Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
There are more than a few women in the Gospels named Mary but our devotions single out the Mary who is most blessed among women, whose womb bore the most blessed of all men. We love to say her name, to speak of her to others, and to invoke her most holy name in our prayers.
We do so modestly, without bombast or boast; but we insist that we know the Lady. She is our daughter, sister, mother, neighbor, and friend. She is named Mary several times in the Gospel of Luke but she is addressed as Mary only once, by Angel Gabriel, when he reassures her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."
The Angel greeted her with "Hail, Full of Grace!" And Elizabeth called her, "the mother of my Lord." But perhaps the kindly angel, whose rank was vastly inferior to the future Queen of Angels, dares to call her so directly, without the titles, as he recognizes her fright. His "Mary" reassures her as the same name reassures us when we call on her.
Despite the august importance of her name, we dare to speak it with the same daring that the Lord gives us when the priest says,
At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say: "Our Father who art in heaven...."
We should appreciate the extraordinary grace of our extraordinarily gracious God who has invited us to pray daily and many times a day, with the Most Holy Name of Mary. And like children, we can come to her with even the smallest needs and slightest desires.
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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.