Gospel Matters: ‘Who is Mary?’
Dr Christine Wood, Director, Office of Evangelisation & Catechesis
Attempts to describe Mary inevitably fall short because she is the one who contained the Creator. What is it to name her? If we look at the Church’s litanies to the Blessed Virgin Mary we see catalogues of the whole of creation.
Focusing on Mary’s womanly characteristics we name her: daughter of God, mother of God, sister of Jesus, spouse of the Holy Spirit, spouse of Christ, and spouse of the Blessed Trinity. These are high praises indeed. But there is so much more.
The litanies and medieval psalters also refer to Mary as the city of God, holy mountain, temple of God, ark of the covenant, gate of heaven, morning star, seat of wisdom, and mystical rose, among others.
These titles turn into great cascades of associated praises. However, even if we name all the creatures in creation we still have not named her.
Medieval historian, Rachel Fulton Brown, wrote that, “Unlike today’s secular feminists, the Christian women I study talk about Mary not as an image of ‘woman,’ but as the human being most like God, the mirror of his majesty and the image of his goodness (Wisdom 7:26), filled with the knowledge of creation in her capacity as Mother of the Word.”
This is a transformative vision of womanhood and motherhood. Mary’s attitude of complete openness to God allowed her to be filled with the divine likeness and be exalted above all creation.
Apart from Christ, she is the greatest human being who ever lived.
Ponder this thought: It is through the Blessed Virgin Mary that our salvation came into the world. The invisible God became visible to the world by taking flesh in Mary’s womb.
The Incarnation was made possible by Mary’s great ‘Yes’ to God’s message at the Annunciation.
The architects and artisans of the great medieval cathedrals of Europe knew this well, and wrote Mary into their architecture.
Just as Mary’s womb was the sanctuary of Christ, so too the Catholic cathedral is the sanctuary of Christ, really present in the Blessed Eucharist. The medieval cathedral’s rose windows, labyrinths, and great doorways bear Marian symbolism.
The Church proposes the model of womanhood and motherhood to be the Blessed Virgin Mary. If we remove her from our churches and spiritual devotions we diminish ourselves, and rob society of God’s vision for human perfection, love, and joy.
May is the month of Mary because in the northern hemisphere it’s the height of Spring with its abundance of flowers and time for renewal.
It’s Catholic custom to dedicate special time for devotion to Mary, not just on one day, but throughout the whole month.