About the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Blessed Virgin Mary is clearly the ultimate female role model for all of us. I have been contemplating how and when to write about her. Finally, I chose this week since it ends on the beautiful feast of the Immaculate Conception. I thought it might be nice to think about her all week in preparation for the feast.

Honestly, I am a little nervous to write about the Blessed Mother for a few reasons. First of all, her importance to all Christians, and Catholics in particular, puts a little more pressure on me to do a really good job. Secondly, I’m sure there are some of you who enjoy a special devotion to Mary, which means I’m not sure there’s much I can say that will be interesting to you. Also, for my Christian friends who are not Catholic, I know you might not really approve of the Catholic devotion to Mary.

I hope I can present some interesting thoughts about Mary this week, in a way that inspires us all. Maybe it will even spark some discussion between us, allowing more devoted followers to share their insights. At the same time, I hope non-Catholic readers will at least find it interesting to get a glimpse into our Catholic way of honoring Mary.

Biblical Accounts

These are the events of Mary’s life that are revealed through Sacred Scripture: The Angel Gabriel visited Mary and announced that she would give birth to Jesus. Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth called her the Mother of God, and Mary responded with the Magnificat. Mary accompanied her husband, Joseph, to Bethlehem for the census, and while there, gave birth to her Son and laid him in a manger. Shepherds and at least 3 kings visited them. Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, and while there she met St. Simeon who knew he was seeing the face of the promised one and predicted that a sword pierce Mary’s heart. Mary and Joseph took Jesus and fled to Egypt to escape King Herod.

Then there is a gap of years until Mary and Joseph and Jesus visit the Temple again, and Jesus stays there when the rest of the group leaves. Then another gap until Jesus is a young man and at the wedding at Cana, Mary convinces Jesus to perform his first miracle of turning water into wine. Later Mary is a witness to the crucifixion and given to the care of John the Apostle. She is mentioned during the resurrection stories and with the disciples in the first chapter of Acts.

Church Tradition

The rest of what we believe about Mary comes from early Church Tradition. There is disagreement about where she spent the rest of her life on earth. Some believe she went to Ephesus; others believe she stayed in Jerusalem.

There are 4 major dogmas of the Catholic Church with respect to Mary. First is that she is the Mother of God, and second is that she remained a virgin.

The feast that we celebrate next Saturday, on December 8, is Mary’s Immaculate Conception. Even some Catholics misunderstand what this feast celebrates. The Immaculate Conception has nothing to do with the fact that Mary conceived Jesus while still a virgin. The feast celebrates the belief that when Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb, she was completely free of original sin, herself. Pope Pius IX proclaimed this as official Catholic dogma in 1854. It is likely no coincidence that the Church celebrates Mary’s birthday 9 months later on September 8, each year.

Pope Pius XII declared the fourth belief about Mary as Catholic dogma in 1950. He declared that Mary, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (cited here, para 10)

Old Testament

At a blog called The Catholic Gentleman, I found a post called, “Why the Devil Hates the Blessed Virgin so Much (And Why You Should Love Her).” (found here) He describes Old Testament references to Mary. For example, in the Garden of Eden, just after the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, when Satan is pretty much feeling like he just won a major battle by destroying God’s relationship with Adam and Eve, God’s response to him includes, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

Scripture scholars have debated exactly what this means, but there seems to be agreement that the woman mentioned is a foreshadowing of Mary. Other translations of the Bible state this verse with slight variations leading to a debate about whether it predicts that Mary will crush the serpent herself or whether her offspring, Jesus, will crush the serpent. The Catholic Gentleman thinks it doesn’t really matter which way you translate it. Either way, Mary leads to the crushing of Satan, which is a major reason that he hates her so much.

Preparation for the Feast

This week I want to explore some of the beautiful Marian prayers and some thoughts and reflections about Mary from a variety of sources. The goal is that we will all get to next Saturday ready to appreciate and celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception.