The Marian Moment
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The Virgin Mary - El Greco - 1594-1604
By Deacon Keith Fournier
Many years ago I was an invited guest at a celebration of the life and ministry of an evangelical Protestant leader. It was a "black tie" affair, accompanied with all the fanfare. I was one of only a few Catholics who attended the event and I was glad to be there to pay tribute to this man. Back then, evangelical Protestant and Catholic collaboration was not all that common. Thank God, things have changed.
At the end of the evening, Reverend Jack Hayford, another prominent evangelical Protestant, gave the concluding tribute, address and prayer to conclude the nights' festivities. Pastor Hayford's message, (to the surprise of some present), was that we are living in, what he called a "Mary Moment." With genuine insight he broke open the meaning of the life and mission of the Mother of the Lord as a model for all in that room and beyond who wanted to follow her Son Jesus.
He offered the life of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as a model for all Christians. He encouraged all those present to follow her way of simplicity, humility and obedience. He emphasized the particular words spoken by Mary at the Wedding Feast of Cana when, after imploring her Son to perform His first public miracle (ah, the powerful intercession of a mother!) she directed those who were serving to: "Do whatever He tells you."
In preaching that message, he was participating in what the early fathers of the Church did so often and so beautifully, breaking open the deeper mystery of Mary as a gift to - and type of - the Church. For Catholic and Orthodox Christians, Mary has always been at the heart of our understanding the meaning of the mission of the Church. In fact, the early fathers regularly drew the connection between Mary and the Church.
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 the Protestant reformation in the West. They have rediscovered that she was not just any woman, but the woman specially chosen by God to cooperate in His loving plan of salvation. Jesus Called her "Mother". Catholics and Orthodox honor Mary as the "Mother of the Lord," the woman singularly chosen in the eternal plan of God to be called "mother" by Jesus. Mary was specially chosen to bear God Incarnate in her womb for nine months and then to give Him to the whole world. That womb of that mother was a "temple of glory," an "ark of the Covenant" and a new "tent of meeting" where heaven touched earth!Â
In many circles where Christians stand together today, such as in our joint efforts in the fundamental human rights struggle of our age, the Right to Life Movement, Christians of all traditions and communities are recovering an insight into the significance of Mary. There was a redeemer in the womb. Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, dwelt for nine months within that holy sanctuary. During every moment of the earthly ministry of Jesus, he was saving the world. When Mary visited her kinswoman Elizabeth, the Redeemer in the womb caused John the Baptizer, in the womb of Elizabeth, to leap for joy (Luke 1:41-44).
Catholic Christians point to many appearances of Mary in this age. Could this also confirm that we are living in a Marian moment? In every one of them, the message is simply the message of the Gospel, turn away from sin and turn to Jesus Christ. That should come as no surprise. That is Mary's message and mission. She is the handmaid of the lord. She always points to Jesus.
Mary shows us how to participate in the ongoing redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of God's Love for the sake of world. We are called to bear God to an age in need. In living this kind of surrendered life of love we are transformed and participate in the mediation of God's love to others. The ongoing creative and redemptive work of God's love continues through us. That is, if we learn to respond the same way Mary did: "Behold the servant of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to Thy word." Pastor Hayford was correct, we are living in a Mary Moment.
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
Vatican
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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