To Jesus through Mary

Bishop Tim Costelloe SDB reflects on the Rosary as a prayer for each one of us.

One of the gifts of contemporary Biblical scholarship is its confirmation of a Christian instinct which has been part of the Christian story from its beginnings: you cannot really understand the depths of the mystery of Jesus unless you have some appreciation of the role played by his mother, Mary.

Jesus’ mother appears only occasionally in the pages of the New Testament and very rarely outside the pages of the four Gospels. She is briefly mentioned in the Letter to the Galatians, and she is listed in the Acts of the Apostles among those present on the day of Pentecost. There may also be some reference to her in the figure of the “woman clothed in the sun” in the Book of Revelation. Apart from this, she is present in the four Gospels, fleetingly in Mark, more prominently in Matthew, and holding a significant place in the Gospels of Luke and John.

A close study of these Gospel passages shows a growing appreciation of the figure of Mary as the Gospel tradition develops. Luke, particularly in the story of the Annunciation, presents her as a model of faith-filled response to God’s call, and John presents her as a woman of faithful discipleship. She is present at the foot of the cross when the Church is born from the blood and water flowing from the side of Christ. Together with the beloved disciple, she receives the gift of the Spirit whom Christ has poured out in his life-giving death.

The earliest communities of disciples continued to reflect on Mary’s significance. They knew that, because of the resurrection of Christ, all those who died in him would also rise with him. Mary, the great woman of faith and discipleship, given to the community of disciples as mother at the foot of the cross, continued to live in her Son. In a very real way she continued to be present to him with a mother’s heart, ready to put herself at the service of his disciples, at the service of the Church, at the service of her children in Christ.

Mary’s servant heart continues to find expression in her particular ministry in the Church. It is a ministry of prayer, and therefore a ministry of love. Every time we pray the Hail Mary, the prayer which is the backbone of the Rosary, we say to her, “pray for us, pray for us now, and pray for us at the hour of our death.” Just as we turn confidently to each other, and rely on the support of each other’s prayers, so we turn confidently to her, knowing that she will also support us with her prayer and with her presence on our journey.

When we combine this basic and very beautiful prayer with our meditation on the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, we find ourselves travelling the journey of discipleship with Mary as our companion. We enter once again into the mystery of God’s coming among us as a human being. We can begin perhaps to see it through Mary’s eyes. Her fear, confusion, wonder, sorrow and joy become ours as we retrace her steps from Nazareth to her cousin’s home, then on to Bethlehem, back to Nazareth and then to Jerusalem.

As we then dare to accompany Jesus through the darkness and fear of Gethsemane, the Praetorium, and Calvary, we understand that we too, like him, must take up our cross of sorrow, pain and failure. Mary was present at the foot of the cross and she is present with us in our own struggles. And so, over and over again we say to her, “pray for us, pray for us now, and at the hour of our death.”

When the joy of the resurrection breaks over us, and hope fills our lives, we trust that, like Mary, we too will share the fullness of Christ’s life. Our hope and our trust find expression when we say to her, who already shares Christ’s life, “pray for us, pray for us now, and at the hour of our death.”

The Fathers of Vatican II tell us that Mary “advanced in her pilgrimage of faith” (Lumen Gentium, 58). She accompanies us with her prayerful support as we too travel our own pilgrimage of faith. As we say to her over and over again, “pray for us, now, and at the hour of our death,” the Rosary becomes very much a prayer for us, still pilgrims on the journey.