Many Faces of the Virgin

In the vast world of Christianity, there is nobody more divisive than Mother Mary. Though the cause for fractions within Christianity can be attributed to many complex theological issues and doctrines such as the Real Presence, the Sacraments and the Papacy, I don't think there is anything out there that creates more emotional rift than the God-bearer. Catholics recognize Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Help of Christians. On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII exercised the rarely used Papal infallibility to declare "that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory". So what is it that Catholics see in Mary that other Christians failed to see? Why has the Church risked abandonment of many of the followers because of her devotion to Mary? What is the role of Mary in the Church?

Miracle: Performed in a Local Dialect

Depiction of Eternal Father with Jesus to the right
painting Our Lady of Guadalupe

"Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak  to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her inequity is pardoned" (Isaiah 40:1,2). These words of God is often forgotten by the people who carry out the task of spreading the gospel all over the world. People are either intimidated into religion by words such as hell and eternal damnation, or lured into it with a promise of freedom from poverty. Evangelists, when blinded by the urge to follow the instructions of the LORD, fail to see the true reason behind evangelization - to give comfort to the suffering through the word of God, and to open doors to the endless love of the forgiving Creator. 

You could see her in His smiles

One of the arguments against Mother Mary is her lack of presence in the Bible, that she only had a minimal role once Jesus grew up and started His public ministry. Some would even claim that Jesus didn't give her much attention either as evident from the gospel of Matthew: "Someone told him, 'Your mother and brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you.' But he said in reply to the one who told him, 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?'" (12:47,48). What we often doesn't hear is what Jesus said afterwards. He said, "For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:50). And that's what Mary did - she bowed her head and said "May it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). Jesus never abandoned His mother. In fact He had so much love and respect for her, and her influence can be found in many of Jesus' actions. 

The Mystery of "Immaculata"

The following are excerpts from a well written article from the blog Canterbury Tales by Taylor R. Marshal about the Immaculate Conception: 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church beautifully states the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that is, that Mary was herself conceived without original sin:

Mother of God

St. Mary's Church, Kuravilangad
My hometown church

As a cradle catholic growing up in a town filled with devout catholics and with a church dedicated to the name of the Holy Virgin, I had no problem assuming that everything about the Blessed Mother was a no-brainer. Mary is the mother of God and she deserves to be respected. As far as I knew, nobody had any problems with the Divine Motherhood, Perpetual Virginity, the Immaculate Conception, or the Assumption - the Marian dogmas. I have seen people regardless of their religious beliefs coming to my hometown church to pray to Mary. And that's right - I grew up praying to Mary, so did every other person I knew (I will get to this at a later time) . As I grow older and as my knowledge of the world expanded, Mary became a problem. I came to face some questions about the Holy Mother and I was at a total loss for answers. And this was totally unexpected. I began hearing things like catholics got it all wrong about Mary, and Marian worship is nothing more than goddess worship. I had no answers for such harsh accusations against the Holy Mother I grew up loving. It was easier for me to just walk away from Mary rather than doing the hard work of learning about her and defend my faith. 

What is the Truth?

In the gospel of St. John during His trial, Pilate asked Jesus, "What is the truth?". There is no mention of Jesus answering this question. This has confused me a lot over time. Just before Pilate asked the question, Jesus told him that He came to the world to testify to the truth. So why did Jesus say nothing when He was given the opportunity to do so?


Fast forward two thousand years, and we see that things has changed a good bit. Nowadays we only get to hear about the truth. Truth is everywhere and everybody is in favor of the truth. Everybody claims to know the truth - the faithful, the atheist, the pro-choice, the pro-life, the politician, the lifestyle guru, the scientist, the wealthy and the homeless. Yet the world we live in is divided in the name of the truth. So what is the truth? Is there such a thing called the absolute truth?