My five sisters and I are in the habit of gathering together monthly to pray the rosary.  Over the years our group of six girls has increased to include our children and grandchildren as well.  We all enjoy a treat together, some great conversation, and best of all, the opportunity to unite in prayer to our beautiful Blessed Mother.  Over the years we have experienced many answered prayers through our monthly gatherings.  But the answer to prayer that had the greatest impact on my life is what I like to call the Miracle of the Three Marys. 

The first Mary is my mother.  My mom lovingly mothered nine children, six of whom were girls.  I never gave much thought to the tremendous challenges that she faced in raising so many children with so much love, until it became my turn to be a mother.

I always thought that I would have lots of daughters, since this is the type of family that I grew up in, and I’ve cherished my sisters as they are all my best friends.  But, my own family was not meant to mirror my childhood family.  Instead, I became the mother of four sons within five years.  I began to think that I wasn’t a very good mother to boys, and that I needed more practice, so God kept giving me more boys to practice with!  My sons, John Paul, Justin, Joseph and Jack, are all wonderful.  They bring me so much joy!  During those early years, which were a blur of nursing, diapers and Barney, I always turned to my mother for advice and support.  Although a distance of 80 miles separated us, my long distance phone bill attested to the many hours she spent listening to me fret about my mothering skills (or lack of skills!).

 So, it was with great sadness, that I said goodbye to her for the last time, when my youngest son, Jack, was six months old.  My mother, Mary, died of a brain tumor on Mother’s Day, 1999.  Mother’s Day has been bittersweet for me ever since, as I still miss her presence very deeply, every day.  Now, my conversations with her are really long distance, because I know that she’s in heaven and is still a very good listener.  I also know that she still has so much love to share.

When Jack was two years old, I became pregnant again.  At the first ultrasound, I was found to have amniotic bands, which are pieces of uterine wall that have broken away and dangle in the amniotic fluid.  These bands have the potential to amputate limbs in utero, or worse, strangle the growing fetus.  So my sisters and nieces called an “emergency rosary”, where we immediately came together to pray.  We prayed, not only to our mother, Mary, but also to Jesus’ mother, Mary, and begged them to pray to God for us.  Our request was to keep my growing baby from harm.  One month later, when I returned to a specialist for a repeat ultrasound, all of the bands were gone!  It was a miracle from our two favorite Mary’s in heaven.

The next miracle occurred on June 25^th, 2001, when my husband, Paul, and I gave birth to our only daughter, Mary.  It was not only a miracle that she was a healthy baby girl, but also because she was born on my mother’s birthday.  I believe that God sent my daughter, Mary, on this special day as a testament to the love of my own mother.  My daughter Mary is now six years old, and has been my constant joy.  I give thanks to God for my three beautiful Marys, and I ask for His blessings upon all mothers.

You can visit Anne Bender’s blog site at:  www.annebender.blogspot.com