Mary mother of the missionary Church

Maryknoll Missioner Fr. James Kroeger offers some insights into the essential missionary character of the Church and shows how Mary is a model of Mission today.

Forty years ago, on November 21, 1964, in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome a special liturgy brought to a close Session Three of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The occasion marked the solemn promulgation of the Council’s document on the Church, Lumen Gentium. Paul VI noted that the Church can better understand her union with Christ if she also possesses a comprehensive Catholic teaching on Mary. The pope continued: “And so, for the glory of the Blessed Virgin and our own consolation, We declare Mary Most Holy to be the Mother of the Church, that is of the whole Christian people.”

The Second Vatican Council, in another pivotal decree Ad Gentes, affirms the inherently missionary identity of the Church: “The pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature…. She strives to proclaim the gospel to all people” (AG 1-2).

An important conclusion can be drawn from these significant words of Pope Paul VI and the Second Vatican Council: Mary is now known as “Mother of the Church,” a community of faith that is inherently missionary. Therefore, the faithful can know and address Mary as “Mother of the Missionary Church.” Catholics can implore their mother: “Mary, Mother of the Church-in-mission, pray for us.”

A Vision of Evangelization. This presentation develops the intimate links between Mary and the Missionary Church by exploring several principal elements of the Church’s evangelizing mission and linking these elements with the life and attitudes of the Virgin Mary. A simple logic is followed: if Mary is mother of this missionary faith-community, the Church, then one should be able to identify the various dimensions of mission within Mary’s own life and example.

Paul VI has provided a brief definition of evangelization: “For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all strata of humanity” (EN 18). Note that the pope says “all strata of humanity” are to be transformed by the Gospel. This means that the Church today has adopted a wide and comprehensive vision of evangelization; many facets comprise the Church’s evangelizing mission. One can identify the “principal elements” of evangelization: (I) Christian Presence and Witness of Life; (II) Service of Humanity through Development and Human Liberation; (III) Inter-religious Dialogue with the Followers of Other Faiths; (IV) Explicit Gospel Proclamation and Catechesis; (V) Prayer, Contemplation, and Liturgical-Sacramental Life. How are these elements linked into the life-witness of Mary, who is “Mother of the Missionary Church”?

(I) For Paul VI, Christian Presence and Witness of Life form the “initial act of evangelization” (EN 21). Daily activities of Christians are to be a “faith-witness” that demonstrates Christian identity and values. Through their lives Christians are to give their neighbors a clear and powerful example of faith and integrity.

Today people respect authentic witnesses; Paul VI noted: “Modern people listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (EN 41). The Blessed Virgin Mary gives the Church a marvelous example through her witness of life. In the narrative of the Annunciation (Lk. 1:26-38) the angel Gabriel is sent to Mary. Being completely human, Mary is bewildered and “deeply disturbed” by Gabriel’s message. Encouraged by Gabriel, Mary submits to God’s designs. She knows that “nothing is impossible to God” (Lk. 1:36). “I am the handmaid [servant, slave] of the Lord … fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum” (Lk. 1:37-38).

Mary’s witness of a deep faith-life was a constant challenge, not only a once-and-for-all response during the Annunciation. Imagine the challenge to her faith when Mary was misunderstood as a pregnant, unmarried woman, when there was no place in Bethlehem for her to give birth, when the holy family had to flee as refugees into Egypt, when Jesus was lost in the temple, when she stood under the cross of her Son at Calvary. Mary was not spared the uncertainties, struggles, and sufferings of human life; she lived deeply into the mystery of God’s design of salvation. Christians who look to Mary can appreciate that their witness of life in today’s complex world is already a positive contribution to the Church’s evangelizing mission.

(II) A second dimension of integral evangelization centers on Service of Humanity through Development and Human Liberation. This means serving the most unfortunate, witnessing to justice, defending the integrity of creation; it includes the whole area of social concerns, ranging from peace-building, education and health services, to promoting family life and good government. Human development is a vast area of the Church’s evangelizing mission. Love must be put into action through concrete deeds of service; faith without good works is dead.

