The Assumption of Mary
Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: ... And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.
-- Ps. xliv. 11, 12
***********
It is a mystery to me how to explain the Church's reverence of the Virgin Mary. Most non-Catholic christians think we give her too much credit, and in more extreme views think we worship and adore her in equality with her Son. Both opinions are invalid and stem from an ignorance of Catholicism in general. With regard to the doctrine of Mary, she has no power of her own other than to intercede for us through petioning of her Son the graces we so desperately need in this day and age.
Her role is universal mother- it is Mary who provides the example of motherhood for all Catholic women and Mary who provides the example of fidelity to Christ that I look to when I am in danger of losing faith. I ask for her intercession when dealing with my own children. It is no surprise that in a world that disregards motherhood, the single, closest and most important human relationship we know, that Mary's role in the life of Christ is considered unworthy of praise and contemplation. Mary magnifies the Lord and through her we are better enabled to see Christ and come nearer to Him.
She was a human woman, not a diety. But a human woman singled out from the dawn of the world to concieve the Son of God and raise Him in perfection to complete His Purpose. She is seprated from the throng of us by this very fact. Given graces beyond our scope of understanding, she was different from us in her immaculate conception: born without the stain of original sin every other human being has been, is and will be born with, for it would be unfitting for the Holy Spirit to enspouse a soul stained with such sin. Created without sin and kept sinless her entire life, she is an exception and a masterpiece of God's Wisdom.
If one seeks to understand the mystery of the Trinity, look to Mary, for no other human being has known so intimately and tangibly the Father, Whom she was chosen by and Whom she obeyed completely, the Holy Spirit, Who overshadowed and espoused her as His own and the Son, Who she birthed, raised, taught, supported and went to the cross with in obedience and in purest love.
-- Ps. xliv. 11, 12
***********
It is a mystery to me how to explain the Church's reverence of the Virgin Mary. Most non-Catholic christians think we give her too much credit, and in more extreme views think we worship and adore her in equality with her Son. Both opinions are invalid and stem from an ignorance of Catholicism in general. With regard to the doctrine of Mary, she has no power of her own other than to intercede for us through petioning of her Son the graces we so desperately need in this day and age.
Her role is universal mother- it is Mary who provides the example of motherhood for all Catholic women and Mary who provides the example of fidelity to Christ that I look to when I am in danger of losing faith. I ask for her intercession when dealing with my own children. It is no surprise that in a world that disregards motherhood, the single, closest and most important human relationship we know, that Mary's role in the life of Christ is considered unworthy of praise and contemplation. Mary magnifies the Lord and through her we are better enabled to see Christ and come nearer to Him.
She was a human woman, not a diety. But a human woman singled out from the dawn of the world to concieve the Son of God and raise Him in perfection to complete His Purpose. She is seprated from the throng of us by this very fact. Given graces beyond our scope of understanding, she was different from us in her immaculate conception: born without the stain of original sin every other human being has been, is and will be born with, for it would be unfitting for the Holy Spirit to enspouse a soul stained with such sin. Created without sin and kept sinless her entire life, she is an exception and a masterpiece of God's Wisdom.
If one seeks to understand the mystery of the Trinity, look to Mary, for no other human being has known so intimately and tangibly the Father, Whom she was chosen by and Whom she obeyed completely, the Holy Spirit, Who overshadowed and espoused her as His own and the Son, Who she birthed, raised, taught, supported and went to the cross with in obedience and in purest love.
posted by Mikala at 6:18 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home