Mary
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Also known as Our Lady, the Virgin, Mary, and the Blessed Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ; she is celebrated on several feast days, and is patroness of the Church under many names.
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Early Life
Mary was a young Jewish girl of the lineage of David. Tradition tells us that her parents, Joachim and Anna, had prayed fervently to God for a child, despite their advanced age. The family lived in Nazareth in Galilee at the time of the Annunciation. The Virgin Mary is held to have been sinless from the moment of her conception, a belief emphasized by the Church in the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. Tradition holds that Mary was presented in the Temple as a young child, and some theorize that she made a vow of virginity at this time. Regardless of these questions, the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of Mary.
Betrothal to Joseph
Jewish maidens were considered marriageable at the age of twelve years and six months, though the actual age of the bride varied with circumstances. The marriage was preceded by the betrothal, after which the bride legally belonged to the bridegroom, though she did not live with him till about a year later, when the marriage was celebrated. This fits with the language used in the Gospels, calling Mary “betrothed to Joseph,” although the marriage had not been consummated. From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity.
Joyful Mysteries
The next phase of Mary’s life is celebrated in the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, and the Finding in the Temple. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her she would be the mother of the Messiah, at which time she humbly agreed to God’s will. She spent three months with her cousin Elizabeth, who was also with child. She traveled to Bethlehem with her husband Joseph for the purposes of the census, and gave birth to her first-born and laid him in a manger. When this child Jesus was forty days old, his parents brought him to the Temple to be presented to the Lord, and at this time Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognized him as the Messiah. Twelve years later, Jesus stayed behind at the Temple to talk with the teachers after his parents had left, leading Mary and Joseph to look for him anxiously and eventually find him.
Mother of God
The Church does not teach definitively whether or not Mary remained a perpetual virgin after the conception and birth of Jesus. References to the "brothers of Jesus" in the Gospels lead some to believe that Mary later had other children with her husband Joseph, but the term "brothers" is also known to have referred to cousins or other close relatives.
Mary's Divine motherhood is based on the teaching of the Gospels, on the writings of the Fathers, and on the express definition of the Church. As Mary was truly the mother of Jesus, and as Jesus was truly God from the first moment of His conception, Mary is truly the mother of God. Even the earliest Fathers did not hesitate to draw this conclusion, and the Council of Ephesus proclaimed Mary to be Theotokos ("Mother of God") in the true sense of the word.
Scripture and tradition agree in ascribing to Mary the greatest personal sanctity. She is conceived without the stain of original sin. When there is question of sin, Mary must always be exempted. Theologians assert that Mary was impeccable, not by the essential perfection of her nature, but by a special Divine privilege. Moreover, the Fathers, at least since the fifth century, almost unanimously maintain that the Blessed Virgin never experienced the motions of concupiscence.
During Jesus’ Ministry
As Jesus’ mother, Mary took the initiative in pushing him to start his public ministry at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-11). When the wine at the reception began to run out, Mary simply informed Jesus of this fact and instructed the waiters to obey him. Although Jesus told her his hour had not yet come, he ultimately changed water into wine, thus performing his first miracle at the urging of his mother.
During the apostolic life of Jesus, mention of Mary disappears almost completely from the Gospels. In Nazareth she was regarded as a common Jewish mother, and probably belonged to the lower social order of townspeople. It is likely that Mary was found among the holy women who ministered to Jesus and His apostles during their ministry in Galilee.
Since the Passion of Jesus Christ occurred during the paschal week, it is logical that Mary was in Jerusalem. Simeon's prophecy found its fulfillment principally during the time of Our Lord's suffering. According to tradition, His Blessed Mother met Jesus as He was carrying His cross to Golgotha. She was woman and mother in her meeting with her Son on the way to Golgotha, while she was the Mother of God at the foot of the cross. Mary and the holy women assisted at the death of Jesus on the cross; she probably remained during the taking down of His sacred body, which gave rise to the tradition of the pieta, and during His funeral. Though the Gospels do not expressly tell us so, it can be supposed that Mary was present when Jesus showed himself to a number of disciples in Galilee, and at the time of His Ascension.
Mary's spiritual motherhood
While Jesus was hanging on the cross, he committed Mary to John as his mother, and wished Mary to consider John as her son. This statement by Jesus has been taken by the Church to mean that Mary is the mother of the Church and all its members. The doctrine of Mary's spiritual motherhood of men is contained in the fact that she is the antitype of Eve: Eve is our natural mother because she is the origin of our natural life; so Mary is our spiritual mother because she is the origin of our spiritual life. Again, Mary's spiritual motherhood rests on the fact that Christ is our brother. She became our mother at the moment she consented to the Incarnation of the Word, the Head of the mystical body whose members we are; and she sealed her motherhood by consenting to the bloody sacrifice on the cross which is the source of our supernatural life.
After the Ascension
Mary was present in the upper room with the Apostles, disciples, and other women at the time of Pentecost, when the Church came into being and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel throughout the earth. After Jesus’ institution of the relationship of mother and son between Mary and the Apostle John, he took her into his home and cared for her.
There is no consensus as to where the Virgin Mother lived, died, and was buried; two traditions present Ephesus and Jerusalem as possible homes. It is not known for certain whether or not Mary died; certainly she did not die of disease or any painful cause.
At the end of her earthly life, the Virgin Mary was taken body and soul into heaven, according to the infallible dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast is probably the oldest Marian feast celebrated by the Church.
Early Veneration
Early Christian images frequently included a picture of Mary, although none provide an accurate representation of her. Towards the end of the fourth century, the name Mary became rather frequent among Christians; this serves as another sign of the veneration they had for the Mother of God. Clearly the early Christians venerated Mary in some special way, above the other saints and disciples.
See Also
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913