The life of the Blessed Mother manifests her faith in concrete deeds of service. One clear example is Mary’s service to her cousin Elizabeth (Lk. 1:39-45, 56). This visitation scene immediately follows the annunciation narrative in Luke’s gospel. Mary did not cling to her privilege as God’s mother; upon learning that Elizabeth was pregnant (1:36), Mary immediately went “in haste” (1:39) to be of service to her elderly kinswoman. Mary herself was pregnant, but, setting aside her own needs, she traveled “to a town in the hill country of Judah” (1:39) and served “about three months” (1:56) before returning home to Nazareth.

Mary’s wonderful Magnificat hymn (Lk. 1:46-55) is sung daily in the Church during vesper prayer. This Spirit-inspired song of gratitude is a profound synopsis of how God’s plan of salvation unfolds: lowly servants like Mary play important roles in God’s design; God does great deeds for his faithful people; mercy and compassion extend from age to age; the world’s secular values are uprooted; the poor and hungry are satisfied and God’s justice reigns. Today renewed commitment to the social dimension of holistic evangelization is needed—following the life and example of Mary, woman and model of service.

(III) A third aspect of the Church’s mission of integral evangelization explores Interreligious Dialogue with the Followers of Other Faiths. Once again, Mary, who lived among people of another faith tradition during the sojourn of the Holy Family in Egypt, can serve as a model for dialogue and a bridge-builder between religious traditions.

The Vatican II document on religions (Nostra Aetate) has this exhortation for Catholics in their relations with believers of other faiths: “prudently and lovingly, through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, and in witness of Christian faith and life, acknowledge, preserve, and promote the spiritual and moral goods found among these people, as well as the values in their society and culture” (NA 2).

The Council also proclaimed: “Upon the Muslims, too, the Church looks with esteem” (NA 3). Nostra Aetate then lists several reasons why the Church respects Islam; it shows parallels between Islamic belief and Christian faith. Here Mary is clearly mentioned; Muslims “also honor Mary, His [Jesus’] virgin mother; at times they call on her, too, with devotion” (NA 3).

How does Islam present Mary? In the Qur’an, Mary’s name (Maryam) appears explicitly thirty-four times; twenty-four times she is identified as the mother of Jesus (Isa). Mary is mentioned more often by name in the Muslim scripture than in the Christian New Testament. One chapter of the Qur’an (Sura 19) is entitled “Mary” and it narrates the events of the annunciation of Jesus’ birth: Mary is chosen by God and given divine favors; she is immaculately consecrated to God from her mother’s womb; an angel appears to her and announces the miraculous virgin birth of a child; Mary accepts, conceives and gives birth to Isa.

Muslims lovingly call Mary “Sitti Maryam,” because of her privileged role as mother of the prophet Isa. Mary is reverenced for her great faith and submission (Islam) to the designs of God (Allah); she is devout and prayerful. Muhammad’s attitude towards Mary was reverential and respectful. He spoke of her as a sign (ayat) for all creation and a model (mathal) for all believers. Apart from Luke, Mary has no warmer and more colorful artist than Muhammad.

Mary can serve as exemplar for the Church in interfaith dialogue. Authentic dialogue demands those same virtues and attitudes manifested in Mary’s life: she was a woman of deep faith; she acted from a profound “God-experience”; she submitted to God’s design of salvation; she was a woman of service, prayer and devotion; she was keenly attentive to the Word of God. Genuine interreligious dialogue prospers only when rooted in authentic faith—as beautifully manifested in the life and witness of Mary. Recall the example of Mother Teresa of Calcutta; most of her work was with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists—persons who did not believe in Christianity.

