Met with my deacon mentor today, probably for the last time before ordination unless something comes up and I need advice. We’ll see each other this weekend (big deacon meeting coinciding with our formation weekend) and will probably cross paths before December. He’s got a great perspective, having been in the role for awhile and at a parish that’s at some distance from all the goings-on downtown.

One of the things I’ve been working on a little is Marian piety - discovering ways to approach the Blessed Virgin in ways that don’t feel forced to me. I love the idea of the Rosary a lot, but it’s never been a go-to for me during times of mental prayer. This has felt like something that needed a closer look, so I made it part of Lenten devotions and as luck (?) would have it, our director of vocations invited many of us to join him in a novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots. Why? It turns out that the incoming group of seminarians is so large that there’s some concern about where they’re going to be housed. This is a good knot - maybe the very best knot - but a knot nonetheless. So I joined in and managed to make all nine days without missing one, leaning on the Rosary tab of the Universalis app which has the option of including scriptural reflections for every single bead. This forces me to slow down a little for each prayer, rather than letting autopilot take over - hammering out a decade as my mind begins to drift.

I’ve also found it helpful to just ask her to sit with me before the Blessed Sacrament, letting her point me towards Him. Soon I was asking her intercessions before falling asleep. It’s happening slowly but surely. The novena was timed to end at the Solemnity of the Annunciation, which is today. When we draw closer to Mother of God, we also come closer to the humanity of Christ. We also approach Joseph, husband of Mary, protector of the Church, and model of deacons. The Holy Family has much to teach us, even - maybe especially - if all we do is rest quietly in Nazareth for awhile.