Mary, the model of women religious of Asia and Oceania:“Blessed is she who has faith.”
Excerpt of talk given at AMOR XIV meeting, April 30 2006. See below for more.
Choi Hae Young rscj
Statue of Mary on the campus of the Catholic University of Korea
Photos: Lolín Menéndez rscj
There are a lot of Mary’s in the scriptures. Myriam the sister of Moses, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of Joseph... Mary, the mother of Jesus is one of these, who represents common women like us. Mary the mother of Jesus of Nazareth is honored as an extraordinary daughter of God or the mother of the Savior. She is not someone who is remote from us but an ordinary woman who conceived the Savior and whom we should imitate and follow.
It is interesting that Mary appears as a new leader in the complex modern information society that requires interrelationships, flexibility and diversity. In the scriptures she is a strong and courageous woman of faith who listens to the words of God, puts them into practice and explores her own life with clear identity and sense of vocation. She is a servant leader in the community, expanding her horizon beyond her personal life. Mary reveals herself as a model of transformational and servant leadership who can cooperate in partnership with others without caring about public attention.
Mary becomes a model of religious who are called to be contemplative prophets as the active faithful. It is wrong to think of her as an idealistic humble and obedient woman, and to fix her in a passive and assistant image. She is a model not only for women, she also helps us to imitate Jesus Christ and come near to God.
If I am to choose one of Mary’s many titles, I would like to choose the title Blessed is she who has faith because we too are blessed members of God’s household. Let us reflect now on Mary’s life in the perspective of women religious who try to follow the way of Christ.
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Attitude of attentive listening and seeing with contemplative eyes
Mary’s life reveals her attitude of attentive listening and seeing with contemplative eyes. Mary “ponders over” what is happening to her instead of reacting immediately. Her responses are both emotional and rational and show that the attitude of a person who seeks God’s will can be found in the openness to the future and ability to deal with circumstances instantly and flexibly.
Because Mary listened attentively and was willing to follow God’s will carefully, she could make an independent and self-determining decision about her vocation and could take responsibility for her actions. Mary’s response is not helpless submissiveness or passivity that ignores her free will. Rather, she offers us a new vision that is faithful to God’s calling, free from human systems or customs, beyond worldly values. She is free to determine her destiny with creativity without being controlled by the public eye or laws. With self-confidence she submits her unpredictable future to God. As a liberated person wholly committed to God she doesn’t understand the circumstances, yet she has no fear of how people may regard her.
Today, Mary invites us to contemplate God’s face. She helps us especially to open ourselves spiritually to the call of the Spirit in the inhuman situation of our world, filled with injustice, exploitation, atheism, materialism, violence, and unnecessary conflicts and diseases. She also invites us to be a presence who is open to the people of God.
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Solidarity and cooperation: sharing of vision and communion
Communion shown in the scene of visitation we experience the solidarity and cooperation between Mary and Elizabeth, women of two different generations (Lk 1, 39-56). The older woman’s encouragement and support for the younger one and the younger woman’s generous kindness and careful consideration for the older one teaches us the meaning of true communion and compassion. The communion of the two women filled with the Holy Spirit (1, 41) comes from their sharing of God’s plan of salvation unknown to others. They encourage and bless each other with great joy, recognizing that they are co-partners for a significant cause.
Today the world of a global village requires us to be in greater solidarity and cooperation than ever before. The development of transportation and information technology has brought people closer in physical terms, but we still have to address the urgent task of overcoming the differences between generations, races, genders, cultures and the rich and poor.
Choi Hae Young rscj
Professor of New Testament Theology,
Catholic University of Korea
This excerpt is from a talk given at AMOR XIV meeting, April 30 2006
To download the whole talk, please click here (196 kb).
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