In a Nutshell
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Mary said yes to God, and this "yes" is central to discussions of her role today. Her "yes" to God's will makes her a model of faith for the rest of us. It isn't surprising that this dimension of Mary's life is so heavily accented. These, after all, are times when the active response of faith that each baptized person makes to God is regarded as one of the basics. Every Christian is called to say yes to Christ, to actively enter into all that this entails: a changed way of life, participation in the community of his followers, endeavors to carry out his work. It often is said that Mary's yes wasn't an expression of passivity. To say yes as Mary did doesn't mean one simply undergoes or suffers through God's will. A person who says yes as Mary did won't just drift along in the life of faith; faced with life's hard challenges, the person will attempt to bring mature, hopeful faith and renewed understanding to bear on the events at hand. |
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Mary and the world's divided Christians
By Father Thomas A. Thompson, SMCatholic News Service
Time magazine's cover March 21, 2005, was an image of the Virgin Mary accompanied by the words "Hail Mary: Catholics Have Long Revered Her, But Now Protestants Are Finding Their Own Reasons to Celebrate the Mother of Jesus."
Actually, the Virgin Mary never was absent from the Anglican tradition: Marian references were present in its feasts, prayers and hymns. But in May 2005, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission released a document titled "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ," the result of five years of preparatory meetings that reviewed the place of Mary in the Scriptures, in Christian tradition and in the life of the church.
Mary's marvelous, unexpected role in ecumenical reconciliation
By Brother Jeffrey Gros, FSCCatholic News Service
I teach at a Protestant seminary in Memphis, Tenn. Returning there after 30 years, I was amazed to find a course titled "Mary, Martyrs and Mystics" being taught -- and by a Presbyterian! The most exciting time for students in the class was a day spent with Mother Teresa's Sisters of Charity in service and prayer.
With the ecumenical pilgrimage Catholics undertook after the end of Vatican Council II (1965), we recognized many challenges. Catholics share faith in Christ and the Trinity as well as a common baptism with fellow Christians. But where does the Virgin Mary fit into the ecumenical picture?
How the Bible presents Mary
By Joseph F. KellyCatholic News Service
Mary, mother of the person all Christians venerate, is viewed differently in doctrinal matters by many Christian groups. But all Christians accept the Scriptures, and so all can honor Mary as the Bible presents her, particularly around Christmas in the Gospel of Luke.
At the annunciation, Luke presents Mary as a humble person astonished at the role for which she has been chosen. She may think herself unworthy, but she doesn't question the divine will. If God chose her, she must be capable, an attitude all Christians must take when faced with a difficult divine calling.
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Faith in the Marketplace | |
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 This Week's Discussion Point: How would you explain to a child the meaning and role of the Virgin Mary? |
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Selected Response From Readers: |
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