The Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary

Introduction

The Blessed Mother is known by many names and titles: Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, The Immaculate Conception, the Seat of Wisdom, the House of Gold, and many more. All these names and titles refer to one and the same person - Mary of Nazareth. Catholics refer to Mary in many ways, but all these ways refer to her as the Mother of Jesus - the great Mother of God whom all Catholics honor and venerate but do not worship. Without knowledge of Mary, Jesus would only be a mythic figure coming from nowhere. The gospel image of a real baby in the arms of Mary tells all that Jesus was incarnated in the womb of a virgin. That gospel image is often celebrated every Christmas season and never fails to touch human hearts with joy, peace and a strong sense of family ties.

Mary in the New Testament

Mary is mentioned in all of the four gospels. It is however in the gospel of Luke where she is mentioned more:

• she assented to be the Mother of God upon announcement of the angel Gabriel that God's favor rests well on her [Luke 1:26-38]
• she is a virgin: "one who does not know man" - with the term "know man" as connotating sexual relations [Luke 1:34]
• she visited her cousin Elizabeth to help her since Elizabeth was also with child but in her old age [Luke 1:39-56]
• she gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem with simple shepherds paying homage to the baby Jesus in the manger [Luke 2:1-20]
• she, together with Joseph, presented Jesus in the Temple to be consecrated to God [Luke 2:21-40]
• with Joseph, she sought and found the child Jesus in the Temple - speaking words of wisdom with the elders there [Luke 2:41-52]
• she and some of Jesus' relatives were considered part of a greater family for Jesus: "those who hear the word of God and do God's will" [Matthew 12:46-50]
• she was also instrumental in solving the problem in the wedding of Cana [John 2:1-11]
• she, two other women, and the disciple John, stood by Jesus at the foot of the cross [John 19:25-27]
• after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Mary waited together with the apostles and disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost [Acts 1:14]

These are some of the references to Mary in the New Testament. There are many more and all of them help readers obtain a gospel image of Mary as a person. A good book that will help understand this gospel image of Mary is "Mary in the New Testament", edited by Raymond E. Brown, Karl P. Donfried, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and John Reumann.

Mary's Assumption into heaven

The dogma or doctrine on the assumption of Mary to heaven teaches that Mary has been taken body and soul - her full humanity - to heaven where she receives the full and eternal vision of God. Traditional sources do not say that she did not die, only that she has already received what all the faithful will also all receive in fitting degree when all are finally brought to the Father. This article of faith on the assumption of Mary is not in the Bible. There is an apocryphal account of it in the Transitus Beatae Mariae of Pseudo-Melito, but it is not considered inspired text like the Bible. In Catholic faith, when the Bible is silent or ambiguous on a certain event or person, the Church often sources out the truth in Sacred Tradition (the unwritten word of God). And a lot that was discussed on the truth of the Assumption of Mary were taken from Sacred Tradition. However, although not a full reference, the Church maintains that there is a biblical allusion to the assumption of Mary in the passage of Apocalypse 12:1 - "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."

The Immaculate Conception

This dogma is one of the most Catholic, and sometimes misunderstood article of faith in Catholicism. This article of faith is found within the text of the gospel account of the Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary. Catholics believe greatly in the Immaculate Conception - meaning that from the moment of Mary's conception in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, Mary was kept free from original sin by the power of divine grace. Since she was to bear the Son of God, it is but fitting that the womb that will conceive and bear Him, is pure and completely untainted with any trace of sin. Thus is she titled, the Immaculate Conception. Mary continued to remain sinless throughout her life. Since she did not have original sin (the sin all mankind inherits upon conception because of the disobedience to God of Adam and Eve), she did not deserve to suffer the consequences of it, so at the end of her life, she was assumed in her full humanity by God into heaven.

Devotion to Mary

Devotions are traditional forms of prayers that are not part of the Mass. They can be public or private - expressing love for God and neighbor personified in Mary (or the saints). One form of devotion to Mary is the praying of the holy rosary. The holy rosary is made up of decades of beads to represent the four mysteries (joyful, sorrowful, light, and glorious) of the Christian faith which sum up the life of Jesus and Mary's participative role in it. Another form of devotion to Mary is the May crowning. May is the month of honoring Mary for Catholics. Traditionally, Catholic parishes pick one day in May to host a devotion called a May crowning. On this day a young girl is chosen to place a crown of roses on a statue of Mary which is sometimes carried in a procession around the neighborhood. All those in attendance sing hymns and pray the rosary. Other devotions to Mary include: the First Saturdays devotion, the pilgrimages to Marian shrines all over the world, and the honoring of Marian apparitions through scapulars and medals.

Except for Jesus, Mary, throughout the ages is the subject of many poems, hymns, statues, icons, paintings, treatises, and sermons more than any other in all human history. To understand why Catholics are so affectionate and attached to the Mother of God, we just have to look at the most primal of all emotions: the bond between a mother and her child.

