On April 2, 1955, Jesus smiled on a just-born infant to greet his first breath of life, taken in Wilbraham, Mass. On Oct. 19, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. on Eden Hill, Stockbridge, Mass., after Mother Mary washed every Rosary with her tears, Jesus smiled again when He took that life back, reborn, this time, into eternal life. The infant had grown into a man. And the man had done well. Her 'maternal sol i tude' When Fr. Mark Garrow, MIC, assumed leadership of the newly named Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy Province, he wrote a letter to his Marian brothers, dated Nov. 15, 2006. His first words were, "Salve Regina, Mater Misericoridae." In using the words of the ancient antiphon, Fr. Mark, who died Oct. 19 at the age of 52 following a long illness, highlighted the significance of Mary and Jesus to the Congregation of Marians. No, he wasn't stating the obvious. He was stating the necessary by setting the tone required for a radical response to Jesus' summation of the law: Love God above all things, and love your neighbor as yourself. In the letter, Fr. Mark didn't preach to the choir. He went to the heart and soul, the very core, of the Marians' mission: to do all - every thought, desire, word, action, and omission - only with the help of Mary's prayers and her "maternal solitude." Father Mark emphasized the Blessed Mother's role as "a model for our consecrated life" and urged his brothers "to imitate her in opening ourselves completely to the gift of God's Mercy in Christ." He then invited them "to follow her example in doing all that we can to bring that Mercy to others." 'The honor of a l i fet ime' Father Mark lived delivering God's mercy, and he died surrendering to that same mercy, the Ego sum Vita ("I am the Life") that we will only see as He really is when we die. Father Mark's surrender involved taking up a ferocious cross without complaint and with great humility. He met the staggering suffering caused by tongue cancer straight on, and every caregiver who looked after him in the final months remarked on this great witness. "It was the honor of a lifetime to take care of Fr. Mark," said Judy Ryan, one of his nurses. Divine Mercy, Natural and Easy Father Mark served mankind as a bearer of mercy not because he found it difficult. He did it because he found it natural and easy. Just as in his pubic ministry he tended to the spiritual needs of countless people, in his Marian ministry he also answered the call, for example, when his superiors wanted to put his intelligence and judgment to administrative use. Father Mark served the Marians as novice master, local Superior, General Councilor, Superior General, Prefect of Formation, and, for this past year, Provincial Superior. Fr. Mark Garrow, MIC 1955-2007 "If I just place mysel f , the best I can, at God's disposal , fruitfulness wi l l come from God and my weakness serves that purpose. . . . Even weakness can point to God. "
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