CHAPTER NINE

The dedication of the Irish people to the Blessed Virgin has been characterised for centuries by a unique form of devotion at a local level. In many of the parishes around the country the people have displayed their own particular way of expressing their veneration of Our Lady.

Even today it is virtually impossible to travel very far in Ireland without seeing evidence of the peoples’ devotion to Mary. Many roadside statues and Grottos bear testimony to the fact that, at a local level, the worship of the Blessed Virgin has played a significant part in community and parish life. This is especially so in rural Ireland. The headstones in some cemeteries have images of the Queen of Heaven engraved on them, along with prayers requesting her intercession on behalf of the departed souls.

An ancient prayer entitled ‘The Prayer of an Old Irish Woman’, reveals something of the unique approach of many of the older generation who sought God’s help through the Intercession of Our Lady. The words are as follows -

‘ My Loving Lord! A Thousand Welcomes! O, Son of Mary, I love you; indeed I do. Who am I at all, that You should come next or near me? O, God of Heaven, make a little corner for me in Your Heart, and never while there is life in me let me lose my place there, and after death may I still hide there. Amen. Have pity on me, O Blessed Mother! Talk to my God for me. Tell Him I’m a poor ignorant creature, full of sin and misery, but that I love you, His own dear Mother; that I am a poor servant, and for your sweet sake to help and pity me. Amen’.

My grandparents’ dedication to the Blessed Virgin had a great influence upon their children. My mother became a devout worshipper of Mary while she was still very young. When she got married she ensured that her home would be one in which Our Lady was venerated. There was a holy picture of Jesus’ mother in each room in the house. When mother led us in the recitation of the Rosary we knelt before a picture of Mary, the Mother of Perpetual Succour.

CHAPTER TEN

When we were growing up there was always a lot of literature in our home concerning the Blessed Virgin. Mother had a large supply of Novena books, Legion of Mary literature, and publications dealing with many of the reported apparitions of Mary. She encouraged me to read these, and I did. Much of what I read contained statements and testimonies of people like St. Simon Stock, St. Alphonsus, St. Dominic, St. Louis de Montfort, Blessed Alan, Richard of St. Laurant, and many others. The literature that interested me most was that which told of the reported apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes, Fatima and Knock.

After many years I finally realised that the only information I had concerning the Blessed Virgin was what I had read in these books. I had been influenced by what these writers had said. But I had no idea of what God said about Mary. I had read many books about Our Lady while I was growing up. But I had never read God’s book, the Bible. I had always believed the Scriptures were the inspired word of God. But I had never taken time to discover what the Lord was saying in His book.

Now, many years later, I was married and rearing my own family. I finally decided to examine the Scriptures. I wanted to see what God said about the Blessed Virgin.

I discovered in the Old Testament that the Prophet Isaiah foretold the Virgin birth of the Messiah. He wrote - ‘Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’. 1

While reading the New Testament I noticed that the writers of the Gospels give a detailed accounts of the fulfilment of God’s promise to send His Son into the world to redeem sinners. Luke writes -

‘And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Then said Mary unto the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” And the angel answered and said unto her, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” And the angel departed from her ’. 2

When the angel appeared to Mary she was engaged to be married to Joseph, the local village carpenter. God had a plan for Mary’s life, and the angel’s message left her in no doubt as to what this was. Gabriel informed her that she had been especially chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah.

‘How will this be?’ she asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ Mary’s question shows that she wanted to know how this could possibly come to pass. As far as she was concerned it was an impossible situation. The angel responded by telling her that the conception of the child in her womb would be as a result of the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

The angel then reassured Mary that God works miracles in the fulfilment of His purposes. He told her that her cousin, Elizabeth, had conceived a child, and was now six months pregnant. Mary knew Elizabeth had always been barren and was also now well past the child - bearing age. So this pregnancy had to be a miracle.

I couldn’t help but notice the remarkable change that came over Mary at this point. At the beginning of her conversation with the angel she was troubled, afraid and doubtful. But now she surrendered herself to God’s will. She submitted herself as a handmaiden (servant) to God. Mary humbly placed herself in the Lord’s hands. She trusted Him for the future, regardless of personal cost. This young woman didn’t fully understand everything involved. But she did know that God had a personal interest in her as an individual. So she was prepared to trust Him concerning what was to come. Her submission to the Lord’s plan for her life demonstrated both her faith in God’s ability to perform this great miracle and her obedience to His command. She was prepared to surrender all of her plans for the future entirely to God. Mary’s own words sum up her unconditional surrender to the Lord. She said - ‘May it be to me as you have said’.

Having read this, I was really challenged concerning my own willingness to place my life in God’s hands and to trust Him for the future.

