Chosen Way

Mary is the pure vessel by which God’s Son, Jesus Christ, came into the world. She is the arc of the New Covenant, the Tabernacle of the Lord, an image of the New Jerusalem and the archetype of the Church. From Heaven, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, the Word, became flesh and dwelt among humanity. In God’s perfect design, this was to come about by way of the Virgin Mary.

From the moment Jesus instituted the Sacraments, and gave the first bishops and all their successors a share in His priestly authority, the Church was conceived. Then at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was ushered in and all of humanity was given the opportunity to become sharers in the Divine life.

God’s grace comes to us, creatures though we are, through the power and action of the Holy Spirit in the Church. All grace comes through the Sacraments. When we receive grace in prayer, it originates from the Sacraments. The specific grace of prayer could come from many different ways; for instance from Baptism through the Holy Spirit who dwells within, from receiving the Eucharist which nourishes and strengthens us, or from our Sacramental vocation, whether that be the Sacrament of Matrimony or Holy Orders. Nonetheless, all grace comes through the Church.

Mary as an archetype of the Church reveals a little more of this great mystery to us. The Divine came into the world through Mary. Likewise, Divine Grace continues to come into the world through the Church. God could have become man in any way he wanted, but He chose to be conceived and born into this world through Mary. Likewise, God can give grace at any moment to any person, but He chooses to give it by way of the Church. God is not confined by the Church, anymore than He was confined by coming into the world through the Virgin Mary. Yet God chooses to come to us in this particular way, and He does not do anything without an intentional purpose. Therefore, Mary was the chosen way for Jesus to enter the world and the Church is the chosen way for Divine grace to enter the world.

What this doesn’t mean is that only Catholics receive God’s grace. Many Protestants are living out their Baptismal graces with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within them through their Baptism. What this does mean is that the Sacraments, and the graces available through them, are actually for all people, but many do not receive them.

Therefore, if God came to us through Mary, and continues to come to us through the Sacramental grace of the Church, then in our journey to God, to our eternal home, we are given the way through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sacramental grace. As a pure vessel, Mary opens the way for Jesus to come from heaven into the world. Jesus purifies and sanctifies man, and then Jesus offers humanity back to God as a pure and holy sacrifice at the cross, with His Mother there by His side. The Immaculate Heart is both full of grace and pierced with sorrow. Likewise, the Church, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit in the world, opens the way for Divine grace to come down to humanity through the Sacraments. This grace sanctifies and purifies man, and then Jesus offers the sacrifices of man back to the God through the mass.

God revealed Himself to us through the person of Jesus Christ. Everything Jesus does and says is intentional and part of the mystery of God revealed. God’s greatest revelation is in showing us how He desires for us to be saved. This how includes the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic Church.

Jesus came to us 2000 years ago through the Immaculate Virgin, but He continues to come to us today through the Church. His promise is true, that He would be with us until the end of time. Jesus is truly present to us in the Eucharist and His grace is ever- present to us in all the Sacraments. Let us draw nearer to the Lord through the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church. Let us recognize that the Blessed Mother is the way of grace and give to her our open heart, so that we may be saved by her Son.

*Image: Michael Rieser, “The Evening of the Birth of Christ,” 1869

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