a year of prayer: 365 Rosaries

We pray with Mary. We experience her practically, emotionally, and rationally. We feel confident in the truth of her existence. But there is so much more to think about, to say about the life of The Blessed Virgin. For whether one believes in her sanctity, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption into heaven, or even her glorious Coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth, one must admit that historically speaking, Mary, the Mother of God, was unique. She was chosen to conceive, carry, and deliver Jesus Christ, Our Lord. She was chosen to raise Him as His mother for the first 30 years of His life. With Joseph, she was chosen to be the beginning of the earthly family of Christ.


And yet, there is still more. We will get to the Biblical foretelling of Queenship. We will eventually discuss the doctrine of her Assumption. But we are still setting the stage, so to speak, building the foundation of belief which is supported by the Word of God. And to do that, we must understand the personage of Mary. Who was she?

First and foremost, she was a mother. We can picture her bathing Jesus, cooking for Him, cleaning up after Him as our own mothers did for us. We can feel the love she felt for Him, the joys in His childhood successes, the pain when He was injured. We can imagine her pride in his accomplishments. And then, we consider those same emotions, that same connection, to the public ministry, Passion, and eventual crucifixion of Our Lord.

From the moment of Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel, Mary’s life changed from ordinary to unique, special, chosen. Her life as a mother was in reality the life of any mother, but also unlike any mother before or since. She knew, from the message of an angel, from her visitation with Elizabeth, from the prophesy of Simeon at the Presentation of Our Lord in the temple, that her child was special, that her child was destined for great things, and that in accomplishing those great things, she would suffer as no mother had ever suffered. Her heart would be pierced. A part of her would be lost.

And in that suffering, in that knowledge, in that all-consuming love for her son, we see the prototype for all mothers. Just as the reality of her motherhood was both traditional and supernatural, her emotions were both familiar and incomprehensible. Every joy, every moment of happiness in her life—a life centered on her son, Jesus Christ—was mingled with the foreshadowing of pain, sacrifice, and suffering, the extent of which we, at this moment in time, cannot begin to fathom. And yet within those moments, she experiences the hope of the Resurrection. This is why Biblical scholars believe that Mary did not accompany the other women to the tomb after the crucifixion. First, her heart was broken, the center of her life gone. But second, and more important, she likely knew that the tomb would be empty. She knew that a man, her son, whose coming is heralded by an angel could not be crucified by man. She had hope and confidence in the Resurrection.


For such a role, for such a weight to carry throughout life, for such suffering and anxiety, the Lord chose Mary. From all the women created in the course of human existence, it was Mary. From the moment of Annunciation, she suffered humiliation and hardship, and yet never wavered in her faith in God, her love for Jesus, and her hope in the future for all mankind. Her simple statement, “let it be done to me according to Your Word,” speaks volumes. Mary was undeniably unique. She was holy. She was chosen. And this tells us that there is much more to be said about Our Mother.