Mary, Model of Discipleship: 3rd in a Series on the Self-Referential verus Out Ward Looking Church

The Visitation: Fra Angelico 1433-34

If I've had an overwhelming preoccupation over the last few months it's been with unpacking what Pope Francis means by rejecting a self-referential model of the Church. It's been such a preoccupation that this is the third installment touching upon that theme (the first two can be found here and here). It came up in the Holy Father's apostolic exhortation, and the new Rector Major of the Salesians, Don Angel Fernandez, along with the latest general chapter of our congregation have also commented on this reality. Yet this is an elusive term. At its core it's reminding us, 1: not to not be stuck in a maintenance mode in which we judge success strictly by quantifiable numbers that may not truly reflect lived reality. 2; It is calling us to put dogma, liturgical norms and canonical procedures in perspective. All are meant to help us understand and live out our life in Christ in a more effective, profound way. But if we don't know Christ first, then what should be loving fidelity becomes a slavish consistency with no greater purpose than our own self satisfaction. 3: When we lead our dialogue with the world with dogmas, "rules" and arguments from authority instead of the person of Jesus we end up speaking past a culture that doesn't trust authority, loathes rules and doesn't believe in truth.

In this article I write about the Blessed Mother as the model of discipleship in Christ. I don't mention the struggle between being a self-referential, maintenance church as opposed to being an outward looking, missionary church explicitly, but I think it helps to read it with that reference point in mind. Mary is never someone concerned with her own "hangups," but points us to Christ. As disciples, we are called to do the same. 

As we come to the end of May, and celebrate the Feast of the Visitation, we conclude the Month of Mary.  I was unaware that this custom of dedicating the fifth month of the year to Our Blessed Mother is relatively new: originating with the Jesuits of Rome in the last decades of the 1700's, and becoming more widespread around the world during the following century, especially after the publishing of a series of encyclicals on the Rosary by Pope Leo XIII between 1883 and 1889.

It's certainly no mistake that May became dedicated to Our Lady. Spring is in full force, with finally pleasant temperatures settling in after the fits and starts of April, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. Flowers are in bloom and the leaves have sprouted on the trees. There is newness and purity mixed with profound fertility; the very image of what Mother Mary represents. She is forever young and new, yet wise, tender and mothering. Her virginity wasn't something guarded as a prize or a source of pride. It did not close her off into her own world, but drew her out into the heart of the community her Divine Son called into being. 

Her presence is still felt in the life of the Church, as she does her Son's bidding: at Tepeyac, appearing pregnant to St. Juan Diego, in word and symbol she assured the people of Mesoamerica that she was indeed their mother who was about to "give birth" for them the true Light of the World who was greater than any of the gods they had previously served. In exchange for gods who asked for the blood of their children, she offered her own Son who gave His Precious Blood for the life of the entire world. At Lourdes she confirmed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and offered hope by way of the healing springs of that place. At Fatima she warned of calamity if people didn't turn back from sin and followed her Son anew.

But before the apparitions we have Mary acting in Scripture. Her actions give us the model of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

The Annunciation: Henry Ossawa Tanner: 1898

1. Mary Listens, Ponders, Responds

At the moment the angel visited her, Mary was startled and confused. Many an artist and theologian has pondered what exactly the encounter may have been like, from paintings depicting a calm girl conversing with a winged angelic figure, to a frightened young woman before a shaft of light (as staged in Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth, I'm told inspired by the writings of Cardinal Carlo Martini). 

Whatever was sensible to Our Lady, the experience can only be thought of as extraordinary, and not just because of the supernatural nature of the encounter. Mary is given a proposal very different than any other in Scripture. She is to have a child yet remain a virgin. There are many stories of other women who had children after being though too old or sterile. But never before had God made such a promise. 

Mary does not respond at once. She questions how this can be since she is a virgin, not yet living with Joseph, though betrothal legally bound them. Unlike Zechariah, who is punished when he asks how he and Elizabeth can be parents in their old age, the angel entertains her question. What God was offering Zechariah was not so out of the ordinary in relation to how God had worked up to that point, and really wasn't so unreasonable when you think about it. As a priest Zechariah should have known this. But what he was proposing to Mary was beyond anything God had done since the creation itself. Saying yes to God's request would open the girl to reticule, rejection and possibly death. To this day I believe that the Virgin Birth is possibly the greatest obstacle to faith because it seems so fantastic. Even some who profess faith in things like Jesus' miracles and the Resurrection try to explain it away. So Mary questions, and though the answer is simple, and probably insufficient in many ways, she makes her famous Fiat.

Mary listened, pondered, and then responded positively, even if she didn't have all the answers. God asks the same from us as disciples. God calls, we are to discern and ponder, but all the discernment in the world will not ready us for what lies ahead. With faith we give our "let it be" to God and follow the best we know how.

2. Mary Receives the Lord and then Goes Out to Serve Others

On the feast celebrated today we remember Mary, who is now caring Jesus in her womb, visiting her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist, greets her young cousin with joy. In this encounter Mary is showing us that letting Jesus into our life does not call us to look inward. We are called to be reflective, prayerful and meditative, but not closed off. Being a disciple means going out into the world and cooperating in the works of the Kingdom. 

Mary understands the many great works of God through the centuries, as reflected in her song of praise, the Magnificate. It is God who established justice, and uses those the world looks upon as worthless to fulfill his saving plan. Saying yes to Jesus means being ready to witness to Him by our acts of charity and striving for justice. Mary's yes led her to be a missionary servant, assisting those in need and proclaiming the glory of God.

All Christians have this call to be missionary servants by virtue of their baptism. Even if we are very young or very old, or live a life that demands we stay close to home, it is possible to fulfill this call. Therese of Lisieux made one pilgrimage to Rome as a child, but beyond that never left France and spent the last decade of her life behind the walls of a momentary, yet she prayed fervently for the missions. Her concern for evangelization was so deep during her life that she is now one of the patron saints of the worldwide missions, along with Francis Xavier. So whether we go to foreign lands, move about our own country or never leave our block we can share this call to be missionary servants with Our Lady.

3. Mary Points Out Jesus, Not Herself. Mary Gives us Courage to Pray

At the Wedding Feast at Cana Mary is presented with a dilemma.The young couple celebrating their marriage has run out of wine. We aren't given a head count, but we have to imagine that there are many people who have joined them for the blessed event. It's a great embarrassment, so not knowing what else to do they turn to Mary. In confidence she goes to her Son for help. Jesus seems indifferent to the plight of the newlyweds. But at her quiet insistence Jesus doesn't simply fix an awkward social situation but performs the first of his signs that reveal who he is and what his mission is about. 

Mary doesn't live for herself. She isn't about self promotion. She never confuses her role; she's there to point the way, not to take center stage. Does she take our part and plead for us? Surely. But more than anything she wants to show us that Jesus is the one that offers us the new wine of His eternal covenant. Through Him we are given the well spring of grace that satisfies our deepest thirst. 

She also teaches us the importance of prayer. When she first went to Jesus with the newlywed's situation He didn't want to get involved: This was not the time to reveal himself. Yet upon her request He does perform this sign. The stone jars used for ceremonial washing represented the Old Covenant; good, but only a foreshadowing of what Christ had to offer. The miraculous vintage was the New Covenant; potent, effective. Not a sign of grace but grace itself. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, the Temple sacrifices in Jerusalem were repeated year after year, but the blood of goats and heifers had no power to forgive sins. The ceremonial washings were a bodily cleansing that reminded people of God's mercy, but the regenerating waters of Baptism actually forgives sins. All this would be fully realized as a result of Jesus' Passion. Jesus had a plan for how and when he would begin to make things clear to His followers, but Our Lord "moves up" his schedule at Mary's intercession.

We too should be unafraid to pray. In the Our Father we pray that God's Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Surely we are praying for peace and justice now; that when Jesus returns he finds faith on earth, and a society shaped by charity and justice. But we are also praying for the Kingdom that only Christ can establish. One where justice and peace are not relative terms but permanent, objective realities. This will only happen when Jesus returns as he left on the day of His Ascension. God knows the day and the hour, and in the end it's all under His control, but that we are to pray for the Second Coming means that our prayers can hasten the event. 

So we shouldn't be afraid. Pray without ceasing and in total confidence. As long as what we're asking for is in accord with God's will He will listen. And if it fits in with God's plan it will be done. 

And of course we should not be afraid to go to Mary to pray for us. She is our Mother who cares for us. Our Blessed Mother who loves us. As we conclude this Month of Mary, let us be renewed in our devotion to her, and imitate her virtues. 

The Marriage at Cana: Marten de Vos, 1597