J.M.J. Scholars are divided as to the meaning of "Mary" and from whence it
came. The most frequent hypothesis is that Mary is the English form of Miryam or Miriam, while its derivation is unclear. We do know that
Mary was the name of the sister of Moses and several women mentioned in
the New Testament.
Donald Attwater, in his valuable Dictionary of Mary (New
York: P. J. Kenedy and Sons, 1956) related that Saint Jerome (about
345-420) around the year 400 interpreted "Mary" as meaning "Star of the
Sea" (Stella maris).
Perhaps the origin of the name of the Mother of God does not
really matter. To research this subject would undoubtedly prove
illuminating, but in the final analysis the results--as some experts
suppose--may well be inconclusive. Better to recognize why the name "Mary" as it applies to the Maiden of Nazareth is holy than to know its
etymology.
A spiritual author wrote decades ago that when we prayerfully
utter "Mary," the Mother of Christ in turn says "Jesus." And this is
the secret about Our Lady: her unbreakable connection to her Son the
Risen Lord. "Mary" is holy because "Jesus" is holy.
We willingly venerate the Mother because of the Son. What He
worked in her testifies to His unspeakable greatness and her amazing,
lasting receptivity to the Holy Spirit.
Given Mary's link to Jesus, we are not surprised that her
very name is sacred. Christ meant everything to her--and it showed. She
completely and promptly changed her life based on the Father's desire
that His Son "build her tent" in her virginal womb. Mary and her name
are holy because of her total surrender to the God-man born of her.
For nearly 2,000 years, the disciples of Jesus have invoked
Our Blessed Lady in their petitions. Even her name alone is considered a
powerful prayer that has comforted the faithful and troubled demons. No
wonder that believers have attached her name to churches, schools,
medical facilities and cemeteries why those who hate and fear her (one
thinks here of various leaders in twentieth-century Communist countries)
have tried mightily to eradicate the mere mention of her from the lips
of her trusting sons and daughters.
This hideous endeavor of seeking to wipe out Mary's name and
her salutary influence will never be wholly successful. Why? Because the
Madonna is well-known in the souls of her humble children with or
without the possibility of public demonstrations of loyalty to Our
Spiritual Mother. The friends of Our Lady need no monuments to remember
and rejoice in her abiding and genuine care for them and their urgent
needs.
A happy client of Mary, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
(1090-1153) exhorted in one of his Sermons: "In time of danger, of
difficulty, of uncertainty, think upon Mary, call upon Mary. Do not let
her name depart out of your mouth or out of your heart."
How favored we would be if we adapt as our motto the last
prayer of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary as traditionally
prayed by Saint Bernard's Order, the Cistercians: "May the lovely Name
of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of His Most Blessed Mother be blessed for
ever and ever. Amen."
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This disturbing note was made in the February 21, 2015 "40 Days for Life" e-mail newsletter by Shawn Carney:
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This disturbing note was made in the February 21, 2015 "40 Days for Life" e-mail newsletter by Shawn Carney:
Saturday is often the busiest day of the week
at abortion centers. Some estimates
say that there are as many as
8,000 abortions in the United States
alone on any given Saturday.
If true, what a distressing, sobering and shameful reality. Such diabolical activity on Our Lady's Day should make us weep and atone.
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