Spirit of Haiku

The world drifts away,
And all its frantic pursuits
Seem so distant now.

Gravity and time,
To whom victory belongs.
Dragging all things down.

Dull weariness for
Endless hours of slow torpor.
A life exhausted

A wistful looking 
Back, sadly dwelling on what
Can never return.

The wind sighs as it
Rustles through the fresh roses
I laid on your grave.

The strange comfort of
Melancholy held heart-close.
A cold sort of warmth

Dark daughter of the
Devil, sly sultry temptress.
Your scent clings to me.

Glimmerings of light
Amid a thickening gloom.
A promise of hope

When I turn my heart
Towards you it is refreshed 
You fill me with light

Like a thief in the
Night joy breaks into the world.
Hidden in Mary

Obscured behind a
Cloud-veil yet still radiant.
The unconquered light

Beyond the mountains,
A distant peaceful ocean.
Long desired haven.

Carried by night winds,
The sound of waves, smell of salt.
An unseen vastness.

Cold dawn with promise
Of warmth, evidence of light.
Why cling to the night?

Uncertain way that
Leads by the sea. A tempest
May overthrow you-

The sea does not care.
Your comings and goings do
Not interest her

I call your name when
The night is dark. Do you hear?
Will I feel your warmth?

In the night, when I
Am afraid, comfort me, my
Heart longs to be healed

Desolate morning.
Grief my only companion.
Dismal clouds gather

The seed that was once
Buried in the heavy earth
My Easter Lily

The light which appeared
To fail shines gloriously.
No longer hidden.

I hear your voice, soft
Whisper of the wind, gentle
Murmur of the stream.

A mighty river
Disappears into the sea.
As all things vanish.

Flat terrain without
End, dreary monotony
Yet, still the bird sings.

Sweetly scented grove
Gaily, brightly, clothed by Spring.
Tranquil place of rest

Peaceful and gentle
Spirit , your soft smile guides me
Home, the place of rest.

Your name is on my
Lips, it dances on my tongue
It lives in my heart.

Compassion is the
Deepest Wisdom of the wise.
A beautiful gift.

The Bible & The Virgin- Part 3

Why Bible-believing Christians should honour Mary

In this series I am looking at some of the New Testament verses which refer to Mary and considering what a reasonable Christian might deduce from them about her character and her relationship with God. Parts 1 and 2 have been on the receiving end of harsh criticism in some social media. Interestingly none of this relates to anything I have written but only to the things about which I have not written. A few Christians seem to have a fear that if we spend time considering what the Holy Spirit wants us to know about the Mother of Jesus then somehow this opens the very gates of hell. I can only say to them be not afraid and consider in your hearts in case you be found to be resisting the Spirit.

At the end of Part 2 we left our Lady with the Magi. St Matthew then records that the Holy Family spent some time as political refugees seeking asylum in Egypt before eventually making their way to Nazareth which was to be their home for many years. The next significant episode is recorded by St Luke when our Lord was 12 years old and became detached from his mother and foster father after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Eventually they find Him in the middle of discussions with the learned sages of the place;

When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.
Luke 2:48 (NIV)

It is characteristic of Mary that the first thing that she does is to seek to understand why her Son as acted as He has done. She does not scold Him or display anger. She knows that what He does is always the right thing to be done but that knowledge, that faith, does not tell her why it is the right thing and so, in faith, she seeks that greater understanding from the only source from which it can come, her Son and God's Son, Jesus Christ. Faith is always a process of growth since we who are finite are growing in knowledge, understanding and love of God who is infinite. It is also characteristic of our Lady that she mentions St Joseph before herself. Mary's humility was such that her concern about her lost and found Son did not mask or obscure her sympathy for the anguish of her husband. She humbly named his concern before her own and her own anxieties could not prevent her empathising with the anxieties of others.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart
Luke 2:51 (NIV)

This tells us that Jesus was obedient to Mary and Joseph. What does this tell us about the kind of home in which the perfectly sinless one was raised? It tells us that the life that Mary and Joseph lived was one of purity and virtue, work and devotion to the God of Israel, had it not been so then Jesus, the sinless one, the Son of His Father in Heaven, would have been a rebel but with Mary and Joseph He had no cause for rebellion. It tells us too, I think, that Jesus loved His parents on earth. If Jesus loved them can we do any less? And if Jesus showed His love for them should we not do so also? In an earlier post, Mary and Christian Meditation, I reflected on the fact that our Lady treasured these things "The temptation for us here is to say 'she did not understand but she treasured it anyway.' There is no but however. She did not keep the words of Jesus because she understood them nor because she failed to understand them. She kept them because they were the words of Jesus, she needed no other reason". Mary loved her Son and knew very well what His origin was. When these facts were the only ones she had to go on they were more than enough for her as they should be for us also. Understanding may come, indeed it is right to hope that it will come and to seek out all knowledge that will help us to come to it. Nonetheless, where understanding fails us love can still find a way to the truth. Mary is our example in this as we can see from this Scripture.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
John 1:1-2 (NRSV)

In Part 2 I mentioned that the Gospels often compact an awful lot of information into a very few words. Here we have another example of this. St John seems to go out of his way to tell us that Mary was at the wedding before mentioning Jesus. The obvious deduction is that Jesus was invited because He was the Son of Mary and that St John records this because it is a fact that the Holy Spirit wants us to know and consider. Christians of all traditions are clear that where Jesus goes Mary follows; from this we can learn also that where Mary goes Jesus too follows. Those who are wary of giving honour and praise to our Lady because they think that it somehow separates them from our Lord and detracts from the glory of God should learn from this that it does nothing of the kind. Mary goes nowhere that Jesus would not be happy to follow her to.

When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ 
John 2:3 (NRSV)

I would suspect that we could read this account dozens of times before asking the question 'why did the wine run out?' It is reasonable to suppose that the cause is to be found in the poverty of the newlyweds. Had they been well to do then either they would have been well stocked to start with or they could easily have bought in extra supplies when they needed to. That Mary was invited to a wedding of the poor tells us something about her and her life. That she noticed that the wine had run out and sought to do something about it straight away tells us something too. Our Lady was concerned that this lack would shame those who invited her and she cared a great deal about this. Mary was one who fulfilled the commandment 'love your neighbour as yourself.' It should also be noted that wine is not a necessity at a wedding (although many of us might think that it is) neither is it a luxury, it is one of those little extras that make life pleasant. Mary was concerned that the guests should enjoy the wedding and be glad and in that she shows us that she is kindly and very human.

Many Christians, particularly those in the Reformation traditions (also called Protestants), think that the word 'prayer' has a specific connection with worship, that is all prayer is also worship. Flowing from this is the belief that prayer should, therefore, only ever be addressed to God. Words do change their meaning over time and it may be that prayer will one day come to have that exclusive idea firmly attached to it. It was not always so and even yet it is not entirely so. 'To pray' can simply mean 'to request'. We can see this, for example in a 2014 episode of Sherlock where "pray silence for the best man" is said just before Holmes makes an ass of himself and solves a crime at the same time. What all this is leading up to is that Mary here is praying to Jesus in that sense of the word. In doing so she gives us a model for all prayer directed to Him. She makes no demand. Her words are short and to the point. She draws His attention to the fact, they have no wine, and leaves to Him the disposition of the situation. And of course having heard His mother's prayer Jesus answers it. It is sometimes argued by Protestants (and New Atheists) that His apparent reluctance to respond is somehow a rebuke to our Lady. Yet, surely, the whole point of prayer is to effect a response from God that we feel would not have been made had the prayer not been uttered. Strict justice would leave the bride and groom to suffer the consequences of them inviting too many guests and providing too little wine. Mercy flowing from the prayer of Mary and the graciousness of Jesus' response leads to wine of superlative quality in eye-watering quantity. Prayer works and the prayer of Mary works very well indeed.

His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
John 2:5 (NRSV)

It is, perhaps, easy to overlook the fact that the servants obeyed Jesus because they were obedient to Mary. However, it does seem to be so and again it is worth reflecting on why the Holy Spirit might want to inform us of this. Be that as it may we can learn certain things about our Lady from these few words. Firstly, she knew that Jesus was bound to answer her prayer without Him having specifically said that He would. Mary not only had perfect trust in her Divine Son but she knew that He loved her so much that He could not refuse a request from her. Second, she counsels those who listen to her, and all the subsequent generations who have read the Gospel according to St John, to do what Jesus Himself later says is a mark of His true disciples ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments'. John 14:15(NRSV) At the beginning of His mission Mary intuits what Jesus reveals to His closest followers only at the Last Supper.


After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples
John 2:12 (NRSV)

I think there is a tendency for Christians to think that after the Baptism in the Jordan and the 40 days in the desert that Jesus cut loose from home and became straight away the 'Son of Man who has nowhere to lay His head.' Here the Evangelist lets us know that Mary is still important to Him she, through her prayer, brought about His first public miracle and she accompanies Him to Capernaum where the Synoptic Gospels tell us He began His public preaching, teaching and healing mission. I said in Part 2 that the Scriptures take the trouble to record the presence of our Lady at key moments in the history of salvation and here are two of them in Cana and Capernaum. There will be more.

End of Part 3


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The Bible & The Virgin- Part 2

Why Bible-believing Christians should honour Mary

In this series I am looking at the evidence from Scripture Alone that shows why Christians have the duty and great privilege to give the Virgin Mary honour and praise. What I am not doing is looking at those Catholic doctrines about our Lady which cause Christians in the traditions of the Reformation (also called Protestants) to get fidgety. It seems to me that all traditions of Christianity could, if they chose, unite around the plain sense and literal meaning of Scripture where it shows to us the outstanding qualities of Mary and agree that here indeed we find an outstanding Saint of God. In Part 1 I  looked at the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel and the Visitation to St Elizabeth (and Zechariah.) Here I will begin by looking at the events around the birth of Jesus (traditionally referred to as the Nativity.)

