MYSTERY AND IMAGE ^_[1]

ENTRUSTMENT TO MARY

1.  An unnamed centurion pierced Jesus Christ on the cross. If asked, he would vehemently object to being called the midwife of the Church. He would protest that he was only doing his duty--piercing the man called Jesus to hurry along his death. Yet the executioner drew water and blood from the Lord's side, a human intervention in a spiritual birth of the greatest magnitude: the nativity of the Church in time.

2.  Equally remarkable is Christ's entrustment to his mother Mary--a celebrated woman about whom little is known--of the maternity of his Church. Both she and the beloved disciple are taken by surprise when, in his agony on the cross, Jesus names them mother and son:  "Woman, behold, your son!"

3.  And to the disciple:  "Behold, your mother!"  [Jn 19:26-27]  He could not have intended for Mary and the beloved disciple to simply gaze at one another, No, Our Lord asked them to behold the new reality of their filial relationship, an association that would endure until Mary's death and assumption.

UNEXPECTED REALITY

4.  The disciple responded to this unexpected reality--and how could love do otherwise?--by conferring on his mother a permanent home, indeed at the instant, in his fertile heart. And it is this home not built by human hands that the Church will lovingly provide the Mother of God--indeed its own Mother--until Christ returns in glory. Human expectations, ever transient, are closely held and often bitterly defended possessions. Typically they are propped up by an elaborate complex of rationalizations assembled in the human mind over time--many intellectually and morally unexamined--the whole of which functions to clarify and direct purposeful human behavior.

5.  People commonly justify impulsive behavior without adequate analysis of their apparent and subconscious motives. No matter how insouciant and facile, such self-validation merely simulates thinking. Necessarily, its forcible insertion into the mind's complex of rationalizations demands disproportionately high levels of human energy and maintenance. And as they are trumpeted about, rationalizations inevitably transmogrify into propaganda. Whether the process of one's cultivation of credible expectations is well-served by unconscious rationalizations is open to argument.

JESUS KNEW MINDS AND HEARTS

6.  This much is certain however: the propagandizing of self-validation is dangerous and to be avoided assiduously. Not open to argument, however, is the credibility of our Lord Jesus Christ whose expectations--though bitterly defended--were far from transient and self-justifying. Nor did the Lord's messianic expectations need the support of a high-maintenance grid of unfathomable rationalizations. The Son of God never simulated reason or truth or rationalized his stance to reality; neither was his divine personhood in need of a persona (Lat.), that is to say, a mask of accumulated suppressed desires and memories.

7.  But this was not all. The Lord Jesus knew what was in the minds and hearts of men. This point was not lost on the apostle John who offers a telling recollection in his gospel. A Passover feast in Jerusalem stands out in the evangelist's mind. Though not intentionally, Jesus impressed many people with the signs he performed--scriptural exegesis, healings, miracles, authority?--but he did not trust himself to them. The fourth gospel gives this reason:  "...because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man.  [Jn 2:23-25] 

"WHY DO YOU QUESTION THUS?"

8.  John is not the only gospel writer who recognized in Jesus the gift of discerning minds and hearts. It was in Capernaum, Mark writes, that Jesus healed a paralyzed man whose friends had lowered him from the ceiling into the crowded room where he was teaching.  [Mk 2:1-4]  Scribes present harbor resentment upon hearing Jesus say to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."  [Mk 2:5]  He knew what they were thinking.

9.  Setting aside the question of how the evangelist Mark came to know the scribe's hidden thoughts--"Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  [Mk 2:7]--Jesus confronts them precisely at the point of entry: their human expectations. He says pointedly, "Why do you question thus in your hearts?"  [cf. Mk 2:6-8]  What did the scribes do? They questioned in their hearts. How does Jesus know this? He perceives "in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves".  [Mk 2:8]  Yet he preferred that others reach crucial conclusions for themselves.

RIFTS OF HISTORY

10.  To Pilate who demands to know if he calls himself king, Jesus answers, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?"  [Jn 18:34]  When Jesus was faced with deceitful even traitorous opposition, he brooked no waste of his time. If the truth was not found on a person's lips, he drew it from their hearts. As a rule human beings are not comfortable with gaps. The same impulses that direct us to fix fences, mend roofs and patch clothes compel us to fill in the rifts of history, especially so in the case of luminous persons whose stories, however fragile or incomplete, triumph over time. Certainly the less information available about a celebrity, the more important becomes the imagery associated with that person.

11.  The sum of what may appear mysterious to Christians in the present cannot be analogous to the experience of the apostolic generation. Much of what we behold with awe and wonder from the comfortable perspective of the third millennium would be, from the point of view of the apostolic generation, merely doing one's duty and making the best with what one is given. To iterate the matter of imagery and mystery is to underscore the subject of human expectations; it is the human will that possesses the power to produce an effect, in the sense of declaring its allegiance to particular thoughts, perceptions, memories, desires, drives, experiences and self-reflections that it deems to be in its self-interest. They may or may not be.

