Why do Catholics Honor Mary?

“My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath re rejoiced in God, my Saviour, because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.” (Luke, Ch. 6, v. 46 V. 49.)

 

The greatest example of womanly sanctity throughout all of the centuries and the nations of the world, is of course Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, who is the Mother of God. In reality and in a most eminent way, she was the first woman saint in all Christian history, and she always will be the most precious jewel in the shining stones of holiness that ornament the golden crown we call the Communion of Saints.

 

Even though Mary was destined from all eternity to be the Mother of God, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, we do not worship or adore the Virgin Mary. Such homage can be given only to God, and Mary is still a created human being. We give her, however, a higher and more individual veneration than we give any saint, precisely because she is the Mother God, and in such a unique position deserves a very special reverence. Her life in a supreme degree contained the fullness of every virtue, and in Mary, the modern Catholic woman can find her holiness, here, and for all eternity.

 

Mary, the Greatest of the Saints

Although this humble Virgin of Nazareth is the greatest of all the saints whom we venerate, the least is known about her life, when it is compared with the biographies of other sanctified human beings. When we strive for accuracy in actual dates and chronological references some difficulties do arise. Since tradition tells us that Mary was in the vicinity of fourteen or fifteen years of age when Christ was born, it is safe to assume that that date of her own birth was about the year 14, B.C.

 

The place of her birth, the little town of Nazareth in the Province of Judea, and the names of her parents, Joachim and Anne the grandparents of Jesus, are found in Sacred Scripture. At a very early age, we know that Mary was dedicated in the temple as a virgin by her very devout parents, and in her early teens she was betrothed to a humble man, named Joseph, who was of the line of David and a carpenter by trade.

 

The Holy Marriage of St. Joseph and Mary

Christian art has frequently presented Saint Joseph as a very elderly man, probably because of his virginal marriage with Mary and also because it is presumed that Joseph had died before Christ began His public career. Although Joseph, who was a very quiet and religious man, must have been a number of years older than his espoused wife, for he was already established in an accepted profession, there is nothing in Sacred Scripture to indicate or substantiate the belief that he was well past the prime of life when he and Mary were joined in wedlock.

 

There is the strong belief and tradition that St. Joseph had died some time before the marriage feast at Cana, when Christ at the age of thirty years performed His first miracle. Certainly, if Joseph had been alive at this time he would have been invited to attend the wedding feast for it was not customary for Jewish women in those days to travel unaccompanied by their husbands.

 

If Mary was about fifteen years of age at the time of Christ’s birth, then she must have been about forty-eight years of age, when Christ died on Calvary. Unfortunately, although we know she remained upon earth for some time after Our Divine Lord’s Ascension into Heaven, we do not know how old she was when she was miraculously assumed into Heaven, although it is supposed that she had not attained what we could call old age.

 

What did Mary look like?

The world has seen hundreds of artistic representations by Raphael, Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rubens, Rembrandt, and artists from every age and every nation, Italian, Flemish, German, and Japanese, who have used as their models women of their own countries. Since Mary was of the Jewish race, then like her Divine Son, she must have had the features and coloring common to the Hebrew people.

 

The fact remains, however, that we possess no authentic portrait of Mary, the Mother of God. This is of little consequence, however, when we meditate upon Our Blessed Lady’s life, for we know that being the Mother of God, she must have been the most comely woman He ever created, with an eternal beauty that was more than skin-deep, a beauty that surmounted any mere exterior of physical attractiveness.

 

The story of the holy life of Mary

From the days of our youth, the story of Mary’s life, so intimately bound up with that of Jesus, has been a familiar one that we have heard many times. We know how man’s redemption began at the time of the breath-taking event we call the Annunciation, when Mary humbly bowed her head to the Archangel Gabriel and consented to be the mother of Jesus, the Savior of the human race.

 

We recall how Joseph, to whom she was betrothed, was so upset about Mary’s pregnancy until he was told by Divine revelation that she was to be the Mother of God. We review with devout recollection her journey to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, when she uttered the beautiful prayer we have come to call the “Magnificat”; the arduous trip to Bethlehem; the birth of Christ; the flight into Egypt, and the early life of the Holy Family at Nazareth.

 

Then for about eighteen years the curtain of the hidden life is drawn over the humble home at Nazareth and we do not see Jesus and Mary again until the marriage feast at Cana. During the public life of Jesus, except for an occasional appearance, Mary remained quietly in the background and did not emerge until the great tragedy of the Crucifixion. Then we see Mary after the glorious Resurrection of her Divine Son, and with the Apostles when the Holy Spirit made His glorious descent.

 

Finally we envision her motherly guidance of the early Church until her life upon earth culminated in the great event of her Assumption when she re joined her Divine Son and was crowned the Queen of Heaven.

 

All of these facts, these doctrines, and dramatic events, which formed a part of Mary’s life, have been a part of our Faith and meditation for many years. We know them well. But can we honestly say that we know Mary as well as we should know her, as well as she desires to be known and trusted by us? Sadly enough the answer for many people must be the negative, and yet this lack of real closeness to Mary, this want of confidence in her powerful intercession, is never her fault but always ours.

