19TH DECEMBER 2021
BLESSEDNESS OF MARY
Every day, in our prayer known as the Angel‟s greeting, we proclaim the blessedness of Mary, the daughter and Mother of God. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”
The Gospel of today is known as “The Visitation” in which Mary went and visited her cousin Elizabeth. After the angel leaves Mary, she leaves quickly to bring the Good News that she received from God’s messenger. The Good News she brings and gives Joy to Elizabeth was nothing else than Jesus, the Son of God who has taken flesh in her womb. Out of her joy, Elizabeth proclaims Mary as blessed and recognizes her as Mother of God whose visit she is not worthy.
Mary‟s blessedness is a result of her great faith. It comes about because of her deep trust in God. She was approached by an angel and told that she would bear a son who would be conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary is blessed because she believed in the fulfillment that is truthfulness, of God‟s word delivered to her.
Mary became the channel of God‟s blessing to the humanity.
We cannot separate Christmas, the mystery of Incarnation
of the Son of God and human‟s salvation from the Blessed Virgin Mary though whom God was able to fulfill his promise and plan for salvation from the beginning of the creation. This is the important role and place of Mary that makes her queen of heaven and earth. Who is Mary for us? What role does she play in our spiritual growth and journey?
Mary is Jesus‟ mother and ours. She was not only the Mother of God but also our Mother. Saint John is standing with Mary at the foot of the cross when Jesus looks upon them and directs these theologically rich words to his beloved apostle:
“Behold your mother” (Jn 19:27). She brought Jesus in her womb for ten months, protected Him from all dangers, brought Him up and educated him in whole dimensions of life. The same, as our Mother, she does not leave us alone; she knows everything we need and continues praying for us as well as protects us from the attack of the evil ones.
Mary is our perfect model. Jesus grew up and learned many things from his Mother. He even learned how to pray and be obedient to God. She becomes our Model in our Christian life. For the rest of her life she would remain pure from all sin, original and actual, because of this special “advance” of the grace won for her by Christ’s death and resurrection (Lk 1:47). Mary was called “Full of Grace” by the messenger from heaven. We can also imitate her to live well out our faith.
Mary is our most powerful intercessor. As all mothers do, seeking for the good of her children, Mary never ceases to pray and asking God’s assistance and protection in our lives.
Therefore, we should keep the Mother of God involved in our personal lives as our foremost “prayer warrior.”
Mary is the „Queen Mother‟. Mary is both Mother and Queen of heaven and earth. She surpasses all saints and angels just because of the Grace she was given by her Son, who is God. Jesus is the King of the Universe and his Mother is, of course, the Queen of the universe. As His Mother, Jesus has crowned her with twelve stars” and made her the Queen of Heaven (Rev 12:1). Therefore, as Queen she has a lots of authority and power over the subject of the King her Son.
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