Mary, “Mother of God’s Word” and “Mother of Faith”

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MariaChristi

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After the Synod of Bishops in 2008 on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church” Pope Benedict XVI wrote his “Post Synodal Document” If you’ve never read it, you may be blessed reading it HERE. This is an excerpt:
Mary, “Mother of God’s Word” and “Mother of Faith”
  1. … we need to look to the one in whom the interplay between the word of God and faith was brought to perfection, that is, to the Virgin Mary, “who by her ‘yes’ to the word of the covenant and her mission, perfectly fulfills the divine vocation of humanity”. The human reality created through the word finds its most perfect image in Mary’s obedient faith… A Virgin ever attentive to God’s word, she lives completely attuned to that word; she treasures in her heart the events of her Son, piecing them together as if in a single mosaic (cf. Lk 2:19,51).
In our day the faithful need to be helped to see more clearly the link between Mary of Nazareth and the faith-filled hearing of God’s word. I would encourage scholars as well to study the relationship between Mariology and the theology of the word…The incarnation of the word cannot be conceived apart from the freedom of this young woman who by her assent decisively cooperated with the entrance of the eternal into time. Mary is the image of the Church in attentive hearing of the word of God, which took flesh in her. Mary also symbolizes openness to God and others; an active listening which interiorizes and assimilates, one in which the word becomes a way of life.
  1. Here I would like to mention Mary’s familiarity with the word of God. “The Magnificat – a portrait, so to speak, of her soul – is entirely woven from threads of Holy Scripture, threads drawn from the word of God… we see how completely at home Mary is with the word of God… She speaks and thinks with the word of God; the word of God becomes her word… Since Mary is completely imbued with the word of God, she is able to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate”.
… looking to the Mother of God, we see how God’s activity in the world always engages our freedom, because through faith the divine word transforms us…

As we contemplate in the Mother of God a life totally shaped by the word, we realize that we too are called to enter into the mystery of faith, whereby Christ comes to dwell in our lives. Every Christian believer, Saint Ambrose reminds us, in some way interiorly conceives and gives birth to the word of God: even though there is only one Mother of Christ in the flesh, in the faith Christ is the progeny of us all. Thus, what took place for Mary can daily take place in each of us, in the hearing of the word and in the celebration of the sacraments.
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When I think of Mary, I think of humility–and active receptivity. With her help, as we call on her, we can receive Jesus and His will for us. Then we can share this with others, as Mary shares Jesus with us.
 
Dear Brother Pat,

Thanks so much for your reply and your love for Jesus and Mary. Yes, Mary’s humility is the most beautiful of her virtues and astounding when we think of the Great Dignity God gave her to be His Mother!

However, what impressed me most in this excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI’s “Post Synodal Document” was his insight into “the need” for the faithul today “to see more clearly the link between Mary of Nazareth and the faith-filled hearing of God’s word.” His words urge all to listen and ponder God’s Word, as Mary did, that we may learn as Mary did:
… Mary is the image of the Church in attentive hearing of the word of God, which took flesh in her. Mary also symbolizes openness to God and others; an active listening which interiorizes and assimilates, one in which the word becomes a way of life.

Here I would like to mention Mary’s familiarity with the word of God. “The Magnificat – a portrait, so to speak, of her soul – is entirely woven from threads of Holy Scripture, threads drawn from the word of God… we see how completely at home Mary is with the word of God… She speaks and thinks with the word of God; the word of God becomes her word… Since Mary is completely imbued with the word of God, she is able to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate”.
… looking to the Mother of God, we see how God’s activity in the world always engages our freedom, because through faith the divine word transforms us…Every Christian believer, Saint Ambrose reminds us, in some way interiorly conceives and gives birth to the word of God: even though there is only one Mother of Christ in the flesh, in the faith Christ is the progeny of us all. Thus, what took place for Mary can daily take place in each of us, in the hearing of the word and in the celebration of the sacraments.
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Thankfully, Mary gives us help, so that we can actually listen, if we ask her.
 
Yes, dear brother, Mary is not only our Mother, but also the Model Jesus gave us. She helps us to “listen” to His Word as she listened and obeyed! 🙂 Let us continue to remain close to Mary that we may learn to be docile to the Holy Spirit as she was on this earth, and thus cooperate with all the grace given to us to come into ALL Truth!

I’m mindful of that beautiful hymn:

Mary the Dawn, Christ the Perfect Day;
Mary the Gate, Christ the Heav’nly Way!
Mary the Root, Christ the Mystic Vine;
Mary the Grape, Christ the Sacred Wine!
Mary the Wheat-sheaf, Christ the Living Bread;
Mary the Rose-Tree, Christ the Rose Blood-red!
Mary the Font, Christ the Cleansing Flood;
Mary the Chalice, Christ the Saving Blood!
Mary the Temple, Christ the Temple’s Lord;
Mary the Shrine, Christ the God adored!
Mary the Beacon, Christ the Haven’s Rest;
Mary the Mirror, Christ the Vision Blest!
Mary the Mother, Christ the Mother’s Son.
Both ever blest while endless ages run.
Amen.
 
It was Our Lady who brought me into the Catholic Church. I wish more people would hear her leading them to her Son.

Pray for us, o holy Mother of God!
 
Thanks so much for your reply, Lain!

I too wish more people would do as Jesus told John and all of us from His Cross: “Behold your Mother!” Looking at Mary as she is presented to us in the Gospels and especially standing at the Foot of the Cross is to see her in Truth: Mary is Mother and Model for the Church.

If more people would listen to Luke’s Gospel narrative of the Annunciation, and Mary’s words in the Magnificat as she visits her cousin Elizabeth, I believe they might begin to hear how God can work wonders in their own souls, leading them closer to Jesus, her Son.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
 
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Dear LumberJack,

The Gospels were originally written in Greek, with the exception that Matthew may have originally been written in Hebrew, but no Hebrew text of Matthew has yet been found. The Greek Matthew however is the earliest manuscript of his Gospel to be found. The Greek alphabet is NOT the SAME as the Latin alphabet (which is the same as our English alphabet.)

The Greek was translated into Latin so whoever devised the scheme of letters you’ve posted is devising his (or her) own outcome. It is sad to me that someone published such a thing. I’m surprised you would want to repeat it. Mary our Mother deserves only the greatest honor we can give her!

Today is the Feast of Mary’s Presentation in the Temple as a young girl. While this is not presented in the Gospel, it has been in the Tradition of the Church for centuries. Mary is Mother and Model for the Church, and I hope that many loyal sons and daughters will honor our God and the Mother He gave us on Calvary, today on this Feast of hers, and everyday.
 
I’m pretty sure John’s Gospel is titled ‘Iohannes’ in Latin.
 
MariaChristi said:
Mary’s words in the Magnificat
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The Magnificat is a beautiful piece of Scripture which also shows Mary’s education in the Scriptures as it draws upon various Old Testament sources but gives them new meaning.
 
I believe you are correct and want to thank you for being up this consideration, I’m definitely going to look more into this. Aces!
 
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