Thoughts on Mary

Is January a tough month for anyone else? I'm not too fond of the stretch of time between the start of the new year and the beginning of Spring. The winters are full of short, cold days. While this season suits quiet contemplation and introspection, you can't go on in these activities for too long without feeling a bit nutty!

But if the weather is disposing me to sit and think, I might as well choose things that are interesting and noble to dwell on. I've been thinking about Mary, the Blessed Mother. I was raised to think she was "just a woman"-- the people in the church who taught me seemed on an endless quest to make Mary as simple-minded and common as possible. Why, I have no idea. Maybe in an attempt to make the bearing of Christ into the world more reachable for the lowly.

But the Catholic view of Mary is a bit different. While she is still very human, like all the other saints, Mary lived a holy life. By God's grace and will she played a unique part in the history of our universe, the only woman to carry God in her body and birth the Christ child into the world. Hmm, doesn't sound so common! I love when Mary is described as the second Eve; just as Eve is our biological mother, Mary is our spiritual mother by being the first Christian. Yes, the first Christian was a woman. By allowing God to create a new life within her, Mary shines as an example of how we are to accept the life God offers and bear it into the world.

Maybe those who taught me when I was young were uncomfortable with a woman having such a role in the formation of our faith, or maybe they were reacting against the "idolatry" they perceived among Catholics with regards to Mary. So far my contemplation has led me to be glad God has a mom, making him fully human while still being fully God. And I'm honored the Lord chose a woman to be the best example of how the holy life is lived.

"Following the shadows of the skies or are they only figments of my eyes?
And I'm feeling close to where the race is run
Waiting in our boats to set sail, sea of joy

Once the door swings open into space and I'm already waiting in disguise
Or is it just a thorn between my eyes?
Waiting in our boats to set sail, sea of joy"

-Blind Faith