Catholic Thought discussion

Step 9: Persevering in Faith (Revelation 12:1-17)

Mary’s “queenly position serves an important reminder that all Christ’s followers are called to share in his reign over sin and death.” She is “the first and model disciple, faithful from beginning to end.” To be part of Jesus’s kingdom one is called to “hearing God’s word and obeying it.”

Mary stands at the threshold from the Old to the New Testament. She represents both the old covenant with Israel and the new covenant people. Her appearance in royal splendor in heaven is her reward for being unfailingly faithful. The crown she wears is also given to all the saints who have persevered through many trials. All believers of Christ have the potential in receiving the same.

Conclusion: Her Last Words

Mary’s last words were at the Wedding Cana: “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5) These words are connected with covenant obedience and a complete trust in God.

For it is only when we walk in Mary’s footsteps as faithful disciples, doing the Lord’s bidding, that we will find, as Mary did, the happiness and fulfillment Christ has in store for all his followers and the crown of glory awaiting us in heaven.

Lately I've been fascinated by the queenliness of the Mary that we see in her various apparitions. Another side of her we don't see in the Bible, but all of her recorded words hint at her royal bearing even in her humble state. She is the kind of mother we should aspire to be.

Madeleine, I am so happy to read your post! I am sorry that I don’t know how to write to you on another Goodreads site and thank Manny and Kerstin for letting me post this.

A blessed Easter season to all members of Catholic Thought.

Blessed Easter season to you too Frances. I'm glad you're with us.

Frances, hopefully we get to pick up our computer today with no business lost over it. Technology is such a mixed blessing, isn't it. And wishing everyone here a glorious and blessed Easter season.

Sri makes a good point in Step 9:

"Finally, Mary is singled out in the Church as the only person named among the faithful disciples praying with the apostles in Jerusalem as they await the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14)."

That's a good point. You hardly ever see that mentioned. You hardly ever see that mentioned as a reason for the veneration given to our Blessed Mother. No one else is identified in the group, at least by name. It should be pointed out more often.

That's a great observation!

What is your overall impression of the book?

While I thought it started slow, much I already knew, when we got deeper into it I was pleasantly surprised. When one takes in all the translations of the Greek terms alone, it gives a much more comprehensive understanding of Mary. Sri presented to us the foundation from which Marian theology was built.

There is a tendency in some quarters to look at Mary in a rather saccharine manner, which was never appealing to me. What I admire about her is her quiet strength. To mothers especially, Mary models for us a form of leadership that is rock solid but at the same time deeply loving and nurturing. Sri has solidified for me that nowhere in the text do we find anything remotely touchy-feely about Mary.

I'm not quite finished but this grew on me as well as I read deeper. This is my third Marian book of the past twelve months. Maybe because I read Sri's last I had less to learn, since it was already covered in the others. Here's how I will ultimately rank them:

Walking With Mary by Edward Sri: 4 stars.
Hail Holy Queen by Scott Hahn: 4.5 stars
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary by Brant Pitre: 5 stars.

All good books. My eventual reviews will give their strengths ands weaknesses.

I did not know about the typological connection of Mary’s “Do whatever He tells you” at the Wedding Feast of Cana. This is also important.

When Moses first announces to the Israelites their mission and duties as God’s chosen people, the whole congregation responds, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exod. 19:8). And when God establishes this covenant with Israel in a ritual ceremony at Sinai, Moses solemnly announces the words of the Lord to the people, and the congregation twice again responds, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exod. 24:3, 7).

Similar words were repeated later in Israel’s history when the people renew their covenant as they settled in the Promised Land (Josh. 24:24), and later when they begin to rebuild Jerusalem after their exile in Babylon (Neh. 5:12). Thus, at the pivotal moments in Israel’s history—the covenant at Sinai, entering the Promised Land, and at the restoration of Jerusalem—doing whatever God says is paramount and is closely associated with covenant obedience.

This sheds light on Mary’s words at the wedding feast of Cana. At the dawn of the messianic era, another turning point in Israel’s history has arrived. As the Messiah is about to perform his first miracle and thereby launch his public ministry, we once again encounter the theme of doing whatever God says. Mary tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you,” and with these words, she echoes the profession of faith of Israel at Sinai.

That’s another typology I had not been made aware of until now. Yes, the Blessed Mother is telling us to listen to her son, but the context of the language in the Old Testament scripture enlarges the meaning by bringing in Israel’s history. But Sri points out even more.

Second, Mary’s words find a close parallel with what Pharaoh said about Joseph in the book of Genesis. During the severe famine in Egypt, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of storing up the wheat harvest in the plentiful years before the famine and distributing it once the food crisis arrived. When the starving people cry for provisions, Pharaoh tells them, “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do” (Gen. 41:55)—an expression that’s almost identical to what Mary would later say at Cana.

Here we see that Mary’s words are not just random and alludes to salvation, the saving of Jews from starvation. Only now the salvation refers to our everlasting salvation before God.

When we did this study with Dr. Sri, I remember his emphasis on how each of Mary's words or phrases is on one level words that should guide our own relationship with God. She is our mother, after all!