Feasts of Saints Celebrated in the Month of January

Mary, Mother of God, (January 1)

also on January 1: Concordius, martyr; Felix of Bourger; Almachius or Telemachus, martyr; Euphrosyne, virgin; Eugendus or Oyend, abbot; William of Saint Benignus, abbot; Fulgentius, bishop; Clarus, abbot; Peter of Atroa, abbot; Odilo, abbot; Franchea, virgin; Guiseppe Maria Tomasi

Basil: (died 1 Jan. 379 A.D.); hermit who became bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia: noted for his learning; foe of Arianism; wrote a rule on monasticism; source of Eucharistic Prayer IV; along with Gregory Nazianzen, Athanasius (2 May) and John Chrysostom (13 Sept), considered one of the four great doctors of the Eastern Church. (January 2)

Gregory Nazianzen: (died 25 Jan. 389 or 390 A.D.); Patriarch of Constantinople; noted for his knowledge of Sacred Scripture and for his outstanding teaching abilities and eloquence. (January 2)

also on January 2: Macarius of Alexandria; Munchin, bishop; Vincentian; Adalhard or Adelard, abbot; Caspar del Bufalo

on January 3: Antherus, priest and martyr; Geneviève, virgin; Bertilia of Mereuil, widow

on January 4: Elizabeth Ann Seton; Gregory of Langres, bishop; Pharaïldis, virgin; Rigobert of Rheims, bishop

on January 5: John Neumann, bishop; Apollinaris Syncletica, virgin; Syncletica, virgin; Simeon Stylites; Convoyon, abbot; Dorotheus the Younger, abbot; Gerlac

on January 6: John of Ribera, bishop; Charles Melchior from Sezze, religious; Raphaela Maria Porras of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, virgin; Wiltrudis, widow; Erminold, abbot; Guarinus or Guérin, bishop

Raymond of Peñafort (died 1275 A.D. at age of 99); O.P.; second master general after St. Dominic; collator of canon law, esp. Decretales Gregorii IX; noted work on penance: Summa de casibus poenitentiae; patron of canonists and lawyers. (January 7)

also on January 7: Lucian of Antioch, martyr; Valentine, bishop; Tillo; Aldric, bishop; Reinold; Canute Lavard; Kentigerna, widow

on January 8: Apollinaris of Hierapolis, bishop; Lucian of Beauvais, martyr; Severinus of Noricum; Severinus of Septempeda, bishop; Erhard, bishop; Gudula, virgin; Pega, virgin; Wulsin, bishop; Thorfinn, bishop

on January 9: Marciana, virgin and martyr; Julian, Basilissa and Companions, martyrs; Peter of Sebaste, bishop; Waningus or Vaneng; Adrian of Canterbury, abbot; Berhtwald of Canterbury, abbot

on January 10: Marcian; John the Good, bishop; Agatho, priest; Peter Orseolo; William, bishop

on January 11: Theodosius the Cenobiarch; Salvius or Sauve, bishop

on January 12: Arcadius, martyr; Tigirius and Eutropius, martyrs; Caesaria, virgin; Victorian, abbot; Benedict or Benet Biscop, bishop; Antony Pucci, priest

Hilary of Poitiers: (died 367 A.D.); married and convert from paganism; leading opponent of Arianism in the West; most noted work: De Trinitate (January 13)

also on January 13: Agrecius or Agritius, bishop; Berno, abbot

on January 14: Felix Nola, confessor; Macrina the Elder, widow; Barbasymas and Companions, martyrs; Datius, bishop; Kentigern or Mungo, bishop; Sava, bishop

on January 15: Paul the First Hermit, confessor; Maur, abbot; Macarius the Elder; Isidore of Alexandria; John Calybites; Ita, virgin; Bonet or Bonitus, bishop; Ceowulf

on January 16: Marcellus I, priest; Priscilla, matron; Honoratus, bishop; Fursey, abbot; Henry of Cocket; Berard and Companions, martyrs

Anthony: (died 356 A.D. at the age of 105); born in Upper Egypt; hermit and early founder of religious life; called the "Patriarch of Monks"; aided Athanasius of Alexandria in combating Arianism; patron invoked against skin diseases. (January 17)

also on January 17: Speusippus, Eleusippus and Meleusippus, martyrs; Genulf or Genou, bishop; Julian Sabas, hermit; Sabinus of Piacenza, bishop; Richimir, abbot; Sulpicius II or Sulpice

on January 18: Prisca, virgin and martyr; Volusian, bishop; Deicolus or Desle, abbot

on January 19: Canute or Knute, king and martyr; Germanicus, martyr; Nathalan, bishop; Albert of Cashel, bishop; Fillan or Foelan, abbot; Wulstan, bishop; Henry of Uppsala, bishop and martyr

