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Model of Holiness
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Annunciation - Simone Martini - 1333
By Deacon Keith Fournier
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches "The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that 'with God nothing will be impossible' and so giving her assent: 'Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word.'"
"Elizabeth greeted her: Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed.Throughout her life and until her last ordeal when Jesus her son died on the cross, Mary's faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the fulfillment of God's word. And so the Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith" (CCC #148,149).
Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord every year. Our Gospel passage read at Mass is taken from the first chapter of St. Luke (Luke 1: 26 -38). The Evangelist recounts Mary's encounter with the Lord's "messenger", which is what "Angel" means. Gabriel's appearance and message to Mary and her response to God's invitation teaches us how to live.
As the Apostle John writes; "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) because God became like us, we are capacitated to now become, by grace, like Him. We are being re-created in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Created in His Image and Likeness, sin wounded us and we needed a Redeemer. In Christ Jesus, the likeness is restored.
From antiquity the early Christians reflected on a "mystery" of the faith- how the Incarnation of Jesus Christ came about through the free cooperation of this little Virgin of Nazareth and what it teaches us about God's loving plan of salvation and the meaning of holiness. Mary' role in this plan has significance on so many fronts. She is the model of holiness.
One of the earliest titles attributed to her by the early Christians was "the Second Eve". Whereas the first Eve said "No," the early Christian fathers reflected, the Second Eve said "Yes" and creation began anew in Jesus Christ. Mary is the "type" of the Church and the model for every Christian, called to say "Yes" to God and thereby become holy.
One of the Cappadocian fathers of the early Church, Gregory, once wrote "What came about in bodily form in Mary, the fullness of the godhead shining through Christ in the Blessed Virgin, takes place in a similar way in every soul that has been made pure. The Lord does not come in bodily form, for 'we no longer know Christ according to the flesh', but He dwells in us spiritually and the Father takes up His abode with Him, the Gospel tells us. In this way the child Jesus is born in each of us." (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
The Annunciation - Giovanni Lanfranco - 1620
This young woman was emptied of herself, in order to be filled with the very Life of God. She was able to completely surrender herself in love, to Love. Her initial assent to the Angel Gabriel's announcement reveals the meaning of this Biblical word, "holy". Holiness is not about looking pious. It is about being selfless.
In the original languages, the words in Holy Scripture which are translated into the English word "holy" mean set apart or consecrated to God's service, given over to God and His worship. We are called to be set apart for the living God, to be holy, in a world which has become steeped in sin and selfish ambition.
This happens through conversion, or "metanoia", which, in Greek, means "to change." We are called to say "Yes" to a relationship with Him. That call is not a one time event but a continual invitation. Mary is a model, a pattern, of this holiness to which we are all called through our Baotism into Christ and His Body, the Church.
The Lord has invited each of us into an intimate, personal, exchange of love with Him. Mary is a model to imitate. She walked in holiness of life and points us along the path to Her Son. Each of us can say "Yes" to God, right now, wherever we are. Each of us can respond with our entire being, with a "Fiat" of surrendered love as she did.
When we do, we can participate in the life of the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We become sons and daughters "in the Son", and enter communion with the Holy Trinity. Conversion involves the exercise of our human freedom to choose God and the fullness of his plan as revealed in Jesus Christ.
As we lose ourselves in Him, we find ourselves again, made new and completed. This holy exchange-our life for His-is the essence of the spiritual journey. It is not about power but powerlessness. It is not about increase but decrease. It is not about becoming greater but about becoming smaller. In short, true spirituality is about surrender.
Mary teaches us to stay afloat in the ocean of life, with all of its undertows. The same God who became incarnate within her takes up His residence in us through Baptism. He invites us to live "redemptively" for others, to become dwelling places through which Incarnate Love comes alive for all those around us. We are to respond as Mary did. She is the model of holiness.
More Mary, Mother of God
Appearances of Mary
Apparitions and Appearances
The term "appearance" has been used with Marian apparitions and visions of Jesus Christ. The Church will confirm an apparition as worthy of belief, but belief is never required by divine faith. Read More
Evaluating Apparitions
A Roman Catholic approved Marian apparition is one that has been examined by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and has been granted approval by the local Bishop or the Holy See. Read More
Approved Appearances
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Bishop
Coptic
Un-Approved Appearances
Unapproved Apparitions
Mary as Mother
Mother of God (TheotoKos)
From antiquity, Mary has been called "Theotokos", or "God-Bearer". The word in Greek is "Theotokos". The term was used as part of the popular piety of the early first millennium church. Read More
Daughter of the Father
Mary is "full of grace," because it is precisely in her that the Incarnation of the Word, the hypostatic union of the Son of God with human nature, is accomplished and fulfilled. Read More
Mother of the Redeemer
Mary was there at the Incarnation, Birth, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of God Incarnate. She was there throughout the often called "hidden years" in Nazareth. In the life of the Redeemer... Read More
Spouse of the Spirit
Throughout God's relationship with Israel He promises to espouse His people to himself (See, e.g. Hosea 2:19). This language of spousal love, of nuptiality, is also present in this overshadowing... Read More
Mother of the Church
Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the mystery of the Church. She is acknowledged as... Read More
Mother of the Domestic Church
Mary is the mother of every domestic church, of every Christian family. She fully understands the naturally supernatural realities of family life because she lived them. Read More
Our Mother
I found that every one of the great influences in my Christian life from that communion of saints to which we are all joined was profoundly "Marian". Francis of Assissi, Bernard of Clairvaux... Read More
Mary as Model
Mary in the Scriptures
Christian Scripture calls the "more excellent way", the way of Love. Mary understands this Way and walked on it with extraordinary humility. Follow her in journey through the Scriptures. Read More
Mary in the Tradition
To understand Mary in the Tradition of the Church we have to understand what is meant by the word "Tradition" - and why it matters. In his second letter to the Thessalonians the Apostle Paul... Read More
Mary and the Councils
A Bishop named Nestorius objected to the title of Theotokos, Mother of God or God Bearer for Mary. The Council of Ephesus met in 431AD and affirmed Mary was the "Mother of God"... Read More
Mary in the Liturgical Year
The Second Vatican Council did not offer one particular document on Mary, the Mother of God. Rather, the Council fathers incorporated the meaning and mission of Mary, as well as her... Read More
Mary East and West
Devotion to - and love for . Mary, the Mother of God, is a foundational part of the Christian Church both East and West. The Eastern Christian emphasis, both doctrinally and devotionally, is... Read More
Mary and the Early Fathers
Among the multiple and profound references to Mary, the Mother of God, found in the writings of the early Church Fathers is one of my favorites in the Cappadocian, Gregory of Nyssa... Read More
Mary and the Saints
Among the titles given to Mary is "Queen of all the Saints". In one of his reflections on this woman whom he loved with such devotion, Blessed john Paul II proclaimed "This woman of faith... Read More
Mary as Disciple
Mary as Disciple
We were made to give ourselves away to the Lord and, in Him, for others. Mary's choice, her response to the invitation of a God, is a singularly extraordinary event in all of human history. Read More
Handmaiden of the Lord
"I am the handmaiden (servant) of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word." (Luke 1:38) When Mary spoke those few words, human history was forever changed. Read More
Model of Holiness
From antiquity the early Christians reflected on a "mystery" of the faith- how the Incarnation of Jesus Christ came about through the free cooperation of this little Virgin of Nazareth... Read More
First Disciple
She was the first evangelizer and the first disciple of her Son Jesus. She gave the first Gospel testimony to her cousin, Elizabeth, without words, as the Redeemer in her womb drew the child in her womb... Read More
Way of Mary
The Message of Mary
And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. (The Gospel of Luke 2:34-37) Read More
The Meaning of Mary
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." "At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High" without... Read More
The Prayer of Mary
Mary's Prayer teaches us to stay afloat in the ocean of life, with all of its undertows. Mary's way is to become an ark within, where the same God who became incarnate within her... Read More
The Song of Mary
"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you... Read More
The Titles of Mary
From the earliest theological reflections in Christian history we find the defense of the most important of the titles of Mary, "Theotokos" in Greek. It is translated God-bearer... Read More
Mission of Mary
Mary and the Eucharist
In a beautiful apostolic exhortation entitled the Sacrament of Love, issued in 1997, Pope Benedict XVI wrote these words under a section entitled The Eucharist and the Virgin Mary... Read More
Mary & the New Evangelization
Throughout his pontificate, Blessed John Paul II called for this "New Evangelization." Pope Benedict XVI made this a central pillar of his pontificate. He erected a Pontifical Council... Read More
The Path of Mary
Before they were called Christians (Acts 11:26), at Antioch, they were referred to as "the Way". A Rabbi named Saul spoke of persecuting "the way" (Acts 22:4) before he was profoundly converted... Read More
The Marian Moment
Over the last two decades a recovery of the significance of the life and witness of Mary has occurred among many Christians, even those who descend from the communities of... Read More
Mary's Mission
"Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother... When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, Woman, behold, your son." Read More
Marian Prayer and Piety
Marian prayer and piety developed very early in the history of the undivided Christian Church of the first millennium. It has been kept alive in a myriad of piety practices in the both the Catholic... Read More
Message of Mary
What Does She Say?
The message of Mary is the message of the Gospel, to repent and believe the Good news. The message of Mary is conversion to Her Son by saying "yes" to God's invitation. That is the path to true... Read More
Marian Prayer and Devotion
The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs the faithful on just how Mary prayed. Mary still prays. She has a special role in the plan of salvation and is a model for all Christians... Read More
Marian Consecration
To consecrate means to dedicate. It is used in reference to worship and means to be set aside or set apart for God. It is also a word which speaks to the very core of the Christian... Read More
Devotion of Mary
Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them... Read More
Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; Because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid; For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed... Read More
Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
But at daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered... Read More
Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary
While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory... Read More
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