God-Bearer

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accept, Anunciation, Mary Mother of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours

Today is the feast of the Annunciation, the day when we celebrate God’s choice of Mary to be the mother of Jesus. Difficult to understand on a human level, even Mary questioned God about the possibility. “How can this be?” she asked the angel sent to let her know what was to be her work in the the world. I can imagine a more distressing reaction, something in the neighborhood of:

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!! I’M A VIRGIN, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!!!”

Of course, the Scriptures paint a different picture. Mary was steeped in love for God and willing to do whatever she was called to do for God. It’s difficult to know how she felt on that day – and perhaps the days that followed. We have only one clue about those days following this pronouncement. Mary left her home and traveled into the hill country to the house of her kinswoman, Elizabeth, who was an older relative with whom she could share this news, try to understand what God was doing and find the support that she needed to agree to God’s plan.

There is a prayer in Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours, taken from his Asian Journal, p. 318-19, that I like to think might have been Mary’s “acceptance speech” when she came to terms with God’s choice of her as Mother of the Christ. Listen, and consider what she was agreeing to as her life’s work.

Oh, God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept You, and we thank You, and we adore You, and we love You with our whole being, because our being is in Your being, our spirit is rooted in Your spirit. Fill us then with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes You present in the world, and which makes You witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious. Amen.

The Nativity of Mary

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Celtic Benediction, fidelity, Jesus, John Philip Newell, Mary Mother of God, seed, souls, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, womb

Today, with no historical basis but with the approbation of the Church and of Christians around the world, we celebrate the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the courageous young woman who brought Jesus into the world. On this day we pray especially for pregnant women and those who are unable to carry a child. We pray additionally in thanks for Mary, faithful mother and model of fidelity to God

John Philip Newell offers a prayer on this day when the earth is turning to autumn and new hope may be planted as a seed in our souls. Can you feel it?

I have tasted the fruit of the earth, O God. I have seen the autumn trees hang heavily with heaven’s gifts. I have known people pregnant with your spirit of generosity. Let these be guides to me this day. And may Mary who knew her womb filled with your goodness teach me the wisdom that is born amidst pain. May I know that deeper than any fallowness in me is the seed planted in the womb of my soul. May I know that greater than any barrenness in the world is the harvest to be justly shared. (Celtic Benediction, p. 29)

The Assumption of Mary

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Assumption, devotion, Mary Mother of God, Pope Pius XII, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transition

I rarely think about the last days of the life of Mary, Mother of Jesus. It couldn’t have been easy for her to live through the events that precipitated the death of Jesus and the aftermath – having him back and then gone again…Tradition offers some theories about the end of her life: e.g., that she lived out her days in or near Ephesus or Jerusalem and that John “the beloved disciple” took her into his home, but nothing is certain. The dogma of the Assumption of Mary (that she was, at her death, taken “body and soul into heaven”) was promulgated (dogmatically defined) only in 1950 in an encyclical by Pope Pius XII but has been traditionally believed and taught especially in the Orthodox Church since the 6th century.

Whatever our personal beliefs and relationship with Mary, she is the “go-to” person for people the world over. Women, especially mothers and pregnant women, are comforted by their prayers to her. Men, as well, use the rosary as their daily prayer. There are devotional groups – Sodalities, Legion of Mary – religious orders and more, dedicated to her and places of pilgrimage that witness to miracles through her intercession.

Having had a beautiful mother of my own – one whose name was Mary and whose devotion to her was deep – my image of the mother of Jesus is easily conjectured in her daily life. Loving, caring of her children, worried sometimes, patient, always teaching by her manner of life…and blissful at transition to divine life with God at the moment of her death, I give thanks for this day, this feast of life.

Feast of the Assumption

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Assumption, Assumption of Mary, humble, Jesus, Mary Mother of God, motherhood, The Magnificat, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We Christians honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus, with many feasts and many personal devotions. We celebrate her as Queen of Heaven and have doctrines – like the one we proclaim today: the Assumption of Mary into heaven – which declares that unlike all other humans, she was taken bodily to heaven at the time of her death. This feast has been a tradition in the Church since the sixth century but only became doctrinal (believed as true by the institutional Church) in 1950, proclaimed by Pope Pius XII.

I often think of Mary and wonder how she would have handled all the titles we give her and all the homage that is paid to her. A humble maiden, I believe she would only have endured all the fanfare if certain that people understood it was/is prompted by the gift of her motherhood of Jesus. I wish there was more evidence from the Scriptures of the relationship between Jesus and Mary, as well as words from her about her role in salvation history. The gospels give us only 13 texts directly involving her (if I’m recalling correctly the information in Sister Elizabeth Johnson’s Book, Truly Our Sister).

Today’s gospel is – for me – the most perfect choice for this feast because it paints a picture of Mary as a conflicted teenager seeking the support of an older kinswoman during her early months of pregnancy, a normal thing to do, especially because she was as yet unmarried. At the same time, when she is with Elizabeth sharing the news of her impending motherhood, we have what has come to be known as “The Magnificat,” the declaration of how God has favored her as “most favored” among all women. (LK 1: 39-56)

Mary is quick to praise God when Elizabeth recognizes Mary’s situation (“Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”) and sees herself as God’s “lowly servant” while recognizing that she will “from this day” be called blessed by all generations. “the Almighty has done great things for me,” she says to Elizabeth, “and holy is his Name.” I can just see her bowing as she speaks those lines, taking no credit for worthiness but accepting that she has been chosen for this role, not knowing the future and what it holds…

The lesson for us is, I think, the same – perhaps not in scope but in willingness. No matter our age or situation in life, if we have yet to say “yes” to God’s choice of us, today may be the day to do so. If we have accepted our role in God’s plan, may we be reinvigorated in the living out of our call to carry Jesus in all we do, just as we are able each day.

The Sorrowful Mother

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children of my heart, Mary Mother of God, persecution, refugees, Seven Sorrows of Mary, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are many days in the liturgical calendar on which Christians celebrate Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Today, the memorial of the Seven Sorrows of Mary does not seem fit for “celebration” as it commemorates the most difficult moments in Mary’s life as a mother because of the sufferings of Jesus. Never having birthed a child, I can only imagine the pain of mothers whose children have lived difficult lives in one way or another. I do count at least five “children of my heart” – all of whom are now middle-aged and one of whom (the eldest) died this year at age 58. I have celebrated and mourned events in their lives and now feel a deeper kinship with Michael’s mother whose pain of loss will likely remain until her own death.

For those interested in reflecting on these moments of Mary’s life, the Church lists the following: 1. The Prophecy of Simeon (when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the temple), 2. The Flight into Egypt, 3. The Loss of the Child Jesus when he was 12 years old, 4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross, 5. The Crucifixion, 6. Jesus’ Body Struck by a Lance as he was taken down from the cross, 7. The Burial of Jesus.

For the rest, today is a day to pray for mothers, perhaps especially those refugees who are fleeing persecution or war, trying to keep their children safe in this moment of upheaval, desiring to find a home where they can give their children a better, happier life. And, of course, for those of us who have been cared for and loved into enduring life by mothers, many of whom now abide with us in spirit, our prayer is one of gratitude.