FLAME TEEN HANDOUT. Week 10 December 11, 2016 Topic: Mary & Women in the Church. Which images of Mary do you like the best? Why?

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1 FLAME TEEN HANDOUT Week 10 December 11, 2016 Topic: Mary & Women in the Church Images of Mary Which images of Mary do you like the best? Why? # because Share your choice with members of your group 1 P a g e

2 Key Ideas for this week 1. Introduce teens to the historical Mary and give them a sense of what her everyday (and thus her son s everyday life) was like in 1 st century Palestine. 2. Understand Mary s role in the early Christian Church 3. Reflect on the Magnificat the only words of Mary that we have from Scripture. What insight does this passage give us into the inner world or spiritual life of Mary of Nazareth 4. Clarify for teens what Catholics believe about Mary, why these beliefs are held and how these teachings evolved over time. 5. Reflect on how one integrates our beliefs about Mary into a contemporary Catholic spirituality. Some questions I have about what the Catholic Church proclaims and teaches about Mary are CATHOLIC DOCTRINES ABOUT MARY OF NAZARETH All of the teachings regarding Mary are present in the teachings of the early Christian Church. Doctrines are defined formally only when there is a controversy that needs to be cleared up; when the Church as teacher thinks the faithful can be helped by particular emphasis being drawn to some already-existing belief or to affirm the faith of the people the sensus fidelium. In constructing these teachings the Church uses both Sacred Scripture and Apostolic Tradition as the principle sources of authority. All of the Marian doctrines flow from our understanding of Christ. Christ is at the center of Christian faith. All other beliefs support our beliefs about Christ. There are four Marian dogmas 1. Mary as the Mother of God 2. Mary as a Perpetual Virgin ( ever-virgin ) 3. Mary s Immaculate Conception 4. The Assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven. Christians Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant have different ways of understanding Mary which give rise to a diversity of theologies about Mary. It is important to know what these differences are. Mary as Mother of God Mary is identified as the Mother of Christ in all four Gospels, the first of which was written in CE, years after the death of Christ. Other Christian sources (i.e. the Didache or Teaching of the Apostles), and non-christian sources (Roman and Jewish histories), support that Mary of Nazareth is the mother of Jesus. This belief is part of one of the oldest Christian creed the Old Roman Creed that is the forerunner of the Apostles Creed (I believe in God the Father almighty; and in Christ Jesus His only Son, our Lord, Who was born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary). This belief is formally proclaimed in 431 A.D. at the Council of Ephesus. This belief is shared by all Christians, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. 2 P a g e

3 Mary: Ever Virgin All Christians believe that Mary conceived and gave birth to Christ through the power of God. The Virgin birth is more a statement about Christ than Mary. Christ, fully human fully divine, is unique in all of humankind. His birth is seen as one way His uniqueness is honored. Many Protestant Christians today, acknowledge the Virgin birth of Jesus, and also claim that Mary bore other children identified by name in the Gospels Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are his sisters here with us? (Mark:6:3). See also Luke 8:19-21; Matthew 13:55-56 and John 2:12. Scripture scholars debate whether those mentioned are half-brothers/sisters, step brothers/sisters or cousins. Catholic Scripture scholars acknowledge that the brethren of Jesus could be step brothers (children of Joseph from a prior marriage) but are more likely cousins. This interpretation is in keeping with the culture of the time. Life expectancy was short for the vast majority of the poor in first century Palestine and many children were raised by family members other than their parents. Families also lived in neighboring houses that shared a common courtyard and child care was shared by all the women of the family. Both of these traditions are supported by the Protoevangelium of James, an important historical document which supports the teaching of Mary s perpetual virginity. This document is dated around A.D. 120, less than sixty years after the conclusion of Mary s earthly life, when memories of her life were still vivid in the minds of many. The Protoevangelium of James was circulated widely among Christians. Note: The Protestant Reformers Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli honored the perpetual virginity of Mary and recognized it as the teaching of the Bible, as have other, more modern Protestants. Mary s perpetual virginity is believed by Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestants Christians today. Doctrines are defined formally at times to affirm the faith of the people the sensus fidelium. In the mid 19 th century the Vatican was deluged with requests from people desiring the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception be officially proclaimed. The Immaculate Conception Though this teaching was not formally proclaimed until 1854 it was a deeply held belief by many Christians in the early church and debated in the first ecumenical councils. Theology works backwards! This means that once one thing is true it has consequences for all other teachings. Once the church proclaimed that Christ was like us [meaning humankind] in all things but sin, he could not be tainted by sin in any way. All Christians believe that the world and the first human beings were created by God and were good. However, human beings acted contrary to God s will and through their actions sin entered the world. Time and time again God intervened by sending messengers, both humans and angels, to invite humankind to turn away from sin and return to their essential goodness. One way of saying this would be the unconditional love of God was received conditionally. That is until Mary, who receives God s unconditional love completely, absolutely, without question, in other words unconditionally. How was this possible? Mary was filled with the grace of God (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Luke 1:28-31). From the moment of her conception she was free from sin (immaculate) and filled with the presence of God. Some Christians object to this teaching saying, Mary said her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a Savior. Mary, as a human being does need God s gift of redemption. However, God can choose how and when to save a person. In this instance God chose to save Mary at the very moment she was conceived. By receiving God s grace at her conception, she had his grace applied to her before she was able to become mired in original sin and its consequences. 3 P a g e

