As we approach the Feast of Mater Admirabilis on Monday, Amaya Firestone, Marketing and Communications Assistant, considers what Mater can teach us in today’s fast-paced, ever changing world.
Reflecting on the virtues of Mater Admirabilis is a daily joy for me here at the Academy, and writing this week in anticipation of her feast day fills me with gratitude for this special Sacred Heart tradition. On October 20, the global Sacred Heart family journeys back in time to 1844, when young postulant Pauline Perdrau set brush to wall and brought to life a visage of Mary not often contemplated — an adolescent, full of grace and interior silence, but waiting for her mission. Her surroundings are fresh, open, and airy. Her hands are busy with spindle and distaff and a book. She wears a rosy pink gown.
This unique Mary has been claimed as the patron saint of Sacred Heart students. I find her graces to be immensely accessible and applicable in the modern digital age, and I am grateful she is taking special care of our students, which include my three boys, Lucas, Warren, and Peter.
We are all digital citizens at this unique point in history. So much knowledge and potential are available through powerful programs and a constant flow of information and inspiration. As a marketer, I am a frequent user and beneficiary of social media and digital communication. But for all the benefits, parents — myself included — and even medical and psychological professionals are aware of a hidden impact of this immense tool in our hands and at our desks.
Seeing story after story, picture after picture of others’ triumphs, advice, and activities can lead to worries, especially in young minds that are still expanding their spheres of influence. Am I enough? Why doesn’t my life look like that? How did they do that so perfectly? What is lost in a digital world of highlights and breaking news is the hidden, valuable work of waiting and wondering. It is a still, quiet posture that needs no trending audio or vast audience. And upon its firm foundation are our future leaders, families, and citizens. This is what our children of the Sacred Heart are learning under the guidance of Mater Admirabilis.
The story of the fresco even echoes the lesson that she brings to the modern age. Pauline’s painting was largely considered a very rough first draft. Her color choices were questioned. The wall was covered with a curtain and the project was abandoned. But a few years later, a visit from a curious Pope Pius IX saw the curtain removed and the words “Mater Admirabilis!” uttered for the first time as he beheld the softer, blended rose of the painting we know today. The corridor was converted to a chapel, and the fresco can still be visited at Trinità dei Monti in Rome.
On October 20, the feast of Mater Admirabilis, let us rest in the waiting period, embracing faith and contemplation rather than perfection. Perhaps your child is starting to read (what is with all those silent ‘e’s?). Perhaps they are learning cursive. Perhaps they can’t wait to plan Congé. You yourself might be between jobs. You might be starting a new hobby. Mater Admirabilis and I pray you reap the blessings of these unique and precious times and take inspiration from her fiat.
