Mary's role in salvation history

MARY’S ROLE IN SALVATION HISTORY

Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB

            Mary holds a unique place in salvation history because it was through Her consent that our Lord Jesus was born. Some of our separated brethren, namely the Protestants would want to think that He was just a mere instrument in the birth of our Lord, as though to say that with the birth of Jesus, Mary’s role in the story comes to an end. But as we all know, such is not the case!

            A lot of study has been done on our Lady right from the early Fathers such as St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Justin and others till today. But what is it that has pushed some of these intellectual giants in the Church to understand the significance of our Lady? It is the Bible! Yes, dear friends, it is the Word of God that is and should become the source of all Marian theology, spirituality and devotion, which in other words, implies that all Marian discourse and piety should be more and more biblically inspired. What better example can one give other than our own Blessed Mother who was obedient to the Word of God in every sense of the term? This is what makes the personhood of our Lady so unique. 

            By Her ‘Yes,’ Mary was entirely fashioned by the Holy Spirit into a new substance and new creature and our devotion to Her is to lead us to be fashioned into new creatures by the same Holy Spirit. It was by Her ‘Yes’ that She became the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.

            She is the closest associate of Jesus that the Father chose for the work of salvation, not because She was the Mother of our Lord but because She was His most perfect disciple. Although Her presence may not be felt throughout the Gospels, She was present at the key moments in His life, namely, at His birth, childhood, adolescence, His first miracle at Cana, and at His death on the Cross.

            Given the intimate relationship between Her and the Holy Spirit, the Fathers of the Church have coined many titles to express this relationship, namely, “Temple of the Lord,” “Tabernacle of the Lord,” “Ark of the Covenant,” “Temple of the Holy Spirit” and so on. Besides, the significance of our Lady can also been seen in the Old Testament (i.e. Genesis and Isaiah) and in the Gospels in the New Testament. Thus having stated some of the reasons as to why our Lady is special, let us now try to understand Her role in salvation history.

            In the first place, it should be noted that Mary is not the centre of the mystery of Christ; She is found at the centre. Mary was totally at the service of the Christ and hence all Marian theology, spirituality and devotion should always have a reference to Christ as it has been affirmed in the encyclical, “Marials Cultus’ by Paul VI. The ultimate purpose of the devotion to the Blessed Virgin is to glorify God and to lead Christians to commit themselves to a life which is in absolute conformity to His will.

            Mary’s faith can be compared to Abraham’s faith whom St. Paul calls ‘our father in faith’ (Romans 4:12). In the salvific economy of God’s revelation, Abraham’s faith constitutes the beginning of the Old Covenant; Mary’s faith at the Annunciation inaugurates the New Covenant. Thus, just as Abraham “in hope believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations” (Romans 4:18), so was Mary, at the Annunciation, having professed Her virginity believed  that through the power of the Most High, by the power of the Holy Spirit, She would become the Mother of God’s Son in accordance with the Angel’s revelation, “The Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) Given the strong faith She had in God and the relationship between Herself and the Holy Spirit, the faith of Mary challenges our own faith for it was Her faith that was the cause of Her blessedness and certainty in the fulfillment of His promise.

           

            In 1 Timothy 2:5-6, it is written, “For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” Now, looking at this sentence may give on the impression that if such was the case, then why we need Mary as our Mother and intercessor, as though to say Jesus was said to be weak in some aspect or the other and that He needs someone else to support? To respond to that, we should remember that Mary, our Mother and intercessor, was the ‘generous companion’ in the work of redemption. She is the Mother to all of us by grace, as is found in the Gospel of John (Jn 19:25-27).

            To illustrate this point more clearly, allow me to highlight two important things, one from sacred scripture and the other from tradition respectively. From the point of sacred scripture, we have the incident of the Wedding at Cana. At Cana in Galilee, there is shown only one concrete aspect of human need, “They have no wine.” But the emptiness or absence of no wine has a symbolic value, that is to say, this coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing the needs within the radius’s of Christ’s messianic mission and salvific power. Thus, there is a mediation: Mary places Herself between Her Son and humankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts Herself, ‘in the middle,’ that is to say She acts as a mediator not as an outsider but in Her position as Mother. She knows that as such She can point out to Her Son the needs of humankind and in fact, She ‘has the right to do so.’ Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary ‘intercedes’ for humankind. Besides that, as a Mother, She also wishes the messianic power of Her Son to be manifested, that salvific power of his which is meant to help us in our misfortunes, to free us from the evil which in various forms and degrees weighs us down.

            Another essential element of Mary’s maternal task is found in Her words to the servants: “Do whatever He tells you.” The Mother of Christ presents Herself as the spokeswoman of Her Son’s will, pointing out those things which must be done so that the salvific power of the Messiah may be manifested. Thus, at Cana, Jesus begins ‘His hour,’ thanks to the intercession of our Lady and the obedience of the servants. At Cana, Mary thus appears as believing in Jesus; Her faith evokes His first ‘sign’ and helps to kindle the faith of the disciples.  

            From the point of tradition, we have the Holy Rosary. The Holy Rosary came about as a practice among the monks for those who were not able to recite the psalms which was mainly due to illiteracy. The Holy Rosary is not just a mere recital of words but it is just a honouring of Our Lord and our Blessed Mother as seen in the words, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with You, blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb Jesus.” Besides that, it is also a meditative prayer. Hence, if the contemplative aspect of the prayer is lost, then there is no value in praying it. By its very nature, the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of our Lord’s life as even through Her eyes, to whom She was the closest. In this way, the unfathomable riches of the mysteries will be unfolded.

            To conclude, the salvific role of our Lady as co – redemptrix has not ceased after the death of Her Son nor was it restricted only for that time. It continues till today also. She who was and is the perfect disciple of our Lord, knows the mind of Her Son. Her only exhortation to all of us is, “Do whatever He tells you.”