Andrew Apostoli - Following Mary to Jesus: Our Lady as Mother, Teacher, and Advocate

F OLLOWING
M ARY TO J ESUS

O UR L ADY AS
M OTHER , T EACHER, AND A DVOCATE

O UR L ADY AS
M OTHER , T EACHER, AND A DVOCATE

A NDREW A POSTOLI , CFR

Copyright 2009 Andrew Apostoli, CFR
All rights reserved.

Published by The Word Among Us Press
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13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5

ISBN: 978-1-59325-1185
eISBN: 978-1-59325-4315

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture passages contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Scripture texts marked RSV taken from the Revised Standard Version: Catholic edition, 1965 and 1966, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Scripture texts marked NAB are from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms, 1991, 1986, 1970, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible maybe reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Cover design by John Hamilton Design
Puligo, Domenico (1492-1527) Madonna and Child with Two Angels
Location: Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy
Photo Credi: Scala/Art Resource, NY

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other, except for brief quotations in printed reviewswithout the prior permission of the author and publisher.

Made and printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Apostoli, Andrew.

Following Mary to Jesus : Our Lady as mother, teacher, and advocate / Andrew Apostoli.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-59325-118-5 (alk. paper)

1. Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint. I. Title.

BT603.A66 2008

232.91--dc22

2008032195

Before his conversion to the Catholic Church, Cardinal John Henry Newman (d. 1890) undertook a study aimed at showing that the Anglican Church was the true Church as Christ had founded it and that the Roman Catholic Church had actually changed the Lords original teachings. What he discovered brought him to the very opposite conclusion and initiated his conversion to Catholicism.

What Newman discovered about Mary was of particular interest. When he delved into the writings of the Fathers of the Church of the first and second centuries, he found that the theology about Mary was the same then as it was in his own time (and still is now)! For example, he discovered that St. Irenaeus (d. 202) referred to her as the New Eve. He found evidence of Marys important role in the mysteries of the incarnation and the redemption. The only difference, he discovered, was a significant growth in devotion to Mary, especially from the time of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) and St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226). This devotion stressed her role as intercessor and protectress in times of sickness, war, plague, and heresy. This in turn corresponded with a growth in devotion to the humanity of Jesus with a stress on his poverty, humility, and sufferings.

Another interesting insight Newman discovered was that whenever there was correct teaching about Mary, there was usually correct teaching about Jesus. But whenever there was distorted or false teaching about Mary, there was always false or distorted teaching about Jesus.

What emerged from Cardinal Newmans research were two important truths concerning Our Lady. The first is that Mary played an immensely important role in the saving mission of her divine Son. She continues to play an important role in the redemption of the world by helping to dispense to all her children the merits and blessings that Jesus won for us. The second truth is that a true devotion to Our Lady is one of the surest ways to remain faithful to authentic Church teachings.

In these perilous times in which we live, Marys part in Gods plan for the peace of the world and the salvation of souls is increasingly evident. Her message at Fatima, as Pope John Paul II said after the attempt on his life on May 13, 1981, is more important today than it was in 1917. Recognizing Marys crucial role in our lives is essential to our ability to cooperate as fully as we can with Gods plan for our times.

Many saints, like St. Alphonsus Mary Liguori (d. 1787) and St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort (d. 1716), considered devotion to Mary to be a sign of Gods special predilection. To be close to Our Lady is, after all, the surest way to be close to Jesus. Too many of us, though, dont appreciate the role Mary can play in our lives. This book focuses on three ways in which Our Lady is ready to help us every day: as our mother, our teacher, and our advocate. Mary brought life to Jesus, and as our mother, she continues to bring life to all of us, her spiritual children. As our teacher, Mary helps us learn to trust in Gods providential working in our lives in the same way that she completely abandoned herself to his will in her own life. And as our advocate, Mary shows us compassion and always answers our prayers, preparing our hearts to receive the mercy God wants to give us.

Our Lady is extending a loving hand to each of us to lead us on our spiritual journey. All we need to do is take her hand and follow her to Jesus.

In a beautiful prayer he composed in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Francis of Assisi noted the greatness and uniqueness of Our Lady among all women:

Holy, Virgin Mary, there is no one like you among all the women in the world.

You are the daughter and the handmaid of the most high supreme King and Father of heaven.

You are the mother of our most holy lord Jesus Christ.

You are the spouse of the Holy Spirit.

Pray for us with Saint Michael the archangel and all the powers of the heavens and the saints to your most holy beloved Son, Lord and Master.

Our Lady is absolutely unique among all Gods creatures, because she stands in a special relationship to the Most Holy Trinity. She is the loving daughter of God the Father. She is the loving mother of God the Son. She is the loving spouse of God the Holy Spirit.

She is also our mother. Why? Because she gave birth to Jesus, who came to bring us the fullness of life. Since Mary joined with Jesus so intimately in his redemptive work, she is a mother bringing life to all of her children. She is the true Eve, or mother of the living, being both the mother of the whole Church and, in a very personal way, a mother to each of us.

Mary became our spiritual mother through the working of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, many Catholics know so little about him that he is sometimes referred to as the forgotten God. This is largely because his mission is hidden in the depths of our hearts and his nature is rather mysterious. For example, we know what a human father is, and therefore we can somewhat relate to God the Father. We know what a human son is, which helps us relate to God the Son. But it is hard for us to imagine what a spirit is, and so we find it is more difficult to grasp God the Holy Spirit.