4 The Assumption of Mary The final doctrine is known the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary. It proclaims that at the end of her life on earth Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven. While the actual event of the Assumption of Mary in Heaven is not recorded in the Scriptures, nevertheless there is a biblical basis for the teaching. Though scripture does not tell us about Mary s death and assumption it does record others who were spared death and taken bodily into heaven - Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:1 and 11). The possibility of a bodily assumption before the Second Coming is also suggested in Matthew 27: It is important to note that Mary does not ascend to heaven (Christ ascends to heaven by his own power as the Son of God). Mary, like Enoch and Elijah, was assumed or taken up into heaven by God. Early Christians believed Mary was assumed into heaven for the same reasons Enoch and Elijah were their faithfulness to God and cooperation with God s salvific work. As far back as the Church can remember we have celebrated the fact that Mary was taken up into heaven. The Assumption of Mary is spoken of in the homilies and writings of Christian leaders. Transitus Stories (stories of Mary being assumed into heaven), recently discovered in fragments of ancient Syriac manuscripts have been dated as early as the third century. The presence of such stories in two different families of manuscripts written in nine languages indicates that Mary s Assumption was already widely known and believed by early Christians. This is our ancient memory and what we celebrate today, There is also what might be called the negative historical proof for Mary s Assumption. There is no earthly tomb containing Mary' body, neither are there relics of her body to be found among the Christian faithful. At a time when the remains of other saints were carefully preserved and venerated by early Christians why would they not do so for the most famous of all the saints, the woman they believed to be the mother of Jesus, unless they believed there were no remains. Scripture Reflection Mary s Song The Magnificat My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Luke 1: P a g e

5 1. Explain how you understand the opening lines of Mary s prayer how does a person s soul magnify the Lord and spirit rejoice in God? 2. What is Mary revealing about herself in her prayer? 3. What does Mary tell us about her relationship with God in her prayer? How is Mary s relationship with God similar and/or different from your relationship with God? 4. What do you learn about God from Mary s prayer? How is Mary s understanding of God similar or different from your understanding of God? 5. Who are the powerful that are brought down in Mary s world? Who are the powerful that need to be brought down in your/our world? 6. Who are the lowly that are raised up in Mary s world? 7. Do you see yourself as one of the powerful or one of the lowly or both? Why? 8. Based on what she reveals in her prayer what qualities do you see in Mary that the early Church would have admired? 9. What qualities do you see and admire in Mary based on her prayer? My soul rejoices in you, and my spirit dances within your presence, my God, because you who love mightily look upon me, One who stands with arms stretched out toward you. Blessed are we when we open our hearts and receive in joy the seed of the Everlasting One. Holy is your name. You are the gentle one who reaches out in tenderness from age to age to caress with your hand the heads of those who bend their necks. With powerful arms you embrace each of us. The proud hearts that we hold out to you, you break and scatter. You pull down the structures and fantasies with which we fortify ourselves, and you teach us the simple things. Holy is this time, and patience is your gift to all who nurture the seed of your love. AMEN. A modern day adaptation of the Magnificat written by Ann Johnson. 5 P a g e

6 I Learned Statements complete at least two of the sentences below I discovered... I learned I was reminded that... The question I have is.. I was surprised by... 6 P a g e