Spiritual Quote of the Day (Cindy Perazzo, on Mary, ‘First and Perfect Disciple to Jesus Christ’)

“When we look to Mary as mother and sister we can easily imagine her as the first and perfect disciple to Jesus Christ. We see the faith that led her throughout her life from that first announcement of her impending pregnancy to the foot of the cross. Our Lady shows us how to be completely open to God’s transforming power. She shows us how to listen to the Word. She shows us what it means to wait in faithfulness.” —Cindy Perazzo, coordinator of Lay Carmelites, “Hail Mary!”, Carmelite Review, Fall 2013-Winter 2014 issue

The image accompanying this post is The Annunciation (ca. 1485-92), by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi) (c.1445–1510).  The painting now hangs in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.