Imagine how Adam and Eve felt after the first sin. For the first time, they were afraid, ashamed, and confused (Gn 3:10). They had never before experienced pain, sorrow, or death. The first death they experienced was the murder of their son Abel (Gn 4:8). How traumatized they must have felt! All they had to hold onto was God’s promise that the woman’s offspring would strike at the serpent’s head and ultimately be victorious (Gn 3:15). This was a glimmer of hope on the saddest day in human history.

Mary, the new Eve, is also “a sign of sure hope” in traumatized times (Lumen Gentium, 68, Vatican II). She was without sin from the moment of her conception. She was undefeated, not by her power but because she let her Son’s victory be done unto her (Lk 1:38). She is a sign of hope for those hoping against hope, for “banished children of Eve,” crying and sighing “in this vale of tears” (Hail Holy Queen prayer). If you’re in the vale of tears, the time of trouble, the hour of darkness — if you’re going through your own sorrows — Mary is the sign to hope even against hope.

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