May is traditionally the month of Mary in the Church - at least in the catholic wing of church and certainly in our glorious and beloved Anglo Catholic inheritance. It would be hard for us here, to overlook her, given our name, and our worship, and our statues and icons. Still, May is a recurring time each year to sharpen our focus, and further develop our devotion. I would be a fool not to know, and selfish not to openly admit that many of are more devoted to her than I could to be, better informed, more aware of the tradition and treasure. I do not mean to suggest I am the expert or the example.

Nevertheless, I am your priest, the priest of the parish, the Priest of the Church of St. Mary, and a lifelong, committed Anglo-Catholic. Loyal to its teaching, devoted to its worship and prayer life, so grateful for its witness and glory, and dependent on its special and unique gifts of grace. I hope we can be informed of the Great Tradition, and devoted to it, and well-able to understand and express it. Whether in each regard and on every point you will fully and enthusiastically agree is not required or expected or even desirable - that is not the way of the Episcopal Church and not reflective of the embracing and gracious love of God in Christ of "that blessed liberty with which Christ has set you free", as St Paul triumphantly expresses it.

But, we should know, we should be aware of, the great Tradition, and you might well profit from fully hearing, if not fully liking, what I believe, and what I am devoted to, and what I, as your priest, will stand for - clearly and openly and consistently.

I am occasionally asked what makes us different from Roman Catholics, or what makes us differ from Protestants by the various people I meet in our larger community. In our own church, and even in this parish I am also sometimes asked, what is it that distinguish Anglo-Catholics, what makes it what it is, what in fact, is it!

And so from time to time, when a clear and compelling chance presents itself I will speak on Anglo-Catholicism, even at the risk of presenting a sermon in a lecture format.

It seems to me that devotion to our Lady, like all those porridges in Goldilocks, come in three forms - too much, too little, and just about right. Yes, I agree there can be such a thing as too much devotion to our Lady. There has been such a thing in the past it is real danger. Too much devotion and the wrong sort of devotion is accorded to our Lady when our Lord appears to recede into the shadows, into some aloof remoteness of divinity, as though he were not fully human, not as sympathetic as his mother.

But there is, of course, the much more widespread risk of too little devotion to our Lady. This - too little devotion - seems to be by far the greater danger.

There ought not to be so much exaltation of Mary that it obscures or degrades our Lord. There ought not to be the kind of idealizing of her that would put her light years away from us and our experiences.

Nor so little that we do not admit, respect, and celebrate that she was the Mother of God, chosen from the foundation of the world to be the one who would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bring forth in her womb he who would redeem that world - the mother ordained and chosen from before time and forever.

Oh yes, blessed beyond measure, and full of grace. Yet, if we inquire of God, as we probably do: "What do you want, what would you like?" He will say, as he has said: "Mary. I want you to be like Mary. Make her your aim." And so we do, or must, or should. Aim to be like God and you have aimed too high. Aim to be nothing more than you are right this very minute and you have aimed too low. We are to aim to be more and more like Mary, throughout each succeeding Easter, each succeeding May, each succeeding year and season of our lives - we are always to try to be more like Mary.

She is the example above all examples, the inspiration that comes first and foremost to our hearts and minds. Mary is the perfect Christian. But Mary is not divine. Mary is human. You … can … be … like Mary - if you want and if you try. Mary is perfect, and you can be too. Not picture-perfect, not silly-perfect, not plaster-perfect. Mary was none of those things. Just really perfect, perfect in reality, not in fantasy or caricature.

We cannot say if God loved us more and gave us the grace he gave Mary we could be like her. Despite legend and adornment and understandable but misplaced devotion, there is nothing in Scripture, nothing in the Church, nothing in our understanding of God that lets us assume he apportions grace in smaller and greater measures, or wants some people to be able than others to become finer, dearer, kinder. We don't all end up equal in all virtues and graces, but it is not because God has stacked the deck against some, and for others. We can be like Mary. God is not preventing us. Indeed he is, I am certain, expecting us to be like Mary, or at least to try. He gives all his children the wherewithal to be like Mary, he gives all his children the example of Mary, he gives all his children the encouragement of Mary, and she gives all of God's children the help and assistance of her prayers on our behalf. We can do it.

What she did was remarkable, but not impossible. She was faithful, she was believing, she was gracious, she was courageous, she was constant, she was patient, she was hopeful, she was steadfast. She was joyful, she was compassionate, she was merciful, yet a human being, a first-century Galilean woman, a person like you, like me.

God does intend for us to be more like Mary, at least to try. To try to have a similar response to his Word and Will. Imagine what that would do! Imagine a Marian response by all of us to all of our joys and sorrows, our challenges and tragedies. Imagine having Marian patience and fortitude and devotion and faith. If we could do that, be just a little bit more like Mary, that, in itself, would remake our lives, transform the Church and renew the face of the earth. All from being just a little more like Mary than we are.

The full splendor of St. Mary the Virgin Mother of God, full of grace, is probably beyond us. Human though she was, her life and faith and fidelity are probably beyond us. And so we offer her the kind of hyper-veneration and unparalleled devotion that goes beyond what we offer any Saint, however beloved and admired. We offer her a kind of respect and devotion that lets us admit that we will never be completely like her. But we need to admit and hope and intend and try to be a little more like her than we are. And even that would bring our lives and our Church and our world infinitely closer to perfection, much farther along on our way to being full of grace.