Discipleship – Our Birth in Baptism Through Mary

"He said to his mother,
Woman, behold, your son.
Then he said to the disciple,
Behold, your mother.

And from that hour
the disciple took her
into his home.
[John 19:26]

The Church sees the words of Jesus as a "special gift, by which Christ the Lord entrusted to his Virgin Mother all his disciples as her children [Leo XIII, Octobri mense: AAS 24 [1891-1892] 195]."

As a perfect disciple, the Virgin Mary heard the Word of God and kept it. She is worthy of imitation because she was the first and the most perfect of Christ's disciples. [Marialis Cultus, 1974]

She was the first in time, because even when she found her adolescent Son in the temple she received from Him lessons that she kept in her heart. [Lk 2:51] She was the first disciple above all else because no one has been "taught by God" [Jn 6:45] to such depth. She was "both mother and disciple," as St. Augustine said of her, venturing to add that her discipleship was more important for her than her motherhood. [Sermo 25, 7; PL 46, 937-938]

As Christians we, too, are called to discipleship each day. Each Gospel gives us a different aspect of discipleship and Mary's role within it and are made known to us especially through the Gospels of Luke and John. All of us are exhorted to imitate the great virtues of Mary: her fidelity, discipleship, charity and purity. [Lumen Gentium, 63-64]

Having lived with Jesus and Joseph in the hidden years of Nazareth, and present at her Son's side at crucial moments of his public life, the Blessed Virgin teaches unconditional discipleship and diligent service. [Vita Consecrata 28]

Our Baptismal Birth
As the Virgin Mary conceived and brought forth Jesus, so the Church, virgin in purity of faith, brings forth His brethren at the baptismal font [Behold Your Mother: Woman of Faith, 1973]

The Fathers of the Church ... frequently teach us that the mysteries of Christ, which the Church, our virgin mother, celebrates in the sacraments of Christian initiation, were "accomplished" in Mary, the Virgin Mother:
- The Spirit who sanctifies the womb of the Church, that is, the font of baptism-to bring forth children of God, sanctified Mary's womb so that she might bring forth the firstborn of many brothers and sisters (see Hebrews 2:11-15);
- The same Spirit who, on the day of Pentecost, came down upon the Blessed Virgin with an abundance of gifts, comes down from heaven upon the newly baptized in the celebration of the sacrament of confirmation;
- The body and blood that Christ offered on the altar of the cross for the life of the world and that the Church offers daily in the eucharistic sacrifice are the same body and blood that the Blessed Virgin Mary brought forth for our salvation. 1

St. Anselm spent thirty-three years as a monk at the Benedictine Abbey of Bec in Normandy in the late 11th century. He was someone who walked with God and who could guide others in the same way. Being a monk he was convinced that a most appropriate point of departure for prayer was reading [Scripture or other inspired writings]:

The reader should strive to read
not the whole of [the text],
but only as much as, by God’s help,
will arouse the desire to pray,
or bring enjoyment to the spirit.
Nor is there any need to start always at the beginning.
[It suffices to begin] wherever one finds it pleasing to do so. (PMA, Preface)

The important thing is to find and ponder deeply whatever makes us want to pray. Our hearts and minds may be tightly closed: prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God.

Here is some of his advice on [Contemplative] prayer that can be summed up in this poem:

Teach me to seek you
and show yourself to me as I seek;
for I am not able to seek you unless you teach me;
nor am I able to find you unless you show me [the way].
Let me seek you in desiring you,
and desire you in seeking you.
May I find you in loving you,
and love you in finding you. (Proslogion, I, 15f)

He explains this poem.

We ask God to teach us. Contemplation is not something we can achieve simply by our own efforts. We need to be taught by God and led by God's grace. God's leading is fourfold:

(1) God teaches us to deal with our desires. The desires of our heart must be purified. They have to be educated. They need to find rest in the "love that moves the sun and all the stars."

(2) God teaches us that desire (purified, educated) leads to seeking. Seeking God gives a direction to our lives. It also brings the realization that God whom I seek is the God who, ever so ardently, is seeking me.

(3) God teaches us that seeking leads to loving. We discover that in loving God, we learn to love all God's creatures: not in a grasping and possessive way, but in a caring and wholesome way.

(4) At last, God teaches us that loving leads to finding. Finding God fulfills love's yearnings. For it means loving in an absolute way. In finding God, our spiritual journey is achieved. 2

Fr. William Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850), was the founder of the Society of Mary (1817) and was the only noteworthy Mariologist of the first half of the nineteenth century. In his own words:
Christ has ordained all concerns of religion that Mary participated and cooperated in all of them.
We do not go to Mary as our God, but we go to God through Mary; as faith tells us, He came to us through her.
Father Chaminade explains that a mother's first duty is to nourish her child, as her first natural impulse is to love it. Speaking of Mary's maternal dedication, the Founder explains:
Mary did not wish to withdraw herself from this sacred obligation. As the Mother of life and of grace, she has given us life, and daily supplies our souls with the graces that must nourish them, strengthen them, and bring them to the fullness of perfect maturity. For it is from her bounty that we receive all the help we need for our salvation.
Jesus alone merited these graces. He asks Mary to help distribute them.