HANDMAID OF MYSTERY 

12.  But it is from this rational complex that human expectations emerge and the willingness to defend them to the death. Because they are the acted-out and articulated window into the human intellect and will, the Lord Jesus aimed at human expectations purposefully. There he tested the authenticity of a person's strengths and weaknesses, confidences and fears, hopes and aspirations against the truth. Yet it was not Our Lord's intention to destroy these transient and most closely held human possessions, for wherever human expectations are manifested--however selfish or diabolical these may be--there emerges an opportunity for radical transformation in which human-centered expectations are made to conform to Divine Will.

13.  And imagery is the handmaid of mystery. We may be correct in saying that among all notable men and women of history, none surpasses the Blessed Virgin Mary for the imagery and mystery accorded her by the greatest number of people--her immaculate conception, the archangel Gabriel's annunciation, the Holy Spirit's overshadowing, the star in the East, Bethlehem's stable and manger, the magi with gold, frankincense and myrrh, Christ among the scholars, David's kingship, the miracle of wine at Cana, her witness to Jesus' passion and death on the cross, his resurrection, the Upper Room, her dormition and assumption and numerous authenticated apparitions.

"GREAT PORTENT" 

14.  Though the facts of Mary's life are apparently meager, the cumulative record of the four gospels and the Book of Acts is enough to render a coherent and compelling hagiography  (Gk. holy writing). Not lost on the synodal fathers of the ecumenical VATICAN COUNCIL II  (1962-65) was the obvious conclusion:

REDEEMED, IN a  more exalted  fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son and united to him by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with the high office and dignity of the Mother of the Son of God, and therefore she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth....Wherefore she is hailed as pre-eminent and as a wholly unique member of the Church, and as its type and outstanding model in faith and charity.^[2] 

It is not surprising, then, that religious imagery addresses itself to the task of reconciling divine mystery and human expectations. One image which most effectively accomplishes this reconciliation is the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe--its marked interest being Mary's maternity.

15.  The most enduring attestation for the Guadalupe image is Sacred Scripture, Revelation, chapter twelve. The visionary John writes of a woman who, as the nucleus of a great portent in heaven, "appears clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."  [Rev 12:1]  Distended by pregnancy she labors to give birth to a male child.  [Rev 12:2]  She is pictured in the image as standing in front of the sun framed by its luminous, suffused light--the traditional symbol of omnipotent deity:  "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb" [Rev 21:23]--yet without extinguishing its rays.

INSTRUMENT OF MEDIATION

16.  Hence Mary as Mother of God occupies a privileged position as mediatrix of grace. To name the handmaiden blessed whose low estate is honored by God is to orient oneself to divinity.  [cf. Lk 1:48]  That she stands on the darkened new moon seems to indicate, beyond allusions to perpetual virginity, her supremacy over the forces of darkness. The virgin's  turquoise mantle, adorned with stars, covers her head. Perhaps these symbolize Mary as Queen of Heaven who, as Mother of the Church, gazes down from the sky on her children with meekness and maternal love. The high position of the girdle or bow about her waist and the slight swelling of the abdomen show that the virgin is with child.

17.  The Virgin of Guadalupe's garments are traditionally associated with maternity. Over the centuries believers have perceived other aspects of the Guadalupe icon to be expressive of: sanctity, Meso-American nobility (borne up by an angel), fecundity, native sun and moon gods, divine authority and commission, eternity and immortality, martyrdom of the heart, and plenitude. The complex imagery of the Guadalupe has much in common with the familiar forms of religious art and icons that have emerged over the centuries. Intimately associated with the mysteries of salvation, it evokes a very powerful response in the human consciousness and its abstract, sequestered strata. Licit Christian painting and sculpture springs from the evangelistic intentions of the artists, specifically the hope that a work of art--beautiful and compelling in its own right--succeed in becoming an instrument of mediation between the beholder and the person or object portrayed.

NOT PAINTED, BUT WRITTEN 

18.  Without obstructing the beholder who desires to be more perfectly united with God! Thus Catholics cherish and venerate the crucifix, the Sacred Heart, statuary of Mary, Joseph and the saints, the Stations of the Cross, the rosary, and such singular works of genius as Michelangelo's Pieta, and Caravaggio's majestic and emotional Biblical scenes of humanity on canvas. Certainly Bernini's baldachin in St. Peter's Basilica typifies the splendor of the heavenly court. Icons are said to be particularly effective in mediating the mysteries of salvation and the believer--indeed the vocabulary of their authors is insistent that iconic imagery is not painted but rather written upon the rectangular tablets:  "And he gave to Moses, when he had made an end of speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God."  [Exo 31:18] 

19.  Christian artists have historically attempted to imitate the Lord Jesus by attempting to address closely held human expectations and overcoming the conditions constraining them: indifference, weariness, naivete, disorder, perplexity, uncertainty, ignorance and the like. The enduring popularity and devotion with which most of their works are held testifies to their apparent success in attaining this end. With this said, however, we must face the inevitable truth that all finite endeavors to mediate divine mystery fall short of achievement and realization. Moreover, an ever-present precariousness attends to every work of Christian art, the possibility that the beholder will impute the flaws of the image (or its medium)  to the mystery itself.

