Jesus's Mother's Understanding

[Julius_Caesar]

So your saying God had no choice? He isn’t powerful enough to solve the problem with a wave of His hand? You and I believe in a different God then. He didn’t have to die, He chose to.

And it was a command He received from His Father.

 

[stpurl]

You need to be careful of the fine line of acknowledging that Mary is not God and is a creation (true) and of apparent disparagement by implication that because she is a creature that she would be ignorant in the sense of being ‘blindsided’ to God’s plan as opposed to not perhaps being aware of every single event that would occur, but being well versed enough as a Jewish woman and in being without sin herself and thus closer to God (being in a state of grace constantly) than you or I could ever be, and thus being open to God’s revelations on a much higher plane than we could be.

She pondered and kept these things in her heart. If a known theologian ‘ponders’ something, it’s not just idle speculation, it’s that he has knowledge and is considering events in light of that knowledge. Mary is the same.

 

[TMC]

Obviously we can’t know, although it is interesting to speculate about it.

I think the canonical texts weigh in favor of her having little understanding, at least until well into His ministry. Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph did not understand when Jesus was teaching at the temple, and that they did not understand His words to them at that time. Even during His ministry, Mark’s account of Mary and Jesus’ other relatives questioning His behavior suggests Mary’s had not come to an understanding yet. So, while we cannot be certain, its seems to me she arrived at her understanding of Jesus’ mission later.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

and of apparent disparagement by implication that because she is a creature that she would be ignorant in the sense of being ‘blindsided’ to God’s plan

Simeon’s words were amazing to both her and Joseph the text says

And she’s also confused when Jesus tells them straight up He has to be doing His Father’s business.

Her faith is what’s of note in the Gospels, not her understanding

Else Luke wouldn’t have mentioned that she pondered these things in her heart.

 

[stpurl]

Pondering something does not indicate a lack of understanding. Far from it. And your understanding of ‘confused’ is a bit confused itself. Please give Mary a little more credit and remember that we’re not playing games. Implying or stating that her faith is what’s noteworthy and not her understanding means you think it has to be ‘one or the other’ instead of both.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

Pondering something does not indicate a lack of understanding.

Pondering means trying to figure it out.

Far from it. And your understanding of ‘confused’ is a bit confused itself.

Luke says neither Mary nor Joseph grasped what He meant. So who is right, you or Luke?

Implying or stating that her faith is what’s noteworthy and not her understanding means you think it has to be ‘one or the other’ instead of both.

Or it’s just being faithful to what Luke writes.

 

[stpurl]

I second what another poster said. You do not appear to have a grasp on Mary and what Catholics teach, and you also with your statement about ‘what Luke wrote’ ignore that the Bible does not interpret itself. That is how Protestants, reading something and taking it literally where it meant figuratively or vice versa, or choosing to understand a word based on a modern interpretation or what ‘they’ thought it meant, managed to get rather lost.

As a De Montfort Consecree to Mary of some 15 years’ standing, I am rather sensitive to even the appearance (I am not saying you actually do this, merely that it could appear to be so) of her being given less regard than she should be, because doing so results in less regard being given to JESUS than it should be.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

I second what another poster said. You do not appear to have a grasp on Mary and what Catholics teach, and you also with your statement about ‘what Luke wrote’ ignore that the Bible does not interpret itself.

Do the four other posters who said what I said not have a grasp on what Mary is in the Church as well?

If we have to walk by faith, and if St Paul had to - then so, surely, did she have to. This way of looking at her is also how the Servant of God Frank Duff, the Founder of the Legion of Mary, saw her. I think that is good authority for seeing her in this way.

To me, her knowledge/understanding grew in time, keeping all in her heart.

So, while we cannot be certain, its seems to me she arrived at her understanding of Jesus’ mission later.

In short, Mama Mary became an understanding and a caring mother. Keeping all things in her heart and trusting the LORD.

 

[whatistrue]

Pondering means trying to figure it out.

Pondering means to think about carefully, especially before making a decision, not necessarily to “figure out” in the sense of coming to understanding.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

Pondering means to think about carefully, especially before making a decision

This concerns a memory, not a decision.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

5 - The Finding In The Temple | EWTN

“Mary kept these words of Jesus carefully in her heart.” She kept them in her heart, for there was the tabernacle in which she adored the mystery concealed in the words of her Son, waiting until the full light of understanding would be granted her.

So it seems I’m more consistent with Catholicism than you think.

 

[whatistrue]

A decision is not a required part of the process, or even the main point of the post; pondering is simply thinking about something carefully. It can be about a memory, or a proposed course of action, or an event, or, like The Brain, how to take over the world.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

pondering is simply thinking about something carefully.

And usually thinking about something carefully means grasping at its full imports.

 

[whatistrue]

grasping at its full imports.

Which is not the same as “trying to figure it out”, which has connotations of a lack of understanding, or even of confusion.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

“trying to figure it out”, which has connotations of a lack of understanding, or even of confusion.

Which Luke clearly implies and has been understood so by many Catholics.

 

[whatistrue]

Which Luke clearly implies

Apparently not so clearly to everyone.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

Apparently not so clearly to everyone.

There are many things that Jesus said that were clear that His listeners didn’t get. Like when He was twelve. Does that make Him any less clear?

 

[whatistrue]

I thought you said Luke said it, not Jesus. How about we don’t continue? I get the feeling that we are not really talking about the same thing anymore, if we ever were.

 

[Julius_Caesar]

I thought you said Luke said it, not Jesus

I gave an instance in which things weren’t understood and someone was being clear.

Apparently you didn’t get it.

You’ve proved my point.

 

[whatistrue]

You’ve proved my point.

If it pleases you to think so, even though that really doesn’t follow. This whole shifting statements thing has nothing to do with the original point.