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Who is the Blessed Virgin Mary?
Catechism Meditation:
By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and … wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus) of the Church. ―No. 967
REFLECTION. The Blessed Virgin Mary is considered the “exemplary realization” of the Church, embodying its virtues and serving as a model of faith and charity for all believers. Her unique role as the Mother of Christ and her unwavering support during His life and Passion highlight her significance in the Church. Just as Mary told the servants at the wedding feast of Cana, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5), Mary also instructs us to follow her Son.
Mary is the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of the Church, a model of discipleship, and the greatest saint. Mary shares in God’s holiness in a unique way because God chose her to be the Mother of his Son. Mary was conceived and born without Original Sin and believed in Jesus from the moment that God asked her to be the Mother of his Son. In her faith and trust in God, Mary said yes to all that God asked of her. She placed herself in God’s hands and became the Mother of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Since Mary was the first to hear about the mission of Jesus, she is his first disciple.
Mary’s faith in her son did not weaken in times of suffering or loss. As Jesus was dying on the cross, He saw His mother and His disciple John at his feet. Jesus said to Mary, “Woman, behold, your son.” He said to John, “Behold, your mother” (John 19:26, 27). The Blessed Virgin Mary waited in prayer and with hope for the coming of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus’s Death and Resurrection, she stayed with the disciples to continue Jesus’s work. Mary is the mother of all those who believe in and follow Jesus Christ, and thus, the Mother of the Church and all Catholics. She is also a model of motherhood.
In all these ways, the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model for all Catholics in cooperating fully with God’s Word and doing God’s work. In Mary we find not only the first but also the perfect disciple; she is the “model and source” of holiness for our lives (CCC 2030). Just as she was instrumental in the plan of salvation by becoming the Mother of God, her faith in God’s promise reminds us of our obligation to trust in him and shows others how to follow Jesus as well. Her faith came from an understanding of the great gifts that God had given to her, especially the gift of her son Jesus.
Source: Sadlier.com
PRAYER. Dear Lord, we thank You for the beautiful example of faith that Mary has shown us. May we emulate her humility and courage in our daily lives, seeking to serve You with the same devotion.
Timeless Wisdom Quote:
“Can you not see that if Christ Himself willed to be physically formed in her for nine months and then spiritually formed by her for thirty years, it is to her that we must go to learn how to have Christ formed in us?” ― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen