Mary’s fiat, our call to action
“Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
The word doula — defined as someone who provides non-medical support during pregnancy and childbirth — comes from the Greek for “handmaid.”
A few years before I had any training, my sister asked me to be her doula. Expectations were low. She knew I had no experience. So I quickly got to work watching YouTube videos, created by real doulas, with the intention of doing my best doula impression when it came time for the birth.
Over the next few months, I practiced the most popular comfort measures for birth support and packed my doula bag. Ultimately, I don’t remember offering much support during the birth. In fact, my most vivid memory of that birth experience is my sister kneeling on the floor, looking up at her husband and me as she cried out in anguish. We were helpless. She was in pain and I had run out of YouTube advice. All we could do was remain with her.
Whereas handmaid can evoke a passive connotation, for me Mary as the doula of the Lord suggests an expansive, active, and compassionate role — a role she still holds for us.
Mary had an expansive disposition towards God’s grace at work within her. How else could she have said yes to the angel’s news? She actively proclaimed God’s great deeds in both her Magnificat and her life. And still her compassionate presence at the cross seems most significant as she remained with her suffering son when few others would.
In my work at Catholic Charities Family Immigration Services, my desire to alleviate the worry and frustration that many migrants experience when they find themselves in the throes of the US immigration system is often met with a feeling of helplessness. Perhaps I can’t take away their pain, but I can remain with them, bearing witness to how Christ is born in their suffering. We know that the people most impacted by this broken system are oftentimes some of the most vulnerable among us, and at Catholic Charities we are committed to remaining with them.
May Mary’s fiat be our call to action this Lent. How will we respond when we too are visited by God’s messengers (our clients) inviting us to labor with them and our God?
Marissa Flores Madden is the Director of Family Immigration Services at Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri and a Department of Justice Accredited Representative.