THE P RTAL
October 2014
Page 6
The A - Z of the Catholic Faith
V is for…
Virgin Mary
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother
of Jesus, the Second Person of the Most Holy
Trinity; and so she is rightly honoured as the mother
of God.
Through a unique gift of grace, Mary was conceived
Immaculate – without the stain of Original Sin and
with all the graces of holiness and purity. Her whole
life was one big ‘Yes’ to the work of God’s Spirit in
her, her whole purpose was to love and to be loved by
Christ.
She conceived her son while a virgin, through
the power of the Holy Spirit, and remained a virgin
throughout her life. She brought him into the world,
she cared for him and loved him unceasingly with
the support of her husband St Joseph, and she helped
others to know and love him.
Mary stood by him in his darkest and most difficult
moments, she offered her life in union with his on the
cross, she took his closest disciple to be her son, she
witnessed him after his resurrection from death, and
with the apostles she received his Holy Spirit. At the
end of her life she was assumed into heaven, body and
soul, to be at his side in glory and to reign with him as
Queen of Heaven.
Without Mary’s constant faithfulness, her passionate
love, her unwavering hope, Christ would not have
been given to the world.
Mary is a spiritual mother to everyone who loves her
son; the New Eve who helps bring to birth all those
saved in Christ. She loves us and cares for us; she prays
for us. We are her dear children. We can turn to her
often – for help and prayer, or simply for company and
consolation.
Her maternal love is one of the greatest gifts God
has given us. Her prayers are more powerful than
any of the other saints. This is why she is honoured
with the titles ‘Advocate’ and ‘Mediatrix of All Graces’.
All Christian disciples are called to cooperate in the
mission of Christ to the world; but the Virgin Mary is
understood to be a Cooperator in the redeeming work
of her son in a unique and privileged way.
Vocation
The word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin word
that means ‘calling’. For the Christian a vocation is
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not just something that God calls us to do, it is also
the person God calls us to be. When Jesus called his
first disciples by the Lake of Galilee it wasn’t just
so that they could help him in his work, it was so
that their lives could be transformed through his
friendship and love.
We have been called to follow Christ, the Son of
God, the eternal Word of the Father, who came to
save us and to lead us back to heaven with him. He
has sent his Holy Spirit so that we can share in his
divine life even now, and express that life by trying
to love him and to love our neighbour. The Christian
vocation is a call to share in the life of the Most Holy
Trinity.
Christ has always called some people to follow him
in concrete ways, by giving them a more specific
vocation.
In previous generations, the word ‘vocation’ would
only have been used to describe the lives of priests and
religious – because these people had in some sense
been called ‘away’ from an ordinary life to a life of
celibacy and service in the Church.
But today the word ‘vocation’ is rightly used also of
marriage, permanent diaconate, consecrated life, and
some forms of committed single life – because each of
these is a wholehearted commitment that we make in
response to an invitation from the Lord.
These vocations are also known as ‘states of life’,
because we make a lifelong commitment to living our
Christian faith in a particular context.
There is yet another level to ‘vocation’. You are
called to be holy not just in a general way, but in the
particular way that God has made you to be. God
created you as a unique individual, and calls you by
a name that no-one else has been given. You reflect
Christ’s love and show something of his face in a way
that no-one else can.
This is your ‘personal’ vocation. The more you
discover who you are, and the more you discover what
lies deepest in your heart, the more you will be able to
discern what God’s will is for you and what direction
he wants you to take in life.
Fr Stephen Wang