I love the title “Mary, finder of grace” because Mary always finds what she seeks and will not fail us.
