Woman of Faith: Mary of the Presentation
Fr. J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
What is faith? Theologians dispute the answer; the question befuddles the ordinary Christian. Faith is too broad a topic, too profound, too deeply rooted in our lives to be adequately expressed in words. In his first two chapters, Luke the evangelist responds to this central issue of Christianity by painting a magnificent portrait of the model disciple, Mary. In her, we see faith lived.
WOMAN OF FAITH
The Annunciation presents Mary, empowered by the Spirit, totally surrendering to God on every level of her personality; the very root of faith.
The Visitation describes the Mother of the Lord as the missionary, the evangelizer; an intrinsic element of Faith.
The Nativity depicts Mary as the Woman carrying Jesus, yet spurned by the “inn” – symbol of the world – and only through prayer remaining faithful in spite of rejection; a consequence of faith.
It is the Presentation narrative {Lk 2:22-40) wh1ch emphasizes a facet of faith which contemporary Christians tend to overlook; faith is obedience which brings about a sharing in the sufferings of the Lord.
Obedience is a synonym for faith. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle of the Gentiles speaks about “the obedience of faith”. (Rom. 16:36). For both faith and obedience essentially mean being in harmonious relationship. Since it is God who calls us to this all-encompassing new life with Him, it can only be sustained by remaining in accord with His will; it can only be through a total, loving, active and responsible surrender to His mysterious ways; the definition of obedience. “If you love me,” says Jesus, “keep my commandments”. (Jn. t4:15).
FAITH IS OBEDIENCE WHICH BRINGS ABOUT . . .
There is no faith in the full sense of the term. where there is disobedience. There is no faith where the creature is out of harmony with the Creator. When Jesus commands; “Follow me” he leaves no room for picking and choosing what we – on our own – believe suits us best. He alone is ”the way, the truth and the life”. Obedience and faith go hand in hand.
This conformity to God’s will requires living the Gospel- demands no matter the cost. It comprises an assent “of will and mind” to the Spirit of Truth as He speaks to us through His Body, the Church, the “pillar and ground of truth”. (1 Tim 3:15; cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, no. 25). A knowing and willing defiance of the word of God, rebellion against his Body, the church, shatters our loving relationship with the Lord. Where there is no obedience, there is no faith.
. . . A SHARING IN THE SUFFERINGS OF THE LORD
It appears that Luke is intent on getting this message across in the opening pages of his Gospel. 8ince he is proclaiming Jesus as “Savior who 1s Christ the Lord,” (Lk 2:11) the evangelist tells us that we must be obedient to this word if it is to recreate us into the image of the Son of God. Luke explains this obedience of faith by presenting Mary as the faith filled – the obedient – woman. This characteristic of Our Lady is the basic color Luke uses in his Gospel portrait of the Mother of Jesus. It is strongly accentuated in the Presentation narrative.
Madonna and Child: painter Elisabetta Sirani: 1663
Elisabetta took over the studio of her father Giovanni Sirani in 1654-1655. This painting resides in the National Museum of Woman Arts in Washington, DC.
It is this Spirit-filled insight into sufferings – no matter the kind – that enables us to say with Saint Louis de Montfort; “What a Cross to be without a Cross”! Through the Cross we arrive at the empty tomb and encounter the Risen Christ. Through the Cross we share in the Victory of the Redeemed. The obedience of faith plunges us into Christ Crucified enabling us to share in the glory of the Resurrection.
Such is the profound vision of faith given to us by the Lucan narrative of Mary of the Presentation.
Return to The Queen: Articles
Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph bring the Infant Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, for this is, as the Gospel underlines, “according to the law of Moses”. (v. 22). The evangelist insists upon the obedience when he repeats that the Presentation of the Child Jesus is an act of observance of the Law; the parents offer a sacrifice “according to what is said in the law of the Lord”. (v. 24). And “the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law”. (v. 27).
No less than five times (vv. 22, 23, 24, 27, 39) Luke highlights that the observances were carried out according to the Law! The obedience of Mary becomes even mora apparent for it can well be presumed that – according to the Lucan scenario – she could consider herself exempt from any need of “purification” for her conception of the Child was virginal; moreover, why should Jesus, already described by Luke as “the Lord,” need to be “redeemed” by an offering?
MARY AND TOTAL OBEDIENCE
Yet, that total surrender of faith – which is the very characteristic of Mary – exemplifies itself in her total obedience, observing “the law of the Lord.” Faith and obedience go hand in hand.
It is only within the context of the strength of Mary’s obedience of faith that we should consider the best known scene of the Presentation narrative, Simeon’s prophecy that Mary’s soul will be pierced. “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother; ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also) that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed’ ”. (vv. 34-35).
Faith is a sharing-with Mary, through her obedience of faith shares in the life of her Son and, therefore, shares in His obedience to the Father which leads Him to the Cross. Mary’s faith will bring her so intimately, so deeply into the sufferings of her Son. It is her faith which makes her “Our Lady of Sorrows.”
FAITH AND SUFFERING
All who share with Christ in his “rising” can only do so by sharing in his “falling” in death upon the Cross. Paul expresses this beautifully in his Letter to the Philippians; “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death that if possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead”. (3:10 11). The Cross is intrinsic to a life of faith. 8ince no one is more obedient to Christ than Mary His Mother, no one shares so deeply in His sufferings; no one shares so fully in the “falling” (the sufferings) and the “rising” (the resurrection) of Jesus.
Mary teaches us that suffering – sharing in the Cross of Christ – is part and parcel of being a Christian.
The Risen Lord Himself told the disciples on the road to Emmaus; “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and so enter into his glory”? (Lk 24:26). The same holds for the follower of Christ. It is only by denying oneself, taking up the Cross, that we can share in the glory of the Risen Lord. (cf. Mk. 8:34); it is only by dying that the grain of wheat can sprout in newness of life (cf. Jn. 12:24).
SHARING IN . . .
There is no shortcut to the empty tomb; the only path goes over Calvary’s hill. Easter does not come after Good Friday; the resurrection does not take place after death of the Cross. Rather, it is through the Cross that Jesus enters into his glory; it is only through suffering that we share in the glory of Christ’s resurrection. Eternal life does not come after death; rather, it is only through death that we share in the eternal victory of the Lord. It is only through the falling that we share in the rising; “this child is set for the fall and the rising of many in Israel”. (Lk 2:34).
Like Mary, all the disciples of Christ must experience “fall and rising” – all must share in the Cross in order to know the glory of the Risen Lord. No wonder that Saint Louis de Montfort had such a love for the Cross! Participating in Mary’s faith, he knows that obedience to the Lord necessarily means embracing His Cross and through the Cross, sharing in Omnipotent Love who is God.
Mary of the Presentation tells us that a Christianity which strips suffering from a follower of Christ is an unrecognizable caricature. Suffering – the Cross – is intrinsic to anyone who obeys Jesus’ command, “Follow me”! 8lnce faith is a sharing with, the Christian must participate in the Cross of Christ who turns our weaknesses and sins into victory by the glorious gross.
. . . THE CROSS
It is this Spirit-filled insight into sufferings – no matter the kind – that enables us to say with Saint Louis de Montfort; “What a Cross to be without a Cross”! Through the Cross we arrive at the empty tomb and encounter the Risen Christ. Through the Cross we share in the Victory of the Redeemed. The obedience of faith plunges us into Christ Crucified enabling us to share in the glory of the Resurrection.
Such is the profound vision of faith given to us by the Lucan narrative of Mary of the Presentation.
