One in Christ / Daniel Conway

Blessed Virgin Mary brings a homely warmth to our pursuit of justice

(En Espanol)

During the holy season of Advent, the Church calls our attention to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her indispensable role in the history of salvation.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, are two prominent examples of this season’s special focus on Mary, but there are many others including, of course, the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) on Dec. 25, the Feast of the Holy Family on Dec. 28 and the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God on Jan. 1.

In his homily for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality on Oct. 12, Pope Leo XIV offered a powerful reflection on the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It has been clear from the first moments of his pontificate that our new Holy Father joins his immediate predecessors in professing a strong devotion to Mary, the Mother of God and Mother of the Church.

“Marian spirituality is at the service of the Gospel,” the pope says. “It reveals its simplicity” and “leads us to join her in becoming disciples of Jesus.”

By gazing at Mary, the Mother of our Redeemer, we see the divine justice through her eyes. As Pope Leo says:

[Marian spirituality] teaches us to return to [Jesus] and to meditate and ponder the events of our lives in which the Risen One still comes to us and calls us. Marian spirituality immerses us in the history upon which heaven opened. It helps us to see the proud being scattered in their conceit, the mighty being cast down from their thrones and the rich being sent away empty-handed. It impels us to fill the hungry with good things, to lift up the lowly, to remember God’s mercy and to trust in the power of his arm. (cf. Lk 1:51-54)

By paying close attention to Mary, and especially her “fiat” which declares: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), we discover that we, too, have been invited to say “yes” to God’s will for us.

We, too, have been called to follow Jesus and to be his missionary disciples in a world that either does not know him or that has forgotten how much it depends on his grace and mercy.

Pope Leo will not let us forget who we are or what our mission is. He points us to Mary and says:

Mary’s path follows that of Jesus, which leads us to encounter every human being, especially the poor, the wounded and sinners. Because of this, authentic Marian spirituality brings God’s tenderness, his way of “being a mother,” to light in the Church. As we read in the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium,” “whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness. In her, we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves. Contemplating Mary, we realize that she who praised God for ‘bringing down the mighty from their thrones’ and ‘sending the rich away empty’ [Lk 1:52-53] is also the one who brings a homely warmth to our pursuit of justice” (#288).

We are challenged to be strong like Mary, not in a harsh or indifferent way, but with the strength of humility and tenderness. Pope Leo calls this a “homely warmth,” an uncommon expression, especially in a meditation on divine justice.

But, of course, God’s justice is one with his mercy. The image that too many of us have of a stern and unforgiving God is simply false. It is true that God holds us accountable for what we do (or fail to do) with the gifts we have been given and the freedom that we enjoy. But the God who created us, redeemed us and calls us to be holy is a loving and forgiving God. His justice is merciful, and his gentleness is his strength.

Mary shows us the way to her Son, Jesus, who is the face of God incarnate. In Mary, we discover the path that we are called to follow, the Way that leads us to Gospel joy. And, as Pope Leo says, “whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness.”
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †