Marian Spirituality: A Collective Tradition

by hazelelponiSC · May 22, 2018

Br Simeon Banda FMS – Catholics have a long tradition of Marian devotions and praying the Rosary. Two months have been dedicated to these: May and October.

Many male and female consecrated men share a Marian spirituality.

Spirituality comes from the Latin word spirare, which means “to breathe”. It suggests the creative movement of the Spirit bringing forth life, as did God’s Spirit in creating light from darkness at the dawn of creation.

To be truly alive is to have a spirituality, to be seeking that “something more” in the everyday of life. It involves the search for God in the everyday events of life. We have many spiritualities that make us aware of the presence of God around us. Marian spirituality is one of those.

The month of May helps to explore what the Bible says about Mary. We meditate on the role of Mary in the mystery of Salvation brought by Christ. Christ remains the centre. Mary was the first disciple of Christ and we come after her.

The honour we give to Mary was first given to her by God himself when he chose her to be the mother of the Son. At Ephesus in 431 AD, the Church Fathers called her Theotokos, a Greek word which means the “bearer of God”, or the Mother of God.

Her “yes”, at the Annunciation and throughout her life, reminds us to say our “yes” to God all through our lives.

What Did the Saints Say?

In May, Catholics reflect on what the Bible says about her. But there’s more material for reflection: What have saints written about their experience of her in their life journeys? What have popes, bishops, theologians, mystics said about her? What has she said about herself to some people in apparitions? Even, what does the Quran say about her?

So the month of May helps Catholics to appreciate their Marian tradition and acquire knowledge, also to pass it on to the next generation.

Sadly there are those who have misunderstood the Catholic devotions to Our Lady as being “worship” of Mary. No Catholic worships Mary, but we see God’s great accomplishments in her.

One of the precious gifts Christ left us was his Mother — that we should take her into our homes. Who in their right mind can refuse such a gift?

In fact, Mary becomes a liberator of the suffering humanity, oppressed by the world’s ruling powers. In the Magnificat she says God raises the lowly, the humble and the marginalised. God alone can revise the situation of the marginalised, the have-nots of our society.

In this way Mary can be counted among liberation theologians of our society.

Even after her death, she speaks to the lowly and not to those in positions of honour. She speaks to Lucy, Francisco and Jacinta at Fatima, to Bernadette at Lourdes, to Juan Diego at Guadalupe—those who did not count in society and whose words would not easily be believed.

Mary reminds us that the marginalised also count in the eyes of God, so we ought to listen to their cry for help and what they have to teach us of their experience.