The life of the Christian is a life of prayer. When we pray, we do not pray alone. We are directing our prayer to God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we make our prayers as members of the one Body of Christ. And so, when we pray, we pray as a family.
The mystical family of the Body of Christ is united in its adoration and praise of God. It is also united by the internal prayers that are offered by some members of the body to others. For example, the glorified members of the body are now dwelling in the direct presence of God. Those members of the body who are still in this life can turn to them and ask for their help, intercession, and spiritual friendship.
Such internal conversation is preeminently seen in the prayers that are offered by the body to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the mother of the eternal Son and the mother of the entire body.
Christians can be comfortable praying to Mary since she lives eternally as the handmaid of the Lord. She gives all praise to God. We can ask for her help and unite with her in giving adoration to God. Mary can teach us and guide us in the way of prayer.
When we pray to Mary, there are two movements. The first is the praise that surrounded the life of Mary. The second is our trust and comfortability with Mary because she gave her son his humanity.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church applies these two movements to the popular prayer, Ave Maria, the Hail Mary: “This twofold movement of prayer to Mary has found a privileged expression in the Ave Maria.”
The Catechism then gives a rich biblical context for the two movements and to the traditional prayer. It begins with the salutation: “Hail Mary [or Rejoice, Mary]: the greeting of the angel Gabriel opens this prayer. It is God himself who, through his angel as intermediary, greets Mary.”
As we make the prayer, the Catechism gives the stark observation: “Our prayer dares to take up this greeting to Mary with the regard God had for the lowliness of his humble servant and to exult in the joy he finds in her.”
The Catechism then continues: “Full of grace, the Lord is with thee: These two phrases of the angel’s greeting shed light on one another. Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. The grace with which she is filled is the presence of him who is the source of all grace. ‘Rejoice . . . O Daughter of Jerusalem . . . the Lord your God is in your midst.’”
The point is being made that Mary’s holiness and grace is the very holiness and grace of God since he dwells with her. This emphasis puts everything in their proper place. Mary is holy because of God.
The Catechism moves on: “Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the ark of the covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells. She is ‘the dwelling of God . . . with men.’ Full of grace, Mary is wholly given over to him who has come to dwell in her and whom she is about to give to the world.”
Mary’s life is an act of love and adoration to the God who dwells with her. She is the living Ark of the Covenant.
The Catechism continues: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. After the angel’s greeting, we make Elizabeth’s greeting our own. ‘Filled with the Holy Spirit,’ Elizabeth is the first in the long succession of generations who have called Mary ‘blessed.’ ‘Blessed is she who believed….’.
Elizabeth saw the presence of God in Mary and she gave expression to her joy. Mary became a way for Elizabeth, the barren-woman-turned-mother, to praise God.
The Catechism continues: “Mary is ‘blessed among women’ because she believed in the fulfillment of the Lord’s word. Abraham, because of his faith, became a blessing for all the nations of the earth. Mary, because of her faith, became the mother of believers, through whom all nations of the earth receive him who is God’s own blessing: Jesus, the ‘fruit of thy womb.’”
As with father Abraham, so with mother Mary. The holy ones always lead us to God. We can trust them.
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