There and Back
When God faced the problem of how to reconcile all of humanity to Himself, how to return them to a loving relationship with the Trinity, here is how He chose to do it:
God --sent--> Jesus --through the Holy Ghost--> to earth (humanity)
Not coincidentally, we make our return to God by following this Divine Chain backwards ... we (humanity) are drawn and prompted to return to God through repentance and faith, but how? By the workings of the Holy Ghost in our hearts. It is this "Spirit of Sonship" that allows us to cry out "Abba, Father!", and intercedes for us.
Through this Spirit, we make our prayer to God, but it is Jesus who stands as mediator for us - so you can see how we work our way back to God through the chain.
But now let's go back and look at that chain again ... this would also be a valid and true way to set up the scene:
God --sent--> Jesus --through the Virgin Mary--> to earth (humanity)
We underestimate the significance of this. Too often we tend to think of Mary in the plan of salvation as sort of a necessary, but disposable character.
Not true.
God could have sent His son in any number of ways. Could have descended from heaven in the same way He ascended: as a man, fully grown, riding on the clouds. Could have also been created as Adam was, fully grown, from the slime of the earth. Could have been born, as He was, but of practically any woman.
Think about it. How many holy women were there in salvation history that would have made fine candidates to be the mother of the Christ?
Ruth. Esther. Hannah. Sarah. Abigail. The Mother of the seven martyred sons in Maccabees (whose feast we celebrated yesterday).
But no ... God looked down through all of history and saw one woman - and only one. He saw that one woman and said, "Her. I want her. I choose her."
So intent was He on using the womb of Mary to house His only Son, that He chose to wait for thousands of years from the time of Adam's sin to the actual birth of Christ. He waited. And waited. And waited some more. He wanted her.
So don't tell me that she appeared for just a brief moment in history, gave birth to the Son, and then disappeared as some kind of footnote.
No, but rather ... she is now an indispensable part of the Divine Chain. God sends His son Jesus through the Blessed Virgin; and that is exactly how we will return to Him ... to Jesus, through Mary, and to God through Jesus.
Why does that surprise anyone? It is for this reason that the saints said that a healthy devotion to Our Lady was a sign of predestination.
You wish to find Our Lord? Then look for Our Lady ... you will surely find Him there.
God --sent--> Jesus --through the Holy Ghost--> to earth (humanity)
Not coincidentally, we make our return to God by following this Divine Chain backwards ... we (humanity) are drawn and prompted to return to God through repentance and faith, but how? By the workings of the Holy Ghost in our hearts. It is this "Spirit of Sonship" that allows us to cry out "Abba, Father!", and intercedes for us.
Through this Spirit, we make our prayer to God, but it is Jesus who stands as mediator for us - so you can see how we work our way back to God through the chain.
But now let's go back and look at that chain again ... this would also be a valid and true way to set up the scene:
God --sent--> Jesus --through the Virgin Mary--> to earth (humanity)
We underestimate the significance of this. Too often we tend to think of Mary in the plan of salvation as sort of a necessary, but disposable character.
Not true.
God could have sent His son in any number of ways. Could have descended from heaven in the same way He ascended: as a man, fully grown, riding on the clouds. Could have also been created as Adam was, fully grown, from the slime of the earth. Could have been born, as He was, but of practically any woman.
Think about it. How many holy women were there in salvation history that would have made fine candidates to be the mother of the Christ?
Ruth. Esther. Hannah. Sarah. Abigail. The Mother of the seven martyred sons in Maccabees (whose feast we celebrated yesterday).
But no ... God looked down through all of history and saw one woman - and only one. He saw that one woman and said, "Her. I want her. I choose her."
So intent was He on using the womb of Mary to house His only Son, that He chose to wait for thousands of years from the time of Adam's sin to the actual birth of Christ. He waited. And waited. And waited some more. He wanted her.
So don't tell me that she appeared for just a brief moment in history, gave birth to the Son, and then disappeared as some kind of footnote.
No, but rather ... she is now an indispensable part of the Divine Chain. God sends His son Jesus through the Blessed Virgin; and that is exactly how we will return to Him ... to Jesus, through Mary, and to God through Jesus.
Why does that surprise anyone? It is for this reason that the saints said that a healthy devotion to Our Lady was a sign of predestination.
You wish to find Our Lord? Then look for Our Lady ... you will surely find Him there.
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