Mary a Woman of Substance

Even though not much is written in Scripture about Mary what is revealed is very telling, in that like her Son Jesus, she too lived to do the Will of the Father, and Mary did so with perfection.

It is the very silence of Mary that grabs one's attention, for if Mary had been quoted more often by the Apostles, would it have differed from what Jesus himself was teaching those around him?

When Mary says, "Do whatever he tells you", does this not express the entire concept and Messianic meaning of Jesus entire Salvific Mission? For upon hearing these words, what did the people gathered at the wedding do? They did exactly as Jesus told them to, and also exactly as Mary had instructed.

For the relationship between this Mother and Son was unique unto itself, never to be repeated, as God took human flesh in Mary's womb. This sealed the relationship between both Mother and Son, to undo the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve.

Through Mary's Fiat we have eternal life in her Son our Lord, and through Mary's obedience to God, we have the example of perfect conformity to the Will of the Father.

Mary's entire life was one of profound mystery through the Annunciation and of complete trust in God, even though at times the meaning of Jesus words remained hidden as Mary pondered them in her heart.

It is through Mary that we gain a greater insight in how to conform to the Will of God as she did, with total perfection. This would not have been easy for Mary, for like all Mothers she loved her Son dearly, and there must have been times when her heart would have been perturbed at the reception her Son received by others.

Mary's silence is a silence of substance, for why would Mary repeat her Son's every word, in that both Mother and Son were united and incorporated into the Divine Will. Mary in herself was not Divine, though God filled her spirit with Grace, but her Son Jesus, had both Divine and human nature.

It is Mary's silence that truly speaks volumes, in that she had no need to neither question her son nor query his actions, once his Mission had begun. For Mary knew her Son spoke the Word of eternal life, and she obeyed his every word not blindly but with complete filial trust and confidence in God, her Son.

Mary's entire life was spent in pointing and directing all attention to her Son, who had the words of eternal life. Her example to all who shared their life was to listen and obey with complete humility and docility the words her Son spoke.

The silence of Mary in Scripture is not because she had little to say, her silence lay in the fact that though Jesus was her Son, he was also God. Mary may have pondered many things in her heart but she never questioned God's love nor His Power to overcome evil.

And as Mary pondered in her heart in silence it was a silence of substance in the mystery of mysteries.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Mary Her Daily Life and Prayer

Mary's life would have been much like anyone else’s, in that she did not draw attention to herself, but simply got on with the job at hand. It would have been Mary and the women friends of Jesus who at times may have travelled ahead of Jesus and the disciples in order to provide a resting place for the tired men.

This meant a great deal of preparation; perhaps they also would have had a mule in order to carry some of their supplies. It meant a daily round of duties from sun rise to sun set, as they prepared meals, mended clothes and prepared a place of rest for her weary son and his disciples.

And upon reaching the place where they would spend the next few days Mary and the women most probably spent time at the nearest markets to buy such food as lentils, wheat, dates, olives, grapes, pomegranate's, onions etc as well as chickens, eggs, goats milk.

They then would have returned to make local unleavened bread by slapping the dough against a circular oven, in which they would then place the onions, lentils, pieces of meat perhaps with some goat cheese. Along with this after the main meal maybe some dates, almonds, honey, or watermelon would also have been served. Whatever was grown in season at that time.

The difference with Mary is that despite this workload, which was heavy indeed, in that there were no convenience as we enjoy today, Mary would have done all this without one single complaint, in that she had learnt to turn everything she did into a prayer. This provided a marvellous example to the women, whom journeyed with her and also the men in her spirit of gentleness, serenity and tranquillity. For like most things there would have been things that did not go right, days where accidents happened, all of this left Mary unflustered, as she simply took all these things the good and the bad equally from a Loving God.

Through all this activity and work Mary ennobles the most mundane tasks, and grants it the respect it deserves in that, everything we do must be done in a spirit of love and service to others, for that is the way Mary shows us.

Upon finishing the meals the women would have joined together in communal washing up. And I am sure with gentle humour and an equally gentle spirit, the women would have enjoyed this moment shared with Mary as they each worked uncomplaining in an environment of love and companionship.

After the evening meal and clean up was completed Mary and the rest of Jesus friends would have gathered around her son to listen to his stories, to learn from him, but also to enjoy moments of pleasant humour, before they retired for the night to pray to their Heavenly Father.

For both Mary and Jesus, lived lives of deep prayer, of a relationship with the Heavenly Father which went beyond the mere rituals of the Pharisees. And it is their example combined, which would be a great lesson for both disciples and female companions to emulate in their own lives.

But I am sure even in prayer, Mary's heart was not without its worries as she pondered in her heart the meaning of these precious words from her son and the prophecy of Simeon.

Peace of Christ to you ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.