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Mary's Understanding of Her Role in Christ's Life

Mary's Understanding of Her Role in Christ's Life

Q: What was Mary's understanding of her role in Christ's life?

A: Mary's own understanding of her role in Christ's life should be regarded as progressively widening and deepening. She had a global understanding of who her son was. It was announced to her by the angel. The specific meaning unfolded as Christ grew in age and wisdom and became conscious of his own mission in intimate relationship with his father's will. Motivated by the Spirit and guided by the evolution of her son, she shared his concerns and designs as best she could and understood. She became his disciple and associate which led her to accept the difficult sacrifice to see him die at the hands of his enemies, and to let him go, thus becoming mother of Christ's spiritual brothers and sisters. The understanding of her role evolves from that of Christ's mother and educator to that of his disciple and spiritual mother of his followers. It deepens insofar as her initial yes to the Spirit's action in her leads Mary to the evermore taxing self-abandonment in the footsteps of her Son. She experiences in her own soul and body what God's salvation strategy is all about, namely to live, die and resurrect for the redemption of all.

All About Mary includes a variety of content, much of which reflects the expertise, interpretations and opinions of the individual authors and not necessarily of the Marian Library or the University of Dayton. Please share feedback or suggestions with marianlibrary@udayton.edu.

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