“Mary is the greatest woman in the presence of even the greatest of the angels” – Pope Shenouda III
We know about Saint Mary, mostly, through the writings of the Apostle Luke. He personally knew Saint Mary and even quoted her exact words several times. He was a physician and an artist. Because of his admiration of her he painted her portrait, which continues to be copied around the If the Lord, himself, calls her mother… how much more should we call her? Saint Mary’s intercedes on our behalf to Christ Himself, as she is on His Right hand. Speaking to St. Mary, as our mother, allows us to experience God and strengthen our relationship with Christ! St. Mary was around our age, when she was found worthy to carry God incarnate. We should aim to become like Saint Mary; pure, honest and loving. She is the icon of humanity. When St. Mary was three years old she was given away to the temple. She lived in the temple for 12 years. There are only few words about Mary in the Bible. But when we dissect her words with God, we can understand the reason that God considers her above all angels and humans. The first thing is that she was consecrated to the Lord. She accepted that her life was not her own. She called herself the handmaid of the Lord. At a young age she made herself the servant of the Lord. Similarly, when we got baptised at church at a young age, we became consecrated to the Lord. Saint Paul says “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20). He is saying that you and I are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Saint Mary, because she accepted the Lord, has given us an example of how to regain salvation. Her obedience and love for Christ surpasses all understanding; God had plans for her that she would have never imagined or even thought. What does it take for a person to say to God, “do with my life as you please, I am just a vessel”? … Saint Mary’s words that were on the tip of her tongue was “yes, Lord.” There are so many circumstances in our lives that God is guiding us to, saying, “come this way and trust me” and we always plead with him to make it easier! Imagine if God has a plan to bring salvation to someone. What if God told you “somebody in your life is going to go to heaven if you do what I ask you to do and obey” …would you be willing to obey God at all costs for other’s?