(IV) In evangelization one affirms the role of Explicit Gospel Proclamation and Catechesis. This dimension of evangelization includes preaching and teaching, catechesis on Christian life, communicating the content of the faith; in a word, this means “telling the story of Jesus and the Church.” As the Holy Spirit opens the door and the time is opportune, Christians do tell the Jesus story, giving explicit witness and testimony to the faith. Others are invited, in freedom of conscience, to follow, to come to know Jesus. Through explicit Gospel proclamation Christians themselves are instructed and the faith is communicated to the next generation of believers.

Mary is a model and servant of proclamation; “my being proclaims the greatness of the Lord” (Lk. 1:46). Mary is Theotokos, the bearer of God to the waiting world. Her entire life is a constant proclamation and epiphany of Jesus to a variety of people: to the shepherds (Lk. 2:8-20), to the magi (Mt. 2:1-12), to the joyful, elderly Simeon (Lk. 2:22-35), to the prophetess Anna (Lk. 2:36-38), to the wedding guests at Cana (Jn. 2:1-12), to the followers of her crucified Son (Jn. 19:25-27), to the Church in prayer at Pentecost (Acts 1:14-2:13). Appropriately, Pope Paul VI gave Mary the title “Star of Evangelization” (EN 82) and proposed her as the model for all evangelizers.

(V) Finally, integral evangelization necessarily includes Prayer, Contemplation, and Liturgical-Sacramental Life. No one can effectively be engaged in the Church’s mission without a strong faith and prayer-life. Evangelization requires holy men and women on fire with the love of Christ. Spreading the fire of the Gospel is only accomplished by those already burning with an experience of Christ; a fire can only be lit by something that is itself on fire (EA 23b). Holiness is an irreplaceable condition for evangelizers. Our “God-experience” achieved in prayer and contemplation, in sacramental and liturgical life, illumines and transforms all other dimensions of evangelization.

Mary is presented in the scripture as a woman of prayer and reflection. The traditional image of Mary during the Annunciation is that of a woman at prayer (Lk. 1:26-38). In two instances, Luke focuses on Mary’s “response of the heart.” As the shepherds depart, Luke writes: “As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart (2:19). When the Holy Family returned to Nazareth after Jesus was found in the temple, “his mother stored up all these things in her heart” (2:51). In addition, out of her own rich prayer experience, Mary would have taught the boy Jesus how to pray to a loving God. Thus, Mary’s contemplative “response of the heart” is instructive for contemporary evangelizers.

Mary’s reflection and prayer equipped her to insightfully read the deep meaning of the salvific events unfolding in her life; she contemplated the wonders and mysteries of God—from Nazareth and Bethlehem to Calvary and Pentecost. Mary constantly remained open to the action of the Spirit in her life. Christian evangelizers can look to the Mother of the Church to see how prayer and worship serve to integrate all dimensions of the Church’s holistic vision of evangelization.

Conclusion. This presentation has linked the inherently missionary nature of the Church with the role of Mary, viewing her as Mother of the Missionary Church. Mary can truly be seen as a model for missionaries and evangelizers today. It is a fact that many Catholics are instinctively drawn to the Church through Mary; thus, viewing Mary as the “Star of Evangelization” in the Missionary Church can serve as an impetus for Catholics to become more engaged as evangelizers. For us Christians, to live is to evangelize! “Mary, Mother of the Missionary Church, pray for us.”<WM

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James H. Kroeger, M.M. is professor of systematic theology, missiology, and Islamics at the Loyola School of Theology and the Mother of Life Catechetical Center in Manila. Claretian Publications has recently released his books: The Future of the Asian Churches (2002) and Becoming Local Church (2003).

ABBREVIATIONS:AG - Ad Gentes (Vatican II Council - December 7, 1965)

EA - Ecclesia in Asia (John Paul II - November 6, 1999)

EN - Evangelii Nuntiandi (Paul VI - December 8, 1975)

RM - Redemptoris Missio (John Paul II - December 7, 1990)

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