And Mary said. . .

Last updated on: December 18, 2020 at 12:10 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

And Mary said. . . 2020-12-18T00:10:36-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“And Mary said. . .”

I have been stuck on these words that come just before the Magnificat. Imagine being about to say something so good, true, and beautiful, history remembers it as “The Magnificat.”

I once knew a professor, generally a very wise and good man, who said that Mary was not so important, was much less interesting than Saint Paul. The apostle had, after all, written so much of the New Testament and Mary was hardly mentioned at all.

This was a catastrophic misjudgment.

If all you get to be, if your entire role in the written story, is the Mother of God, speaker of The Magnificat, and spirit filled Mother in the Upper Room, that is more than enough. Mary spoke, consented, endured and so everything changed. She stood at the pivot of history and said “let it be done” and all was well. She heard the Word of God and obeyed.

God, omnipotent and omniscient, is the focal point of Christmas: The plan was God’s, but as the good God does, a human was allowed to participate and Mary said “yes” to the plan. All generations should call her happy, blessed amongst women.

This does not distract from our worship of God: to God alone be the ultimate Glory. Yet the good God allows an appropriate honor, a reasonable veneration, for those who are the Image of God. These saints, men and women, allow the rest of us to see, hear, and feel God’s glory.

If we only hear the male, then we miss the female. If so, then we are sons and daughters of Adam, but are rejecting Eve. We create a rift and deny reality.

This is why the voices of women must be heard, are heard, at the heart of any true Church. These voices are not reduced or made less than they are. When Saint Nina converted a nation, she was equal to the apostles, but she was not an apostle. Blessed Nina was her own self, out arguing her critics and instructing an ancient kingdom miraculously. When Holy Helen helped end persecution and built a Christian civilization, she was not her son, Constantine, but gloriously Helen. When Lucy, seemingly weak, faced a pagan Emperor, she endured fierce and unafraid. They burned her body, but she lit a lamp of truth that has not been extinguished to this day.

This is the voice of humanity. This is the voice that must be heard to hear the full image of God. This is not a voice that can be reduced to equality with any other voice or can be chosen. This is the voice of those born of woman as women. They created civilization often in noble arts, spinning, weaving, quilting, that are ignored by the unwise. These are the nuns, like Elizabeth New Martyr, who served the poor so effectively that the Bolsheviks had to murder them.

These are women of my home state West Virginia who did whatever needed to be done for the family. These are the Black women who endured and built a Christian witness in America that ignored them. This is the voice of Japan, Ethiopia, China, Russia, Greece, England, and the Americas.

This is the voice of the Queen of Heaven. “And Mary said. . . “

Are we listening to the whole voice of God in the Earth?

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

December 15, 2020

Bet on the Fairy Tale: the Enduring Queen Outlasts Augustus

Next Post

December 17, 2020 Make Some Drama, Poetry, Music at Home

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Revelation, what is the correct order of the first four seals opened by the Lamb?

Select your answer to see how you score.

White horse, red horse, black horse, pale horse Red horse, white horse, pale horse, black horse White horse, black horse, red horse, pale horse Pale horse, red horse, white horse, black horse

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »