Faith

Mary's various appearances and conversations in the Gospels reveal that she was a very simple, young Jewish girl who, urged on by God's grace, was able to do extraordinary things.

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

The seventh in the "Notes on Prayer" series for this Holy Year is written by Sister Catherine Aubin, OP, and it presents some interesting ways for us to consider prayer from the perspective of those who have met the Blessed Virgin at her appearances in different places and times.
Sister Catherine first leads us through the geography of the events involving the life of the Blessed Virgin, which are narrated in the New Testament. She then reviews the words of the Mother of Jesus that are recorded in the Gospels. This she does because she points out that the places where the Blessed Virgin appears over the centuries seem to have a "connection" to the biblical places, and likewise the words she speaks to those "saints who met her."
Among the places where we meet Mary in the Gospels are Nazareth, Egypt, Jerusalem, and Cana. We also meet her on her trip to visit Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea, at the Crucifixion, in the Upper Room at Pentecost, and at home.
She speaks with the angel in the dialogue we call the Annunciation in Luke's Gospel, and at the wedding in Cana in Galilee in John's Gospel.
At her various appearances in Fatima, Lourdes, Knock, La Salette, Guadalupe, and Paris, she appears to the visionaries and speaks with them, except at Knock, where we have no report of anything spoken.

Her appearances take place in locales very much removed from the urban and busy areas. The exception in that list is Paris, where she appeared to St. Catherine Laboure, though, there, she appeared in the convent where St. Catherine was living and so it was in a sense a "space apart."
Mary's various appearances and conversations in the Gospels reveal that she was a very simple, young Jewish girl who, urged on by God's grace, was able to do extraordinary things.
Two places where Sister Catherine leads us are Bethlehem and Cana.
At Bethlehem, which means the "house of bread" in Hebrew, we see that it is here that Mary brings the Body of Jesus to birth. That body of Jesus will become the Eucharistic Body of Christ -- the bread of life.
In many of her appearances, she reminds the seers that her son and his mission are primary.
At Cana, where she and Jesus are attending the wedding of a neighbor, she intervenes with Jesus to save the young couple from obvious embarrassment because the wine has run out. Wine is both a staple of Jewish meals but also, in more abundance at feasts and festivities, it is a symbol of joy and celebration.
In some of her appearances, Mary clearly gives the same message to the seers that she gave to the waiters at the wedding: "Do whatever he tells you." She also offers consolation to the seers to whom she appears, even as she underlines the importance of following her son.
Many of those to whom the Blessed Virgin has appeared have subsequently been canonized saints. This is not because she appeared to them but because, inspired by Mary's words, they lived lives of holiness and became examples to others and to us.
The first words of the Blessed Virgin are to the Angel Gabriel: "How can this be?" when she is asked to be the Mother of Jesus. Notice that even in her confusion, she seems not self-centered as with a "Why me?" Rather, her "how" might indicate natural confusion about how she could become anyone's mother because she has no husband.
The angelic explanation is sufficient for Mary to consent.
Mary's appearances bring confusion to the seer saints. But the Marian explanations clarify what this appearance is all about.
Several things are common to the various Marian appearances.
The places are unlikely and out of the way for a spectacular event.
The Mother of God speaks to the seers in their own language. In some cases, she spoke a very particular language such as the indigenous language to Juan Diego at Guadalupe or the quite local French dialect to Bernadette at Lourdes.
She seems "ordinary" in appearance, in conversation, and in the locale. In each place, she has a specific message that is meant not only for the seers but also for others.
Inevitably, the messages lead us always back to Christ. From the moment of his life until her assumption into heaven, she is associated with the "work of her Son," directing his sisters and brothers to him and his message of salvation.

• 

  FathersJaymie Stuart Wolfe

• 

  The Prayer of Mary and the saints who met herFather Robert M. O'Grady

• 

  The wayArchbishop Richard G. Henning

• 

  The Saints of Black History MonthMaureen Crowley Heil

• 

  Heart and mouthScott Hahn