#7 - St. JPII's Meditation on Mary

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In typing the title for this thread I almost wanted to make it: “St. JPII’s Meditation on Mary, to Jesus, for us!” Reading the end of Chapter 4, I can see why he described this letter as a Meditation, realizing to know Jesus through Mary is to understand ourselves:

…In the tradition of faith and of Christian reflection throughout the ages, the coupling Adam-Christ is often linked with that of Eve-Mary. If Mary is described also as the “new Eve”, what are the meanings of this analogy? Certainly there are many. Particularly noteworthy is the meaning which sees Mary as the full revelation of all that is included in the biblical word “woman”: a revelation commensurate with the mystery of the Redemption. Mary means, in a sense, a going beyond the limit spoken of in the Book of Genesis (3: 16) and a return to that “beginning” in which one finds the “woman” as she was intended to be in creation, and therefore in the eternal mind of God: in the bosom of the Most Holy Trinity. Mary is “the new beginning” of the dignity and vocation of women, of each and every woman.

A particular key for understanding this can be found in the words which the Evangelist puts on Mary’s lips after the Annunciation, during her visit to Elizabeth: “He who is mighty has done great things for me” (Lk 1:49). These words certainly refer to the conception of her Son, who is the “Son of the Most High” (Lk1:32), the “holy one” of God; but they can also signify the discovery of her own feminine humanity. He “has done great things for me”: this is the discovery of all the richness and personal resources of femininity, all the eternal originality of the “woman”, just as God wanted her to be, a person for her own sake, who discovers herself “by means of a sincere gift of self”.

This discovery is connected with a clear awareness of God’s gift, of his generosity. From the very “beginning” sin had obscured this awareness, in a sense had stifled it, as is shown in the words of the first temptation by the “father of lies” (cf. Genesis 3:1-5).At the advent of the “fullness of time” (cf. Gal 4:4),when the mystery of Redemption begins to be fulfilled in the history of humanity, this awareness bursts forth in all its power in the words of the biblical “woman” of Nazareth. In Mary, Eve discovers the nature of the true dignity of woman, of feminine humanity. This discovery must continually reach the heart of every woman and shape her vocation and her life.

Please remember, while St. John Paul II is reflecting here on feminine humanity, Mary is also Mother and Model for the entire Church. Both men and women need to ponder this letter. Both must find their own unique personhood in the gift of self to the other. Each has a unique gift, the other needs!

 

[GLam8833]

Thanks for this meditation, MariaChristi!! Mary
realized her true calling when the Angel Gabriel
announce to her God’s plan, and she accepted!!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks for this meditation, MariaChristi!! Mary
realized her true calling when the Angel Gabriel
announce to her God’s plan, and she accepted!!

Dear GLam,

Pope St. John Paul II has such God-given insights into the mystery of our Mother Mary’s life and role in the Mystical Body of Christ! It is no wonder the Church teaches Mary is both Mother and Model for the entire Church – not just for women!