O Mary, Bearer of the Fire

We hear today a long prayer addressed by St Catherine to Mary, the Mother of God. She prayed this prayer on the feast of the Annunciation the year before she died, and in it she wonders about what it was like for Mary to say Yes to what God was asking of her. ‘You were overtaken by wonder and surprise’, Catherine says. She offers many original images for our Blessed Mother: she is the bearer of fire, the seedbed of the fruit, a peaceful sea, fertile soil, a new-sprung plant, and many more things besides!