LIFE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
Introduction
The
Second Vatican Council, in the dogmatic declaration on the Church, says of Mary:
Redeemed,
in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son and united to him
by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with the high office and
dignity of the Mother of the Son of God, and therefore she is also the beloved
daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit (Lumen Gentium 53).
She is
also immaculate from de moment of her conception by reason of the merits of
Jesus Christ.
Today, feast
of the Mother of God, I would like to present to you in a simple way, and based
on the gospel, the life of Mary.
The intention is
that, in the same way that we know about the birth
and life of
our earthly mother, we may also
know the birth and the life of our mother in heaven.
THE
LIFE OF OUR MOTHER, MARY
Mary, the
young girl of
We know
that Mary lived in Nazareth when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her asking
her to be mother of Jesus; she answers that she doesn’t understand how that
could be since she doesn’t have relations with a man.
Mary
accepts being the mother of Jesus, and her maternity starts in
We also know
that Joseph, her husband, received her in his house and, as every good husband,
he really loved and respected her.
The Annuntiation
Mary was
a village girl leading a normal life. She was virgin and very virtuous and would
go to the synagogue of
God
predestined her to be the mother of Jesus, and for that reason he sent the Archangel
Gabriel to her to
ask her if she would
accept being the mother
of Jesus. She engages in a dialog with the
What a
beautiful thing it is to see a simple and humble girl engaging in a dialog with
an angel of the Lord!
Joseph visits
her
Joseph, either
by himself or through some neighbour, noticed that Mary was expecting a child,
and knew that that child was not his. He decided to undo the marriage accord
he had with Mary. He was determined to do so, when an angel of the Lord
appeared to him and said to him, that he didn’t have to fear accepting Mary as
his wife because she had conceived through the Holy Spirit (see Mt 1:18-25).
The fountain
of the Virgin Mary
If you go
to
Mary
in Ein Kerem
Through
the angel in her house, Mary knew that her cousin Isabel, was expecting a child,
and so she went away very quickly to help her, at Ein
Kerem. This town is where Isabel and Zacharias, the parents of John the Baptist, lived. It is
located a few
miles from
The evangelist
describes her visit, and tells us how Isabel, with great joy said: And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Lk 1:43).
The description
Luke makes is
wonderful, saying that the child leaped for joy in Isabel’s womb,
and that she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Mary pronounced
the Magnificat; a song of praise to the Lord.
Mary
in
Birth of
Jesus
We know
that Jesus was born
at
We find Joseph
in
We also know that Mary, with maternal love, wrapped Jesus with swaddling
clothes and laid him in a manger.
We can
imagine the joy Joseph and Mary had on contemplating the newborn Jesus,
knowing that he was the Son of God.
Of the
death of Joseph we don’t know anything, nor of his age. Everything that is said
about this, is very difficult to prove.
Mary
in
Birth of Mary
Where was
Mary born? We don’t know with exactitude, although tradition says that her
parents, Saints Joachim and Anne, lived in
If you go
to
Presentation
of Jesus in the
Forty
days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph went up to
They were
received by a venerable old man, Simeon, a righteous and devout man, who waited the
consolation of
They
go up to Jerusalem and later they return to Nazareth
After
offering Jesus to the Lord and Mary being purified, the parents of Jesus
returned to their home town of
Before
returning to
According
to Saint Matthew, Joseph and Mary, from
The
evangelist Matthew says: He went and
dwelt in a town called
Jesus among
the Doctors of the Law
We find Joseph
and Mary in
Notice
that Mary says “your father” talking about Joseph (see Lk
Mary at
Mary, together
with Jesus, was invited to a wedding at Cana of Galilee.
We can easily
imagine Mary, sitting
at
the table,
talking with the other guests, and perhaps also helping
those who
served at
the table.
Women
are generally more observant than men;
she noticed that something had happened and asked the servants.
They
told her that the wine had run out. Maybe because the guests drank too much, or
perhaps because more people attended than those that
had been anticipated. The
fact
is that they did not have
any more
wine. With a little audacity, she decidedly asked her son,
Jesus,
for a miracle; and although his hour had not yet come, he pleased her, and did
his first miracle: he turned the water into wine.
The words
of Mary: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5), can be a practical norm for our Christian
life.
Mary
wanted to see Jesus
Mary did
not remain in
Somewhere we ignore, Mary wanted to see Jesus, but she couldn’t
because there were
too many people listening to him. Saint Luke writes: Then his mother and his brothers came to
him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your
mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you" (Lk
Praise
to the mother of Jesus
Jesus was
preaching when a woman, of whom we do not know
the name, makes a great praise
of the mother of Jesus. The evangelist Luke says: While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to
him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you
nursed" (Lk
Mary at
the foot of the Cross
We also find
Mary, in
Before dying,
Jesus took leave of his mother, giving her the Apostle John, as a son. Jesus was
nailed to the cross, and watched at his mother filled with inner pain and sorrow.
The mother corresponded to him with a maternal glance, and Jesus, knowing that he
was leaving her alone, asked Saint John to take good care of her: “Behold, your mother." And from that
hour the disciple took her into his home (Jn
Mary
and the resurrection of Jesus
The
gospel does not tells us that Jesus appeared to his mother, but
we can safely
affirm that the first appearance of
the risen one was for his dear and beloved mother. The evangelists
are very austere when they speak of the Virgin Mary.
Mary
in the Cenacle
After the
ascension of Jesus, the Apostles, before beginning to preach, waited for the
coming of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus had commanded them. Thus we find them together
in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus (Ac
Loreto
If you go
to
If you go
to
We don't exactly know
where Mary died.
The discussion is between
Mary
in the Church
The
Church has never lacked the presence of the Virgin Mary. Pope Paul VI, wanted
Mary to stand out as Mother of the Church, and for this reason, in the Second Vatican
Council, he proclaimed her MOTHER OF THE CHURCH.
Think
about the innumerable sanctuaries and temples dedicated to the Virgin Mary
everywhere
in the world:
Mary our
mother
The
Church sees in the person of Saint John a representation of all the children of
God.
Entrusting Mary to John with these words “Behold, your mother” (Jhn 19:27),
Jesus gave
her to all of us as our spiritual mother, to take care of our Christian life.
Mary
in Heaven
Glorious things have been said of you, Oh Mary;
today you have been exalted above the choirs of angels
and you triumph with Christ for ever.
Being good children of Mary, let us really love her,
let us imitate her virtues, and may she accompany us on our journey towards heaven.
PRAYER
From the
world we look at you our mother; listen to the prayer of your children; it is
the faith that asks for all men, the forgiveness gained by Jesus, who has died
on the Cross for
all of us.
