blessed virgin mary – Catholic Writers Guild

The Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary—The Most Humble Person who ever Lived

August 7, 2018/0 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing/by Larry Peterson

We know that the Blessed Virgin Mary was, without doubt, the perfect disciple of Jesus in the practice of all virtues. Ironically, the most profound and important of all the virtues, the actual bedrock of their very existence, is the virtue of humility. We never really hear of this virtue in relation to Our Lady even though it is the one virtue that places her above all other creatures (excluding Her Son) from the beginning to the end of time. St. Bernard says, “Humility is the foundation and guardian of the virtues, and with good reason, for without it no other virtue can exist in a soul.”

For some reason, the great feast of Our Lady of Humility is not celebrated very much today. Matthew 11:29 reads, “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am Meek and Humble of Heart …” The first true disciple of Jesus is His very own Mother.

Humility is probably the most difficult virtue of recognizing because the more profound it is in a person, the less visible it presents itself; willingly and quietly going to the back of the line so others can go first might be an example. In our present-day world, we are aware that exaltation and devotion are given to our Blessed Mother. However, her life on earth was not that way at all. And this is where we must look so we can understand the virtue of humility as practiced by the Mother of God. That is because all virtues for our common Catholic/Christian life can be found in Mary.

If we look at Our Lady’s life, we can see that everything she ever did was predicated on grace. Her words to the Angel Gabriel were, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word.”

A handmaid is a servant and Mary immediately gave herself over as the “handmaid of the Lord.” From that moment forward she would do only what her God asked and would remain ever ready to fulfill any further wishes, never using her unique position to promote herself or her own ambitions.

How many of us have undertaken personal quests because we are driven by our pride? We might perceive ourselves as “great” singers, or athletes, or writers, or doctors, and even become jealous of those who attain loftier positions or more praise than we do. Even priests and religious have aspired to lofty positions, not because of grace but rather, because of their own vanity.

There are many sets of virtues within the Catholic faith. Among those virtues are the Contrary Virtues. Foremost among these are humility against pride. The great evil of pride is that it causes us to be unable to detach ourselves from the good works we are actually doing. For example, knowing the public praise you might receive for completing a certain project becomes your motivation to help others, causing you to become a slave to your own pride. The “good work” was not done for the glory of God but rather, for the aggrandizing of yourself.

If we step back and do our best to look at the Blessed Mother’s humility, we see that all she ever did was to love and serve God: always, and at every moment. She was a selfless homemaker taking care of her husband and her son. She quietly and dutifully observed her position and her Jewish faith. She knew who she was and was aware of what her purpose had become. She was with Jesus as he went through His passion and death. She was at the foot of the Cross when He died for us. She held His lifeless body, cradling His bloodied head in her motherly arms.

There are “good works” for which we are not called. Pride steps in and drives us to do things that may lead to impatience, criticism of others, gossiping, back-biting, and other sinful things. If we work on building our humility we can grow to fear this type of behavior.

How can we build and reinforce our humility? We should immediately turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is our Mother and will help us. Her example is one of selflessness — always selflessness. Everything she did was out of obedience and for the glory of God. Let us contemplate Our Lady more each day. Let us also strive to follow, even though unattainable, her virtue of Perfect Humility.

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Humility, also known as The Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is July 17.

Our Lady of Humility, pray for us.

Did Jesus Appear to His Mom after He Rose from the Dead? The Gospels never mention it.

April 3, 2018/2 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Easter, Faith/by Larry Peterson

Easter was two days ago, and on that glorious morning we heard from the Gospel of John.

“Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciples He loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb and we do not know where they have put Him.” (John 20:1-9)

The gospel read at the Easter Vigil is from Mark 16: 1-7. In this gospel, Mary Magdalene and Salome have gone to the tomb to anoint Him. This is when the angel appears to them, and tells them He has risen and to go and tell His disciples.

The following week, on the Second Sunday of Easter ( Divine Mercy Sunday), the gospel is once again from John, this time John 20:19-31. This is when, with the doors locked, Jesus appears to all of them (except “doubting” Thomas). Interestingly, someone is never mentioned in any of these gospel readings. That someone is Jesus’s mom, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

So where was she when Jesus rose from the dead? She was His mother. She was nearby throughout the Passion and watched Him carry His cross. She watched as they drove the nails through His hands and his feet. She stood agonizingly and helplessly by as He was raised on the cross. For three hours she stood there watching every drop of blood leave her boy’s body. She was at the foot of the cross when He died.

No mom should ever have to witness such cruelty heaped upon her own child. Who could have loved him more than she? Doesn’t it seem absolutely unquestionable that the first person who Jesus appeared to after He rose was His Mother? Yet there is not a single mention of the Blessed Virgin in the Resurrection narratives.

In 1931, Pope Pius XI, rooted in findings from the Council of Ephesus in 431, instituted the Feast of the Divine Maternity. Although somewhat obscured by the dogmatic teaching of Mary’s Perpetual Virginity, it is tied tightly to it. The Divine Maternity explains to us that the greatness and majesty that was bestowed on Our Lady was wrapped into a bundle of pure Love from God. For He was the Father of her child. She was the mom. Every drop of Jesus’s DNA comes from His mom. The Father and Son are God. Jesus Christ is truly Human and Divine, separate yet one.

