Mother Mary

-Dr Rosemary Varghese

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me -Luke 1:48-49

On a recent trip to Turkey, I visited the city of Ephesus where Mother Mary is believed to have spent the later years of her life with St John. Her home stands on a hillock, a small building made of ancient stone that blends perfectly with its green surroundings. An arched doorway leads into an L-shaped interior that is stark and simple—reminiscent of the life of the Virgin Mother.  I knelt on the stone floor of this humble dwelling, praying and reflecting on that fateful Friday when Jesus hung from the cross. The end was near and Jesus saw His mother and John standing close by and spoke to them:

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. -John 19:26-27

On the eve of the Nativity of our beloved Mother Mary, we recall that profound moment when Jesus explicitly pronounced Mary as John’s mother, and in turn, made her Mother of all humanity. The time has come to seriously reflect on what the Scriptures actually reveal about her role as Mother of Jesus and consequently, as our Mother who constantly intercedes for us in the heavenly realms.

The first reference to Mary is found in Genesis 3 at the point when God the Father discovered that Adam and Eve had succumbed to the serpent’s invitation, and sinned against Him. The act condemned all humanity to spiritual death. But God loved the world too much to abandon us to our fate. The blueprint of the plan for man’s redemption was already in place, and God’s first proclamation of this came soon after He had cursed the ancient serpent for the destruction it had caused.  The woman and her offspring would fight the devil and her Son would claim the final victory and banish Satan and his evil regime forever:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, 

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head, 

and you shall bruise his heel- Genesis 3:1

It was the Virgin Mother who was chosen by God to reverse the devastating consequences of sin and banishment that resulted from Eve’s decision to go against God’s command. In course of time Isaiah’s prophecy about the virgin birth (Is 7:14) was a reminder of God’s pre-ordained plan.  In God’s good time, the proclamation and the prophecy were fulfilled, and Mary became Mother of the Son of God, the Word Incarnate, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we prepare to celebrate the birthday of the Virgin Queen of Heaven, there is so much to understand from what she conveyed to us through her life- its circumstances, and her actions. We first see her with Angel Gabriel who announces the Good News that the Son of God will be born to her through the power of the Most High, which would overshadow her. In this way, she becomes the Ark of the  New Covenant, the dwelling place of the Word, Jesus Christ,  who became flesh within the womb of the Virgin Mother. The mighty power of the Holy Spirit is manifest through her, and she leads us forward in the Spirit in our quest for Jesus -the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Mother Mary led a life of humility and goodness. From the birth of Jesus Christ in the stable, to her subsequent life with St Joseph the carpenter, there was never a single moment of complaint or dissatisfaction. The Bible records her journey to Elizabeth whom she assisted for three months. Her song of praise, better known as the Magnificat, is in response to Elizabeth’s greeting in Luke 1 and displays all the ecstasy of true praise and worship that comes through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. What better example do we need to experience that same rapture when we praise and glorify the Lord in faith?

 In John’s Gospel we first encounter Mother Mary at the wedding feast at Cana. When the wine fell short, she interceded for the family to her Son, and He performed His first miracle of changing water into wine at her behest. From then on, upto the present day, she has remained our greatest champion for intercessory prayer. Devotion to Our Lady through the Holy Rosary and the Litany has remained a family prayer for generations in Christian homes worldwide. The decades of the rosary lead us through the life of Christ – from His birth, His public life. His Death and His glorious Resurrection, and Mother Mary comes with us every step of the way!

Throughout her life, she remained faithful to the promise she made to Angel Gabriel during the Annunciation- Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. If she was chosen as the Mother of Christ, she was also subject to the agony of experiencing the Passion and Death of her Son. During the presentation of Jesus in the temple, soon after His birth, Simeon had prophesied that a sword would pierce her heart.  She bore that pain with the faith she had pledged to God. The Holy Spirit strengthened her in much the same way as we are strengthened in difficult times. Subsequently she led the apostles in prayer for the Paraclete , as they waited for the promise of the Risen Lord to be fulfilled on the day of the Pentecost.

We see her finally in Revelation 12 where John sees a vision of her as the Queen of Heaven, clothed with the sun, the moon at her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was about to give birth and a fierce dragon was waiting to swallow her offspring. God protects the Son and the Mother, and overthrows the dragon, but the vision continues as follows:

 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.-Rev 12:17

We remain the target focus of the evil one during our life on earth. St Paul underlined the gravity of what this means for us:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms"- Ephesians 6:12

God the Father has given us our wonderful Mother Mary to ensure our protection from evil powers in this world. She is our shield, the Mother of the Lamb who defeated the powers of darkness. Our best gift to her this day would be to spread the devotion to Our Lady through our daily prayers for intercession to God through her. We live in a world that is drifting away from God and from neighbour. The Holy Rosary has all but lost its place as an evening family prayer. The time has come to take serious efforts to renew our faith in our Mother, who keeps us in close proximity to her Son. May her presence with us be celebrated every day of our lives from this day forward!