Posted on 12/16/2007 4:05:55 PM PST by NYer
God has a mother and she was chosen before the beginning of time.
This is an amazing belief, one that is sometimes mocked and often misunderstood, and misrepresented, sometimes even by Catholics. Yet this truth is at the heart of Advent and Christmas–as well as at the heart of the entire Christian Faith.
This belief is also captured in a short phrase in the Hail Mary: "Holy Mary, Mother of God." They are just five simple words, but words bursting with mystery and meaning. They tell us many things about Mary and about the Triune God and His loving plan of salvation for mankind, in which Mary has such a significant place.
Mary is holy. To be holy is to be set apart, to be pure, and to be filled with the life of God. The call to holiness, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, is summarized in Jesus' words: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt 5:48; CCC 2013). Mary's holiness comes from the same source as the holiness that fills all who are baptized and are in a state of race. But Mary's relationship with the Triune God is unique, as Luke makes evident in his description of Gabriel appearing to Mary:
And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God" (Lk 1:35)
Possessing perfect faith, itself a gift from God, Mary was overshadowed by God the Father, anointed by the Holy Spirit, and filled by the Son. She was chosen by God to bear the God-man, the One in whom the "whole fullness of deity" would dwell (CCC 484). Completely filled by God, she is completely holy. Chosen by God, she is saved. Called to share intimately and eternally in the life of her Son, she was, the Catechism explains, "redeemed from the moment of her conception" (CCC 49) and "preserved from the stain of original sin" (CCC 508).
The Pentateuch contains the account of how God chose a small, nondescript nomadic tribe, the Hebrews, to be His "holy people" for "His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth" (Deut 7:6). Many years later, in the fullness of time, God chose a young Jewish woman from a place of little consequence to be the Mother of God. This, in turn, would result in the birth of the Church, which Peter describes as a "chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession" (1 Pet 2:9).
Mary, faithful and holy, is chosen so that others can also be chosen and made holy, transformed by her Son into the sons and daughters of God and joined to the Body of Christ. Mary "is the Virgo fidelis, the faithful virgin, who was never anything but faithful," writes Fr. Jean Daniélou, "whose fidelity was the perfect answer to the fidelity of God; she was always entirely consecrated to the one true God."
It has been said many ways and in many places but bears repeating that "Mother of God" is the greatest and most sublime title that Mary can ever be given. It sums up all that she is, all that she does, and all that she desires. The title of Theotokos ("God-bearer", or "Mother of God"), far from being some late addition to Church teaching, is rooted in Scripture and the Advent story. The Catechism explains that Mary was "called in the Gospels 'the mother of Jesus'" and that she "is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as 'the mother of my Lord'" (CCC 495).
Mary, the Mother of God, is also the first disciple of her Son, the God-man. She is also the New Eve, whose obedience and gift of her entire being overturns the sin and rebellion of the first Eve. Her Son is the New Adam, who comes to give everlasting, supernatural life and heal the mortal wound inflicted by the sin of the first Adam (cf. 1 Cor 15:45).
The lives and the love of the New Adam and the New Eve fill the season of Advent. Mary quietly and patiently calls all men to Bethlehem to see and worship the Christ Child. Jesus waits for mankind to recognize Him as Lord and Savior. But He doesn't just wait for us; He comes to us. But His coming awaits completion, both in our individual lives and in the life of the world. Which is why James, in today's epistle, writes, " Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. . . . . You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm,because the coming of the Lord is at hand" (Jas 5:7-10).
Fr. Daniélou explains beautifully this paradox of Advent, of Jesus having come already and yet coming still:
"We live always during Advent, we are always waiting for the Messiah to come. He has come, but is not yet fully manifest. He is not fully manifest in each of our souls; He is not fully manifest in mankind as a whole; that is to say, that just as Christ was born according to the flesh in Bethlehem of Judea so must He be born according to the spirit in each of our souls."
Although young, poor, and faced with incredible challenges, Mary waited patiently on the promises and the coming of her Lord and Son. The Catechism says that because Mary "gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: 'Let it be to me according to your word.' By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her: 'Thy will be done.'" (CCC 2677). That is indeed the perfect prayer, from the perfect woman and mother, for Advent: "Thy will be done."