From the Catechism 496: Mary’s Virginity:

From the first formulations of her faith, the Church has confessed that Jesus was conceived solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, affirming also the corporeal aspect of this event: Jesus was conceived “by the Holy Spirit without human seed.” The Fathers see in the virginal conception the sign that it truly was the Son of God who came in a humanity like our own …

Back to the Resurrection. As a simple man of faith, I have to believe that Jesus immediately went to see His mom upon leaving the tomb where he was, moments earlier, dead. I shall end this with the following:

VATICAN CITY, MAY 21, 1997 (VIS) –The Holy Father focused the catechesis of today’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square. Pope John Paul II said, “The unique and special nature of the presence of the Virgin at Calvary,” added the Pope, “and her perfect union with the Son in his suffering on the Cross, seem to postulate a very particular participation on her part in the mystery of the Resurrection.”

The Blessed Virgin, who was present at Calvary and at the Cenacle, “was probably also a privileged witness to the Resurrection of Christ, in this way completing her participation in all the essential moments of the paschal mystery. Embracing the risen Jesus, Mary is, in addition, a sign and anticipation of humanity, which hopes to reach its fulfillment in the resurrection of the dead.”

If St. John Paul II says it must be so, that is good enough for me.

The Nativity of Our Lord

December 23, 2014/0 Comments/in Advent, Catholic Theme, Catholic Writing and Publishing, Faith, History, Hope, Religious Liberty/by Leslie Lynch

Luke 2: 1-20 The Infancy Narrative

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem , because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

We, too, keep all these things, reflecting on them in our hearts, and give glory and praise to God for all we have seen and heard, just as it has been told to us.

Merry Christmas ♥

May and Mary

May 2, 2012/1 Comment/in Encouragement for Writers/by Sarah Reinhard

May is, without a doubt, a crazy month for most of the people I know.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the fact that maybe May is Mary’s month because the only way we moms will get through it is with her help.

Call me a bit cynical. Or overwhelmed. Or considering crawling under the table to hide from my to-do list.

I blame Mary for the fact that I write. It’s God’s fault I have the opportunities I have.

There’s really no problem, except when I try to interfere and control.

Just as Abram (later Abraham) hedged his bets by sleeping with Sarai’s maid to get himself some offspring, instead of trusting what God told him (see Genesis 16), so I tend to try to take control.

Of my duties. Of my lists. Of my vocation.

Why is it so hard just to say yes? Why haven’t I learned yet to trust?

Having a whole month to focus on Mary isn’t such a bad thing. I am imperfect in my approach–and that will only change in small steps, I suspect.

Even so, as I quake in the face of that which is in front of me, I’m going to lean on Mary, especially in this month of May.

image source: MorgueFile

It’s Mary’s Fault I Write

May 4, 2011/2 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing/by Sarah Reinhard

May is Mary’s month, and I can’t help but reflect in this space about how it’s Mary’s fault that I write.

Yes, I blame her. Writing was a dream of mine years ago, when I was a wee girl living in the country and filling notebooks with terrible tales, but I never thought I’d actually do it as work.

The reality of writing, though, is such that I can only shake my head and surmise that, surely, only God’s MOTHER could be responsible for this.

I was going to be so! much! more! The image of me frantically pecking at a keyboard while kids are bouncing off the walls or while racing the nap times and potty breaks and snack times is so far from what I had planned for myself that I can’t help but laugh…still…all these years later.

It all started when Father was out of town and I was holding down the parish office fort by myself. During that week, I had what felt like a whole series of weird “Mary signs.” I don’t know what else to call them. They were significant to me at the time, but if I shared them with you now, you’d laugh (and I wouldn’t blame you).

I was so moved by them that I started a list and bombarded Father with them when he returned.

“Well,” he said. As I rambled on and on and ON, he sat there and probably tried not to smile.

It was later that year that I started blogging, which was intended to be a daily writing exercise. The feeling that I was supposed to write was…uncomfortable. It’s not that I didn’t think I could do it, it was that I really had no training for the craft, for the networks, for all the ins and outs.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my big “break” into writing came as a result of a column about Mary’s various titles over at Catholic Exchange. And then there was the opportunity to join the Catholic Moments show with a “Mary Moment.”

Opportunities kept growing and expanding. In fact, my Marian writing is what seems to always attract people, to get the leads, to keep my writing alive.

So I guess the least I can do is keep plugging along, relying on her (and her Son!) for help and strength on the journey.

Do you have a patron for your writing endeavors? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!

—
Sarah Reinhard, author of Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent & Christmas Reflections for Families, is a Catholic wife, mom, and certifiably addicted blogger who can be found online at SnoringScholar.com.

Tag Archive for: blessed virgin mary

The Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary—The Most Humble Person who ever Lived

Did Jesus Appear to His Mom after He Rose from the Dead? The Gospels never mention it.

The Nativity of Our Lord

May and Mary

It’s Mary’s Fault I Write

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