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Jesus
freely subjected himself to Mary's
authority as his mother.
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Mary
prayed with Jesus, ate with him,
kissed him, comforted him, fed him,
clothed him, carried him in her womb
and in her arms, daily looked at his
face, and cared for all his needs.
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Mary
is closer to Jesus than even the
apostles.
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God
made His plan dependent upon the "yes" of this sinless young girl.
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Jesus
trusted himself completely to Mary.
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Mary's
body actually contained God. Jesus actually lived inside of Mary.
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Mary
provided Jesus' sustenance after His birth.
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Salvation
literally comes to us through Mary.
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Mary
was there for Jesus from the beginning
to the end.
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Mary
is the only human being who has been
physically united with Jesus
(excepting the Eucharist, of course).
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Of
all the people who have ever lived, Jesus was the only one to choose
his mother.
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Mary
endured great suffering from the
beginning. First, she faced
rejection from Joseph as well as
possible death by stoning (due to her pregnancy). When
advanced in pregnancy, Mary was taken
away from all she knew to give birth
in a manger. After the birth of Christ, the Holy Family had to flee
to protect the Child's life. When Jesus was just
40 days old, Simeon told Mary of the
sword of sorrow that would pierce her
heart. Since the prophecy was directed at her alone, it
may also have implied Mary's future widowhood. When Jesus was just a
youth, His Mother searched for him in sorrow. During his public
ministry, she may seem to have been rejected by Christ (click
here). And, at the
end, Mary was present for hours during her Son's torturous and
bloody death.
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On
the last day of Jesus' life, Mary
silently watched her son be tortured, humiliated,
blasphemed, and murdered, and buried. In her
humble obedience, she did not even cry
out. (Remember what Jesus said
to Peter who tried to stop Jesus from
suffering: "Get behind me, Satan!
You are an obstacle to me. You are
thinking not as God does, but as human
beings do.") What an incredible
strength she had to so patiently endure
such great suffering without complaint or
protest. As a loving mother, it
is certain that she would
have wished to take His place if that
were possible. But, being unable
to do so, Mary suffered even more.
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Imagine
Mary's suffering while walking the
path of the Crucifixion (the Via
Dolorosa) after her son was
crucified. Tradition says that
Mary visited this path
daily.
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Mary's
greatness can be deduced from Scripture. In
Mark 10:43, Jesus says: "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your
servant". Note that a synonym
for servant is
"handmaid". As Mary
stated, "For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me
blessed." (Lk. 1:48)
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Mary
is called "blessed" by St. Elizabeth twice in her greeting
("in a loud voice"). The first time, Mary is called "most
blessed" [NAB translation].
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An
angel is by nature greater than a human, but an angel gave Mary
honor when he greeted her.
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Both
the angel and St. Elizabeth used the same words with
reference to Mary ("blessed art thou among women"). As
stated by St. Bede the Venerable, "Mary is blessed by Elisabeth
with the same words as before by Gabriel, to show that she was to be
reverenced both by men and angels."
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Of
all creation, Mary has an entirely unique relationship with the Holy
Trinity. She is Daughter to the Father, Spouse to the Holy Spirit,
and Mother of the Son.
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Mary
is the only creature who ever bore her creator.
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In
Luke 14:11, Jesus says: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
One who is exalted by Jesus is worthy
of honor. Clearly, Mary is
worthy of our honor. In fact, it
is impossible for us humans to honor
Mary more than God has already chosen
to do.
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Mary
alone has a unique relationship with
God: She was chosen by God the Father
and overshadowed by God the Holy
Spirit to give birth to God the
Son. She is the only one
for all eternity to have this
incomparable honor. Of all God's
creatures, Mary is closest to God.
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From
Genesis, Mary is associated with Jesus
in the victory over Satan. A
similar association between Mary and Satan
occurs in Revelation.
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God
found Mary worthy to be his mother and
worthy to be exalted. This
wasn't a haphazard or accidental
decision on God's part (God doesn't
make such decisions, of
course). Clearly, God planned
this from the beginning. God
knew Mary would cooperate with His
plan. Even God can't do all that He wants without the necessary human
cooperation (by His own design).
