Mary in Scripture

Beyond the infancy narratives of St. Luke and St. Matthew, other principal Marian Scripture references include:

• The Wedding of Cana (Jn 2:1-10). "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5). The Mother of Jesus intercedes at Cana for two events of grace: the first public miracle of Jesus and the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, which eventually leads them both to Calvary. When Jesus calls his mother, "Woman," far from anything derogatory, he is in fact identifying and connecting her with the "Woman" of Genesis (cf. Gen. 3:15), the "Woman" who will be at his side at Calvary (cf. Jn. 19:25), and the "Woman" who will be crowned and glorified in Heaven as Queen in the Kingdom of God (cf. Rev. 12:1). Jesus' response, "what is this to you and to me, my time has not yet come" essentially asks the question, "Are you ready to begin a public mission that will end in Calvary in untold pain and suffering?" Mary responds directly to the servants in manifesting her readiness to initiate the public journey that will lead to the redemptive sacrifice at Calvary, which was foretold by Isaiah in the prophecies of the "Suffering Servant" (cf. Is 52:13-53:12) and also prophesied by Simeon in the piercing of Mary's heart (Lk. 2:35). It is indeed Mary's faith in her Son and his divine power that makes it the "right time" to begin his public ministry.

The motherly mediation of Mary brings to the attention of Jesus the needs of the wedding couple, who have run out of wine, as she does for all followers of Christ and for all humanity. (7) The last words of Mary recorded in the Bible "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn. 2:5) profoundly reflect the goal of the Mother of Jesus' intercessory role for all nations and peoples—to direct all humanity to her divine Son so they might receive the miraculous graces necessary for salvation.

• Mary at the Foot of the Cross (Jn. 19: 25-27). "Woman, behold, your Son... behold, your Mother" (Jn 19:26-27). As the final gift of the crucified Savior from the Cross, Jesus gives to John, and symbolically in John to all who seek to be "beloved disciples," and even to all humanity, the gift of his own Mother to be our own Spiritual Mother. The redemption event at Calvary was a universal spiritual event for all humanity, and Jesus' gift of his mother also constituted a universal spiritual gift. Mary's spiritual motherhood is a personal gift which Jesus Christ offers personally to every Christian and to every person. (8)

As the beloved disciple "took her into his own home" (Jn. 19:27), so too is every Christian and every member of the human family invited to imitate John by taking Mary into our "homes," that is, the interior lives of our Christian faith and life—the inner home of our hearts. (9)

• The Presence of Mary in the Upper Room (Acts 1:13-2:4). After the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, Mary is central amidst the Apostles and disciples in the Upper Room who await and petition for the descent of the Holy Spirit, Mary's divine spouse. Once again, "Mary, the Mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14) is seen at the heart of the infant Church, mothering and nurturing the Church as she did the infant Jesus himself, through the overshadowing and power of the Holy Spirit.

• Pauline Reference of Galatians 4:4: where St. Paul tells us the Savior was "born of a woman" (Gal 4:4). St. Paul testifies here to the Divine Motherhood, that God the Father sent his only begotten Son on his redemptive mission through Mary. His reference "born of a woman" again associates Mary as the Woman of the Bible who works intimately with and under the Redeemer in their united mission of obtaining "adopted sons," a coredemptive mission as given by the Father and as sustained by the "Spirit of the Father," who leads all true sons and daughters of the Lord to cry out "Abba, Father" (Gal 4:5-6).

• The Woman Clothed with the Sun (Rev. 12:1). "A woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev 12:1). Here Mary is seen in her assumed and crowned glory as the Queen-Mother of the male child who will "rule all the nations with a rod of iron" (Rev 12:5). While this feminine image also refers to the Church, it must in the first place refer to Mary, as only Mary gave birth to the "male child" who is Jesus, King and ruler of all nations.

The passage immediately preceding the description of this heavenly woman crowned in glory, is the powerful revelation of the Ark of the Covenant as appearing in heaven: "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, loud noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail" (Rev 11:19). As Mary is the New Ark of the New and everlasting Covenant, the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant in heaven to St. John, which is immediately followed by the description of the Woman clothed with the Sun, further identifies and confirms the first meaning of the Woman of Revelations 12 as revealing the Mother of Jesus.

This woman is also in mortal combat with Satan, the ancient dragon (cf. Rev 12:3-6). Hence the perennial battle between God's greatest creature, Mary, and his most evil creature, Satan, constitutes the "bookends of Scripture" as found in the first book of the Bible (cf. Gen 3:15) and in the final book of the Bible (cf. Rev 12:1-6). The labor pains referred to in Revelations 12:2 while at first glance might be mistakenly attributed to Mary in giving birth to Jesus, are actually a reference to the pains experienced by Mary in giving "spiritual birth" to the Church with and under Jesus at Calvary (cf. Jn. 19:25-27), a "mystical birth" by the "New Eve" which brings forth children of God who are spiritually conceived and baptized in the blood of Jesus Christ, the "New Adam."

In sum, we can witness to the sublime revelation of the immaculate daughter of the Father, the coredemptive Mother of the Son, and the fruitful spouse of the Holy Spirit as contained in the written Word of God. These pregnant scriptural passages about Mary will gradually experience their gestation and birth in the form of dogmas and doctrines in the fruitful womb of the Church, over the course of time and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Sacred Word of God written down testifies to the unparalleled dignity and role the Mother of Jesus possesses in the perfect plan of God for the salvation of humanity. May all believers of the Bible accept the gift of Jesus from the Cross to "behold your Mother" (Jn 19:27) so that we can do our Christian part in fulfilling scriptural prophecy: "All generations shall call me blessed" (Lk1:48).

This article was excerpted from Introduction to Mary: The Heart of Marian Doctrine and Devotion, Queenship, Third Edition, June 2006, and is available from Queenship Publishing at 1-800-647-9882, www.queenship.org., or PO Box 220, Goleta, California, 93116, U.S.A.