Mary’s Interior Freedom

May 1, 2026

From the Annunciation to the foot of the Cross, Our Lady exemplifies how grace enables us to say ‘yes’ to God and live for others

By By Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori

May 1, 2026

Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori

The Feast of the Visitation, May 31, is among the many beautiful feasts honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because it falls this year on Trinity Sunday, it will not be observed in the liturgy. Yet it should not be passed over in silence. Among its important lessons is the beauty of interior freedom — Mary’s interior freedom.

When the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the Mother of the Savior, she had questions — not because she resisted God’s will, but because she wanted to fulfill it. Even without fully understanding how her unique vocation would change her life, Mary was free to say, “I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Hearing from the angel that her cousin Elizabeth was with child in her advancing years, Mary did not remain at home to ponder all that had happened. Instead, she hastened to see her cousin, undertaking a difficult journey of some 90 miles. There, she and Elizabeth rejoiced in the wonders of God’s love, and Mary spent about three months helping her during her pregnancy.

Let’s pause and ask ourselves — how was Mary so free that she could say “yes” to the Lord’s singular plan for her life and then set out to rejoice with her cousin and assist her? The answer is Mary’s complete freedom from sin. As we know, she was preserved from original sin by a singular grace of God, and throughout her life she committed no actual sin. By that grace, she was free to say “yes” to God, unimpeded by sin and its effects on the human will.

Gaining freedom from the power of sin can feel difficult, but once liberated by God’s grace, we discover that, like Mary, we are able to say “yes” to God, to our families and to those in need.

Freedom from sin enabled Mary to assent to God’s will, but it did not preserve her from suffering. Mary, who is “Cause of Our Joy,” is also “Our Lady of Sorrows.” She endured hardship and misunderstanding. As Simeon predicted at the Lord’s Presentation in the Temple, her soul was pierced with a sword of sorrow (Lk 2:35). Indeed, there was no sorrow like Mary’s as she stood beneath the Cross while her Son gave his life for the world’s redemption. Because she was free from sin, Mary could assent to and bear the suffering her vocation entailed, thus fully participating in Christ’s self-offering.

Unlike the Blessed Virgin Mary, none of us is spared original sin and its effects. But we are redeemed from sin by Christ’s death and resurrection, and we are given the grace we need to overcome sin — especially through the sacraments, including reconciliation. But let’s face it: When we are engaged in the struggle to eradicate persistent sin from our lives, we may not feel particularly free. We may feel as though “the narrow way” to eternal life compromises our freedom. At times, the Ten Commandments, the precepts of the Church and the Beatitudes can seem like a moral straitjacket rather than the path to freedom.

Conversion of life hinges on rejecting that lie and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. We are utterly reliant on God’s grace as we seek to break the grip of the sins that bedevil us. At the same time, God’s grace works in our humanity (as it did in Mary’s) — our minds, hearts, wills and appetites. Gaining freedom from the power of sin can feel difficult, but once liberated by God’s grace, we discover that, like Mary, we are able to say “yes” to God, to our families and to those in need.

Charity, of course, is the first principle of the Knights of Columbus. As Blessed Michael McGivney’s life teaches us, there is no charity without freedom — freedom from sin and from self-centeredness that enables us to see others and respond with generosity.

May Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, intercede for us — that in our journey through life we may become progressively freer from sin, until that day when we are fully free in our homeland of heaven.

Mary’s Interior Freedom

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