Traditionally, the month of May is celebrated as the month
of Mary in the Catholic Church. So, this
month, this blog will be dedicated to various titles of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. These titles are found in the
Litany of Loreto, which may be recited after the rosary. You can find the full litany here. Each week, I will delve a little deeper into
three or four Marian titles from the middle section of the litany.
Mirror of Justice
According to Christopher Heffron, “Every title linked to
Mary makes sense only in relation to how completely she cooperated with God’s
grace and how perfectly she models being a disciple of Jesus” (source) Mary’s life was far from fair, but she
accepted God’s will for her. From the
beginning of her life, when she was immaculately conceived, she was prepared to
be the mother of God. And, when the
angel Gabriel informed her of her divine “destiny”, she accepted
selflessly: “Behold, I am the handmaid
of the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Throughout Jesus’ life, when Mary would encounter a particularly trying
time—giving birth in a stable, and losing Jesus in Jerusalem at twelve years
old, for example—“Mary kept all these things, reflecting on
them in her heart” (Luke 2:19 NABRE translation).
Mirrors reflect what is in front of them. We hear very few of Mary’s actual words in
the four Gospels, but her actions speak of wanting the best for those around
her, as her son Jesus does. So Mary, as
the Mirror of Justice, presents to us a manner of living that advocates for
fairness to all.
Seat of Wisdom
Picture an image of Mary with the Child Jesus, and what
probably comes to mind is Mary with Jesus sitting in her lap. Jesus is the second person of the
Trinity. He is God, three in one and one
in three. He has an intimate
relationship with the other two persons of the Trinity: the Father and the Holy Spirit. And one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is
wisdom. In the Advent hymn “O Come, O
Come Emmanuel” we implore, “O Come, O Wisdom from on high.” So, this particular title of Mary is more
literal than it may appear at first. She
is literally a seat for Wisdom incarnate in the person of Jesus.
Cause of Our Joy
Mary models for us how to live life without complaint. As I mentioned earlier while discussing Mary,
Mirror of Justice, she faced life and took time to ponder her
difficulties. A different translation of
Luke 2:19 states that Mary “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” (NRSV translation, emphasis
added). She shows us how to find joy in
the mundane, everyday moments of life, as well as in the bigger events. If Mary could find a reason to be happy
during the “boring” parts of life, surely we can as well.
Next week: Mary as
Spiritual Vessel, Vessel of Honor, Singular Vessel of Devotion, and Mystical
Rose
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