My brother Peter got me
thinking. When commenting on the Rosary he suggested we should view Salvation History
through the eyes of Mary. So I wondered
whether her life followed the pattern of St. Paul’s introduction to the famous
hymn in his Letter to the Philippians.
This begins, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Philip.
2.5). That must have been especially
true of His mother, Mary. She must have
been especially in tune with Him.
This
hymn begins with the Son of God becoming a human servant, obedient to His heavenly
Father’s will; this is paralleled by Mary’s ‘Fiat’ to God. She played a vital part in God’s plan for our
salvation. With that ‘YES’ she agreed to become the Handmaid of the Lord.
His
obedience was “even unto death on the cross.”
Mary made the same journey to Calvary and then stood by her crucified
Son. She even offered His life for our salvation.
As He became the Suffering Servant of the Lord she became the
Suffering Handmaid of the Lord.
St.
Paul’s hymn continues, “For which cause He has been given a name,
which is above every other name –Lord of heaven and earth,” (cf.
Philip. 2. 11). Mary has been assumed
into Heaven and given a name, which is above every other name – Queen of Heaven
and Earth.
Through
this pattern of ascent the 2nd
Adam and the 2nd Eve reverse the pattern of descent through the disobedience of the 1st
Adam and Eve.
But it’s not enough for us simply to have the
‘mind of Christ.’ In his 1st
letter St. John tells us our lives must follow the same pattern as Christ’s, “whoever
claims to remain in Him must act as He acted,” ( I Jn. 2.6). We must not only hear His word, but do
it. In John that word ‘remain’
is loaded. It implies a permanence and
stability, and, therefore, commitment.
Also to ‘remain in’ implies a relationship as intimate as that between
the Father and His Son.
We have been called to enter
into that relationship. Sharing their
life means a harmony of will, having the mind of Christ and, therefore, acting
as He acted. That was true for Jesus in
His obedience to His Father’s will; that was true for His mother; that must be
true for us, His followers.
Like the young Samuel’s, our
response must be, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,’ ( 1 Sam 3. 9). That was echoed by Mary’s, ‘Behold
the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done
unto me according to your word, (Lk. 1. 38). As for Jesus, we only have to think of
His, “Father,
if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be
done, not mine,” (Lk. 22.42).
The docility to God’s will, which underlies all
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, demands a strength of character, an open generosity in
self-giving –the opposite to self-centred grabbing. It’s a call to service, not dominance.
Having the mind of Christ
means, in the words of St. Paul, ‘….since
you have been raised with Christ, strive for
the things above,
where Christ
is seated
at the right hand
of God. Set your minds on things above, not on
earthly things.… (Col. 3. 1-2).
This text implies an ascent in our perspective, in our values, in our
decisions, in our actions. Since these
run contrary to our fallen nature, they will involve the cross of
self-sacrifice, self-denial, unselfishness. Or put positively, we have been called
to share Christ’s generous self-giving, His serving.
St. Paul sums all this up
beautifully. God has uttered an eternal
‘Yes’ to our creation, an eternal ‘Yes’ to our salvation. Through Jesus we
welcome God’s plan for us with a heart-felt ‘Yes.’ And so St. Paul writes, “For all
the promises of God
are “Yes”
in Christ.
And so
through Him,
our “Amen”
is spoken to
the glory of God,”
(2 Cor. 1. 20).
A
final thought: while as a child Jesus walked in the footsteps of Mary, His
mother. Then, later on, Mary, as did His disciples, walked in His footsteps as
she followed Him in His joys, His sorrows and His glory.
Isidore
Clarke, O.P.
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