Bishop's Message

Mary. Mother of God

On day one of every year the church marks the day in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title: Mother of God. On January the first, the Community of Faith comes together in prayer to proclaim the truth centred on the essential role of Mary in God's plan for the salvation of mankind.

Mary was born at a time when the woman would be submissive in relation to the man in essentially all things. Still, Mary is recognised as distinctive, not because she broke rank and became assertive, but because of the quality of her life. She is, in historical memory and biblical witness, the epitome of acquiescence to God's will, selflessness, and devotion to God. We need not ask why Mary was chosen for her assignment. Her quiet responsiveness, her simple trust and her enduring faith tell us all we need to know. She does not ask why she was chosen and only inquires about how it is possible since she is a virgin.

The angel Gabriel (an archangel in Jewish and early Christian thought) brings Mary the news. She hears the greeting: "Hail, O highly favoured One, the Lord is with you." When she seems a bit troubled, Gabriel assures her that she need not be afraid, then explains what is about to take place. Mary's response is unambiguous. She is willing to trust herself completely to God and to God's will:
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."

The impact of Mary's response has been considerable across two thousand years.

To appreciate the impact of Mary on our life of faith we have to unpack, so to speak, the word: INCARNATION. Certainly not an every day word, incarnation, however, speaks to an indispensible ingredient in the Christian faith. The word means: "to enter into or become flesh." Jesus' human presence on earth is an incarnation because he was the pre-existent Son of God in the eternal realm. The New Testament makes clear the significance of Jesus' willingness to assume the limitations of being human in order to fulfil the will of God.

St Paul wrote of how Christ, "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness." (Php. 2 6-7). St John in his gospel would simply proclaim: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth." (JN. 1)

Mary would provide a human birth and a human context for the Son of God. She would give him flesh, bone and blood that were truly human;' she would endure with him the pains and traumas of childbirth and she would care for him in his helplessness. No one, except another mother, understands the enormous challenges and responsibilities of motherhood and no one at all could appreciate the overwhelming responsibility of being the mother of Jesus. It soon became obvious, however, that this young woman from the world of the working poor was qualified emotionally and spiritually for being the mother of the Christ.

In the letter to the Galatians (4. 4-7) St Paul adds his own dramatic expression to the role of Mary. God, of course, is connected to every aspect of the created order. But Paul writes of "when the fullness of time had come," as when all things are in readiness for a new creation. "God sent his Son," says Paul, "born of a woman, born under the law in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children." It is good news of triumphant dimensions. We are God's children through Christ, born of the Virgin Mary.

The Blessed Virgin Mary has been honoured and revered throughout the ages. Referred to as: Comfort for the sorrowful; Help of the weak; Strength for the fearful; Light for the despondent; Refuge for sinners. But our greatest tribute to her is in our evaluation of her virtue. On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in our prayer addressing God the Father, we say: "you chose her from all women to be our advocate with you and our pattern of holiness...."

A world awash in aggression and violence longs for someone of quiet strength and tender of heart. We look to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord, as a mentor to our souls - an example in living - holy in the true sense of that word; again in prayer we say: "a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way." (Assumption) With the New Year well underway we can all resolve to invoke daily that simple prayer and anthem:

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen."