Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Archives

Mariology

Mary and the Crisis of Faith in the Modern World

by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Our present Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, so stresses devotion to Our Lady that some people think it is excessive piety. But today's world desperately needs to believe that Mary is the Mother of the Incarnate God and the Mother of the spiritual life.

As the Mother of God, she teaches us what we so desperately need, the humility of mind in submitting our judgement to the will of God in our lives. At the Annunciation, after the angel had explained to her that she was to conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary said what should be the underlying principle of our moral life, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word" (Lk. 1:38).

What is Our Lady teaching us? She is reminding us that we are all servants of the Lord. As servants of God, we are always to submit our wills to the will of our Creator Lord. This is the only pro-choice that we are to practice all through our lives here on earth. If we always surrender our wills to the will of God, He will do great things for us and our spirit will always rejoice in God our Savior.

This issue of The Catholic Faith magazine is devoted to Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother. Except for her, God would not have become man. Except for her, we would not be the children of God, whose grace we have received from her Son.

How today's world needs to learn from the Blessed Virgin Mary the meaning of selfless love. But, as she teaches us, this selfless love is costly. It demands nothing less than uniting ourselves with our crucified Lord, as Mary joined herself with her divine Son as she stood under the Cross on Calvary.

Copyright © 1997 Inter Mirifica