Mary as a Type of the Church - Holiness

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 14 May 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We have shared with you about Mary as a type of the Church as a virgin mother, and how we, members of the Church, can live the life and mission of the Church as both mother and virgin. Today, I would like to share on Mary’s holiness and the Church, again extracting mainly from Fr. Josef Neuner’s “Mary, Mother of the Saviour”, the Lumen Gentium (LG) and other Church documents.

Fr. Neuner wrote: God alone is holy beyond all creation. Christian holiness is based on God’s free invitation to share in His life. This free gift from God must be responded to and realised in the newness of life. All holiness in the Church comes from Jesus Christ, who “loves the Church as his bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her”. (LG, #39). This is realised first in Mary, whose holiness makes her the model of the whole Church.

Mary’s holiness is God’s free gift to her because she is the Virgin-Mother of Jesus Christ, the Saviour. Embodying the mystery of Mary in her life and mission, the Church too, is virgin and mother. Thus the Church also shares in Mary’s holiness. But, Mary, conceived without sin, is holy from the beginning, whereas the Church is called from sin to grace; as St. Chrysostom wrote: a harlot made virgin by Christ the bridegroom (p93). I quote Fr. Neuner: “We are members of the Church not through the natural birth but through baptism, reborn in Jesus Christ. Hence as Eve became the symbol of the unredeemed world, so Mary is the type of the world redeemed and sanctified in Jesus Christ, which is the Church.”

Fr. Neuner concluded: “Christian holiness is embodied in Mary and must be realised in the Church. It is God’s transforming presence which must become fruitful in life and work. …Holiness…is the transparency of God’s presence. …Mary is transparent, filled with the mystery of God. When people pray before her image they enter into God’s presence. Also in the Church holiness is more than moral correctness. The “Holy” Catholic Church must offer to the world the consciousness of God’s presence, elevating and powerful in its silence.”

How do we, as members of the Church, live up to that? Whom shall we turn to if not Mary, the very one who is filled with holiness, and is the figure of the Church? For Vatican II taught: “But while in the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle, the followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin. And so they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues.” Moreover, (LG, #65) “…true devotion … proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to know the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love toward our mother and to the imitation of her virtues.” (LG, #67)

To imitate Mary, we need to know her, constantly be reminded of her virtues, and have the grace and perseverance to live by them against worldly temptations. We get to know Mary by reading about her; there is a vast ocean of literature on Mary – in printed material, on the Internet, and prayers and homilies. We also know her through others’ sharing on their experiences of her love and intercession.

Praying the Rosary will remind us of her virtues. Meditating often on the mysteries of the Rosary, we learn more and more about the life of Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother, and will be better disposed to imitate their virtues.

As God alone can make us holy, we must pray for the grace to respond to this invitation of His. We receive grace and strength through the sacraments administered by the Church.  

We should also ask Mary to pray for us to be more like her, so that we will be more like Christ. Mary, being our Mother, is ever ready to help us and intercede for us. Again, the Rosary is the prayer where we invoke our Blessed Mother’s powerful intercession.

In subsequent weeks, we will share on Mary’s virtues. Quoting St. Alphonsus Liguori, “Humility being the foundation of all virtues, as the holy Fathers teach…” we will next share on the great humility of the Mother of God.