Catholic Thought discussion

Step 3: Magnify the Lord (Luke 1:39-55)

To Mary is given a new mission, to be the mother of the Messiah. Her miraculous pregnancy shows that “for God nothing will be impossible.”
She leaves “in haste” to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, which in spiritual terms means “her joy and wonder over what God is accomplishing in Israel and in her own life by sending the Messiah-King.”
In a reversal of custom, it is Elizabeth, prompted by the Holy Spirit, who greets Mary first as “blessed among women”, before Mary can even properly greet the elder relative.
“Mary is associated with the ultimate fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. She is the “woman” whose son brings about the defeat of the devil…”
“The Mother of My Lord” refers to the queenship of Mary. In ancient Israel it was the mother of the King who was the queen, as kings had many wives. The queen was also an advocate of the people, she played an intercessory role, and this is how we still see her.
In Greek the word ‘magnify’ means “to make great” or “to extol or praise”. When Mary speaks she never talks about herself, but she expresses things in relation to God. This is her extraordinary humility.

Step 4: Keep and Ponder (Luke 2:1-20)

In the book of Micah it is foretold that the new king of Israel will be born in Bethlehem. God uses the political power of Rome to bring this about. The census which Luke mentions brings both Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where she gives birth.
“In the Bible the heart is more than a vital organ. It symbolizes the center of one’s thoughts, desires, and attentions. All actions flow from the heart. Mary is described as keeping and pondering all these things – these mysterious events surrounding her son’s birth – in her heart.”
In Greek the word for ponder ‘symballein’ means to “throw side by side” in the sense of meditating or contemplating. Mary tries to make sense what God’s design is in all that is happening to her, even if not everything is completely clear to her. “She patiently awaits further understanding.”

It was in these chapters that the book got interesting for me. I mentioned earlier that there wasn't that much I had not heard before. But in these chapters there is quite a bit that is new for me. For instance, on the Visitation.

Sri gives us two reasons why Mary went on her visitation to Elizabeth.

First, Luke informs us that Mary arose and went to visit Elizabeth. The Greek word for arose, anesteimi, means more than “get up.” It is used metaphorically here to describe the beginning of a new action. Elsewhere in Luke the word describes actions that imply great spiritual effort. The prodigal son, for example, “arose” and returned to his father, who welcomed him with a great feast (Luke 15:18, 20). Similarly, Levi the tax collector, in response to Christ’s call, left everything and “rose” (anastasa) to follow Jesus (Luke 5:27–28). So, too, Mary, after hearing from the angel the Lord’s call in her own life, “arose” and began her journey to visit Elizabeth. Like the son in the parable and Levi the tax collector, Mary is embarking on a new journey with the Lord as she assumes her new mission as the mother of the Messiah.

Second, Mary arose and went to the hill country of Judah. Here Luke uses a key word that has rich theological meaning in his narrative. Though the Greek word for went, poreuomai, itself means “to go or to walk,” Luke uses it elsewhere to describe a journey with a divine purpose, most notably Christ’s journey from Galilee to Judea, where his messianic mission is fulfilled (Luke 9:51; 13:22; etc.). Carrying the baby Jesus in her womb, Mary anticipates her son’s climactic journey from Galilee to Judea by making her own trek from Nazareth of Galilee to the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39), where she will proclaim the great works of the Lord.

Both these reasons require a scholar’s knowledge of the Bible, requiring knowledge of the original language and textual use of specific words that an average reader cannot notice. So the word “arose” carries great spiritual depth and “went” echoes a divine journey.

I am continuing to find in Steps 3 and 4 challenges to change my life.

Relevant Quotes:

"Only when we are convinced, like Mary was, of how little we can really do on our own and how utterly dependent we are on God can the Lord begin to act in magnificent ways in us and through us."

"Right at the beginning of her maternal mission Mary gets a taste of the affliction and rejection her son will endure. The message of the Nativity foreshadows the message of the cross. It is this message that Mary keeps and ponders and will come to understand more fully over time.
Unlike Mary, however, many of us overlook the deeper meaning of the events unfolding in our lives."

