4th Sunday of Advent (“C”)
December 23, 2012

Q. 716: What do we know about Mary’s prayer life?

A. 716: We know that the Blessed Virgin Mary had an excellent prayer life even before the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her. Because of her humility and attentiveness to God in her heart, she was able to respond with a trusting and cooperative “Yes” to God’s plan for her life.

We, too, are called to be attentive to God on our own spiritual journey. This journey is all about growing in the virtues, which means imitating Mary in her inner attitudes, habits, and desires. Patience was one of her many virtues. It was one of her many inner dispositions which enabled her to see grace at work in every situation, even in her Son’s suffering. Her pursuit of holiness also enabled her to go quickly to assist her elderly cousin Elizabeth in her time of need, as in today’s gospel (Luke 1:39-45).

We all need good role models, and we cannot find a better saint to imitate and emulate than St. Mary, the Virgin Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Small wonder that the Catechism highlights the fact that “from the Church the Christian learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary” (CCC 2030).

Blessed John Paul II taught us (October 6, 1979; quoted in “Book of Mary”): “This woman of faith, Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of God, has been given to us as a model in our pilgrimage of faith From Mary we learn to surrender to God's will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary, we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God. For Mary is not only the Mother of God, she is Mother of the Church as well. In every stage of the march through history, the Church has benefited from the prayer and protection of the Virgin Mary.”

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the word and greeting “Lord” expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus, just like it did when Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and greeted Mary with the phrase “mother of my Lord” (CCC 448, 2677).

Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha

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