This week’s entry in the Weekly Photo Challenge, monochromatic, is a picture of some late-blooming knockout roses in my garden. They’ll probably bloom through November! I like that the darker greens of the leaves morph into the lighter green and the yellow of the rose at the center. It was only after I took the picture of the rose that I recalled its association with the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today is the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a day to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.
My name, Maria, is another name for Mary, which in turn comes from the Hebrew, Miryam — or more likely, the Aramaic, Mariam. It’s all the same name — a fun fact given that the domain for this website, mariamjohnson includes my middle initial because mariajohnson wasn’t available. Mariam = Maria. But, yeah, don’t call me Mariam.
But back to the Blessed Mother. I confess to not liking my name when I was younger. Why? I can’t even tell you anymore. Because it’s common? Because so many cubanitas I grew up with are named Maria Something? Probably. I didn’t grasp I was named after Mary, the Mother of God. I mean, I guess I knew that, but I didn’t grasp the enormity of it.
I missed a lot about our dear Mother, but I’m evolving, growing in my understanding. I wrote about that earlier this week as I get ready to embark on a pilgrimage. You can be sure that when I hear the name Maria, or Mary, or even Mariam, I smile sweetly and think of my heavenly Mother, and most important, her Son.
