tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post1257962029290116175..comments2024-03-05T06:16:30.628-06:00Comments on Mary and Mariology: The Mother of All and the Face of HopeServant of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-30420549923173831182012-04-30T21:04:01.501-05:002012-04-30T21:04:01.501-05:00(mcs)(mcs)Servant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-1469314511099276602012-04-30T21:03:28.879-05:002012-04-30T21:03:28.879-05:00I actually had an opposite experience to genf: Mar...I actually had an opposite experience to genf: Mary’s role as mother always struck me as the most powerful, the most relatable of all her roles in relation to Christ. But I definitely find it interested how general her role as mother is in the bible; I had never really thought about that before. Despite its generality, though, I think that her role as mother is essential to forge a connection with Christ. Despite his human form, everything about Jesus is awe inspiring, from his birth to his miracles, and finally his resurrection. Even though he lived as the son of a carpenter on earth, he was always marked out for something greater and so in a different league from the rest of humanity. Mary, on the other hand, fulfills the simplest, most routine, tasks of a woman: she is a wife and mother. I won’t go so far as to say this makes her a mundane character, (because I think we can all agree she is far from that!) but she exists in a role that everyone has experienced in one way or another. In the miracle stories, she acts as a mother really would. I’m sure our mothers have chastised us all on occasion, and it’s usually to rectify some mistake and better us in the long run. I think her actions (which I agree seemed a little harsh and out of place when compared to the other images of Mary we’ve seen) anchor these tales in reality and that on some levels, Mary’s maternal reality is more persuasive than the fantastic miracles she performs.Servant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-69907502417726531382012-04-27T21:33:16.347-05:002012-04-27T21:33:16.347-05:00I have just read the other comments, and genf expr...I have just read the other comments, and genf expresses much more eloquently than I do what I was trying to get at: Mary's mothering experience is both unique and lacking in detail (in the accounts) as far as "normative" mothering behaviors. What does it mean to bring our own understanding of "mothering" beyond carrying, giving birth to, and nursing to understanding Mary?<br />~TAServant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-30442952833846169972012-04-27T21:27:39.085-05:002012-04-27T21:27:39.085-05:00LB: Interesting argument about the reason the Mary...LB: Interesting argument about the reason the Mary stories are told and retold being that they are relatable in a way that God, Jesus are not. But is this the whole “story?” There is much in Paul and other NT writers indicating that Jesus is the way that we can relate to God. Would you suggest that the figure of Mary and the stories about her represent a further step in this direction? (And the saints as well?) If so, do the miraculous stories end up serving to make Mary less of “a person, a person we all know”?<br /><br />You have developed a very interesting thesis on Mary as a (normative) mother-nurturer instead of as just in terms of a womb and a nurse only. I like how it helps us to view these stories. But let me ask: What detail and elaboration do any sources give us on Mary as a mother that “raises children?” Is the normative model of a nurturing mother that you discuss at the beginning of your post present in readings previous to these stories? If not, does this model really emerge from these stories if we do not bring it to the stories?<br />~TAServant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-21900327324045132202012-04-22T23:35:44.197-05:002012-04-22T23:35:44.197-05:00I enjoyed this post very much. I think it draws at...I enjoyed this post very much. I think it draws attention to the fact of Mary as mother, which is, funnily enough, a side of Mary that I find easy to overlook. One reason for that, perhaps, is how little we get of Mary as a mother in Scripture. We know she "pondered" about the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth, we know she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, and we know she was worried about Jesus when he stayed behind at the temple to teach as a boy. In just listing these events, I am struck by how universal Mary's mothering experience sounds: she pondered, she nurtured, she worried. I am left with questions about what it meant to mother Jesus on a day-to-day basis, and what their relationship looked like, especially when he was a boy. Those questions aside, we do know Mary's mothering experience was far from normal, in that she watched her Son's sacrifice. It was in the "Mater Dolorosa" readings for 4/22 that I was most struck by the singularity of her role as mother. She mourned in a way that humans can only grasp at understanding, because she mourned the loss of her Son and the loss of her Lord. Even though I have been a Christian all my life, I don't think I have ever been truly sad during the Lenten season. But in reading about Mary's pain at the cross, I remembered my own grief and the grief I witnessed in parents who had lost a child, and I cried for the death of Jesus. So there you go - only through Mary was I able to understand, even if only a little bit, the sorrow of Jesus' crucifixion. - genfServant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-64354894128189861972012-04-22T18:51:51.078-05:002012-04-22T18:51:51.078-05:00I agree with KP: the message is hope. Even the mo...I agree with KP: the message is hope. Even the most destitute, even the least virtuous have hope of salvation. Mary was not the first to suggest this: her Son dined with prostitutes and tax collectors, after all! But it is interesting how when we read the miracle stories, Mary seems (potentially) more capricious and punishing than Jesus does in the Gospels. How is that? I like very much your meditation on Mary's relational qualities: yes, she helps put us in relationship to God. But God also seeks relationships with humanity, as, for example, in traditional Jewish and Christian readings of the Song of Songs. Somehow, we need an image of God that includes these relational qualities while at the same time including Mary. Lots to think about here!<br /><br />RLFBServant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155226280212467063.post-10677045331738383622012-04-20T21:03:53.097-05:002012-04-20T21:03:53.097-05:00I agree with your discussion of Mary as a mother. ...I agree with your discussion of Mary as a mother. We all have a special bond with our mothers and our moms will always be our number one fans and supporters. I don’t think Mary was really vengeful though. She disciplined us in order for us to repent and avoid eternal punishment. She helps save us by bringing pain in order for us to change our lives around and turn to God. She, like our own mothers, never wants to hurt us or see us hurt, but wants us to do the right thing. That is also why Mary is our intercessor. The line of the Hail Mary “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death” show that Mary is looking out for us and praying for us. I think that Mary helped people with different levels of devotion such as the faithful or sinners offering up a quick prayer in need. This reminds me of how Jesus came and interacted with sinners. Mark 2:17 states “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do”. The message is hope, like you said. Everyone can make it no matter what life they’ve led in the past, as long as they repent and open their hearts. <br />KPServant of Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686441055922333147noreply@blogger.com