Is Mary a saint? (Glad you asked: Q&A on church teaching).From the beginning, it was natural for the church to record and preserve stories of the lives of holy persons who died and are believed to be in glory with God in heaven. Chapter 7 of the Acts of the Apostles records the death of Stephen, a deacon who was stoned to death at Jerusalem and who is venerated as the first Christian martyr. It also describes the death of James the Greater, the first apostle to die for his faith, who was beheaded be·head tr.v. be·head·ed, be·head·ing, be·heads To separate the head from; decapitate. [Middle English biheden, from Old English beh in the year 44. In spirit and action, their stories of faithfulness bring the doctrine of our faith to life. Just as the early Christians had looked to the early martyrs as real-life examples of how to live as followers of Jesus, they recognized Mary of Nazareth's unique role in the mystery of Christ and honored her with special reverence. The first artistic rendition of Mary that we know of is a third-century fresco fresco (frĕs`kō) [Ital.,=fresh], in its pure form the art of painting upon damp, fresh, lime plaster. In Renaissance Italy it was called buon fresco to distinguish it from fresco secco, on a wall of the underground chamber of the Catacombs of Priscilla on the ancient Via Salaria The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to Castrum Truentinum (Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast - a distance of 242 km. in Rome. When a few years ago I first saw this painting, known simply as the Madonna and Child The Madonna and Child is one of the central icons of Christianity, representing the Madonna or Mary, mother of Jesus and her son. After some initial resistance and controversy, the formula "Mother of God" (Theotokos , I was struck by the simplicity and tenderness still evident in what's left of the plaster image. Mary is seated on a throne and is clad in a short-sleeved tunic tu·nic n. A coat or layer enveloping an organ or a part; tunica. tunic a covering or coat. See also tunica. abdominal tunic see tunica flava abdominis. with a palla covering her head. Her body is slightly inclined, in an attitude of motherly moth·er·ly adj. 1. Of, like, or appropriate to a mother: motherly love. 2. Showing the affection of a mother. adv. In a manner befitting a mother. tenderness toward the child she holds in her arms. In reality, by using a simple woman from Nazareth as the instrument through which to come into the world, God gave us a marvelous gift. Mary wanted to learn what it meant to love God through her life. She saw truth, mystery, and love and treasured them in her heart. There is no better example for us of what it means to be in an honest and intimate relationship An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship. It is a relationship in which the participants know or trust one another very well or are confidants of one another, or a relationship in which there is physical or emotional intimacy. with God, our Creator, than Mary. Yes, Mary is a saint, but even among saints she holds a special place. As the Mother of God, Mary of Nazareth is our greatest model in faith. She was the very first Christian, the first one to say "yes" to the Word of God in her life. Mary was the first to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of the almighty God. Because she was closest to Christ, both as mother and as disciple, she is recognized by the church as the greatest of all saints All´ Saints` 1. The first day of November, called, also, Allhallows or Hallowmas; a feast day kept in honor of all the saints; also, the season of this festival. , a "super-saint"! Obviously, Mary had a unique and singular place in the history of salvation. There is no better person to show us what it means to live out a "yes" life, choosing to bring God into the world every day. No other person can accompany us on the Christian walk the way that Mary can. To paraphrase the late Swiss theologian Hans Urs yon Balthasar, Mary, as the first Christian, shows what God's grace is capable of realizing in each one of us. By MARIA RUIZ SCAPERLANDA, a freelance journalist and author of The Seeker's Guide to Mary (Loyola Press). |
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