y experience of being Catholic is that many non-Catholics tend to view Catholic practices as anti-biblical. Although all Christians accept Mary as mother of Jesus, there's uniqueness attached to Catholic respect for Mary which other Christians do not have. There is something in me that convinces me that Mary is more than being the mother of Jesus. We are often accused of worshipping Mary, a point many Catholics struggle to defend as honouring Mary. I concern myself with seeing beyond that which ordinary minds see and imbibe divine assistance to understand what Mary has offered the world. The bible itself is full of praise for what Mary did.
There's something that both Catholics and their non-Catholic friends can learn from the life of this woman who gave herself to save the world through Her Son. A well developed character speaks volumes of family upbringing. And we cannot love Jesus and hate Mary. It may not speak well of Christians in this generation.
So many times I have had to argue why the Blessed Virgin Mary is important to me and to the life of the Church. However several times my explanations on Mary truly ended on dead ends. But that should not be a great problem. Where the problem really lies is in the fact that the Catholic Church over the centuries recognized a great fact in the bible and stuck by it. And now Mary has been accepted as a symbol deserving honour.
Anyhow, there's something that tells me that every woman is Mary. I do not intend to label every woman as Mary, but the trend of activities surrounding the mother of Jesus is replicated in the life of every woman. I do not wait too long to inform my non-Catholic friends that there are lessons from Mary's life which have shaped Catholic theology and which every woman can learn from especially her adorable personality. This reality is my strong conviction that the Church, of course the Catholic Church, has not made a mistake in the case of Marian devotion.
Like every woman, Mary conceived her child in her womb for nine months, underwent labour pangs, and soon after brought Jesus into the world. If we continue with this premise we will realize that all women share a common bond of satisfaction at the first cry of their babies. Mary felt the same way at the birth of Jesus - the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Every mother is expected to breathe a sigh of relief with the birth of her baby. But much more than that, she begins an emotional journey with her baby all through the precarious stages of life.
Remember every woman undertakes childbirth not as a mere human activity but as a divine activity. The joy of bringing a new life into the world supercedes the pains of labour. And if every woman realizes that this divine act is sacrosanct, then it makes family life and womanhood respected for all time. A woman follows the stages of growth of her baby as a duty and she finds much joy assisting the baby to stand on his feet. When her child is doing well, the joy flowing in her heart is unbounded. But when the child does poorly in terms of relating with the world, the woman's heart alone suffers grief and scorn.
Mary suffered such scorn when her only son was innocently condemned, tied to the wood of the cross and died after a grotesque humiliation at the hands of Roman soldiers and vindictive Jewish officials. While His loved ones deserted him, Mary and the other women remained resilient in alleviating the pains of Jesus even on the Cross.
Mary is the mother of Jesus and Jesus is the Son of God, a fact that all Christians share. I did not say a fact to which all Catholics adhere. All Christians respect Jesus in his divinity and humanity. But why can't they recognize Mary as we do? Jesus had to come through the natural process of human birth, taking human flesh and living as man. This is theologically referred to as Incarnation - the enfleshment of God in human form.
Although Jesus is God, he humbled himself taking the form of a slave to be born in the flesh in order to redeem mankind. This involves Mary in the sense that Mary's blood runs through the veins of Jesus. Her whole life was dedicated to the nurturing of this 'little infant' whom she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. This singular action deserves commendation by the Catholic Church and it was quick to build devotion around this great woman whose qualities are exceedingly appreciated. We must learn to appreciate the value of our biological mothers and accord them the respect they deserve.
When I pray the rosary, I reflect on this great gift of God to mankind in which a woman willingly assisted in fulfilling the divine plan. It is in this regard that we Catholics accept Mary as an icon of faith, spewing many dogmas in her honour. I view Mary as the woman who inspires other women to respect their roles of child-bearing and child-rearing. It does not mean that non-Catholics do not practice this act of love, but that the difference becomes clear when Catholics deeply appreciate Mary's role and go ahead to demonstrate it by ardent devotion.
