A courageous woman: as a girl, she breaks through her inner fear and takes the incredible risk of saying "yes" to motherhood, - motherhood to the Son of God! - even though she is a virgin.
So I have learned to take the risk to say "yes" to God, even when God asks me to take on responsibilities I don't feel ready for, trusting He'll prepare me "along the way."
A prayerful woman: heavy with pregnancy, not knowing exactly how she is going to handle telling Joseph, she takes the time to pray with her cousin Elizabeth. She praises the trustworthy God of Israel Who always comes to the help of His people, especially when they are in trouble - as she obviously is, since she's in danger of being stoned to death as an unwed mother!
So I have learned that when I feel the most stressed and scared, those are the times for me to pray the hardest, prayers of trust in the God Who always comes to help us.
A strong woman: she is willing to take the initiative and speak up to ask her son to perform a miracle at a wedding, even though he thinks he isn't ready yet for his public ministry. She knows that her God always fills the hungry with good things and gives drink to the thirsty, even simple drink like more wine for a wedding party.
So I have learned to go to her son Jesus, even if a request I have seems very simple or ordinary. God looks with favor even on His lowly servants like me!
A woman with a strong sense of self. Mary the Mother of God is the woman who had a close, loving, honest relationship with Jesus, and taught her son to respect women, not as "the weaker sex," as they are treated in patriarchal societies, but as women equal to men in giftedness. Because of their relationship, Jesus feels free to speak with the Samaritan woman with five husbands, in spite of Jewish prohibitions against speaking with Samaritans or with women who are alone. He ministers to a woman caught in adultery, preventing her stoning. (Does he remember that his mother was in danger of the same fate?) He is sensitive to his friend Mary of Bethany, allowing her to sit at his feet in the role of disciple/learner, a role not open to women at that time. He has women disciples who follow him around the country, providing for his ministry with their own funds.
So I have learned to have a strong sense of self as a woman, finding ways to take on unusual roles for women and to highlight the gifts of women in society and in the church.
A woman who is a leader: after Jesus' death and resurrection, Mary opts to stay with the disciples as a source of strength and generativity. She is with them when the Holy Spirit descends upon them at Pentecost. Undoubtedly she remains close to the first Christians in those small early churches - especially the women. In the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Paul, women like Phoebe, Prisca, Junia, Persis, and many others are missionaries, preachers, teachers, prophets, apostles (like Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles), healers, speakers, in tongues, and leaders of house churches. "They are co-workers with Paul and the other men, gifted with all of the charisms (of the Holy Spirit) that were given for the building up of the church." (Elizabeth A. Johnson.)
In these days of new beginnings, when Pope Francis urges the church to re-consider new roles of responsibility and leadership for women, I remember Mary who as a widow still chose to be present for others as a Wisdom figure, to share with them about her son and encourage them to grow in a multitude of ways. Even though I'm in my seventies, I hear her call to stay active and present to others, instead of following the popular image of the retiree who can "rest on her laurels" and play golf five days a week.
Mother of Mercy: This is my favorite title for Mary, who birthed Mercy Himself into the world. Pope Francis has called for 2016 to be a Year of Mercy for the Churches, to help develop a culture of mercy in a world torn apart by war, terrorism, stereotyping, alienation, hatred, and callousness. Cardinal Walter Kasper connects mercy to compassion, and mercy to justice:
"One must understand the word compassion not only as compassionate behavior (sensitive to suffering.) Rather, we must also hear in 'compassion' the word 'passion.' This means discerning the cry for justice as well as making a passionate response to the appalling unjust relationships in our world. This plea for justice is clearly heard first in the Old Testament prophets, then again in the last of the prophets - John the Baptist - and finally in Jesus himself....The Bible understands mercy as God's own justice. Mercy is the heart of the biblical message, not by undercutting justice, but by surpassing it."
Jesus heard of a God Who is passionate about justice and mercy from his mother, who sang to him God's Battle Cry for Justice and Mercy as he listened in her womb: "He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty." Mary prays the prayer of one who is helpless except for her unwavering prayer to the One Who is gracious and merciful; Mary is the one who hopes that "in the end God will uncover and bring an end to the entire awful network of fate and guilt, injustice and lies...., (God) who peers into the hidden depths of the human heart and knows its hidden stirrings (and) will be a gracious judge." (Kasper)
In my own life, I, like you, have seen so many troubles: joblessness, the terrible illnesses and deaths of loved ones, unjust treatment at work, fears about money. Loved ones have experienced racism, sexism, every sort of prejudice. I shiver with horror over unending wars and terrorist attacks. How grateful I am for Mary who has given birth to the One Who is Mercy! Mary, who has taught me how to pray to my God and how to live as a follower of her son and to be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit! Yes, Mary has taught me how to be the best kind of woman - a woman of faith.