St. Michael’s RCIA

Session notes – Monday January 14

Mary: Our First and Most Perfect Mother

Chapter 14 of United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Presented by Father Kris

• Session opened with the Canticle of Mary – Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.

He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.

He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,

according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

• Mary is a unifying figure for the church. She is:
• A mother figure
• Someone who experienced much trial and suffering at a young age
• Someone who had so much trusted to her at a young age
• Perhaps the greatest example of faith and trust in God’s plan
• Someone who deeply understands Christ
• Human – someone we all can relate to

• We see many faces of Mary, but we really see her best – her faith, feelings, wisdom – in the Canticle. It is often the morning prayer the priests say at the church, and it captures what God’s love is all about.

• Mary was by most accounts 13 or 14 when she was betrothed to Joseph and gave birth to Jesus

• Mary is not God or Goddess – human, not divine. One of the greatest among humankind. We don’t worship her, but we ask her to look out for us and intercede on our behalf – as a “mediatrix.” Sometimes might think of her as “the best lawyer you’ve ever had.”

• Almost every country celebrates the Blessed Mother in their own way, and she has many titles and vocations attributed to her

• Without her “fiat” – Mary’s saying to God “may it be done according to your word” when he came to her (Luke 1:26-38) – nothing else would’ve happened. Through Mary came salvation, and she has been called “The New Eve.” Through Mary, the word of God became flesh.

• Mary’s trust of the Lord in that situation is almost hard to imagine now. It is beautiful, amazing, mysterious – something we won’t be able to comprehend until we meet the Lord and will find out without even having to ask.

• God honors our free will, so Mary had a choice. Through her “yes,” God invites us to be participants in our own salvation – but again, it’s our choice.

• Mary is the Mother of faith, stewardship, discipleship. The greatest example of faith there is.

• There are two locations thought to be Mary’s tomb – one in Jerusalem and one in Antioch, Turkey

• Assumption of Mary: In 1950, it became an official dogma of the Catholic Church as defined by Pope Pius XII: "[...] We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."

• Protestants and Catholics are somewhat divided about the prominence of Mary and her role in our faith history. Catholics place much more prominence on Mary.

• In the Catechism…
• CCC 456: In the Nicene Creed, "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."
• CCC 488: Mary’s predestination, "God sent forth his Son," but to prepare a body for him, he wanted the free cooperation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, "a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."
• CCC 491: Mary’s Immaculate Conception. She was conceived without sin.