the Virgin Mary

 I have been wanting to write a post about Mary, the mother of God, for a long time now. Thoughts have been rolling around in my head about how I would write it. Talking about theology comes easy to me - but writing is another story. In college, I loved to write, but now there is never enough time to sit down and collect my thoughts much less write them down and clarify them with some research. So, as much as I crave sharing my Catholic faith through my blog, I usually have to settle with sharing my daily life because it is so much quicker and easier to write about. If you're thinking, well Kayleen, that is great because if you are living out your faith, then sharing your life is sharing your faith. I hope so. I really hope so. That is super important. However, one of the reasons I became Catholic is because the Catholic faith is a treasure trove of knowledge. Faith and conversion are personal experiences, but because the Christian religion is 2,000 years old, so much wisdom has been gathered (and revealed) that it is always more than the sum of believer's experiences with God. There is an unending wealth of reflection, prayers, history, and wisdom out there to discover, contemplate, and then share. I love that about Catholicism. It is a deep, unshakable faith. There are books written about every aspect of Catholicism that can change your life. My brother in law is about to finish his doctorate in theology and there are people throughout history who have dedicated their entire lives to studying theology. Clearly, it is not something really do justice on a blog. Please understand that when I do have the opportunity to write about theological matters that I am doing my very best. I know I will probably make minor mistakes (though I hope never to write anything that is flat out erroneous) but that my intention is to share, however inadequately, some bits and pieces of the religion that I practice and that I love. I also don't mind debate, so if you have any questions or wish to point out something that may be slightly off, please do so without fear of offending me. Anyway, since I have a few moments (sleeping girls) I would really like to share some of my thoughts on the Blessed Mother.

As many of you know, Mike and I have chosen to raise our family in the Byzantine church. Byzantine Catholicism is culturally and spiritually different than Roman Catholicism, yet we share in the unity of the Catholic church as we believe Christ established it when he was alive 2,000 years ago. Yesterday in our church, we celebrated the Dormition of our Lady which is also known as the Assumption of Mary. It is a beautiful feast day in which we celebrate the Mother of God and her entrance into Heaven. The story goes (and I love this story even more because Mike told it to me when we were dating) that when the people went to where Mary was buried, they opened her tomb and instead of her body they found flowers. So on this day people can bring flowers to church and have them blessed. It is a recognition of the special role of Christ's mother in salvation history.

Some Christians cringe when they hear Mary referred to as the 'Mother of God.'  But she really is the Mother of God. She is of course not older than God but since she gave Christ his human nature. All his human-ness (his DNA) came from his mother, just like the rest of us (though of course we only get half from our mother and half from our father)

 "Since Mary is Jesus’ mother, it must be concluded that she is also the Mother of God: If Mary is the mother of Jesus, and if Jesus is God, then Mary is the Mother of God. There is no way out of this logical syllogism, the valid form of which has been recognized by classical logicians since before the time of Christ."

No doubt, history shows that people argued about this doctrine. Ultimately when the Protestants split in the 16th Century, most of them did not take the teachings about Mary with them. However, the tradition that Mary was Assumed into heaven (basically meaning she did not go through the normal means that the rest of us do to enter heaven, but rather was assumed body and soul) goes back at least to the late 7th Century.

A few things I had to consider when I first questioned why Catholics treat Mary the way they do. One big one is; Mary was the very first Christian. Christ did not start his ministry until he was 30 years old. Mary knew him from the moment he was conceived and it says in the bible that she pondered many things in her heart. She knew what was to come of him. She loved Jesus before any other human did, and that in in itself is incredible to consider. God choose Mary to bear His only son who would redeem the world in the sacrifice on Calvary. He wouldn't have chosen just anyone...that woman would have to be worthy to carry him in her womb, to give him his human nature, and then to raise, teach, and love him until he was ready for his earthly ministry. Then, after loving him for 33 years...to be present during the entire crucifixion. She was there when he was beaten, when he carried the cross, when he was nailed to it, and when he died. She was there when they took him down from the cross and she held him in her arms and weeped. As a mother - can you imagine that? She wasn't just an ordinary mother of course, she was the mother of the Divine. No, Catholics do not claim Mary herself was divine. Please, please do not misunderstand. No Christian can look to Mary and worship her because only God is worthy of praise. We know that and even though there are many misunderstandings about this, we simply do not worship her. What Catholics point to, which I think many Protestants overlook or don't wish to acknowledge, is the gravity of Mary's role in salvation. She BORE a divine person in her womb! Fr. Joseph, in his homily yesterday, used this analogy. If you have something precious, like a jewel or a treasure, where do you keep it? You keep it in a safe, beautiful place. Someplace worthy to carry the precious thing you have.

In the Old Testament, the Jews are instructed by God to build the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was what they carried the Law in. It was not the law of man, but the law of God and it was more precious than anything they had. In fact, it was so special that only a Holy man (one of the priests) could touch it and then only once a year. Anyone unworthy who touched it would die. (Seriously, you can read this in the bible!) SO then, we have Christ. The lamb of God. He who took away the sins of the world. He is the NEW covenant, right? Given what we know about how the Jews treated the Ark, how do you think we as Christians should treat the woman who bore Christ in her womb?

Could she just any woman that God chose? Early on in my faith journey I answered that question with a whole-hearted NO. If you aren't sure what you think of Mary, please at least consider that question for yourself. The Blessed Mother is just that, Blessed. It says in the bible that she was FULL of Grace. (Yes, that is where we get the Hail Mary, full of Grace prayer...directly from the bible!) It follows that she would have no ordinary death. If you are wondering something, let me say this, Mary needed Christ to die on the Cross for her like we all do. She is human, she benefits from this act like we all must. It's just that she is a special human, one who again, was chosen by God to be Jesus' mother, and there fore she deserves special attention. Also, we Catholics believe in the communion of the Saints. In a nutshell, we believe that just as you can ask a living Christian to "pray for you" you can also ask someone who has died and is in Heaven with God to pray. There is a communion among all Christians, alive on earth and alive in Heaven. Of course since Mary is in Heaven with her son and God the father and the Holy Spirit (the Trinity) she can pray for us as well. So, when we pray the rosary, we are not worshiping Mary. What we are doing is contemplating her life as she lived it in direct submission and perfect conformity to God's will. We are trying to be better Christians by looking to her as the first Christian, and yes, asking her to pray for us. It is a beautiful teaching, and it really makes sense if you are able to study it and contemplate it for yourself. I understand that it might be uncomfortable at first to even consider that Catholics might have it right about Mary. When I first became a Christian, I too thought Catholics worshiped Mary (though I blame this more on popular culture than anything.) It took some time for me to wade through the articles and books and come to the conclusions I have. But where I am now is in a place where I feel that I can ask Mary to personally pray for me so that I can live a better life and one day meet Jesus in heaven.

There are some great resources on this website, if you are interested. Just be careful about typing "Mary" into Google. I did and came across some very anti-Catholic, hateful websites. If you want a balanced view take your information from a variety of sites, including Catholic sites that will tell you what the Catholic Church really does teach not what people perceive it to teach or have wrongly heard it teaches. The best place of course would be to look in the Catechism which outlines all Catholic teachings. I can lend you my copy if you are interested :)

Well, it looks like I won't be ending this post with a lovely wrap up or meaningful reflection. I just had some things I wanted to say about why you might walk into a Catholic's home and see not just crosses, but also images of Mary. Remember that this practice is not new, in fact it goes back to the very early Christians who recognized Mary's unique and special role in the life of Christ and our lives as His followers.