Marian Titles: Gate of Heaven, Morning Star, Health of the Sick

This week, we continue our series on Marian titles with Mary as Gate of Heaven, Morning Star, and Health of the Sick.

Gate of Heaven

Just as Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6), no one comes to Jesus, except through Mary in a very literal sense.  Without Mary, there would be no Jesus.  According to Tom Perna, “Mary is the ‘Gate of Heaven’ because … Our Lord, who entered the world through her, allows her to lead us closer to Him” (source).  One of the few direct quotes we hear from Mary in the Bible is “Do whatever he [Jesus] tells you” (John 2:5).  Mary brings people to Jesus, so that He may help them.  One of the individuals who went through RCIA this year found her way to the Catholic Church through a special devotion to Mary.  It is wonderful to see Our Lady working through people in their day to day lives even now.

Morning Star

Morning Star can be used to refer to Jesus Himself, as in the Exsultet proclaimed at the Easter Vigil:  “May this flame [the Easter candle] be found still burning by the Morning Star:  the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son.”  But in the case of applying this title to Mary, we need to think a little more literally, as well as metaphorically.  In nature, the “morning star” is the one that appears in the sky, in the east, before dawn.  At various times of the year it may be the planet Venus, the star Sirius, or the planet Mercury.  So, if we apply this metaphorically, the star which comes before the sun (or Son, Jesus) is Mary.  She is the forerunner of Christ, and from her comes the one who is the Savior of the world.

Health of the Sick

This title, once again, allows us to view Mary through the lens of her son, Jesus.  Jesus of course brought about great instances of healing.  He cured a woman of hemorrhages, restored sight to the blind, made the lame walk, healed Simon Peter’s mother of her ailments, and even brought people back to life, most specifically his good friend Lazarus.  Mary, through her intercession to Jesus, can also bring about healing.  We see this very vividly in the miracles that take place at Lourdes, France.  Furthermore, Mary herself suffered greatly in her life, and so she is well-disposed to understand our own suffering.

Next week:  The final part of this series:  Mary as Refuge of Sinners, Comforter of the Afflicted, and Help of Christians