Mary must have had so many plans made for the future. She loved Joseph and planned to marry him. But now she was faced with a very difficult situation. How could she tell Joseph that she had conceived a child? How would he respond? What would he think? Would he cancel all the wedding plans? What about her own parents? What would they say? Would they feel she was bringing disgrace upon them and upon the whole family? What about Joseph’s parents and family? How would they respond? What about all her friends? What would they think of her now? What about all the neighbours? Wouldn’t some people just love to spread gossip and scandal? And what about the Jewish Priests? Would they put her out of the synagogue? Would they classify her as an immoral woman? What about her reputation? Would anybody at all believe her when she told them that she had conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Joseph’s response to the news greatly interested me. Matthew records it as follows -

‘Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.’ 4

Joseph must have come to the conclusion that Mary had been unfaithful to him. Consequently he could not see his way clear to take her home with him. How could he live with her in the usual marriage relationship? But while he was thinking these things over an angel appeared to him in a dream.

He must have been greatly relieved when the angel informed him that it was by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not in the natural way, that Mary had conceived. Any doubts he might have had concerning Mary’s faithfulness to him disappeared when he realised that the child who was to be born to Mary was not the son of a human father, but was God’s own Son. In fact He was Immanuel, God the Son. The angel had told Mary that the child whom she would conceive was the Holy One. He, having a Divine nature, was about to assume, or take upon Himself, a human nature. But this human nature was different from everybody else’s, for it was untainted by sin. According to the Scriptures Jesus was the only one ever born of a woman who could be called the Holy One. Unlike everybody else, He had not inherited the sinful nature that Adam passed on to all his descendants.

The angel actually told Joseph why God’s Son took upon Himself a human nature - ‘He shall save his people from their sins’. 5 This was the very purpose of His Incarnation. How Joseph must have marvelled when he realised that the child to whom Mary would give birth would be the long - awaited Messiah, the Saviour. When he awoke from his sleep Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary to his home as his wife.

Shortly afterwards Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was now six months pregnant. Elizabeth expressed her joy concerning how much God had highly favoured Mary. She said - ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb’. Commending Mary for her faith in God, Elizabeth said - ‘Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord’. Responding to her cousin’s greeting, Mary describes the joy that is in her own heart as a result of her faith in God - ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced God my Saviour’. 6

I couldn’t help but notice that Mary was not just speaking here of the fact that she had believed the angel’s message concerning the miraculous conception of the baby in her womb. But she was acknowledging God as her personal Saviour. Mary had not said - ‘God THE Saviour’, but rather - ‘God MY Saviour’. Like so many of the Jews, Mary could have been depending upon the observance of the Law for her Salvation. She could have been depending upon the Sacrificial system and obedience to the Ten Commandments. These things were certainly very much part of her life. But when it came to the salvation of her soul Mary looked to the Lord, who said - ‘Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else’. 7

Mary’s words - ‘God MY Saviour’- greatly interested me, for she was here acknowledging two things. Firstly, she was acknowledging God as being her personal Saviour. In other words she was acknowledging the fact that God had saved her from the penalty for her sins. Secondly, she was identifying herself with the rest of Adam’s descendants. All of them inherited his sinful nature and all of them need the Saviour - ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’. 8 She certainly did not see herself as being any different than anybody else and did not exclude herself from those who stood in need of a Saviour.

I was amazed to read the words of Mary here, for I had always believed that she was sinless. I had been taught in school that, (a) Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin from the first instant of her conception, and (b) Mary, the ‘All – Holy’, lived a perfectly sinless life.

But if this were the case then Mary would not have needed a Saviour. Yet, in her own words, she acknowledges God as her Saviour. Nowhere in the Scriptures could I find any reference to the fact that the Blessed Virgin was sinless. None of the Prophets or the Apostles mentioned it. None of the writers of the Old or New Testaments ever suggested that Mary had been preserved from the stain of Original sin. There was no mention in the Scriptures of the fact that she was ‘All – Holy’, and led a perfectly sinless life. I thought it remarkable that Jesus never once suggested that His mother possessed such amazing attributes. Surely He would have referred to it at some stage if it were true?

Interestingly, Mary herself never claimed that she had been preserved free from the stain of original sin or that she had led a sinless life. She never claimed to be the Immaculate Conception. This claim was not made until many hundreds of years after Mary’s death, when the Roman Catholic Church exalted her to this position. According to Bernadette of Lourdes, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her and said – ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’. Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception of Mary to be Church Dogma in 1854.

I found it quite amazing that something that was never even mentioned once in God’s Inspired Word could be declared to be Church Dogma.

But the fact that Jesus was the Immaculate Conception was made very clear in the Scriptures. According to God’s Word Jesus was the ONLY one who, at conception, was Immaculate, Holy, Spotless, and free from the stain of Original sin. When the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary concerning the conception of Jesus in her womb, he said - ‘that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God’.9 According to the Scriptures, God alone is Holy. The Apostle John wrote – ‘Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy...’ 10 The One whom the Apostle Paul describes as, ‘- Our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ’ 11 - is the ‘Holy One’, whose conception the angel Gabriel announced to Mary.

Jesus ALONE lived a perfectly sinless life - ‘For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens’. 12 ; ‘..But was in all points tempted like as we are, yet was without sin’. 13 ; ‘But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot’. 14

To be specifically chosen by God to give birth to the ‘Holy One’ was a tremendous privilege. Mary was indeed ‘Blessed among women’.

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