The Mystery of Mary

Friday, September 08, 2017

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This is a special kind of feast because on one way it marks the beginning of our story of salvation. There’s nothing Biblical about it, but Catholics do not rely only on the Bible, but also on the Church’s Traditional ways of thinking about things, and on the subsequent reflections based on extensive meditation of the “mysteries” of our faith. I’ll say a bit more about “mystery” a bit below.

This morning I found myself reflecting on the fact that the Blessed Mother was sinless since the moment of her conception (we celebrate that reality as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8). If the second person of the Trinity was going to “dwell among us” in human form, he had to take on the flesh of a perfect human being. Mary’s birth brought that human being into the world and we like to refer to her as spotless, pure, holy and immaculate. And so it all begins.

One more thing: since all flesh was corrupted by the Fall, and therefore born with orginal sin, it was necessary that all sin be wiped away through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so, if Mary was born without the taint of original sin, it is because of the freedom and grace won by the very death and Resurrection of the One who was going to be born of her.

Mind-boggling? Of course. In the divine dispensation, time isn’t linear. It folds in on itself making this extraordinary tale possible. And for me, I celebrate the Nativity of the Virgin Mary along with Easter Sunday since the two events touch one another in this cosmic realm of time folding back on itself.

Perhaps, like the psalmist, you’d like to cry: “Such knowledge is too much for me, so far beyond my understanding!” (Psalm 139:6).

That brings us to the concept of mystery, which, by the way, is another of the first concepts I used to bring to the attention of my creativity students in the past.

In spiritual terms, a “mystery” is not a puzzle to be solved. A mystery is a reality which is so far beyond our own ability to comprehend it that it will forever remain something for study, awe and veneration, and as time goes by, we form little bits of understanding about it according to our own level of advancement in the faith. Listen to what Cardinal Sarah says about it (“The Power of Silence”):

“The mystery of God, his incomprehensibility, is the source of joy for every Christian. Every day we rejoice to contemplate an unfathomable God, whose mystery will never be exhausted. The eternity of heaven itself will be the joy, ever new, of entering more profoundly into the divine mystery without ever exhausting it.” (p. 126)

Wonderful things to snuggle into. I hope my imperfect attempt to put the mystery into words has not made it even more difficult for you to comprehend, even if you don’t understand it completely! But as the good cardinal explains, “how small God would be if we understood him?”

Have a nice weekend.

God bless you!