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The Real Mary of Nazareth

In 06 Scripture & Theology on 2015/12/29 at 12:00 AM

Sometimes we can think that all we need to know is about Jesus and that knowing about Mary is optional. However that is not right for the following reason. If we don’t have a good understanding of Mary we won’t have a good understanding of Jesus and that is why a good understanding of Mary is not optional.

I think it is good to make it clear that we believe that Mary was 100% human and 0% divine. She is not worshipped as worship is something that is only for God himself. Some people think that Catholics worship Mary but that is absolutely not true.

I am going to use two doctrines of Mary to show this and tie it into our gospel reading today.

The first is our designation of Mary as the Mother of God. Again this tells us about Jesus. The designation of Mary as the Mother of God is an ancient belief of our faith. Here is what it reveals about Jesus. He is 100% divine and 100% human in the one person of Jesus. His humanity isn’t diminished by his divinity nor is His divinity diminished by his humanity. Being God, the Son was begotten by the Father before time began. He has always been. Yet His human nature had a beginning when he was conceived in Mary’s womb. Mary was not the source of His divine nature but was of his human nature. Since Jesus was born of Mary, and since Jesus is God, therefore we can say that Mary is the Mother of God. But when we say that Mary is the Mother of God, we’re not saying she is the mother of the Trinity. It is a statement of the absolute unity of the two natures of Jesus Christ. Fully human, fully divine: one person. That is the first truth about Jesus that we can understand thru Mary.

The second designation of Mary is her immaculate conception which says that she was born without original sin. That is what the Immaculate

Conception means. Again this reveals Jesus to us and it has to do with Jesus being the New Covenant. The old covenant was established with the Jewish people through Moses and identified with the Ten Commandments. By his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the old covenant and inaugurated the New. And, just like the first covenant had an Ark of the Covenant, so does the new one – the new one is Mary. Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant.

How do we see this through Mary’s immaculate conception? If we look back in the book of Exodus chapter 25 we see the people preparing the Ark of the Covenant to house the tablets and it was believed that God’s presence dwelt in the ark. The materials used in the ark were acacia wood plated with pure gold. Acacia wood was prized as it was resistant to decay and gold was most suited for its beauty and stability. Only the finest most pure materials were used in the arks construction – what else would be worthy to hold the presence of God?

Our reading today shows Mary pregnant with Jesus visiting her cousin Elizabeth. We can see Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant when we look back at when the ark of the covenant was brought to King David in 2Sam . First we hear that David was dancing before the ark. Second In our gospel John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. King David was so overwhelmed (v.9) he said “How can the ark of the Lord come to me”. Elizabeth says when seeing Mary “Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me”. Third Samuel (v.11) says the ark stayed in the house of Obededom for three months. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1).

Jesus is the New Covenant and these examples show that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant.

Let’s look at the former Ark of the Covenant. What was in it? It contained the ten commandments, a jar filled with manna, and Aaron’s rod. Christ fulfilled all that was in the original ark. Aaron’s rod symbolized the true priesthood and Christ became the new high priest (Heb 2). The commandments were God’s word to his people. Christ is the Word of God (John 1). The manna was the bread of life for the people as they wandered through the desert. Jesus said that he was the bread of life (John 6). Christ fulfilled all that was contained in the ark.

If the ark which contained these items was made of the finest materials and merely held symbols of the presence of God, then it makes sense that Mary who truly contained the presence of God within her would also not be a common vessel. It makes sense that the presence of God would not dwell in a vessel that was corrupted by sin – even original sin. Mary was conceived without sin so she would be able to agree to receive the Lord, to become the Ark of the New Covenant.

So what do these understandings of Mary reveal to us about Jesus whose birth we celebrate in a few days. It brings clarity that on Christmas Day we celebrate that God himself was born as a human while also being God. We also see that Jesus came as the new covenant to save us all and fulfill the old covenant.

Jesus is our Savior and we understand him best when we also understand His mother. As we get ready for the coming of God into our lives as a baby who would save us let’s know that that he wants us to know him well and that we can know him better as we know His mother also. This is a time of great joy let’s embrace all that God has in store for us as we await Him at His birth.