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Jesus
gave us his Mother while he was consummating the sacrifice of
Himself. The gift of his Mother was one of his last wishes and gifts to
us.
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Mary
was the only one there both at the beginning and the end of
Jesus' earthly life.
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Jesus
refers to Mary as "woman" both at the beginning of his
public ministry and at the end - this has often been interpreted to
refer to the promise of the "woman" in Genesis who would
crush the head of Satan.
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We
see in Revelation that "to stand with Mary is to stand against
Satan and to be against Mary is to be on Satan's side."
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Mary
is referred to as the new "Ark of
the Covenant" due to the
significant parallels between the Ark of
the Covenant in the Old Testament and Mary in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Ark contained
the covenant of the Lord. "And I have placed there the ark, in which abides the covenant of the LORD which he made with the Israelites."
(2 Chron. 6:11). By contrast,
Mary held the new, living, Covenant
within her womb. In the Old
Testament, the Ark was highly revered,
bringing joy and celebration to those
who would greet it. Some who
didn't greet the Ark of the Covenant
were struck down (1 Sam. 6:19) and,
when Uzzah merely placed his hand on
the Ark, he was struck down (1 Chron.
13:10). In 1 Sam. 7:2, the Ark
affected a full conversion of the
Israelite people in Kiriath-jearim. Clearly God didn't take lightly the
place where the word of God
resided. In fact, he required
that the Ark be adorned in a specific manner to be
worthy of holding the
Covenant (i.e. specific material
design, and size, plated with pure
gold, adorned with golden cherubim,
etc., see Ex. 25:10-22). Surely,
Mary, who held the living Word of God
in her womb, was also properly
adorned. If the Ark which held
the written words of God was to be so
revered, how much more should the Ark
which contained the living Word be
revered? Note that both David & St. Elizabeth responded very
similarly to the arrival of the Ark (See 2 Sam. 6:9: "David
feared the LORD that day and said, 'How can the ark of the LORD come
to me?'" and Lk.1:43: "[Elizabeth said,] 'And how does
this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to
me?'")
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Abraham
was prepared to sacrifice his son, and was greatly rewarded for it
(even though he didn't have to actually go through with the
sacrifice of his son). Mary, on the other hand, actually did
sacrifice her Son.
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Mary
is called by many names, such as Queen
of Heaven, Our Lady of Good Remedy,
Our Blessed Mother, etc. but reflect
on her most important title for a
moment: Mother of God. That
is an amazing title for a human
being. If one rejects
that title, they must either be denying
that Jesus is God or that Mary is
Jesus' mother. It is quite clear
from Scripture that Mary is Jesus'
mother. It is also clear that
Elizabeth calls Mary "the mother
of my Lord". And, do not
forget Jesus' own words: "Whoever
listens to you listens to me. Whoever
rejects you rejects me. And whoever
rejects me rejects the one who sent
me." (Lk.10:16). If one
rejects Jesus, he or she rejects
Jesus' Father too.
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Take
a moment to reflect on how Adam
& Eve's disobedience offended God and how Mary's obedience helped to
appease God. In fact, our salvation actually depended on
Mary's obedience. Also, focusing on Mary's obedience can
help us to live a more holy
life.
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If
you had the opportunity to visit (at no
expense to you) the tomb where Jesus laid
for 3 days, wouldn't you be delighted
to make the pilgrimage? Wouldn't
you feel compelled to say a prayer or
two once there? Well, this tomb simply consists of some stone and
earth that
protected Jesus' body for 3 days [actually less than 2 days (Friday evening to Sunday
morning)] about
2000 years ago. By contrast,
Mary provided a womb in which the Holy
Spirit brought forward the living
Jesus. In this womb, Jesus took
on his entire human nature, flesh and
blood, shared nourishment, and lived
for 9 months. If you would
delight in praying at the site of
Jesus tomb, why not delight in
offering a prayer through Mary to
Jesus. Mary is a powerful
intercessor with her Son, the flesh of
her flesh.