We do not discard her the moment Jesus is brought into the world. We accept her position as mother of Jesus and the mother of the Church with powers to influence what she can when we seek her favour. The bond of love between Jesus and Mary is equal to the kind that every woman experiences with her child.
The persuasion of a mother is much stronger and bends the child to do a mother's bidding. And for this singular act of devotion to respect Mary's sacrifices for Jesus and for the world, the battle line is drawn between the divides. But Mary has refused to leave the Church alone for recognizing her importance. Like any mother, she loves the Church as mother and intercessor.
Anytime I look at a woman, I see her first as mother and as progenitor of human life. Women by their nature interface divine activity and human activity. Unless women give birth to their children we cannot maintain the human species on earth and we cannot appreciate the act of God. This process makes the family very unique and irreplaceable.
Have you ever pondered what love a woman showers on her family members? Its unadulterated love sifted from moments of joy, pain and dedication. She stands in the middle of the family supplying love to her children on one hand and to her husband on the other. She balances this act by a special built in mechanism which tells her what to do, what to say, and when to act.
There is a divine sensor that propels a woman to behave for the sake of her family members even in total disregard of her own safety. The power of sensing danger many kilometers away is found in women for many reasons. This is why women can smell danger but cannot read maps. While men on the other hand, can read maps but hardly sniff danger in their backyard.
The greatest joy for women is the security and welfare of their children. If a woman feels relaxed, it's because her children are enjoying familial stability. And if she senses a lack of these ingredients, she becomes restless running from pillar to post to ensure that she does not fail. Even at great personal expense, she makes it expedient to make her children smile first before considering her personal satisfaction. This makes the role of the woman irreplaceable in child upbringing.
Men by their nature are hard-hearted, strong and domineering. If a woman finds a man to complement her kind-heart, energetic zeal and tenderness, she makes the home truly a home. The important thing for a woman is that a strong man ensures the welfare of her children and future growth. And we better accept the fact that women are stronger and better built for family life.
A man does not think of diapers when his wife is pregnant, but the woman already knows that the budget must accommodate this. She already begins a journey with this new life in her womb by literally planning his schedule. Eventually when the baby arrives she begins the arduous task of watching the developmental stages of this new life. When the baby takes the first steps she is there. When the baby begins to run, she is watching. And when baby begins to run around, she spreads her sensory tentacles watching over him.
Many times I contemplate the kind of chemistry running between mother and child and I wonder how these two individuals understand themselves? While the child is busy mumbling incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo, the mother is already interpreting what the child is saying. And they seem to get along pretty easy compared to when the father takes over. But that is the essential moment when mother and child enjoy an unbreakable bond that supercedes our wildest imagination. The origin of this bond is from God Himself who designed that women should use their frail bodies to tend human life and make it strong.
It does not make sense to underrate this position of women. Every child accords more respect to mother than to father for obvious reasons. Even though both cooperated in bringing new life into the world, the child knows that the mother is something else. Imagine Mary at the wedding of Cana in Galilee. She knew that Jesus' hour had not yet arrived yet she pleaded with him to assist the hosts because their wine was finished.
Every sane child must listen to a mother's plea. Jesus did exactly that. He performed his first miracle by turning water into wine because his mother served as mediator between an obedient son and a thirsty bunch of merry makers. Every person who tasted the water turned to wine wondered why they kept the best wine until then. Can you not see that the influence of Mary brought joy to many people at the wedding? Women today are providing unquantifiable amount of joy to different families. Are women not given the power of persuasion by God? Send a woman to make sales for your product and you make a success of your brand.
This makes our Catholic culture interesting. The brand we are selling is that of a woman whose love for us is manifested by her undying love for Jesus. Mary can do what we ask of her in prayers. And she's willing to approach Jesus to re-enact the episode of Cana for our advantage.
Mary takes our collective cry to God as an Intercessor not because God can be influenced by the power of a woman. But basically because God knows that the world needed a Mary to have a Jesus and He cannot ignore what He designed. Mary can contribute in renewing the world by her motherly instinct. When we seek the face of Mary in prayers, it's because we know that she can re-enact the Cana episode for our benefit. So we have the rosary and other forms of Marian devotions to achieve this objective.
