RCIA December 4

The Mother Mary holds different meanings for each individual. Some rely on Mary in their everyday lives; some call on her when they don’t know who else to turn to; some remember her on the holy feasts and solemnity days in the Church’s liturgical calendar. There is no right or wrong way to include Mary in your life, but it is important to know why she plays such an essential role in the Church.

In the beginning, God created Adam but knew that Adam needed a partner, and from his rib made Eve. They lived a happy life until the moment of curiosity and ate from the knowledge tree. From there, God could never quite find the right person or couple to enter into union with. As we saw with Abraham and Sarah, Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim, also struggled with having a child. They followed in the footsteps of Abraham and Sarah, kept their faith, and promised God they would give their first child to Him.
In the same way, God sent a messenger to Abraham and Sarah; he sent one to Anne and Joachim, “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.” And indeed, Mary is spoken of all around the world.

After Mary was born, her parents maintained a pure living space and continually invited priests and scribes to come and visit her. “The protoevangelium (a compound of two Greek words, protos meaning "first" and Evangelion meaning "good news" or "gospel") goes on to describe how Mary's parents, along with the temple priests, subsequently decided that she would be offered to God as a consecrated Virgin for the rest of her life, and enter a chaste marriage with the carpenter Joseph.” Not much is known if Mary knew of Anne and Joachim’s covenant with God, but just like Abraham and Sarah, God saw their devout faith and that it never wavered.

In the Gospel of Luke, the Angel Gabriel appears and announces to Mary that she will conceive a child and he will be God’s son. From there, God solidified the covenant that He began with Adam and Eve; He finally had the perfect Mother for His people. Mary became the “new Eve,” and Jesus became the “new Adam.” This is made known in the Gospel of John, as Genesis begins the same way. The Gospel of John begins:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was at the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and nothing came to be without him. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness, we have all received grace in place of grace”.

We receive grace continually from Mary. She is the epitome of elegance, and if there are times of doubt or the feeling of being separated, she makes known her appearance. Mary has been known to appear to children and the humble faithful worldwide, taking the form of their native country and tongue. It is unknown if she speaks or seems to understand her presence and requests. Regardless, it is through these apparitions that Mary shows her love well beyond her assumption into Heaven.

I leave you with these final thoughts from CNA because the topic of Mary could not be summed up more perfectly.

Even though Mary is unique among all humanity for being born without sin, She is held up by the Church as a model for all humankind in Her holiness and purity, in Her willingness to accept the Plan of God for Her. Every person is called to recognize and respond to God’s call, to their vocation, to carry out God’s plan for their lives, and fulfill the mission prepared for them since before the beginning of time. Mary’s “Let it be done to me according to Thy Word” response to the Angel Gabriel’s greeting is the response required of all Christians to God’s Plan.

There are many feast days for Mary during the Liturgical Year. Here is a list of them and their date

Blessed Virgin Mary resources

Scripture Passages to reflect on about Mary