OBVERSE OF THE COIN

20.  Now this suggests an admonition to all Catholics who love and venerate the creaturely Blessed Virgin Mary irrespective of her celebrated titles and honors--"for he who is mighty has done great things for me"  [Lk 1:46]: the believer attains to a far more prudent course of spirituality by esteeming the Blessed Virgin through the merits of her son Jesus Christ than were he to attempt the reverse. The fathers of the Vatican II Council  (1962-65), it seems, grasped this point by striking the obverse of the coin minted by the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD: to the eastern proclamation of Mary as Mother of God  (Gr. Theotokos), the western fathers added Mother of the Church: "The Catholic Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, honors her with filial affection and devotion as a most beloved mother".^[3] 

21.  Thus the Vatican II bishops in union with their 5th c. forebears vouchsafed Mary's locus classicus (Lat. traditional place)  in God's plan of salvation by appealing to the Christological mysteries of maternity: the incarnation the Christ the Groom and the birth of his Bride, the Church. Clearly, then, the Blessed Virgin uniquely participates in both imagery and mystery. The magisterium of the Church has writ large upon the tablets of human consciousness to present Mary as she actually exists, without imagination, fiction or pretense. The great councils have identified superlative images of a woman intimately involved in the human and divine events anchoring "the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages".  [Rom 16:25] 

MOTHER OF TRUE FAITH 

22.  To name Mary Mother of God and the Church, the magisterium in human time has obtained the pleasing convergence of divine imagery and mystery, hence "...the duties and privileges of the Blessed Virgin which always look to Christ, the source of all truth, sanctity and devotion".^[4] In these titles, the Church liberates Mary from the undue influence of exaggeration and bias, tolerating neither ardent devotees who would deify her or petty and narrow-minded detractors for whom the Mother of God is unworthy of notice or regard:  "But it (sacred synod) strongly urges theologians and preachers of the word of God to be careful to refrain as much from all false exaggeration as from too summary an attitude in considering the special dignity of the Mother of God."^[5]

23.  To understand Mary as mother, then, is to encounter the meaning of true faith:  "...by which we are led to recognize the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love towards our mother and to the imitation of her virtues."^[6]  We return to John's gospel for a final and telling illustration of Mary's maternity as a cause of salvation.^[7]  An important wedding celebration at Cana in Galilee, one to which Jesus, his mother, and the disciples are attending, faces the unthinkable. As the lengthy celebration proceeds, the stewards report the astonishing news that the stores of wine are exhausted. That they entrust this news to Mary leads us to speculate that her association with the host family in Cana is quite strong.

CATALYST AND MEDIATRIX 

24.  The success of the public celebration and the status of the host family being at risk, one would expect the host family to be informed immediately. Mary confronts Jesus, instead, with the disappointing news. At the very least this sequence of events reveals a maternal intervention--a mother turns to her son, himself a guest, confident that he can deal with a provocative situation. Jesus orders six large stone jars to be filled to the brim with water:  "Now draw some out and take it to the steward of the feast."  [Jn 2:8]  The chief steward tastes not water but the select wine. Unaware that the crisis has been averted, he happily declares, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."  [Jn 2:10] 

25.  Like the centurion, the steward is unaware that the Kingdom of God has overtaken him. He praises the plenitude of God's merciful love. The servants are astonished. The chief steward is delighted. Water becomes wine. And the hour of Jesus' ministry--"O woman, what have you to do with me?"  [Jn 2:4]--begins with the first of his many signs. These telling images in John's gospel reveal a common thread: human expectations have been overturned to manifest the glory of Christ. The catalyst and mediatrix is Mary. The Church gathered in celebration approaches Mary to say, Apart from Christ, we can do nothing.  [cf. Jn 15:5]  Contemplating her son, our Blessed Mother answers, "Do whatever he tells you."  [Jn 15:5]  Thus, the birth of the Church and the salvation of men and women everywhere is assured.

^[1]  Cycle B   /Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God   /Octave of Christmas   Num 6:22-27   /Gal 4:4-7   /Lk 2:16-21.  

^[2]  VATICAN COUNCIL  II,  Lumen Gentium,  no. 53  (1964).        

^[3]  Ibid.     

^[4]  Ibid.,  67.     

^[5]  Ibid.      

^[6]  Ibid.      

^[7]  Ibid.,  56.  "For, as St. Irenaeus says, she 'being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race'."