God’s grace redeems the Virgin
The Church recently celebrated the great Feast of the Immaculate Conception, situated to draw Catholics more deeply into the mystery of God's grace, Mary's faith, and the plan of salvation. Although not formally defined as a doctrine of the Catholic Church until 1854 by Pope Pius IX, belief in Mary's sinlessness goes back to the earliest centuries of the Church and is rooted in Scripture, especially the first chapter of Luke's Gospel.
In the encyclical Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX formally stated the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. [135 Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854); CCC 491]
Although the Eastern Orthodox recognize and celebrate Mary's sinlessness, many Protestants do not. Some, in fact, take great offense with this belief, insisting that it makes light of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and that it implies that Mary is more than a creature, perhaps even equal to her Son.
But the Church makes very clear that Mary's Immaculate Conception is a gift of God. After all, Mary was "redeemed from the moment of her conception," making it difficult for her redemption to be her own work. And Pope Pius IX's definition strongly states that the Immaculate Conception was "by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God" and by the work and merits of Mary's Son. Sadly, some Christians not only reject this truth, they even resort of saying that Mary "not special" or "not worthy of praise"–even though Mary, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared that "from this time on all generations will count me blessed" (Lk 1:48).
John Cardinal Newman once noted that Catholic beliefs about Jesus and His Mother are intimately connected and cannot be torn apart from one another. "Catholics who have honoured the Mother, still worship the Son," he wrote, "while Protestants, who now have ceased to confess the Son, began . . . by scoffing at the Mother." It is a cautionary statement that all Christians, including Catholics, should take to heart during the Advent season.
I'm kinda non-denominational...Just a sinner, saved by grace thru faith, without works of any sort...
Care to explain what happens when you partake of the Eucharist?
Paul certainly wasn't ignorant of the Gospel that was being preached, was he? According to Scripture, Paul spent a great amount of time with Peter. There is the added bonus that Mark, who would eventually write a Gospel on behalf of Peter, also joined them on their travels. So the sources of Luke - whether they be Paul or Peter - certainly lead back to eyewitnesses.
That said, if, as you say, Paul did not influence Luke's Gospel, then even moreso, the Gospel of Luke indicates that the early Christian church - as early as St. Paul - venerated Mary. The Magnificat is quite similar to hymns penned in honor of Zecheriah, father of John the Baptist, and Simeon at the Lord's presentation. If Luke appealed to outside sources instead of or in addition to the Apostles, then Mary was clearly honored by the eyewitnesses to Christ. No one else but Mary has the audacity to say, "all generations shall call me blessed". If you believe the Gospel is the infallible Word of God, then to deny her the honor she is due violates this direct command.
Kinda thought so....non-denominational=lazy.
I can't imagine where you got that...Paul actually spent very little time with Peter...
No one else but Mary has the audacity to say, "all generations shall call me blessed". If you believe the Gospel is the infallible Word of God, then to deny her the honor she is due violates this direct command.
What command...There's no command there...Mary was making a statement of fact...
I don't deny Mary the honor she is due...She was the mother of Jesus...And she was blessed...
But according to Jesus, those that heard His words and kept them were MORE blessed...
Luk 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Lazy??? Quite the contrary...I don't sit around waiting for a pope or priest to tell me what to believe...I do as the Lord commanded...I study the scripture...
It's not an act of concupiscence to intercede or petition, so even if He did nothing, her request wouldn't be a sin any more than Jesus would have sinned by asking God to take away the cup of suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing full well He had to go to the cross.
The commentary makes Mary a prophet.
In baptism, we're all prophets, priests, and kings. Mary, full of grace, indeed enjoyed the gift of prophecy. This had to be a tremendous source of sorrow, knowing that her Son came to die, AND in spite of her motherhood, having to positively will it, since that was His will. Contrast that with Peter's impulsively trying to steer Jesus away from the cross. In light of this, her place at the foot of the cross was an act of sheer strength.
Wouldn't the commentary be saying that the Prophet Mary knew God's will better than Jesus? If not, how do you explain away the portion of the passage that is in bold, "my hour is not yet come"?