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit
Matthew 1:18 (NIV)

The words 'found to be' in this context are one of those compact expressions which occur frequently in the Gospels. Because the words are few the temptation is to skim over them as being of little significance. If, however, we unpack them then we see that they cover quite a complex series of events. We know from the Visitation that St Elizabeth discerned the pregnancy of Mary because she had been inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit; our Lady herself did not tell her. Three months later she returned to Nazareth. By this time her condition was probably visible but, again, it seems that she did not tell anyone the cause, preferring to allow people to think what they would. This must tell us something about the personality and character of the Blessed Virgin. I think that we can deduce several major things about her from this episode. Firstly, she did not seek to make public what had been revealed to her in private, Mary was discreet. Secondly, she did not wish to make it known that she has been selected and granted the privilege, becoming mother to the promised Messiah, that all women in Israel desired to have, Mary was humble. Thirdly, she trusted that the God who had given her her unborn child would make sure that both she and He would be provided for, Mary had perfect faith that nothing was impossible with God. It might be argued that she kept silence for fear of not being believed but given that the penalty for adultery was death by stoning she had more to lose by silence then she had by speech unless God intervened, which of course He did.

she gave birth to her firstborn, a son
Luke 2:7 (NIV)

It may seem like, in the words of a fine old English saying, a statement of the bleedin' obvious to say that Mary was present at the birth of her Son. And of course in one sense that is exactly what it is. As the series progresses, however, we will see that both the Virgin is present at a number of crucial moments in the history of salvation and that the Scriptures take the trouble to record the fact. What the Holy Spirit thinks worth including in the Bible Christians ought to think worth paying attention to. Mary was present when the Saviour entered the world or, to put it another way, the Saviour entered the world because Mary was present. We would know nothing about Mary were it not for Jesus but there would be no Jesus were it not for Mary. That is not to say that God could not have effected His purpose in some other way it is to say that the way He chose to effect His purpose was through and with Mary, the mother of the Son of God.

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger
Luke 2:16 (NIV)

If we believe that Scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and those who hold that the Bible is the final authority can believe nothing else, then it behoves us to pay close attention to what it actually says. In most of Scripture when husbands and wives are listed the mans name comes first. Abraham and Sarah were already very old Genesis 18:11 on the (sexist) assumption that the man is the more important of the two. Moreover, the principle of listing the most important person first is followed in the Gospels where all the lists of the Apostles begin with St Peter and end with Judas the traitor. So, on that basis it is clear that the Spirit considers Mary to have precedence over St Joseph. If we hold, as some Protestants do, that the Virgin was simply a vessel to carry the unborn child Jesus and that her significance pretty much ended there then this listing would make little sense. If Joseph were to hold primary responsibility for raising the child and educating Him in the faith then Joseph would be first on the list. Clearly his male prerogative is secondary to the privileges granted to Mary.

Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart
Luke 2:19 (NIV)

St Luke makes several such references to our Lady and no such references to anyone else. Mary treasures these things and contemplates them in the very centre of her being. The Evangelist shows her to be a model of gratitude to God (she counts these things to be a treasure) and a model of one who meditates deeply on the things of God. Moreover he shows us that she is so to an unusual degree. We may have wondered why, in the Annunciation, Gabriel said that Mary had found favour with God here surely are some of the reasons. Mary's character has not changed because of pregnancy and childbirth, as she is now so she was before. Her grateful, prayerful way of being in the world is part of the reason why she has been chosen out of all of the daughters of Israel to be the mother of the Son of God.

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 
 Luke 2:22 (NIV)    

Here we can note that it has become 'Joseph and Mary' because when it come to fulfilling the requirements of the old law St Joseph has the privileged position, Mary's privileges depend entirely upon her Son. Also we can see that the Holy Family is scrupulous in fulfilling the requirements of that law despite the fact that it doesn't really apply to them, Mary does not require to be purified because she is pure, Jesus does not require to be circumcised or presented to the Lord because He is the Lord. Nonetheless, they show obedience to the law to avoid causing scandal and because the hour has not yet come to supercede it.

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
Luke 2:34-35 (NIV)

Simeon blesses 'them' and then addresses Mary exclusively. We have moved again from old dispensation to new dispensation and once more Mary is foregrounded and St Joseph backgrounded. Crucially Simeon prophesies that a sword will pierce the soul of Mary. We learn from this just how greatly our Lady will suffer because of the Passion and agonising death of her Son. And we learn this about no one else. Certainly we can assume that St Mary Magdalen, St John the Evangelist, St Peter and many others were affected by the death of Jesus but the Holy Spirit, as it were, goes out of His way to inform us that Mary above all others will be afflicted with the afflictions which fall upon Jesus. And if the Holy Spirit wants us to know this then we should follow the example of the Virgin herself and treasure this knowledge pondering over it in our hearts.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him  
Matthew 2:11 (NIV)

This refers to the visit of the Magi. It might be considered that it is simply recording a fact and that Mary's presence is an incidental detail. However, it is recorded not that the Magi saw Jesus alone nor that they saw Him with St Joseph but that they saw Him with Mary. Seeing Jesus with Mary they worshipped Jesus. This is a clear sign surely that the presence of our Lady does not in any way detract from the glory of God. We can give Mary honour and God glory and it robs God of nothing to honour Mary as it robs Mary of nothing to worship God. What the Magi were able to do these two thousand years and more ago surely Christians can still do today.

End of Part 2

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The Bible & The Virgin- Part 1

Why Bible-believing Christians should honour Mary

When Christians from the communities inspired by the 16th Century Reformation (traditionally called Protestants) debate the subject of the Virgin Mary with Catholics they usually say something like "Well, of course we honour Mary but these things Catholics do just aren't Scriptural." Which always makes me think two things. Firstly, in all the flood of books and blogs, sermons and songs produced by these Christians Mary is hardly ever mentioned. It is a curious way of honouring someone to ignore them assiduously. Protestants only ever seem to talk about Mary when arguing with Catholics so what do they mean by saying "of course we honour Mary?" Secondly, granted that some Catholic Marian (Marian means about Mary) beliefs are only implicit in Scripture even if you ignore those the explicit New Testament allusions to her clearly demonstrate that of all the merely human creatures in the Bible no one is more highly deserving of praise and honour than the Blessed Virgin. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through the verses.

The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’  Luke 1:28 NIV At this point the only things that we know about Mary are that she is a virgin and that she is engaged to be married. The Archangel Gabriel describes her as "highly favoured" the Greek word in the text, kecharitomene, can be variously translated. The Vulgate renders it as "gratia plena" that is 'full of grace'. The Geneva Bible, a good Protestant translation, has Hail thou that art freely beloved. So we have this young woman who is highly favoured by God or filled with grace by God or freely beloved by God. Note that these things are said of her before she becomes the mother of Jesus or even consents to do so. That is, Mary is already an extraordinary woman in some way. Why else would Gabriel apply this word to her? He adds "the Lord is with you" This same phrase is found in 2 Chronicles 15:2 The Lord is with you when you are with him. So why is Mary freely beloved and why is the Lord with her? The evidence from Scripture would be that she must be a devout and virtuous woman to a phenomenal degree. Her virtue and devotion are so great that God responds to her love in a phenomenal fashion also.

 The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. Luke 1:30 NIV Gabriel here tells Mary that she has found favour. It might perhaps have been argued that Mary was a passive recipient of God's bounty. Many Protestants seem to argue that any Jewish virgin would have been up to the task that Gabriel is about to unfold. Here, however an active not a passive term is used. Mary has done something which has caused God to look with favour upon her. No heroic act of our Lady is recorded prior to this so the plain, literal sense of Scripture would lead us to suppose that it is the entire way that Mary has lived her life up to this point that has caused God to look so positively upon her.

  You will conceive and give birth to a son Luke 1:31 NIV Sometimes we become so familiar with an idea that we take it for granted and stop noticing how mind-blowingly amazing it actually is. Mary is a virgin. As a virgin she is going to have a child. And not just any old child the unique Son of God. This young woman whom we now know to be virtuous, devout and loved by God to an extraordinary degree is going to become the mother of One who will be the Saviour of the world. There is a story (or myth) that the painter Picasso was requested to sketch a woman's portrait. He quickly did so and then offered it to the woman for $6000. "But it only took you 5 minutes" she said. "Only 5 minutes and also my entire life" said Picasso. The salvation worked for us by Jesus in a sense only took the few hours between His betrayal by Judas and His death on Calvary. In another sense it took His entire life. And for about 30 years Mary was to be the central figure in that life.

 ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ Luke 1:34 NIV This is not the first time in Biblical history that an Angel has promised a child to a woman. In the Old Testament there are the examples of Sarah, mother of Isaac, and Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel. In the Gospel there is St Elizabeth, mother of St John the Baptist. This, however, is the first time that a woman who is a virgin receives such a promise so again we see something unparalleled elsewhere in the Bible concerning Mary. It is also worth wondering why Mary would ask this question since St Luke has already introduced her to us as betrothed to St Joseph. Unless she was pledged to a life of virginity then she would expect conception to follow the normal course of her imminent married life. And if she was pledged to virginity then this too was a new thing in Israel for there is no record in the Old Testament of young women making this offering of themselves to God.

The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God  Luke 1:35 NIV This crucially reveals the relationship that the Blessed Virgin has with the Holy Trinity. We already know that she is highly favoured by God the Father, now we learn that God the Holy Spirit is to become fruitful by her, she becomes in a sense the spouse of the Spirit, and that God the Son is also to become Son of Mary. In all human history, in all salvation history, no one, not Abraham, not Moses, not David, not Solomon not any of the prophets enjoys such an intimate and special relationship with each person of the Trinity. Search the Scriptures and you will see that it is so.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word Luke 1:38 KJV We do not know how old Mary was at this time but it is reasonable to infer that she was a young woman, probably in her teens. In any event having been told the most awesome, incredible, mind boggling thing in the world see what her response is. She might have been forgiven for asking more questions, or expressing some doubts or point blank refusing. Our Lady did none of these things. Her faith is as perfect as a human's could be, her response is prompt and whole hearted, cheerful even. At the very least she is a role model for all Christians. A faith which does not have Mary as the poster child for faith and joyful acceptance of the gifts of the Spirit is surely missing a trick and, arguably, not reading their Bibles very attentively.

 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea Luke 1:39 NIV Hearing that her elderly cousin St Elizabeth was pregnant Mary did not take time to digest her own remarkable situation. She went with haste across some rough country to support her cousin. Having displayed perfect faith Mary now displays perfect, self-forgetful, love.

 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:41 NIV It is important to note the sequence of events. Mary on arrival immediately calls out a greeting. On hearing the sound of Mary's voice, and as a result of hearing Mary's voice, St John the Baptist leaps in the womb and St Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. I am being fairly insistent on this point because I have heard Protestants argue that it was the presence of the unborn Jesus that prompted these things. The clear and unequivocal words of Scripture do not say any such thing. It is the sound of Mary's voice that has these effects. That this is so because Mary is the Theotokos, the God Bearer, is certainly true but it does not lessen the glory of God to accept the clear sense of Scripture here that Mary was the chosen vehicle through which His Spirit flowed.

In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! Luke 1:42 NIV Now, rememeber that St Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit while she utters these words. What she is saying is what God wants her to say. And what she says is that Mary and her unborn child share the title of Blessed. Note also she does not say "blessed because of the child you will bear." The Virgin is certainly blessed for that reason but recall that she was also blessed because she had found favour with God, because the Lord was with her even before the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel.

But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Luke 1:43 NIV Again notice that, still filled with the Holy Spirit, St Elizabeth explicitly states that to be visited by Mary is a favour which she has received. Clearly Jesus and Mary are inseparable at this stage in the life of our Saviour so you cannot have the one without the other. What St Elizabeth is experiencing is that Jesus, as it were, shines through Mary. Or, to put it the other way round, Mary is transparent to Jesus. Even if this was only the case during the nine months of her pregnancy, and there is no reason in Scripture to assume that her openness to her Son was of such short duration, it still follows of necessity that Mary has a special closeness to God and a special gift of sharing that closeness that no other person, male or female, in the Bible could claim to have.                            
   

 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!’ Luke 1:45 NIV  Here the inspired St Elizabeth reveals another reason to consider Mary blessed. She believed fully and firmly in the promises of God conveyed to her by Gabriel. Which is to say that before she conceived Jesus in the flesh she had conceived Him in her heart. Belief preceded conception it did not follow it. We can say additionally that our Lady is blessed because at that moment she became the first Christian, she believed in Jesus before there was a Jesus to believe in. Her contemporaries believed in the Messiah who was to come, she in the Messiah who had already come and who dwelt, in the flesh within her own body and in the Spirit within her own heart.

And Mary said:‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour Luke 1:46-47 NIV So, in her first response to all this praise heaped upon her the Blessed Virgin immediately praises the source of all her blessings and joy. She is in this a model of humility, an example of one to whom praise and thanksgiving arises spontaneously to her lips. I have seen Protestants argue from this frank acknowledgement by Mary that God is her Saviour that she must have been a sinner since otherwise she would not need salvation. I do not think that this follows. We believe, do we not, that children who die in the womb through abortion or miscarriage might go to heaven. If they do then this is because the merits of Jesus are imputed to them, since this is necessary for salvation, but we do not assume that unborn children are guilty of actual sin. The only way to heaven is through the blood of Christ and the Catholic Church is happy, along with Mary herself, to acknowledge that her salvation like ours was wrought by her Son Jesus.

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me  Luke 1:48-49 NIV Our Lady prophetically foretells that until the end of time all generations will call her blessed. Those who do not do so are clearly resisting the Spirit and paying little heed to the plain sense of Scripture. She also tells us why all generations will do this, because the Mighty One has done great things for her. That is, we cannot think of the blessedness of Mary without thinking of the Divine One who blessed her. Those Reformation Christians who fear that giving praise to Mary means robbing praise from God have turned a both/and gift from God's bounty in an either/or choice which smacks of over scrupulousness on their part. Catholics do not fear to praise those to whom praise is due because we know that this praise is only due and can only be due because they have been richly gifted by God who is the source of all good in heaven and on earth.

End of Part One

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Gentle Power

You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good, that he might exalt me, as at present you see, and might save many people. Fear not: I will feed you and your children. And he comforted them, and spoke gently and mildly.

Genesis 50:20-21

You might be forgiven for thinking that these are the words of the post-resurrection Jesus. In fact it is the Joseph who is mostly famous now for his amazing technicolour dreamcoat who is speaking. His words come at the end of a remarkably moving episode (Genesis 50:12-21) in the final chapter of Genesis. If this blog does nothing more than persuade you to read the passage then it will be a good job well done.

The context is that following the death of their father the brothers of Joseph feared that he would now exact revenge for them having sold him into slavery many years before. He, of course, did nothing of the kind. I think that this is significant to us for two main reasons. It shows a continuity between Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT) values and in Joseph we see a type or figure of Jesus so that the more we reflect upon him the more we will know about our Saviour.

There is a school of thought which suggests that there is such a marked contrast between the God of the OT and the one of the NT that really they are two different Gods or conceptions of God. Historically this has given rise to various heresies beginning, I think, with the Marcionites. Today the idea manifests itself chiefly in the suggestion that Christians are or should be embarrassed about the OT. A related idea suggests that Jesus is so radically different from historical Judaism that He must have learned His ideas of religion from India, specifically from Buddhism. The actions of Joseph, which are eminently compatible with Christianity, point up the fallacy of these approaches.

As the Chief Minister to the enormously powerful Pharaoh Joseph would have had a free hand to do whatever he wanted to his brothers who were, after all, perceived as uncouth barbarians by the cultured Egyptians. The brothers had betrayed him and his subsequent life had been for many years both hard and bitter. Had he extracted and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth no one would have blamed him. And yet he did not. Not only did he offer forgiveness but went beyond that to offer material well being and gentle love to his betrayers and their families. He did this explicitly in the name of his God and the authors of Genesis who virtually end the book with this episode clearly present it as a logical expression of faith in the God of Abraham.

A casual reading of the OT shows a deity who could be described at best as grumpy though perhaps the fine old Scottish word carnaptious might be more apt. The people of the OT, however, did not read it casually. Actually in most instances they did not read it at all, they heard it. And the text which was delivered verbally came with a context, everything would be accompanied by a commentary if by commentary we understand not merely words to describe meaning but a way of life and set of values through which and by which to understand meaning. There would be tensions and disputes over meaning within the community of course, which human community is free from those?, but the thread of understanding which see's God in terms of mercy, forgiveness, long-suffering and gentleness is never entirely absent from the narrative. If He is seen at times as Angry God it is an anger which has more of sorrow than of ire within it. Joseph is an example not only of how humans, specifically in this context Jews, should behave it is also an illustration of how God Himself behaves, forsaking justice for the sake of mercy.

If it is sometimes difficult for us, with our different contexts, to see this merciful OT God in quite the same light we seldom have much difficulty in seeing Jesus in that way. Hence the usefulness in considering Joseph as a prefiguring of Jesus. They were both associated with a group of 12, Joseph and his brothers, Jesus and His Apostles. They were both betrayed and sold to the enemy. They both endured a Passion, Joseph being imprisoned. The psalmist describes this episode in a remarkable way too : the iron pierced his soul, Until his word came. The word of the Lord inflamed him. (Psalm 104/5:18-19)  And they both forgave those who had abandoned them.

More than forgave in fact. Joseph acknowledges that his current exalted position is a direct consequence of his betrayal. Jesus was raised up on the Cross in order to draw all humans to Himself because Judas had betrayed Him. Joseph will feed his brothers and their children out of the wealth his exalted position entitles him to. Jesus feeds the Apostles and their children (ie those whom they convert) with His Body and Blood which have become the sacraments of salvation through His elevation on the Cross. Joseph will comfort them from his elevated place, Jesus sends the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, after He is raised to heaven in the Ascension. Joseph speaks gently and mildly. Jesus says Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light. (Matthew 11:28-30)    

It is also perhaps worth mentioning that until old Jacob, also called Israel, died the brothers has no fear for their safety. The respect that Joseph had for his father would have in any case restrained his hand from exacting justice whenever Israel pleaded for mercy. Mary, a daughter of Israel and the mother of Jesus, stands in the same position in relation to her Son. It may well be that without her advocacy on our behalf we will encounter mercy instead of the just punishment our conduct deserves. But whether or no that is so if we take her for our advocate all doubt is removed, we will certainly encounter mercy from Jesus if Mary pleads our cause.

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Love Me Too Little

" For my own part, I will gladly spend and be spent on your souls’ behalf, though you should love me too little for loving you too well. "
2 Corinthians 12:15

As I understand it the Catholic argument from Natural Law goes something like this. Each person has, as a given, a conscience, which is where the basic guide to right conduct and right living dwells within their mind and heart. Additionally each person is endowed with reason which enables them to approve the urgings of their consciences as being compatible with rational analysis of situations. Therefore when a person acts in accord with both conscience and reason then they will be living lives which are good, virtuous and productive of moderate levels of happiness. All of this can exist apart from divine revelation, which means that it is theoretically possible to live lives more or less pleasing to God without ever having heard about Jesus or His gospel. The Catholic Church does not hold to the notion that it is a necessary condition of the moral life to be a Christian.

As you might expect this argument is neither atheistic, the intervention of God is required at all points, nor without caveats. The conscience is only a given because God gives it, humans only possess reason because God has endowed them with it. To be willing to listen to one's conscience and then to have the strength to act upon it both require an active gift of the grace of God. Moreover, the wounding effects of Original Sin mean that we are easily tempted to ignore our conscience and pervert our reason in order to pursue a greedy, selfish or lustful agenda all of our own. Conscience Alone and Reason Alone or the two together apart from divine revelation are unreliable guides because they depend upon ourselves understanding them aright and we are unreliable judges in our own cases.

What revelation, especially that contained in the person of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, gives us is a reliable guide. A standard arrived at through the honest and sincere exercise of conscience and reason is a "good enough" standard. The standard derived from revelation exceeds that infinitely, it is a "good measure, pressed down and shaken up and running over" (Luke 6:38) and it is unfailingly reliable since based not upon ourselves but upon the perfect one.

The Apostle Paul expresses his willingness to spend himself in the service of the Corinthians without expecting much of anything in return. Many might see in this an admirable thing but would note that there is nothing particularly Christian about it. Mothers spend themselves recklessly on behalf of their children if the need arises. Revolutionaries risk everything in the service of a cause whose success they do not expect to see. Nurses and doctors will volunteer to put themselves at risk to being healing and comfort to those in dangerous situations or with highly contagious diseases. Is there anything uniquely Christian about this?

Well, only this, Paul is making himself vulnerable and spending himself on behalf of the souls not the bodies, emotions or feelings of the Corinthians. He is motivated by the desire to help the Christians of Corinth enter into a deep personal relationship with the unseen God in an as yet unexperienced eternity. The Church identifies three particular characteristics which it calls theological virtues, faith, hope and love, and the Apostle displays all three of them here. He is willing to spend himself for the Corinthians regardless of their feeling for him because he loves them. He has hope that, by the grace of God, he will succeed, in bringing himself and others into the kingdom of heaven, he has faith that the means which will bring this about, which he is spending himself in bringing to Corinth, are fully contained in the revelation of God through Jesus Christ.

In short, St Paul is staking everything upon his conviction that Christianity is true and he is doing so exclusively to benefit other people. Again it could be argued that other causes provoke similar types of conduct in other people. Which brings us to the characteristic part of the Apostle's fundamental motivation which is contained in the word 'gladly.' Some may sacrifice themselves grimly or determinedly. Some may do so gladly in the sense of 'freely and without hesitation.' When St Paul use the word he means 'with gladness' 'joyfully.' The sacrifice is not one whereby he gives up his happiness that others may be happy. It is a fundamental condition of his happiness that he act in this fashion and failing to so act is what will make him grim and gloomy. The more fully we resemble Christ then the more fully we enter in His joy. And since the summit and purpose of His mission was to be broken and abandoned on the Cross of Calvary in order to spend and be spent for the sake of sinners then when we do the same we are clothed with Him and He inhabits our hearts, illumining them with the light of eternal love. This is clearly a way of being glad which we can only recognise and desire as a result of revelation and grace. And it is too a higher, better and objectively superior way to anything that conscience and reason apart from revelation can offer.

No human creature ever entered more fully into the life of Christ and so expressed the theological virtues at their furthest limit than Mary, the Mother of God. Standing at the foot of His Cross her total love for Him caused her to feel every agony that He felt such that there were two sinless people crucified on Golgotha that day. But, as if that were not enough, there was more, her love for Jesus extended to those for whom He was dying, ie all of us, so that in love and for love she offered up her sufferings on that dreadful mountain to God as a superabundant sacrifice to be added to the treasuries of God's grace. Even in those dreadful moments of Passion and death for her Son she never lost her faith that the revelation to her from God through Gabriel would come true and that Jesus would yet reign on the throne of David nor her hope that she would be by His side in heaven and on earth. In this Mary is our great role model and if we feel, as we should feel, that we are far from successfully imitating her she is also our most sweet advocate who will entreat her Son on our behalf to send us the graces we require to be conformed to Him through being like her.

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Mary and Christian Meditation

When I go into my house, I shall repose myself with her: for her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness.
Book of Wisdom 8:16

And they understood not the word that he spoke unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart.

Luke 2 50-51

This is part five of a series on Christian Meditation. In the first four parts I looked at the verse from the Book of Wisdom as a guide to meditation provided to us by its author (by convention King Solomon.) Here I propose to show that in Mary, the Mother of Jesus, we can see all the different elements of meditation summed up and displayed to us in perfection. In Mary we encounter one who is at once an object of contemplation, an icon or role model of one who contemplates and a powerful helper to those who call upon her assistance in meditating.

In Part Two I touched upon the apparently puzzling phenomenon of a very, very male dominated religion such as Temple Judaism personifying Wisdom as female in the way that the author(s) of the Book of Wisdom and the Book of Proverbs did. There are no doubt cogent historical, philosophical and linguistic reasons for this choice. Without denying the truth or importance of these reasons the Church has always delighted in seeing in the words applied to Wisdom, as a quality of or companion to God, a type or figure of the Blessed Virgin. The perspective of the Church on this proceeds from the insight that Mary is the one human creature who through her completely unique relationship to the Blessed Trinity, chosen one of the Father, spouse of the Spirit, mother of the Son, is so united to God that in contemplating her we contemplate Him as in a spotless mirror. (Creature is a technical term in this context, it means one created by the Creator so in that sense cannot be applied to Jesus.) Therefore the qualities listed as belonging to Wisdom essentially belong also to Mary by Grace and in the fullest measure possible to a creature. Likewise where Solomon considers meditation to be a conversation with Wisdom the Church understands that this could equally apply to either an encounter with pure divinity or with the Mother of God as a channel of His qualities.

Strictly speaking the only proper object of contemplation is God. Only He is infinite Love and infinitely loving. Only He can raise up our hearts and minds into the unity which transcends all else and fulfils entirely our purpose for being. If we contemplate Mary in meditation we do so only and precisely because she draws us ever more closely into that unity with God in which she herself is immersed. It is impossible to consider her in contemplation without also considering the source from which she derives all her qualities. The question then naturally arises 'why consider her at all? why not go straight to the source?' It is certainly true that one can meditate on the Godhead directly or upon the Son of God as incarnated in Jesus. Indeed, if one has been granted the Grace to meditate in this fashion then that is precisely what one should do. However, many of us struggle to relate to an abstract concept such as the Trinity, others cannot forget that Jesus is Judge as well as Saviour and struggle with the implications of this in contemplating Him. God, who desires that all should be saved and none be lost has provided many aids and helps to His people. He does not despise our frailties and fears, He loves us for them and offers us ways to surmount them. And this is one reason why He offers Mary to us.

For, if our Lady is a mirror of perfection she is also one of us. She is 'our tainted nature's solitary boast' (Wordsworth) In her we see a creature, a woman, a mother, a sister, a companion, a teacher, one who was puzzled, one who was anguished, one who prayed, one who lived a working life mostly marked by poverty, a refugee, one bereaved of a Son, a faithful, humble, gentle soul. She is, in short, eminently approachable. Her purity does not inspire us with fear, as that of her Son's might do, but with a desire to emulate her. More than that those qualities such as love and simplicity which we can consider in abstract terms as belonging to the essence of God are exemplified as practical concrete things in the life and words of the Virgin Mother of Jesus. It might be that some of us can bypass our Lady in contemplation or that others can, as it were, leave her behind beyond a certain point as one enters deeper into God Himself yet nonetheless for many of us she is an indispensable ladder who offers herself because she is offered by God to those who need her. In Hindu thought there is a way known as Bhakti Yoga. This basically proposes that the best and easiest path to knowledge of God is through a loving devotional relationship with the divinity considered in a particular aspect as, say, friend to friend or lover to beloved. For Christians Mary above all others is our Bhakti Yoga, she is our Mother, fellow pilgrim, exemplar, advocate, sharer of our sorrows.

The Blessed Virgin also serves us as the perfect icon of a creature who meditates in order to know God better and love Him more. The words of St Luke at the top of the page tells us that Mary did not understand the word Jesus spoke and she kept it in her heart. The temptation for us here is to say 'she did not understand but she treasured it anyway.' There is no but however. She did not keep the words of Jesus because she understood them nor because she failed to understand them. She kept them because they were the words of Jesus, she needed no other reason. One of the pitfalls that beset us in meditation is the constant attempt of the mind to think discursively or analytically about a topic as if constant mental effort will eventually lead us to conquer infinity. Meditation is not about analysis and Christian meditation is not an affair of the mind it is a relationship from the heart. We give our attention to the object of contemplation, whether that be an episode from the Passion or an aspect of the personality of our Saviour or whatever, and we hold our attention fixed upon the object. Whatever distracts us from the object is not contemplation. Our aim is not so much to understand that which we contemplate as it is to be transformed by and into the One whom we contemplate.

This, by the way, is not a general rule for life. The discursive mind and the analytical tools which it can deploy are excellent things in their way. We could and should use it and them in all sorts of ways to understand the universe and the world around us. Nor can it be said that any aspect of the Christian religion should be off limits for the use of these tools and the results that flow from them can be broadcast from the rooftops. Christianity has nothing to fear from the use of reason and the results of investigation. Contemplation, however, is a different category of endeavour and requires a different skill set from scientific exploration. In this sphere what we took as an object of investigation ten minutes ago and will take up again as an object of investigation twenty minutes from now is currently being looked at from a different angle. We put penetrating its secrets into abeyance while we allow it to penetrate our hearts and pierce us with its infinite love. And this is precisely what the Evangelist shows us Mary doing when she kept all these words in her heart.

Our Lady can help us in meditating in two main ways. Firstly, by the role she played in the life of her Son. That is, we can contemplate episodes in her life and episodes in the life of Jesus viewed from her perspective. The Holy Rosary is above all others the most favoured method of meditation used by Catholics and the one through which we can contemplate most systematically the saving mission of Jesus through the eyes of Mary's heart. Apart from this we can take the episodes from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in which she appears and/or the words she is quoted as using and hold them attentively in our minds. For example her beautifully simple advice Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. (John 2:5)  or this about the Apostles gathered around our Lady awaiting Pentecost  All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:15) In contemplating what she did and what she saw we find ourselves always being led by her into an ever closer, ever more trusting and ever more loving relationship with the three Persons of the Trinity and above all with her Son Jesus Christ.

Mary also helps us in this aspect of our lives, and indeed in every other aspect of our Christian lives too, in her role as Advocate and Mediatrix of All Graces. That is to say through her hands flows the Grace that proceeds from God towards all those who are in exile here in this world at this time. Whether we turn to Mary as an object of contemplation or not the Christian would be wise to begin meditating by calling upon her to look kindly towards us sending us the Grace we need to contemplate well. We would also do well to to ask her to plead on our behalf to the just judge, Jesus her Son, that He receive our adoration, offered from our heart to His during the time of meditation, as we should be offering it and not as we do actually offer it, disfigured by our sins, distracted by our earthly concerns. With the help of Mary we will do well, without it we will do nothing worth talking about. And we would be no less wise at the end of our period of contemplation to thank our Lady for the help she has given us. It always pleases Jesus when we show love for His mother and it always pleases Mary to lead us to Jesus. Catholic Christians at least should also always be pleased to offer thanks to the Blessed Virgin for this one thing above all- we thank Mary for being Mary.


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