Hail Mary, and All Women

I have gone back to my morning routine of starting the workday by listening to Ave Maria sung by Luciano Pavarotti.

The strength of his voice and the beauty of the song calm me. There is a hint of mysticism in the experience for me. The thought of Mary, so vulnerable and yet so courageous, carrying the responsibility of her demanding task with so much poise and intelligence, moves me and inspires me.

The song is based on the greeting the angel Gabriel gave to Mary announcing that she would give birth to Jesus, “the holy one.” His greeting is filled with honor calling Mary “highly favored.” The phrase is rarely seen in Scripture and is believed to have been used in greeting Royalty.

Celine Dion’s version, sung in English, is that of a young girl praying to Mary:

“Ave Maria, maiden mild
Oh, listen to a maiden's prayer
For thou canst hear amid the wild
'Tis thou, 'tis thou canst save amid, despair

We slumber safely till the morrow
Though we've by man been outcast reviled
Oh maiden, see a maiden's sorrow
Oh mother, hear a suppliant child”

Roman Catholics have long believed in praying to Mary. It all began with the idea that if Adam represents our sin and disconnect from God, and Jesus represents our forgiveness and redemption back to God, then Eve and Mary have the same representations. Both men and women have a mediator.

Mary gained more importance between 500 A.D and 1500 A.D when there was a decline in the knowledge of God. Scripture was cloistered from the public and became the sole possession of Popes, priests, and monasteries. People thought the spirit of Jesus had receded to heaven. He became remote and unapproachable.

Mary, then, was seen as a perfect mediator. She represented warmth, grace, nurture, and love. And so Catholics worldwide prayed to her faithfully. Many still do.

Canadian writer, Charles de Lint, gets close to the idea when he writes, “It's all a matter of paying attention. The magic in this world seems to work in whispers and small kindnesses.”

Perhaps those whispers are our prayers, to Mary or to God, or maybe they are just good thoughts, healing thoughts we hope for others and for ourselves. Either way, they have benefits for us. They keep us aware. They put us in touch with something transcendent, something close to rightness, mercy, and generosity.

The movement of girls and women today is a beautiful thing. So many of them are finding their voices in the midst of a long tyranny of men and their power to abuse, to manipulate, to dismiss, and to take them for granted.

In the spirit of Mary, women today are taking their responsibilities seriously, knowing they have so much to give to society and to the world. They refuse to cower to any man. They reject a patriarchal system of dominance over them. They are not afraid to use not only their intellect, their brilliance, their creativity and their resolve to influence society, but also their warmth, their grace and poise, their unique gifts of nurturing. They are not ashamed of their femininity. They do not want to be men. They are proud women.

Their time has come. And we are all the better for it.

© 2018 Timothy Moody