Mary in the Gospel of Luke: Part IV: The Annunciation

The Annunciation

This beautiful introduction to the annunciation narrative of Luke has been the subject of the last few installments. We conclude this first part of the annunciation scene by reflecting on the words:

And the virgin’s name was Mary.

In charming simplicity, the Holy Spirit announces the name of the young girl to whom the angel Gabriel appears. “The Virgin’s name was Mary.” Since there is so much interest in the name Mary, it may be well to summarize some of the possible meanings of the name of the mother of Jesus.

The Meaning of the Name Mary

The meaning of Mary—from the Hebrew Miriam—has been understood in many diverse ways. At the end of the fourth century, Saint Jerome listed some of the possible definitions of the name Mary. Among those mentioned are “Light-Giver,” “Myrrh of the Sea,” “Lady,” “Star of the Sea,” “Bitter Sea”. It appears that all of these meanings are forced interpretations of the Hebrew, Miriam. Nonetheless, the most common interpretation up to the sixteenth century was “Star of the Sea.” Yet here there is an added difficulty. Jerome probably wrote not Stella (star) of the sea, but Stilla, (drop) of the sea. A copyist is probably responsible for turning the i into an e.

This unintentional change of Jerome’s text has given rise to some of the most beautiful praises of Our Lady: the ancient hymn, Ave Maris Stella (Hail, O Star of the Sea) and some of Saint Bernard’s sermons on Mary.

With the Renaissance came renewed interest in studies of Hebrew. New interpretations of Mary appear: “Teacher (or Lady) of the Sea,” and “The Exalted One.” Others believed that the Hebrew roots of Miriam could mean “wished-for-child,” “the rebellious one,” or even “the Fat One”; the last interpretation came to mean The Beautiful One since it was somewhat arbitrarily presumed that in the Semitic mind corpulence is the equivalent of beauty. The meaning of Mary as the Beautiful One became quite common and associated with the words of the Canticle of Canticles, “You are all beautiful, my love” (Song of Solomon 4:7) gave rise to the splendid hymn Tota Pulchra Es, O Maria (You are all beautiful, 0 Mary).

Today’s Opinion of the Name Mary

The more common opinion today is that Mary is probably derived from a Hebrew root meaning height. The name could, therefore, signify “Exalted,” “Highness.”

This fascination with the derivation of the name Mary flows from the belief of some that the parents of Mary were inspired by God to give her the name Mary to signify her personality. Mary is then the royal highness, the Queen, the Exalted among God’s creatures. However we are far from solid scriptural interpretation by the time we reach such conclusions.

S ince Mary (Miriam) is the name of the sister of Moses, some have concluded that the name Mary indicates that as Miriam the prophetess played a role in the liberation of the slaves from Egypt. So too Mary plays a role in the liberation accomplished by the new Moses, Jesus, her Son. That Our Lady does play a unique role in our redemption through her faith-filled consent, there can be no doubt. However, it can hardly be derived from the fact that she bears the same name as the sister of Moses; others in the New Testament also are called Mary.

The Power of the Name Mary 

Saint Louis de Montfort joins several opinions together when he gives the derivation of the name Mary; “The name ‘Mary’ which signifies Lady of Lights, indicates that God has filled (her) with wisdom and with light as a brilliant star to light up heaven and earth” (Admirable Secret of the Rosary, 48). However, his interest is not so much in its meaning as in its power.

Repeatedly he mentions that at the name of Mary the devils take flight (Hymn 55, 79, 86, 88). His words seem to repeat the appeal of Saint Bernard; “In time of danger, of difficulty, of uncertainty, think upon Mary, call upon Mary. Do not let her name depart out of your mouth or out of your heart”.  Montfort’s prayer is that Mary arm us with her name (Hymn 90) so that with the most holy names of Jesus and Mary in our hearts (True Devotion, 59), we may establish the reign of Christ on the ruins of the kingdom of Satan.

Far more important than the meaning of Mary is the new name given to her by God through the Angel Gabriel; “full of grace” (Lk 1:28). The next issue of The Queen will explain this beginning of the message of the angel; “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”

(To Be Continued)