Fabian (died 250 A.D. under Decius; layman elected bishop of Rome in 236 A.D.; an "incomparable man" (St. Cyprian to Pope St. Cornelius) (January 20)

Sebastian: (died 288? A.D. at Rome under Diocletian); Christian soldier whose acta tell of his being pierced by arrows, later being clubbed to death. (January 20)

also on January 20: Euthymius the Great, abbot; Fechin, abbot; Eustochia Calafato

Agnes: (died beginning of the 4th c. A.D.); martyred under Diocletian at the age of 12 (so Augustine and Ambrose report): patroness of Christian virtue confronted by political and social violence; represented with a martyr's palm and a lamb (her name in Latin, agnus=lamb); today, two lambs, whose wool is used to make the pallia presented to newly appointed Metropolitan archbishops on June 29, are blessed; named mentioned in the Roman Canon. (January 21)

also on January 21: Fructuosus of Tarragona, bishop and martyr; Patroclus, martyr; Epiphanius of Pavia, bishop; Meinrad, martyr; Alban Roe, priest and martyr

Vincent: (died in early 4th c. A.D., at Valencia, Spain); deacon of the Church of Saragossa; protomartyr of Spain; patron of wine-producers. (January 22)

also on January 22: Anastasius, martyr; Blesilla, widow; Dominic of Sora, abbot; Berhtwald, bishop; Valerius of Saragossa; Vincent Pallotti, priest

on January 23: Emerentiana, virgin and martyr; Asclas, martyr; Agathangelus and Clement, martyrs; John the Almsgiver, patriarch; Ildephonsus, bishop; Bernard or Barnard, bishop; Lufthildis, virgin; Maimbod, martyr

Francis de Sales: (died 1622 A.D.); bishop of Geneva; sought to bring many back to the Church through his personal life and writings, especially his Controversies and several devout treatises, including his Introduction to the Devout Life; founder with St. Jane Frances de Chantal (18 Aug.) of the Visitation Order; patron of writers, journalists and the deaf. (January 24)

also on January 24: Babylas, bishop and martyr; Felician, bishop and martyr; Messalina, martyr; Macedonius

on January 25: Conversion of Paul, apostle; Artemas, martyr; Juventinus and Maximinus, martyrs; Publius, abbot; Apollo, abbot; Praejectus or Prix, bishop and martyr; Poppo, abbot

Timothy: (died c. 97 A.D.); First bishop of Ephesus, missionary, and companion of St. Paul. A native of Lystra, he was the son of a Jewish woman named Eunice and a Greek Gentile. Converted to the faith by St. Paul, he became a very valuable assistant and companion to him on several missions, such as those to the Corinthians and Thessalonians. (January 26)

Titus: (died c. 96 A.D.); A disciple and companion of St. Paul to whom the great saint addressed one of his letters. He was left on the island of Crete to help organize the Church. According to Eusebius of Caesarea in the Ecclesiastical History, he served as the first bishop of Crete. (January 26)

also on January 26: Paula, widow; Conan, bishop; Alberic, abbot; Eystein, bishop; Margaret of Hungary, virgin

Angela Merici: (died 1540 A.D. at Brescia); orphaned at 10; foundress of the Ursulines, the first teaching order especially for poor young girls; sought re-evangelization of families through education of future wives and mothers. (January 27)

also on January 27: Julian of Le Mans, bishop; Marius or May, abbot; Vitalian, priest

Thomas Aquinas: (died 1274 A.D.); O.P.; the "Angelic Doctor" who wrote the Summa Theologiae and authored Adoro te devote, O salutaris, Tantum ergo, and Pange lingua; patron of Catholic schools, colleges and universities, of philosophers, theologians and booksellers. (January 28)

also on January 28: Peter Nolasco, confessor; John of Reomay, abbot; Paulinus of Aquileia, bishop; Charlemagne; Amadeus, bishop; Peter Thomas, bishop

on January 29: Sabinian, martyr; Gildas the Wise, abbot; Sulpicius "Severus", bishop

on January 30: Martina, virgin and martyr; Barsimaeus, bishop; Bathildis, widow; Aldegundis, virgin; Adelelmus or Aleaume, abbot; Hyacintha Mariscotti, virgin; Mutien Marie Wiaux

John Bosco: (died 1888 A.D. at Turin); founded (1859 A.D.) the Salesians, today numbering over 17,500; dedicated to educating youth; with St. Mary Mazzarello, founded the Salesian Sisters; a pioneer in vocational training; patron of editors.(January 31)

also on January 31: Cyrus and John, martyrs; Marcella, widow; Aidan or Maedoc of Ferns, bishop; Adamus of Coldingham; Ulphia, virgin; Eusebius, martyr; Nicetas of Novgorod, bishop; Francis Xavier Bianchi