“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you”
In
the gospel, the angel Gabriel greets Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with
you” (Luke 1:28). This greeting was the very first step
towards salvation of the humanity.
Satan
evidently abhors this greeting because he is constantly reminded of his failure
and God’s triumph through the new Eve, as the Scripture says, “When the dragon saw that it had been thrown
down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male
child.”(Revelation 12;13). So it’s not
surprising if Satan incessantly attacks Mary in all the generations of Church
history.
“Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”
The
words quoted in prayer are again directly taken from the Scripture. When
Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth,
filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most
blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. (Luke 1;41-42)
Recognizing
the call to her vocation partially amidst the tests of the time, Mary freely
contributed to yield to the will of God. She said, "Behold, I am the
handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38).
Her act of total faith made Elizabeth to call her “Blessed” the second time,
Blessed are you who believed that what
was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."(Luke 1:45)
As
a matter of honor and gratitude, Mary said, “For he has looked upon his
handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.”(Luke 1:48). The Mother said that she will be
called ‘Blessed’ by all generations from that point on. In fact the fulfillment
of the same could be perceived in that generation itself, wherein during Jesus’
preaching, a woman from the crowd said to Him, “"Blessed is the womb that
carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." (Luke 11:27). She richly-deserved to be called blessed not just because she bore and nursed
Jesus as her Son, but also of Jesus further affirmation that she “heard the
Word of God and observed it” (Luke 11:28) evident through her words “May it be done to
me according to your word”(Luke 1:38). Bearing Jesus in her womb and nursing him were the proofs of the achievement of
her complete surrender. What started n that generation has persisted ever since. Hence,
the Catholic Church from generation to generation calls Mother Mary
‘Blessed’, every time when reciting the words “Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb” through the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer.
“Jesus”
At
the end of the words "and blessed is the fruit of your womb’" 'Jesus' is added
to correctly identify that the fruit of the womb is “Jesus” as the fulfillment
of what the angel Gabriel declared at the annunciation, “Behold, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). By
acknowledging Jesus anchors with Saint Paul’s exhortation to the congregation
at Colossae, “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17a). Therefore as
Christians everybody is urged to do everything in the name of Jesus because His
name is above every name (Philippians 2:9). Verse 10
further expresses this truth: ‘that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth’ (Philippians 2:10) Therefore,
taking the name of Jesus on our lips either praying for ourselves or for others
provides healing, deliverance and salvation, as
St. Peter re-echoes, “Then all
of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of
Jesus Christ the Nazarean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in His name this man stands before you healed. He is 'the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.' There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we
are to be saved." (Acts 4:10-12).
The name of Jesus is at the heart of Christian prayer. All liturgical prayers
conclude with the words “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Hail Mary reaches its high point in the
words “blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” The Eastern prayer of the
heart, the Jesus Prayer, says: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on
me, a sinner.” Many Christians, such as St. Joan of Arc, have died with the one
word “Jesus” on their lips. (Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC435)
“Holy Mary”
The God being worshiped is Holy which is
underscored all throughout the bible. For example, when Aaron’s sons offered
unholy fire at the Tent of the Lord’s presence, they were devoured by fire
(Leviticus 10:1-3). The presence of God is so sacred that it strikes dead those who draw near Him
without the appropriate holiness. Likewise, those who are consecrated to serve
God particularly the priests, must be considered holy, “Honor him (priest) as sacred who offers up
the food of your God; treat him as sacred, because I, the LORD, who have
consecrated him, am sacred.” (Leviticus 21:8)
When
the all holy eternal Son of God was to be conceived and born to a woman, Mary
as the carrier of God’s presence was not short of the required holiness. The Catholic Church teaches that the
“splendor of a completely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the
first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Jesus, she is “redeemed, in
a more exalted manner, through the merits of her Son.”
God the Father blessed Mary more
than any other created individual “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in
the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the
world, to be holy and blameless before him in love.” Unquestionably, Mother Mary
was the ‘holy’ living tabernacle of the Lord.
Jesus
refers to Mary's sinless nature when He addresses her as "woman" in
John 2:4 and John 19:26. Mary was not the first sinless woman, Adam's wife was also
created sinless. When she was first created, Adam named her "woman"
(Genesis 2:23). It was after the fall, when she was no longer sinless, that her
name was changed to "Eve" (Genesis 3:20). By referring to Mary as
"woman," Jesus is recognizing her sinless nature. That is name changes in Holy
Scripture are important.
“Mother of God”
Elizabeth full of the Holy Spirit said “And
how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ”(Luke 1:43) When Elizabeth referred to Mary as ‘mother of
my Lord’, she indeed recognized the very fact that the One whom Mary was
conceiving in her womb was the ‘Lord’. And the same Lord is the Word who was God (John 1:1b), who became flesh (John 1:14a) to dwell with the humanity.
Saint
Paul affirms, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born
of a woman, born under the law.” (Galatians 4;4) St. Thomas exclaimed “my Lord and my God!”
(John 20:28) St. Paul also acclaim, “For in him the whole
fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9a). Opposing
the Nestorian heresy (which all of the rest of the denominations in this
generation emulate), the Catholic Church affirms Council of Ephesus 431, and remain her belief, that Mary is the
mother of the One Person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is ‘True God and
True Man’ in his human existence. Hence, Mother Mary is rightly honored with
the title ‘Mother of God.’
“Pray for us sinners”
Through
the prayers made for sinners, a sinner receives life, as echoed in the
Scripture, “If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he
should pray to God and he will give him life” (1 John 5:16a). Intercessory
prayers are therefore significant in Christian living, as St. James says that “The fervent prayer of a
righteous person is very powerful” (James 5:16b).
In
Maccabeus, Onias, a former high priest ‘prays with outstretched arms for the
whole Jewish community’. Likewise prophet Jeremiah ‘who loves his brethren
zealosly prays for his people and their holy city’ (Maccabees 15:11-14). Both of them were physically dead at the time, which denotes a clear
scriptural belief for the intercession of saints.
The Saints are
alive and continue involving in humanity’s struggle. (Luke 9:29-32); 16:26-31;
20:37-38.
The
Blessed Mother is the Saint of all Saints, also interceding for us sinners.
“Now”
The
Blessed Mother intercedes for everybody in every situation of ‘now’. The
Scripture provides an example of this like when she intervened and interceded
to Jesus on behalf of the family hosting the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.
The wine had run out and the Blessed Mother saved the situation in that crisis.
She did not execute the miracle, Jesus did, but on her intercession, which
occurred despite the fact that Jesus said “Woman, how does your concern affect
me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). The healing had to come in
that very instance of ‘now’ although it was not the time yet for Jesus to
perform a miracle (John 2;1, 3, 5, 11). She is indeed a powerful intercessor - ‘His mother said to
the servers, “Do whatever He (Jesus) tells you”’(John 2:5).
Saint
Luke narrates, “During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country
in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and
greeted Elizabeth.”(Luke 1:39-40). Notice the words in Scripture ‘in haste', which implies that the Blessed
Mother did not wait for another convenient time but set off without delay after
learning of Elizabeth’s pregnancy - that very moment of ‘now’. This act of
charity of the Blessed Mother was very humbling which manifested in Elizabeth’s
articulation, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”(Luke 1:43). Further, the Blessed Mother brought the Lord’s presence into Elizabeth’s
life, supported and helped the former for three (3) months then returned home (Luke 1:56).
That act of charity of her was total and complete in that instance of ‘now’.
The
Church thereby articulates the same faith and confidence that the Blessed
Mother will relentlessly to intercede for us in every present instance of each
one’s ‘now’ and so bring Jesus to our
lives as she has always done.
“And at the hour of our death”
The
Lord had foretold His disciples that, “when His hour would come, all of them
will be scattered to their own homes and that he would be left all alone (John 16:32a) but Mary His mother was present during the
passion and crucifixion, risked her own life and was standing by the cross,
leading a few others, in praying and supporting her Son at the final moments of
his death (John 19:25). She did not give up praying though sorrow like a sharp sword pierced her heart
as prophesized by Simeon (Luke 2;35).
Jesus said to His disciple John “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:27), thus giving His own mother to the humanity and the Church. So now, she is
everybody’s own mother.
The
humanity in turn has the same confidence that the Blessed Mother will also pray for
everybody ‘at the hour of our death’ just as she prayed at the foot of the
cross relentlessly, giving the assurance that even if we are abandoned by all
around us and left all alone, our dear loving mother will always stand by us
praying for us.
Indeed,
the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven
to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ.
Articulating
the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer is not tantamount to worshiping Mother Mary, as
non-Catholics grumble. In His human existence, Jesus lived out the whole Law to
perfection and had no sin in Him. Likewise, everybody is urged to model each
one’s lives on Him (1 John 2;6 ; 1 Corinthians 11;1). Jesus honored Mary as His own mother,
so therefore we MUST also honor her just
how Jesus did.
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