Deacon Jack Staub at St. Mathew Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC

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Mary, Mother of God

In 05 Homilies by Fr. Reid on 2015/12/29 at 12:00 AM

 

While most of the world calls this day “New Year’s Day,” today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. And nowadays – some 2000 years after Mary’s life on earth – we don’t even blink at this audacious title.
But if we stop for a moment and think about this title, we might be a bit confused. How can anyone be called the Mother of God?
God is eternal, and is therefore unborn. He existed before time began; He is unbegotten. It is He Who made everything and holds everything in being. So how can God have a mother?
The early Church fathers wrestled with this very question, and in fact they were so reluctant to give her this title that it took them 400 years to do so.
The title “Theotokos” – which means “God-Bearer” – was not accorded to Mary until 431 AD at the Council of Ephesus – a full four centuries after the death of Christ! And this was done only amidst great controversy and division. But it is ultimately from this council that we get today’s feast.
What we must understand about this feast is that it does not stand alone. To fully appreciate it the richness of it, we must understand it in connection with the great solemnity we celebrated just one week ago: Christmas!
In fact, today’s Gospel returns us to the Christmas story. What the Church is telling us with this Gospel is that we can only understand Mary’s virginal motherhood by looking at the Incarnation.
Very simply put, Mary is called “Theotokos”, she is called the “Mother of God” because God the Father chose to send His Son, Jesus, the eternal Word in Whom and through Whom all things were made, into this world.
And why did He do this? St. Paul gives us the answer in today’s second reading. He tells us that God sent His son to ransom those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons! In other words, He sent His son to save us by making us His very own.
But today’s feast is not only connected to Christmas. To fully appreciate Mary’s role as Mother of God, one must look at all of the great Marian feasts.
For example, for God to bring about the miracle of the Incarnation, He needed a vehicle, someone who would be willing to say “yes” to bearing His Son.
But even before He could ask someone to bear His Son, He needed to preserve her from all stain of sin so that she would be worthy to bear the Christ Child. By a singular grace, God preserved Mary from all stain of original sin – she was immaculately conceived.
And because of this grace, she was asked by God through the Archangel Gabriel to bear the Christ Child – a miracle we recall every March 25 with the Feast of the Annunciation.
And because Mary said “yes” at the Annunciation, the Word was made flesh: Christ was born of Mary: the mystery we call the Incarnation, which we know from St. Paul is really the mystery of God procuring our salvation.
As a result of receiving the singular grace of being immaculately conceived and saying yes to God, Mary receives the august title “Mother of God” – because it is she
who bore Jesus, who is the second person of the Blessed Trinity and who is our Lord and Savior. God further honors Mary at the end of her life by assuming her, body and soul, into heaven.

The point is that today’s feast, as well as all of the great Marian feasts, are all part of the mystery of our salvation. Mary is not some passive spectator in salvation history: she is an integral part of it. Without her “yes”, we would be in big trouble! And the Church, in recognizing this, accords her great honor with the title “Mother of God.”
My friends, as we begin this new year, let us remember that while Mary does not of herself bring about our salvation, as Catholics we know that she does play an indispensable part!
Therefore, let us pray earnestly for Our Lady’s intercession in our own lives so that she may help each of us along our own personal roads to salvation. She is God’s Mother, and therefore she is our mother too.
Have a happy and blessed new year!
1 January 2012

© Reverend Timothy Reid

Fr. Reid is the pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC

Homilies from June 17, 2012 onward have audio.
To enable the audio, lease go directly to Fr. Reid’s homily homilies and select the matching date.

Link to Homilies:
http://stanncharlotte.org/content/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=8&Itemid=61

 

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For hurting daughters

In 07 Observations on 2015/12/29 at 12:00 AM

What I am writing you now is crucial for your peace of soul.

The way to heal the wounds our mothers inflicted on us is through forgiving them for causing these severe wounds.

It is difficult to forgive, but if we wish to receive our Lord’s forgiveness, we must forgive our mothers in particular.

Forgiveness is an act of the will. It is one of the most difficult things to do, but it must be done if we want mercy for ourselves and peace of soul. We will receive mercy as we mete it out.

We must be humble and remember our own faults, failings and sins. We have need for mercy and this personal need for mercy can lead us to compassionately forgive the hurts our mothers inflicted on us by their faults, failings and sins. Christ endured the sufferings we inflicted on him by our faults, failings and sins…and He who is mercy Himself, forgives us when we are sorry for our sins and ask for His forgiveness. His forgiveness enables us to be merciful towards our mothers and forgive them.

We actually are acting for our own good by forgiving them. The more we recognize our need for mercy, the easier it will for be merciful to our mothers. Your mother is in great distress as mine was as she approached the end of her earthly life.

Nothing beats the consolation of forgiving them; it brings a peace, calm and serenity to the soul, freeing us from the cancer of anger, resentment that so distress our souls.

Time does not heal anything. Only God can heal hearts. It is God’s mercy towards us that must impel us to forgive.

Pray the Our Father aloud to your mother, stressing “forgives us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Praying for both of you,

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