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Mary
did not stop being Jesus' Mother after His birth. She will continue
to be his mother for all eternity.
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"Mary
carried the Lord of heaven and earth within her."
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There
are a number of parallels between Mary and the Church: Both are chaste, both were made fruitful by the
Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to the head of the
Church, while the Church gives life
to the members of the Church...
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The
only man who accompanied Mary beneath the cross - the only Apostle
who didn't desert Christ - was St. John the apostle. He was given
Mary as his mother and was the only apostle to survive
attempted martyrdom. He cared for Mary and lived a long life, as
Scripture indicates: "'Honor your father and mother.' This is the first commandment with a
promise:
'that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on
earth.'" (Eph. 6:2-3)
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The
immaculate Mary was above the law, but she did not disdain, in her
humility, to submit to the law.
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While
we would say, "My Lord and my God!", Mary could say, "My Son and my
God!"
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Mary
enjoys a privilege no other creature has or ever will have.
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Mary
was found worthy to bear and hold God Incarnate.
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Mary
was chosen before the ages to be Christ's mother, as foretold in Genesis.
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Our
Lord took his very flesh from Mary - Mary brought forth God!
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"A
creature brought forth the Creator."
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"Mary
contained heaven in her womb."
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Mary
spent more time with Jesus than any one else did - 33 years!
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Mary
saw Jesus speak his first words, take his first step, etc. She even
guided him with her own hands.
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Jesus
must have conversed with Mary more than any other person on earth.
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The
Gospel writers knew Jesus only for a few years. Mary knew Him
intimately for about 33 years.
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Mary
was in the company of God for over 30 years on earth, from the
Annunciation to the moment of his death - and even afterwards.
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Mary
was the only one ever overshadowed by the Spirit.
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Mary
is "The
only Mother ever chosen by her child".
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Since
we are also Mary's children, she suffers for each one of us and tries to
protect us.
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No
one has ever been able to love the Lord as Mary has.
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Jesus
will have the same body for all eternity - the same body He used to
conquer death and affect our redemption - this body came from Mary.
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Jesus'
first recorded words were in response to Mary's question
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Jesus'
first recorded miracle was in response to Mary's request. It was also
the first recorded instance of intercession with Jesus.
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The
reception of the Holy Spirit by St. John the Baptist occurred
upon Mary's greeting to Elizabeth.
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As
pointed out by Pope Leo XIII, Christ associated Mary with His first two
miracles: "The only begotten Son of God at all times paid to
his most holy Mother the most evident marks of honor... He
associated her with himself in each of his first two miracles - the
miracle of grace when, at the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped
in the womb of Elizabeth; the miracle of nature when he turned water
into wine at the marriage feast of Cana."
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Only Mary and the Father can call Jesus "Son"
- not even the angels can say that. (Note: This
does not include Jesus' foster father, St. Joseph.)
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Jesus was subject to Mary
(Luke 2:51). He who commands
angels is subject to a woman. A woman commands God!
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Mary
led the Lamb, caressed Him, fed Him, taught Him, etc.
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Christ
is the living temple. We can see from the Old Testament that when God chose those to help build
His temple, he selected master craftsman. Clearly, He would do no
less for the Living temple. For this, He chose Mary.
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"No one has ever or ever will be more intimately and effectively
associated with Christ in the objective redemption than his
mother."
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In
accordance with God's plan, we receive redemption as a result of Mary's physical motherhood.
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Mary
gave birth not only to our Savior - but to our Judge as well!
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A
quick count of the number to times "Hail" was applied to a
person in Holy Scripture (NAB translation) reveals:
"Hail" is applied to Jesus four times [once by the
betrayer Judas as he betrayed Christ (Mt. 26:49), and three times as
mockery during the crucifixion (Mt. 27:29, Mk. 15:18, Jn. 19:3)],
and to Mary one time (by the angel in Lk 1:28)].
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On
the practical end, imagine that God
came down and informed you of a humble
girl who could be totally trusted to
raise His very own Son. Wouldn't
you be in awe of this person and want
to follow her example? Well,
that person is Mary.