Every woman loves to persuade her children into doing something positive. If conditions show her that their tomorrow is in great danger, she begins to seek ways of rectifying it today. Many women shed tears, live in agony and live lonely lives for their children.
The only option for most women is to support their children in moments of great depression knowing that their children desire a better life for a purposeful tomorrow. It's not a wasteful venture because when we sow a seed today we reap the fruits at the harvest tomorrow. Children know when a mother stands by them and they are quick to provide comfort for their patient mother.
This is precisely why I love the Catholic position on Mary. She is the quintessential woman who desires the good of all her siblings; always standing by their needs and assuring that their welfare is secured. I love to show that Mary represents all women in the sense of this urgency in ensuring that women tend their children with the best care possible. They make them smile in a family setting that makes them balanced as Jesus was. Every woman is Mary re-personified in terms of reaping the joys of motherhood and empathizing in moments of pains and sorrow.
Our world today is drifting away from recognizing that the stability of women in the family means better conditions for our children. I do not want to be disrespectful to the menfolk, but just imagine women abandoning childbirth, childcare and refusing to be mothers. Our world will be transformed into a Jurassic Park decimating the human population. And this is not the first time we are hearing this. Pope Paul VI elaborated this in his all time encyclical Humane Vitae in 1968. On the other hand, if women are seen as instruments of family stability, then we have conquered the fear of irresponsible children.
Have you ever stopped to reflect about the giggles of mother and baby? They both share a common innocence subsumed in moments of complete transformation from the realities of this world. They are seemingly unaware of the activities around them. The experience of this moment is a lifelong bond that they carry through eternity demonstrating the power of unity between mother and child.
Every woman must love to nurture her children and make them happy. Nothing can be far from this that every woman loves a happy family and when I see one it makes me happy too. I know that there are people out there who are committed to making it work. Mary stood by her son until death and so women must follow the same path and keep their children warm with confidence.
The joy of every woman is to find contentment and happiness in her family, with her children giving her joy under a very supportive husband. That should be the lesson we can take from the Holy Family of Nazareth, the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The binding force is Mary and she played her role with unalloyed obedience to the will of God. In the same way, women today must learn to bear the burdens of their families. Not so much as to be unloved or to suffer alone, but that through patience and perseverance they will reap the fruits of their labour.
History will remember what they have done and accord them rightful places for their diligence and dedication to the cause of familial life. Mary did exactly the same and she is never forgotten by the Catholic Church as found in the gospels. So we set out to demonstrate our respect for her magnanimity in numerous Marian feasts in her honour. Through these celebrations we recall how Mary consented to make the plan of God become a reality, how she bore the pains of seeing Jesus humiliated by the authorities and yet, she became a supportive figure in the life of Jesus until he was glorified at the resurrection, when He triumphed over evil.
It means that if every woman lives her life according to the will of God as a woman, mother and care-provider or love-giver and truly finds joy in raising happy children without breaking the divine ordinance, she too has unwittingly undertaken the kind of activity to which Mary consented to. In this sense every woman is Mary for respectfully obeying the authority of God by bringing forth life and nurturing it. But much more than that, developing the necessary shocks to bear with the vagaries of familial life down through the ages as a taste of womanhood, makes the woman a force to be reckoned with in the life of the world and the Church.
While I am not condemning my non-Catholic friends for their position on Mary, I equally urge them to make a greater effort to recognize Mary by celebrating her love for the world. Jesus came from Mary and She cannot be discarded in a hurry. I desire that every woman should stand up to her role and be counted among the chosen of God to bear life, nurture it and regenerate our world. Besides, a worthy son does not curse the efforts of a mother no matter the scorn. This is the work that God has designed for women. It is not demeaning or degrading, but rather fulfilling to see nothing grow to something before her eyes. Every woman should be Mary in character, disposition, deeds and posture by adding "salt to the earth" and bringing "light" to a darkened world. Anything short of this divine role for women is unacceptable and the Catholic Church has realized the consequences and done the right thing for centuries by promoting her as model for women. In this case, every woman is Mary modeled on divine principles never to be changed for generations to come.
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