LENTEN REFLECTION Lenten Prayer “Lord God, let your Holy presence overshadow me during this period of lent, where I make the conscious decision to deny myself of worldly pleasures as I seek to die to the flesh and live in You.” MARY’S POSITION IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION (By Fr. Arthur Ntembula) · Wholly united with her son: Mary’s role in the church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. Meaning that without Christ having been born in her, she wouldn’t have been given the status she has in the church today. -- In the biblical foundation, Mary participates in the incarnation, public ministry of Jesus, his death and beginning of the church. -- Mary is the first and perfect disciple of Jesus. She was the first to say ‘yes’ to be close to Jesus. She never hesitated to do the will of God. She was always close to Jesus even until death. · 5 Ms of Mary [member, model, mother, mediatrix, messenger] 1. Mary as Member: Mary remains fully human who is not to be worshipped by Christians. She is not a goddess but a servant of God who was favoured by God through his grace. She is member of the church like any other person and her holiness is possible for anyone. § Statements about Mary ought to focus on her as a historical and finite human being who has a definite though unique place in history. The church will always see her as the one who had an exceptional function in salvation history. 2. Mary as Model: § Certainly Mary was not a member of that select group of followers who accompanied Jesus in his work of preaching throughout the country. There is no evidence to suggest that she was especially chosen by Christ to be a disciple in this sense. In fact, what little evidence there is would seem to suggest that she was not. We must therefore, take a broader notion of discipleship and understand it as an attitude of heart and mind in relation to Jesus. § Mary expressed ‘yes’ at the annunciation and live a ‘yes’ life until the end of her life. Thus, she is the model of discipleship for Christians and the church. We continue to look to her as we struggle to be what God wants us to be. § In the Cana story, although Jesus is not refusing his mother’s request nor is he reproving her, nevertheless he is telling her something about her relationship with him. He is calling into question the familial relationship of mother and son. He is suggesting that this has now been transcended. He signals this by no longer calling her “mother” but “woman,” a title which shows that Jesus no longer sees himelf vis-à-vis his mother on the level of a natural family. His very next words explain why this must now be so. “My hour has not yet come,” The hour of Jesus is not limited to his moment on Calvary. The hour begins at Cana, extends throughout the ministry whenever Jesus makes known his glory and power through the working of a sign and reaches its climax at Calvary, where his glory is fully manifested in the death and resurrection. In the Cana dialogue Jesus is telling Mary that the former mother-son relationship is now transformed into a new relationship because his hour is now beginning with the sign, which he will work in response to her intervention. 3. Mary as Mother: Jesus told the beloved disciple, who represents all the other disciples, at the foot of the cross, “…behold your mother” (Jn.19:27). Through this disciple, she was given to the church as mother. 4. Mary as Mediatrix: Mary is committed to praying and interceding for each of her children and the church as a whole. This is because of her sinlessness and her close union with Jesus, above every other human being. Thus, Catholics call her, mediator. § Not only does she plead with God on our behalf but also because she is God’s mother, she actually influences God’s judgments. As Mother of Mercy, she uses her intercessory powers especially to intervene on our behalf and ensure our salvation. Belief in her power to plead to God on our behalf has added to the power and popularity of her shrines and the stories of miracles attached to them. In the last century not only did she intercede for sinners but she also became an outspoken critic of communism. At Fatima, for example, she called for prayers for the conversion of Russia. 5. Mary as Messenger: This refers to Mary’s apparitions that have been reported by catholics at various times. In these, she presents a prophetic message directed towards an individual or the church. These apparitions are purely private revelations of God, and the church advises that such be taken with a pinch of salt, for some of them could be faked. Moreover, all revelation of God reached completion in Christ. When she appears, Mary usually calls Christians to prayer, repentance and conversion. Throughout the history of the church, certain Christians have claimed that the mother of Jesus has manifested herself to them. From the Middle Ages onwards, as devotion to the Blessed Virgin became an ever more integral part of Catholic devotional life, claims of Marian apparitions or manifestations have become more widespread. Four of the most famous and universally recognized apparitions are the appearances of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of La Salette, and Our Lady of Fatima. Marian Apparitions and Church Teaching: There is no definitive church teaching about what happens during an apparition. Although theologians may interpret the phenomenon in various ways, they accept that visions or apparitions considered private revelations by the church’s magisterium cannot add to or embellish the deposit of faith. If genuine, they can only enhance devotion to, and perhaps the understanding of faith. The official church approval does not mean that the faithful are required to believe in apparitions or in their historicity. They are to be respected in so far as they inspire people to deeper faith and consistent social action, and they are to be judged by their fruits: love, justice and peace. § In less than fifty years, from 1928 to 1971, a total of 310 apparitions can be cited. The first among them was the so-called Miraculous Medal of Catherine Labourie (1806-76); the medal’s design included the image of the Virgin with the words “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” It was distributed all over the world in millions, and its tremendous popularity and the miracles attributed to it helped to impress the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception on the consciousness of Catholic people. § However, much approved by the church, these apparitions do not belong to what is called the “deposit of faith”; hence we give them the same merely human credence that we give to any other statement we hold to be true. Even if an apparition has the approval of the church, we are not obliged to give it our consent if, upon mature reflection, we feel unable to believe it. To be continued…….
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 05:08:15 +0000
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