The Wisdom of Mary

...Jesus, now Risen

One of my favorite aspects of Scripture is that no matter how many times a passage is read, each time some new insight becomes evident. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to ‘tune out’ a little when familiar stories are proclaimed during liturgy every year, missing an important opportunity in the process. During the Easter season we already know about the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and that some of the apostles were slower than others to believe. But if we listen closely, we can enter into the intimacy of each encounter in a new way. For example, we can be with the Eleven as Jesus said, “Peace be with you” and then ate with them, or we can ponder the experience of Thomas the so-called ‘doubter’​ in the wonder of touching the wounds of Jesus, now risen.​* However, in all the post resurrection passages one person is conspicuously absent: Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She wasn’t mentioned at all, but given her importance to the community, we can safely presume she was there and so perhaps that is why no mention was necessary. 

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the Gospels were intended to reveal Jesus

We must remember that even though Mary was the most important woman in salvation history, she is mentioned very little in the Gospels. Of those passages, Mary is only recorded as speaking on four occasions: with the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, at the Visitation when she sang the Magnificat, with the child Jesus when He had stayed behind in Jerusalem, and at the wedding at Cana.** We learn the most about Mary from Luke’s Gospel (and the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles), followed by what John provided in his Gospel. But it is likely that the sparse amount of detail on Mary is because the Gospels were intended to reveal Jesus, how He fulfilled the promises of God, His teaching, and the events of His suffering, death, and Resurrection. Being completely devoted to humble service of God, and also intimately attuned to Jesus, Mary’s role has always been to support Jesus in His mission. Her presence throughout His life was no doubt essential to Him, something we can ponder as we consider how we are called to support His mission according to our call. 

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prayerful pondering

We learn much wisdom from Mary, and should seek to imitate her virtues. While her humility and her desire to do God’s will are extremely important, one aspect that we can inadvertently overlook is found within her prayerful pondering: she teaches that listening is often more important than speaking. She was deeply attentive to God throughout her life, seeking Him in prayer especially in the midst of mystery or confusing circumstances. In considering the Annunciation we see that if we are to recognize angels in our midst or recognize the voice of God within our hearts, we have to learn to listen. In our prayer we must be humbly patient, and after greeting the Lord, become silent so that we may hear what He says to us, just as Mary did. It is important to understand that sometimes the encounter is even more intimate if we simply sit together without any words; it is enough to be in God’s presence. Therefore, because Mary was a woman who listened deeply, every recorded word she spoke has great meaning and wisdom, having arisen from a heart steeped in prayer. From her ‘yes’ to the angel through her words at Cana, all she said was filled with the wisdom that comes through prayer. 

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ask the Holy Spirit to reveal wisdom

A fruitful reflection would be to take each passage in which Mary spoke and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the wisdom that is offered. From the Annunciation we could reflect upon learning to better recognize God’s presence, asking for the grace to learn how to spiritually see and hear. We can ask to better live out God’s will, (His desire for all that is best for us), and then for the graces we need to respond freely, “Be it done to me.” The Visitation can teach us how to ‘magnify the Lord’ in word and deed, to ask for the grace to glorify God as often as possible. From the passage about finding Jesus in the Temple we can pray to more readily find God in our daily lives trusting in Him especially in times of loss, confusion, or when it feels as if He is absent. From the wedding at Cana we can ponder how to let go of whatever keeps us from responding to our call to be disciples. Finally, we can meditate upon what must have taken place for Mary on Easter morning; though unrecorded in Scripture, Mary must have been the first person to whom the Risen Jesus appeared since she is His mother. 

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she listened to every word spoken by her Son

​The Gospel writers had no need to say any more than they did about Mary because what is recorded provides everything we need to know, and in fact, the Church has taught about her based upon their writing, enhanced by what has been handed down in Tradition. To this day Mary continues the ministry begun during her life: she is our Mother, interceding for each of her children and for the world, always pointing to her Son Jesus. What we know of Mary from the Scripture implies that even when there is no mention of her, she was probably there. When she said nothing, she was listening to every word spoken by her Son, pondering everything, glorifying God by her life, and setting an example so that we might learn to do the same. 

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rejoice with our Mother Mary

May we read and listen attentively to the Scriptures no matter how familiar we think they are! May we learn how to listen to and ponder that which the Lord reveals daily! And may we rejoice in the Risen Lord with our Mother Mary that we might respond as she did, growing in love and mercy! Let us meet in the Heart of the Risen Lord! Alleluia! Peace!

                                                                    ©Michele L. Catanese

Note: There will not be a post on April 29 because I am taking a 'blog holiday,' that is, a rest from writing for a couple of weeks. The next post will be on May 6. See you then!

* The passages to which I am referencing are specifically found in Luke 24:1-35 and John 20: 1-29, but you can also see Matthew 28 and Mark 16. By the way, I described Thomas as the ‘so-called doubter’ because he is often depicted as being very faith-filled throughout the Gospel of John and so I think it is unfair to label him for displaying the very thing, if we are honest, many of us would have done had we been in his situation. Besides, the other resurrection accounts say he was not the only one who struggled. I have great love for Thomas the apostle because of his transparency and for admitting his belief with the declaration, “My Lord and my God!”
** The Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38; The Visitation, Luke 1:46-56; finding Jesus in the Temple, Luke 2:41-52, the wedding at Cana, John 2:1-11.

Images:
1. My photo; Resurrection Cross with Burial Cloth. 
2. My photo; sunset in the Badlands, South Dakota.
3. Icon; Our Lady of Silence by Fr. William Hart McNichols. You can find this icon at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/our-lady-of-silence-william-hart-mcnichols.html
4. My photo; Bible.
5. My photo of stained glass: Triumphant Jesus with Mary and Joseph at cathedral in Lugano, Switzerland.
6. Painting; Ave, by Henri Matisse at the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, France.

Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. 

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