Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-12

Honor Is paid to the great women of
the Old Testament; to Sarah, the
mother of the Hebrew people; to Ju-
dith, the savior of Bethulia; to Es-
ther, the protector of her race. Though
these are women of virtue, courage
and power, there cannot be said of
any one of them as great things as are
said of Mary when she is called the
mother of Christ.
"The Old Testament has it's prophe-
cies of the woman who is to crush the
serpent's head and whose seed is to be
found in the Redeemer. The New les
lament tells us of the Annunciation
when the angel Gabriel saluted the
maiden of Nazareth as full of grace
and confided to her the mission of the
motherhood of Christ.
bethlehem with its manger Nazar-
eth with it's home, Calvary with its sor-
rows, tell the story of the thirty-three
years of Christ's earthly life during
which Mary held the relation of mother
to him and was so recognized by all.
Should Love Jesus Mother
at seems strange that there are
Christians who love Jesus who have
no love for his mother, and no place
for her in the religion of her son. They
fiud the gospels so silent about her yet
the gospels are also silent about those
eighteen years which Jesus spent in
Nazareth and all they say of him is,
He went down to Nazareth and was
subject to them This refers to Mary
and Joseph. The gospels tell of Mary
at Bethlehem in the temple with ST.
neon, at the marriage feast of Cana,
under the cross of Calvary, and with
the apostles in jerusalem, and the
words used of her in these circumstan-
ces concerning her is that she is the
mother of Christ.
"In the genealogy of the Savior she
appears as Mary from whom was born
Jesus. Her lineage was a noble one,
for the humble Virgin of Nazareth was
of the tribe of Judah and of the royal
house of David.
"Jesus loved her as his mother, and
as such we are proud of her as our
tainted nature solitary boast the only
child of Adam who from the first mo-
ment of her existence was preserved
from every stain of sin, and this be-
cause of the abundant redemption of
Jesus Christ who willed that the flesh
and blood which formed his humanity
should never be under the domination
of sin.
Mystery of Divine Love
"The great dogma of the incarnation
teaches us the union of the divine and
human nature in the one person of
Christ, and since Mary is the mother of
Jesus Christ she is the mother of God.
How this Is effected is one of the mys-
teries of divine love.
yet in our own lives we have a
mystery somewhat similar, for the
mother that bore us gave us the flesh
and blood which make our humanity,
but the soul which makes us the person
we are is directly from God, and yet we
call her our mother. Mary is united
with Jesus in the work of redemption
and so long as Jesus possesses human
nature you cannot separate his mother
from his work.
"Mary's place in Christian worship is
| beside Jesus, her son. Whatever glory
comes to her is due to him. Devotion
to her is no diminution of honor to
| Christ.
prejudice and misinformation paint
her as an idol in our temples of wor-
| ship. Even outside the Catholic church
| the tide is turning toward deeper rev.
erence for the blessed Virgin. Think
ing Christians are realizing that
Bethlehem, Nazareth and Calvary are
not complete without Mary and conse-
quently that in Christ's religion Mary
is to be found near her divine son. The
mother love which dominates all human
love finds its highest type in Mary. the
mother of Jesus. Men are realizing
that Catholics do not adore the blessed
Virgin, nor has their scheme of re-
ligion ever allowed Christ to be dis
placed for Mary. All honor paid to
the blessed Virgin and the saints is
referred to God and salvation, and the
purity and perfection of Mary are the
highest tribute to the completeness of
the redemption which operated this
good in her.
"When we understand her relations
with Christ we understand how the
Catholic church has always regarded
devotion to Mary as one of the tests of
loyalty to Jesus. We honor her because
God has honored her, we love her be-
cause Christ loved her. AS the noblest
and best of women, we honor and rev.
erence her not with the honor and
reverence due to God, but with that due
to Mary from whom was born Jesus.
She is the woman with the faith of
Sarah, the beauty and courage of Ju-
dith, the power of Esther, and the mar
tyr heart of the mother of the Mac
cabees. She is the woman whom the
prophet foresaw when he cried out,
Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, the
joy of Israel, and the honor of our peo-
ple'."