The Virgin Mary Pulls us Closer to Love!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbdxzSHn-QM

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this song!!!

Mat Kearney has always been a favorite artist of mine, but check out these lyrics:

She got the call today, one out of the gray,
And when the smoke cleared, it took her breath away,
She said she didn't believe it could happen to me,
I guess we're all one phone call from our knees.
We're gonna get there soon.

WHOAH! Does this sound like the annunciation or what?!?!?! We ARE all one "phone call" from God away from ending up on our knees, worshipping before Him, once we realize His call to us!! And we're always hopeful - we're gonna get there soon!!

If every building falls, and all the stars fade,
We'll still be singing our song - the one they can't take away.

YES! Remember the post on "Magnificent" and how Mary was born to sing for God??? Well, THIS is the song that no one can take away from us!!! EVER!!! Jesus and Mary sang the perfect duet - melody and harmony.

I'm gonna get there soon, she's gonna be there too,
Crying in her room, praying "Lord, come through,"
We're gonna get there soon.

YES! Throughout all our troubles, our worries, she suffers with us, she prays to God that He might come to our aid, because we are her beloved children!!! She cries and prays with us, she's there with us praying to God on our behalf, offering up our prayers to Our Lord that He might accept the prayers of His Dear Mother!

Oh, it's your light, oh, it's your way,
Pull me out of the dark, just to show me the way,
Cryin' out now, from so far away,
You pull me closer to love, closer to love.

Mary's light and simple, loving way are what make us fall in love with her. She saves us from darkness, she is our little light in the darkness of our sinful nature!! She leads us, PULLS us away from darkness so that we can see "the way" - Jesus's way, which is also her way! So, we can imitate her in the confidence that she is God's prototype of the perfect woman! We cry out to her, and she pulls us "closer to love" - closer to God Himself!!!

I can't help but love this song! I was trying to figure out why the lyrics were so captivating, why it was considered a "Christian" song, when I couldn't see the connection. It really strikes me as a CATHOLIC song, because it talks about Our Mother!

Kearney is actually a Christian artist, and, post reading his bio, it seems as though he writes more thematically than anything. What I love about his music is that it's very relatable, very real - we can all imagine the situations that he puts forth in his music in any movie that we've seen, or any person we know, or any problem we face. His music is influenced by hip-hop and acoustic guitar, which is an awesome mix, and is popular, so his music makes waves in mainstream markets, too. He says of his music that, "hopefully there is a depth and intimacy of songwriting that goes beyond the novelty of a funky guy with an acoustic guitar. When I set out to write, I want to write something that will rip your heart out and connect with you. Great songs connect beyond genre and style." How true!!

My favorite part of his bio, though, is that he said "the roots of [Undeniable - one of his songs] are really in seeing joy on the other side of pain-of coming to know God and the undeniable nature of who He is." Joy in suffering, right there.

Kearney had a tough time in college, getting lost before finding Christ. "God found me when I was at my lowest point. That was the first time in my life when I really felt like I understood who Jesus was-it was more than just knowing about Him, I felt like He met me in that time and place." Amen. This is the wisdom of a Pope translated into the everyday language of a humble songwriter - my favorite kind of translation. :)

There's another song by Parachute called "She is Love" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghhivSh1hSc&NR=1) which is rather repetitive, but the lyrics go like this:

I've been beaten down, I've been kicked around,
But she takes it all for me.
And I lost my faith, in my darkest days,
But she makes me want to believe.
They call her love, love, love, love, love.
They call her love, love, love, love, love.
She's all I need.
Well I had my ways, they were all in vain,
But she waited patiently.
It was all the same, all my pride and shame,
And she put me on my feet.
They call her love, love, love, love, love.
They call her love, love, love, love, love.
They call her love, love, love, love, love.
She is love, and she is all I need.

Okay, so the "she is all I need" part is obviously false - we need GOD. But she is the path that leads to God, so I consider the song to say, "she is the only path I need to reach God, because she is the Mediatrix, the Daughter of the Father, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and Mother of Jesus."

Let us all remain ever hopeful, ever striving toward God despite our sinfulness, because His mercy is all-encompassing. Let us model ourselves after the humility of His handmaid, who waits for us patiently and accepts us, prideful and shameful though we are, into her loving arms, making us believe even more in God, making our hearts thirst for that faith she possesses.

They call her love. :)

Fides, Spes, et Caritas Christi per Mariam,
Christina :)