 

Mary in today’s world

Volumes have been written by saints, spiritual writers and Fathers of the Church, about the glories of Mary and her vital part in the redemption of man. Her titles of praise are endless and resound with their music throughout the Liturgy of our Church. It is only fitting that we approach the meaning of Mary’s life from a slightly different point of view. Perhaps it would be helpful to compare the life and problems of today’s Catholic with the rich biography and the trials of Mary.

 

This can be accomplished in a very effective way, by showing Mary as the Exemplar of all Virtue, for her life excels, in a superlative degree, in every virtue found in the lives of every saint.

 

Mary of Nazareth is the model for all single women bound by the vows of religion, saintly women like Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, and the thousands of selfless girls who have so unselfishly given their lives to God in prayer and good works, for she remained a virgin, and knew the meaning of prayer and dedication to God. She is the great patroness of vocations which the modern Catholic must seek to foster at all times in our own family and our field of influence.

 

Although she was united in a chaste marriage with Joseph, she was a single woman in her virginity, and in a greater manner than Rose of Lima, Catherine of Siena, and Zita of Italy, she becomes for the unmarried woman a beacon of guidance in her relationship with her male associates and the problems of her employment.

 

She was a greater bride than Elizabeth of Hungary for she was the spouse of the Holy Sprit Himself. She was a greater mother than St. Monica of Africa or Margaret of Scotland, for she was the mother of Christ the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She was superb in the training of children in which Margaret of Scotland and other saints excelled so much. If any mother, today, has the problem of disobedient children, like the young St. Augustine who caused Monica so much concern, and she is worried and concerned, she should take a page out of Mary’s book on child training.

 

Mary is an example for all Mothers

Our Divine Lord was far more powerful than His holy mother, and wiser than His foster-father, for He was omniscient. They owed Him everything and yet He performed all the duties of a good child to them, except for one very human incident when Our Divine Lord gives good example to concerned parents. The modern mother can look upon this incident and learn from Mary that she should do more than worry about her children. Mary severely reprimanded the young Jesus when He disappeared on their journey, and she and Joseph found Him later teaching in the temple. The modern mother can learn the meaning and effect of true discipline from her wise actions.

 

We have seen the life of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in her religious community and her talent in the business world where she gives such a glowing example to the woman of today, yet Mary was greater than Cabrini for she was the key figure in the greatest business venture of all eternity, the business of our eternal salvation.

 

She was a greater mystic than Teresa of Avila or Catherine of Siena, for while they and other saints experienced a real mystical union with God, she experienced a real physical union with Him, for she bore the Son of God within her womb and gave Him birth. Although they experienced levitations during their time of prayer, miraculously defying the laws of gravity, Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven, itself, when her time of prayer and earthbound life had ceased.

 

Like St. Therese of Lisieux who hid herself behind the convent wall of Carmel in her desire to be accounted as nothing, and used the small things of life to become a great saint, Mary spent the greater part of her life with Christ and her saintly husband in the obscure retreat of Nazareth, and in an even greater manner sought anonymity during the public career of her Divine Son.

 

Mary is a model for Catholic women of today

Mary was a charitable neighbor and a good citizen. If Louise de Marillac, Joan of Arc and Catherine of Siena reflected these virtues, Mary did so in a notable degree. With Joseph she under took the laborious journey to Bethlehem, when she was with child, to fulfill her civic responsibilities, to be enrolled in the proper city according to the census required by Caesar. As He heard so many things from the lips of Mary, Our Divine Lord probably heard His mother say more than “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God, the things that are God’s.“

 

Mary showed her regard for her neighbor when she echoed famous words at the marriage feast, “They have no wine.” She was more erudite than Hilda of Whitby or Teresa of Avila for she was taught by God, Himself and she was a greater educator than any pioneer of Christian education, for she taught the Son of God His alphabet. If any teacher of our day has a particular problem in her school work, she should look to Mary for the Divine Child learned His language, and received whatever early education He possessed at His mother’s knee.

 

If the housewife or the homemaker of today is bored with her tedious routine of household chores, she should seek consolation and guidance not only from St. Zita of Lucca, but from Mary of Nazareth as well, in her unostentatious home at Nazareth where Christ was physically present just as He must be spiritually present in the home of today.

 

If women like Helena of Constantinople, Frances Cabrini, or Catherine of Siena, travelled extensively in the interests of Christ and His Church, Mary also travelled in her day. She journeyed uncomfortably to Bethlehem to fulfill in the plan of God the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in that town. She held her precious burden to her bosom as she and Joseph fled in refuge to Egypt to escape the murderous Herod. She finally traced with her Divine Son, the greatest journey ever made,-the Way of the Cross to Calvary, and she stood by the Cross of our salvation, the cross that one saint, St. Helena, would help rediscover three hundred years later.

 

When we pray to St. Hedwig of Poland or St. Olga of Russia for world peace, and the end of oppression, we should direct our prayers in a special way to Mary, the Mother of God. What greater inspiration can we find than Mary, who, in the great mystery of her Immaculate Conception is the patroness of our free country? Today, too, when we pray for the conversion of others, we should think deeply about Our Lady’s apparition at Fatima, and the important message she gave there to the young visionaries.