To be honest, I don't have much to say about this book other than it provides answers to questions I was never even smart enough to ask. Like accepting the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans and then one day someone explains why and how it doesn't fall over and then realizing you never even thought to ask. You just accepted that it was there and leaning.

I know what you mean Casey. While I am learning some new things, it does not feel deep for me so far. I had recently read two other books on Mary which felt much deeper. Scott Hahn's Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God and Brant Pitre's Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah.

Pitre's book is definitely five stars. If you're going to read one book on Marian doctrines, it's Pitre's Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary.

In fairness to Sri, though, I think his book was to be a blend of Mariology and devotions to contemplate.

Manny wrote: "I know what you mean Casey. While I am learning some new things, it does not feel deep for me so far. I had recently read two other books on Mary which felt much deeper. Scott Hahn's [book:Hail, Ho..."

It is nice and gentle but not POW! But nice and gentle is good, too. And not normally something seek out. Perhaps I should.

This book feels like a nice primer on Mary. Many things are familiar, but some interpretations are new. If you don't know much about her, this is a good place to start.

I'm continuing to enjoy learning from scholarly interpretations of text based on its original langauge. Even something as simple as the word "ponder" offered me a new understanding of how deep and insightful Mary was as a person. Sri says ponder - symballein - "depicts someone meditating, comparing ideas, putting his or her thoughts together in a comprehensive whole."

Something else struck me as crucial for helping non-Catholics understand our belief in Mary as Queen of Heaven. In Step 3, Sri says people in the biblical world automatically knew that a king's mother was the rightful queen: "Mary would have been understood to be the queen in her son's kingdom. In ancient Israel the queenship in the Davidic kingdom was bestowed not on the king's wife but on the king's mother."

I have tucked that knowledge away for use next time a non-Catholic challenges me about our devotion to Mary.

Celia wrote: "I am continuing to find in Steps 3 and 4 challenges to change my life.

Celia, I agree we often fail to understand the deeper meaning of events taking place in our life. Maybe it's because we're too close to them as they happen? Or don't want to see what's in front of us? I try to follow Mary's example of pondering and accepting but I fall short.

Manny, I have the Pitre book on my Kindle and started it but for some reason stopped. I'll return to it, I'm sure. One book on Mary that I very much enjoyed was Michael Hesemann's "Mary of Nazareth: History, Archaeology, Legends." It's not church scholarship, as critics noted, but it's fascinating and helped round out - for me - Mary's portrait as a real person who lived and walked the earth. I'm a real fan of archaeology and history, though, so I'm especially drawn to that type of book. I just bought Hesemann's Jesus of Nazareth book but haven't yet read it. I appreciate that he writes from a Catholic perspective.

Oh yes Gerri. The queen in ancient Israel was not the King's wife. It was the King's mother. If you go king by king in the two books of Kings and the two books of Chronicles, you will see that along with the king, each queen mother is named, not the king's wife. So if by typology Jesus is King of heaven and earth, Mary, the queen mother, is Queen of heaven and earth.

Not only that, people who wanted to make special requests to the king would go to the queen mother for her special advocacy to the king. The King would listen to his mother. So we go to Queen Mary as our most gracious advocate to Jesus.

Gerri wrote: "One book on Mary that I very much enjoyed was Michael Hesemann's "Mary of Nazareth: History, Archaeology, Legends." ."

Thanks Gerri. I just put that book on my to read list.

Gerri wrote: "Celia wrote: "I am continuing to find in Steps 3 and 4 challenges to change my life.

Celia, I agree we often fail to understand the deeper meaning of events taking place in our life. Maybe it's be..."

Thanks Gerry.

Years ago I read Joseph Ratzinger's (and Hans Urs von Baltasar's) Mary: The Church at the Source, It is a tour de force. I enjoyed it immensely, and perhaps we could read it together someday.