JESUS CARITAS

The maculate connection of Mary

By Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted | June 4, 2009 | The Catholic Sun 

References to the Virgin Mary have become more prevalent in America. Even football coaches, at times of desperation, call for a “Hail Mary.” Some Marian references are less reverent and even sacrilegious. Others may be instructive, for example, the “maculate connection” of Mary, which draws its meaning from her “Immaculate Conception.”

The Immaculate with the maculate

Mary’s preservation from sin did not remove her from contact with sinners, neither did her virginity. On the contrary, her whole mission in life was to make it possible for the Eternal Word to rub shoulders with liars and beggars and to eat at table with Pharisees and tax collectors and other people of ill repute. By becoming the Mother of the Savior, she made it possible for the Son of God to become the Son of Man.

Mary’s holiness is indeed one of exceptional beauty. No trace of sin ever touched her soul. But her mission is totally bound up with that of her Son. Like Him, she reaches out in love to all the children of Adam. Her “Fiat” makes possible His Incarnation. It also makes possible her mission as mother of all the faithful. Recall Jesus’ words from the Cross, “Woman, behold your son.”

Archbishop Fulton Sheen described her maternity in this way: “The Immaculate is with the maculate, the sinless with the sinner… In her purity, Mary is on the mountaintop; in her compassion, she is amid curses, death cells, hangmen, executioners and blood… Mary’s cooperation was so real and active that she stood at the foot of the Cross. In every representation of the Crucifixion, the Magdalen is prostrate; she is almost always at the feet of Our Lord. But Mary is standing.”

Imbedded Redeemer

Mary made it possible for God to suffer. Through her, Christ was able to weep at the death of His friend Lazarus, to sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot and to suffer and die on the Cross.

Could the Lord have saved us in another way? It might have been possible. Still, by the Father’s providential design, and the free consent of Mary, the Son became imbedded in human history, in the brokenness of our human nature.

A Lenten hymn beautifully describes this mystery of divine compassion: “What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul? What wondrous love is this, O my soul? What wondrous love is this, that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?”

Mary was fully engaged in the reality of the world around her, even though she never succumbed to its temptations. The imperfections of the world were not, for her, obstacles of God’s grace but, rather, possibilities for His grace to break through in ever new and varied ways.

Go into the world

It is not surprising that new converts from a life of pleasure or greed frequently want to leave behind all contact with the world and live in the presence of God alone. Indeed, there are some seeds of wisdom in this desire, for we were made for friendship with Christ and, as St. Augustine says, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. Nonetheless it is a mistake to seek a closer relationship with Christ by isolating ourselves from others. Yes, we must move away from persons and places that are occasions of sin, and do so with firm determination. But from other people we must not withdraw, unless it is clearly God’s call.

The words of Jesus at the Last Supper are instructive. He tells the Apostles (Jn 15:12ff), “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends… It is not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.”

After His death and resurrection and before ascending into heaven, Jesus gave a final commission to His followers, making it clear that He did not want them to seek isolation from others. He says (Mt 28:19f), “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

To be like Mary

Devotion to Mary keeps us from compartmentalizing our lives, from only practicing our faith when convenient and forgetting our faith when there is a price to pay. Mary is an example to us of entering the world with all of its difficulties and staying true to God’s will no matter what.

Mary’s “Fiat,” her “Yes” to God, had a beginning but had no end. She never saw herself as a “hired hand.” As John Paul II liked to say, her constant stance before God was “Totus Tuus,” “I am totally yours.” As Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, she helps us to do the same.

The last recorded words of Mary were spoken at the Wedding feast of Cana, where she said (Jn 2:5), “Do whatever He tells you.”

That is how she lived her life. How blest shall we be if we do the same.