Marianist Monday

Mary’s obedience flows from her faith. It is not a consequence of “what she knows,” but rather of the certainty of her faith. She is not obedient because she knows God’s plan ahead of time. She obeys because she trusts, she confides and she hands herself over to the Son. Her main support is her faith. This would not be the case except for a certain obscurity of knowledge which is inherent to us all.

The mystery to which the believer hands himself over is only illuminated when one enters into it; and one can only enter into it – as we have seen in Jesus – through the door of obedience. Faith gives rise to the desire to penetrate the mystery. 

Obedience permits the mystery to occur, to be made manifest, to come to Light, be- fore our very eyes. Luke admirably shows us this process of faith-obedience-revelation in Mary when he presents her as “astonished” (2:48), “marveling” (2:33) or perplexed (2:50) in the face of what was happening to her, even allowing her to be reproached by her Son for her ignorance (Lk 2:49), but “guarding all these things in her heart” (2:19, 51).

“Be it done to me according to your word” – In Obedience with Mary (April 2009)

Manuel J. Cortés, SM,  Superior General of the Society of Mary