the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
I understand many new books about the Blessed Mother are being written, and there are many theological studies -- in Protestant circles. Worship of a man born in the ancient world must lead to fascination with his mother, and what little we know about her.
Historical research gives us only a few clues. She would have known poverty and hard work; she would have seen and survived violence. Everyone in that place at that time saw violence.
Recently, as the world buried Nelson Mandela, we have considered how violence usually breeds more violence -- and sometimes witnesses the birth of truly peaceful persons.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph were such people.
This is the work of God. No rational person can suppose that war must lead to peace. If the end of the Civil War bound warring states into The United States, it could not suppress racism, segregation, the Ku Klux Klan, and linchings. The war still lingers in "second amendment rights" and its cost in human lives.
God's goodness -- pure and beautiful and freely given -- finds willing persons and blesses them with peace. Such a woman was Mary. She could not imagine the trials she would suffer and the horror she would see, but she did not hesitate to accept the prophetic mission God gave her.
Historians can tell us very little about Mary. There is little "hard data." But theologians, poring over the Word of God as we find it in Scripture, tell us much. She is the Queen of Peace. She is the Mother of Mercy. She is theotokos, the Mother of God.
Even without the infancy narratives of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke, Christians would have to say,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.”
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.