"My hour is not yet come" doesn't refer to His first miracle, it refers to His last. The water changed into wine is only a precursor of His taking wine and changing it into His blood, but this public revelation straightens the path to the cross. It's truly not "his hour", but it certainly winds the clock. Jesus identifies the significance of this event as it relates to the Last Supper, but especially the final act of redemption, spilling water and blood from His side at Golgotha. It is there that Jesus utters the final response to this request: "It is finished."
HAHAHHAH!!! You have been filled with min-information and hatred for the Catholic Church.....do so at your own peril.
Galatians 1:18
"Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. "
What command...There's no command there...Mary was making a statement of fact...
The word "shall" implies command, as elsewhere employed in the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rules of Christ. The Holy Spirit is commanding that we honor Mary. It would seem strange for her to declare herself handmaiden, then demand honor of her own volition.
But according to Jesus, those that heard His words and kept them were MORE blessed...
Luk 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
You're missing the verse preceeding this, and it makes a huge difference in explanation:
Luk 11:27 As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!"
Jesus is telling this woman that Mary's blessedness isn't a genetic trait - her blessedness is about hearing and keeping His word. She's not blessed because she bore and nursed Him. She's blessed because she does His will. And this blessedness is open to all of us who follow suit.
As an aside, on Luk 11:27, it’s possible (likely?) the woman who stood up and spoke to Jesus didn’t know who His mother was, and was not blessing Mary specifically, but offering up some generic praise, which makes sense, seeing that she didn’t actually name Mary, and Jesus did not respond with her name in kind. It might be interesting to find out if this kind of phrasing was a high form of praise common to that culture.
We're commanded by the Church to read from it at every Mass. These take place every single day across the world, so I'm not sure where you get the impression Catholics don't read the Bible.
The bible is just weak isn't it?
The Bible isn't weak. It also doesn't interpret itself. All interpretation is an employment of tradition, whether it's Peter, Luther, John Calvin or Al Sharpton. Those who reject Tradition can't even impower themselves to interpret it.
and it doesn't say what you want it to say about Mary.
It doesn't matter what I want it to say. What it does say guides the interpretation which Tradition embraces, expounds upon, and passes along to future generations.
It's incomplete and it's interpretation can only be done by a select few people that abstain from sex.
Like Jesus?
I am starting to understand why discussing Scripture with RC's always seems so pointless and always leaves me trying to defend my faith in the Word of God.
What faith? Without works, your faith is dead - at least that's what Scripture says...
To: raygunfan
that is simply not true...you can not have the perfect, sinless, God-man, inside the body stained with sin.
Care to explain what happens when you partake of the Eucharist?
ME: before you take part in the eucharist, you are to attend confession and receive the sacrament of reconciliation, thus your cleansed and forgiven of the sins, therefore you can ‘receive the eucharist worthily’
That supports shouldn't, not can't.
I love your responses, because they make me work. It’s gonna take me awhile to get back to your post, but I give you permission to nag me if it seems that I’m taking too long.
It’s okay. I’m going to be out of commission next week, so if I don’t hear from you, have a Merry Christmas!
You have a very Merry Christmas yourself.
I have somewhere to go today, but it’s cold out, so I have been procrastinating. Trying to kick myself into gear to go face the cold, but tinkering around on FR is so much more attractive... I haven’t had my mind on tackling my response to you either, but it’s not gonna take until next week. lol
ME: before you take part in the eucharist, you are to attend confession and receive the sacrament of reconciliation, thus your cleansed and forgiven of the sins, therefore you can ‘receive the eucharist worthily’
YOU:
That supports shouldn’t, not can’t.
Rutles,
This is a very good post and an excellent explanation.
Just as an added note: whenever Jesus spoke of his “hour”, he referred to the Cross—as does all Biblical reference to an “hour”. Biblically, the “hour” is a time of trial and suffering.
When there is a reference to “day” it is always referencing His Resurrection and/or his Day of returning—the “Day of the Lord”.
ROE
So you're saying He taught that those who didn't go through the sacrament of reconciliation before partaking the Eucharist transformed the Eucharist back into its pre-consecrated form?
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