Mary leads the faithful into a deeper relationship with Jesus

Father John A. Kiley
Posted

Although some elements of the Christian world might have lost the enthusiasm for the Blessed Virgin Mary that the early church and the medieval church treasured, Mary herself never lost sight of her important role of bearing witness to Jesus throughout salvation history.

The more the Christian world forgot about Mary, the more Mary intruded into the Christian world. In 1516, as Martin Luther was preparing to tack his thoughts on a church door at Wittenberg, the Virgin Mary appeared at Guadalupe in Mexico to an Aztec Indian with a message that would become very familiar. In 1830, Mary visited Sister of Charity St. Catherine Laboure in her Paris chapel, giving her the Miraculous Medal. In 1845, the Blessed Virgin appeared to the teenagers Melanie and Maxim on the French hillside at La Salette. In 1858, the Mother of Jesus visited St. Bernadette Soubirous at the celebrated fountain near the mountain village of Lourdes. In 1878, a village priest, Father Cavanaugh in Ireland, saw Mary standing along side his parish church at Knock. In 1917, Mary famously appeared at Fatima to the three Portuguese children, Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia. Certainly others sightings have been claimed as well.

In each of these appearances Mary asked for prayer and penance. Mary knew that all of God's children owed God the worship of dedicated prayer. And Mary knew that even the best of believers had to atone for personal sins and for the sins of mankind. But Mary's requests wisely did not stop even with the urgent need for prayer and penance. Mary often asked that a church, a basilica, be built on the spot at which she had appeared. Mary's insistence on a church gracing the sites of her appearances showed not just an interest in artistry or architecture. Mary knew that when a Catholic church would be built on these hallowed sites, Jesus would be sacramentally active again among his people. Mass would be celebrated; the Scriptures would be read; Communion would be received; the Eucharist would be adored; sermons would be preached; babies would be baptized; couples would be married; the sick would arrive for healing; confessions would be heard; Holy Hours would be offered and moments of quiet meditation would abound.

Mary's biblical ministry of supporting, promoting and sometimes even guiding Jesus' work of salvation continues in the church to this day. The mention of Mary in the Scriptures and the great Marian shrines of the world and the local church celebrations in honor of Mary in our parishes today always lead the faithful to Jesus. By bringing believers together to honor Mary through private rosaries or October devotions, Mary actually leads us to her Son. The traditional 15 decades of the rosary, amplified recently by Blessed John Paul II's inclusion of five mysteries from the public life of Christ, urge the believer to ponder prayerfully the saving events that constitute the Gospel experience and message. Quite often during October devotions, parishes offer Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, graphically and reverently reminding the faithful that Mary has always led the Christian community into a deeper relationship with her Son, Jesus Christ.

As a testimony to the Catholic Church’s appreciation and fidelity to Mary’s enduring role in salvation history, the Roman Catholic world might do well to recall that three of the universal church's holy days of obligation are solemnities dedicated to Mary. The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, on January 1; the Solemnity of Mary's Assumption into heaven on August 15; and the United States' national feast day, the Solemnity of Mary's Immaculate Conception on December 8, are annual reminders of Mary's important place in salvation history and her treasured role in the devotional life of the church. In Mary, Scripture and tradition blend very happily together as major Gospel events lead to treasured Catholic practices. It is interesting that Padre Pio, a saint of our lifetime, spent 50 years of his life in a Capuchin church dedicated to the Blessed Mother under her title Our Lady of Grace. At the moment of his death, the future saint and friar declared, “I see two mothers,” meaning, of course, his own mother and his spiritual mother Mary. Authentic Christians will always appreciate Mary as a true mother, a true guide toward spiritual maturity.