 

Mary, a model of virtue

As Mary, the Mother of God, was “full of grace,” and excelled in every virtue, so did she excel in the virtue of Faith, the very foundation of all the virtues. If Mary had not possessed this virtue in its fullness, our salvation would not have been accomplished as it was, for Mary might not have accepted the mandate given by Almighty God that she was to become the Mother of the Messiah.

 

There have been many people of God through the history of mankind who have been outstanding for their steadfast Faith in Almighty God, and many saints attained to a greater position in the sight of God because of their fidelity to His word announcing the truths of that Faith, but never was there one whose Faith was as praiseworthy as that of Mary of Nazareth.

 

Proof of Mary’s Faith might be found in Christ’s own words, narrated in St. Luke’s Gospel. When He was teaching the multitude who listened with admiration to His Divine wisdom, a woman from the throng acclaimed Him and cried out: “Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts that nursed thee” Jesus answered: “Yea, rather blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” This was not remotely intended to be a derogatory remark against His Mother, as it might seem at first sight, but in the estimation of certain Church Fathers it is a great compliment paid to Mary by her Divine Son, for He declared her to be more blessed for having heard the word of God and kept it, than for having conceived and brought forth the Savior of the World!

 

Mary, an example of how to raise a child

Mary knew the importance of having Faith and of living that Faith, and she wants her children upon earth to have that same knowledge. Just as she knew everything about her Son, she knew full well that Our Divine Lord was tolerant about many human failings, except the absence of Faith. He forgave the woman taken in adultery, and absolved Peter from his denial in a moment of cowardice. Christ never criticized the Apostles for not having knowledge or wisdom, but always for not having Faith. When the tempest arose at sea, and they were frightened, He said: “Why are ye troubled, Oh ye of little Faith?” After He had cured the centurion’s daughter, He said to him: “I have not found so great a Faith in Israel.” He said to those whom He had cured: “Thy Faith has made thee whole“, and after Thomas, the doubting disciple placed his hands in the wounds of the Risen Christ and be levied, Christ said: “Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed!”

 

An example of unwavering faith

Mary, the Virgin most faithful, was indeed a woman of great Faith and she pleads with the woman of today to foster and propagate that same Faith in her Divine Son in the great work of Catholic Action. Every Catholic woman of today must imitate the desire and work of Mary, the Queen of Catholic Action, to spread the fame of Her glorious Son.

 

The shepherds and the Magi, were, it can be assumed, the first apostles to spread abroad all the wonders they had seen at Bethlehem, as the Gospel story tells us. But where did they receive their information? Certainly not from Jesus, Himself, for He was but a tiny infant. They heard these truths from Mary’s lips, and the whole story of Christ’s birth found in the Gospel of St. Luke, must have been related to him by the Virgin Mother, herself, for many things recorded by that Evangelist known only to her.

 

In another aspect, Mary of Nazareth can properly be called the Queen of Catholic Action, for during His life upon earth Christ spent only three years with His Apostles but He spent thirty years with Mary. We must never forget that it was at Mary’s inspired request that Our Divine Lord changed water into wine at Cana of Galilee, thus causing His disciples to believe in Him. Finally her presence with the apostles on Pentecost Sunday and her loving guidance of the early Church merits for her this worthy title, Queen of Catholic Action, an everlasting campaign in which every Catholic is a worker.

 

Mary Queen of the Universe

Many of the saints were princesses like St. Hilda of Whitby; queens, like Margaret of Scotland, Elizabeth of Hungary and Hedwig of Poland; and even an empress like St. Helena of Constantinople. Even in this capacity of worldly power and influence, which so many of these saints used so well for the spiritual benefit of others, Mary, the Mother of God, also is preeminent, for she is truly the Queen of the Universe! Kingship means to rule with full authority, and queenship means to be the king s consort, the one closest to the very person of the King.

 

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Queen of the Universe in both the metaphorical and the literal sense. As Pope Pius IX, in “Ineffabilis Deus” said: “Mary has been appointed to be the Queen of Heaven and earth and is exalted above all the an gaelic choirs and all the saints.” In this capacity of closeness to the King of Heaven and earth, her magnificent powers of intercession become clearly apparent, and her office as Mediator of all grace becomes evident for us in its meaning and its power.

 

Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, the Mother of Christ Who is the Son of God, is for every creature another mother. As we said at the outset, she and her Divine Son are the molds in which every saint is poured and formed and brought to perfection. She is the epitome of all that we could say about any saint, for she is full of grace, and the source of their grace as she is the source of ours.

 

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL:

Most glorious Virgin, chosen by the eternal Counsel to be the Mother of the eternal Word made flesh, thou who art the treasurer of divine graces and the advocate of sinners, I who am thy most unworthy servant have re course to thee; be thou pleased to be my guide and counselor in this vale of tears. Obtain for me through the Most Precious Blood of thy divine Son, forgiveness of my sin, the salvation of my soul, and the means necessary to obtain it. In like manner obtain for Holy Church victory over her enemies and the spread of the kingdom of Jesus Christ upon the whole earth. Amen.