Mother Mary’s Story

All saviour gods have virgin mothers! 

Mary and Joseph made a powerful team. Both of the royal line, their first born son would have been a contender for the role of king. Like many female visionaries, Mary was around the time of her menarche when she became pregnant by an Angel. Angels at this time were not winged. They were always men and their meeting often resulted in a pregnancy. But this illegitimacy of Jesus may have caused him embarrassment. Joseph was not mentioned in the gospels after the childhood of Jesus. Any what caused Jesus to be scathing and rude to his mother? She was a young mother, and maybe she was seduced and deceived  by one who presented himself as an ‘Angel’. 

Her correct name was Miriam and she was the daughter of Joachim and Anne in legend, and, from the canonical gospels, we are told that Mary’s story begins when she was described as a virgin - a young girl before her marriage. She would have been betrothed around the age of puberty and would have been living in an extended family living in Galilee, such as the tribe of Ephrahim. She would have sat by the river bank, watching the water ripple as the breeze created waves. This Galilee sea is shaped like a harp - it’s a beautiful and romantic setting. Whilst engaged to be married to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel is said to have visited her and told her she would bear a son who would become the prophesied messiah. Both she and her fiancé Joseph were of the royal line of Judah, and therefore their son would be the rightful royal heir. At that time, a ruthless puppet king, Herod the Great, sat on the throne who would do all he could to destroy the lives of Mary and Joseph.

The Angel Gabriel addressed Mary as a ‘most highly favoured lady’ and prophesied the life of the child  she was to bear. We have one of the longest verbatim texts in the New Testament to describe this meeting. These are Mary’s extraordinary words and they show Mary’s early mature spiritual ministry: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour: He has looked with favour on his lowly handmaiden. From this day all generations will call me blessed: The Almighty has done great things for me and ‘holy’ is his name. He has mercy on those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm and has scattered the proud in their conceit, casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, to remember his promise of mercy, the promise made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children for ever."

As Mary was engaged to Joseph and was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, she was in grave danger of being legally stoned to death for infidelity. There was much debate over who was the baby’s father, but Joseph decided to marry her and saved her from death. Early in her pregnancy, she took the long journey to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Though elderly, Elizabeth had six months previously met with an angel herself, even though she was too elderly to bear a child. Elizabeth’s husband, Zachariah, was the High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple and when he heard of his wife’s pregnancy he was struck dumb in disbelief. Elizabeth declared upon seeing Mary: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. For low, as soon as the voice of the salutation sounded, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.”

When Mary was heavy in labour, she endured a long journey to Bethlehem upon a donkey with Joseph walking beside her. Would the precious child, the future Messiah, die by the roadside? We cannot imagine that horrendous journey! They went from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem to pay taxes to the Roman overlords. Her discomfort and the risk of losing that precious baby was enormous! We know this through the gospels, the Apostles Creed, and through historicaL records. 

The Christmas story is really Mary’s story. We know that men and women were separated in those days, and a man would not be present at a baby’s birth. Mary found shelter in a cave, used by animals and probably had this first baby alone, without the rituals, prayers and support expected at such a dangerous time for mother and baby. Only animals were there. For a crib, she placed the newborn boy in an animal feeding trough. 

The first to be told of the birth, by an Angel, were the shepherds protecting sheep raised for sacrifice in the Temple. King David was once himself a shepherd and Bethlehem was the land of his birth. Then wise men came bringing gifts having followed a star. In the days after his birth, Jesus would be taken to be named and circumcised. During this event, a prophet confirmed the future of Mary’s son. 

Mary would be considered unclean for 40 days and would remain separated. Yet, we know these new parents had to flee for their lives immediately, as Herod the Great had heard of the birth of this royal child and was killing babies, to destroy competition for the throne of David. The new family journeyed immediately to Egypt, despite Mary’s delicate state, and nurturing her newborn son. We do not know anything about the boy’s early childhood in Egypt but when Jesus was a youth, maybe for his Barmitzvah, we know that Mary and Joseph were back in the Jerusalem temple, and they were in a panic because their son was missing for 3 days. When found, he said "You should have known I was at my father's business!" This is the last time Joseph is mentioned. 

We know that Mary was at a wedding feast at Cana expecting Jesus to perform a miracle by turning water to wine, and we know that Mary knew always that her son would have a very difficult and tragic life. This must have caused her great anxiety, especially when he became a threat to the Sanhedrin and other high church and political officials. Mary was a witness, that last Passover in Jerusalem when her innocent son was tortured, and he died an extremely painful and gruesome death by crucifixion. How harrowing for this elderly woman. Some of the last words Jesus spoke were to place his mother into the care of his favourite, and the youngest disciple, John.

Many churches are named after Mary the Virgin. Catholics don’t ‘worship’ her. Only the godhead is worshipped. There are three aspects of God of which Jesus illustrates the father’s love for his creation. Mary is ‘venerated’, that is she is the highest saint and one who can intercede for us as a mediator between Jesus and ourselves. Since the 6th century she has been referred to as Theotokos, the goddess who gave birth to the Son of God. She is also referred to as ‘The Ark of the Covenant’. In medieval churches, there is often a side chapel devoted to her. After the trinity, she has the greatest importance. Many guilds and religious orders are dedicated to her.

The Old Testament prophesied the Messiah as: “He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we esteem him stricken of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, and for our iniquities.The chastisement was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet, he opened not his mouth. He was a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearers. He was taken from prison and from judgement.” Mary knew she would face great suffering on account of her chosen status. 

Bernadette Soubirous was told to ask the vision of the lady who appeared to her at the grotto in Lourdes, who the lady said she was. Bernadette asked and was told ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’. This does not pertain to Jesus being born without sin, but that Mary was, confirming that Mary was the mother of god, and a goddess in her own right. It is church dogma, not biblical, that Mary did not die but ascended to heaven alive. This is commemorated on 15th August, often a time of shooting stars!

Written by Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk  Published in Catholic Directory December 2021