The mission of making us live the life of Christ belongs to her who gave Christ to us. In becoming the Mother of Jesus she became our Mother. It is precisely her maternal mission, then, to continue our education by fashioning our mentality according to our Model, Christ. Evidently the Virgin Mother must exercise a primary influence in our spiritual transformation. Fr. Chaminade affirms this when he says:
In the womb of Mary was Christ conceived by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was born of the virginal womb of Mary.
The life of Jesus Christ in us originates through Baptism and faith. Thus we are conceived of the Holy Spirit. But, like the Savior, we must be born of the Virgin Mary. 2

"There was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples" [Jn. 2:1-2]. From the text it appears that Jesus and his disciples were invited together with Mary, as if by reason of her presence at the celebration: the Son seems to have been invited because of his mother. [Redemptoris Mater 21, 1987]

The Gospel teaches us that Mary is sensitive to the needs of men. At Cana, she did not hesitate to intervene, to the joy of the villagers invited to a wedding feast [Jn 2:15] [Recurrans Mensis 7, October , 1969].

At the wedding of Cana the Gospel clearly shows the power of Mary's intercession as she makes known to Jesus the needs of others: "They have no wine" [Jn 2:3]. [Rosarium Virginis Mariae 16, 2002]

It is striking that no sign is done to help Mary believe. The Mother of Jesus requires no miracle to strengthen her faith. At her Son's word, before "this first of his signs," she shows her faith. [Behold Your Mother, Nat’l Conf. Of Bish., USA, 1973]

To us too she addresses the command she gave to the servants at Cana in Galilee during the marriage feast: "Do whatever he tells you" [Jn 2:5] [Veritatis Splendor 120, 1993]

But among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his Mother. The first of the "signs" worked by Jesus – the changing of water into wine at the marriage in Cana - clearly presents Mary in the guise of a teacher, as she urges the servants to do what Jesus commands [Jn 2:5].
[cf. RVM 14, 2002]

In repeating what Christ did at the Last Supper in obedience to his command: "Do this in memory of me!", we also accept Mary's invitation to obey him without hesitation: "Do whatever he tells you". With the same maternal concern which she showed at the wedding feast of Cana, Mary seems to say to us: "Do not waver; trust in the words of my Son. If he was able to change water into wine, he can also turn bread and wine into his body and blood, and through this mystery bestow on believers the living memorial of his passover, thus becoming the 'bread of life'". [Ecclesia de Eucharista 54, 2003]

The disciples of Jesus followed Him and learned from Him as students, not in a place or school, they literally followed Him around as he taught and preached.

The twelve Apostles, chosen men “to be with Him”, are those whom He sent as messengers into the world after He had taught them while they were disciples. We are most familiar with the names of the twelve, but there were other people, also called “apostles”.

Matthias was selected to replace Judas Iscariot after his betrayal of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene, Barnabas and Paul were specifically named “apostles” by Luke and themselves. Others included prominently in Paul’s epistles were Apollos, Silas, Timothy, and Andronicus and Junia, a married couple (or brother and sister?), “relatives” of Paul.

In addition to the first twelve, there were Mary Magdalene, an anonymous second disciple of John the Baptist ho accompanies Andrew but is not named [Jn 1:35, 40], the man born blind, Martha, Mary, Lazarus of Bethany, another Judas, Jesus’ mother, other women, the Sons of Zebedee and more.

Early Christians addressed each other as sisters and brothers to indicate solidarity during their earthly journey to the Father. Mary, progressed along a 'pilgrimage of faith' during her own life in an exemplary way, and is a model for all of us in this regard.

Today, disciples in Christian Churches have many different titles, roles of ministry and levels of authority in the community. There are those “religious” who have professed specific “vows of consecration” or who are “ordained” to lead and serve the Christian community, usually on a full-time, life long basis.

Members of religious orders, societies, congregations, or other communities within the Church, are: "hermits" who live almost completely alone; "monastic" monks or nuns living in monasteries or cloisters somewhat separated from the secular world; "mendicant" friars and preachers who often travel, live simply, beg for their living, and serve the poor; "apostolic" sisters or priests living in religious convents or communities more involved in serving the world; a mixture of priests and lay people; married couples and singles; full members living in community and associate members living separately; even a mixture of Catholics and Protestants.

Religious men and women normally profess "vows" or the "evangelical counsels" of poverty, chastity, and obedience: religious women are either called nuns (in cloistered orders) or sisters (in apostolic congregations); religious men are usually called monks (in monastic orders) or brothers (in apostolic communities).

Categories and titles for the clergy in the Catholic Church include Deacons, Priests, Chaplains, Pastors, Monsignors, Auxiliary Bishops, Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals, and the Pope.

There are “Lay Ministers” who are called by God and offer their lives in dedicated service as ministers of the Church. These are parish administrators, religious education directors, catechists, sacristans, music directors, cantors, organists, hospital or prison chaplains, school & college campus ministers, parochial school administrators and teachers, etc., in addition to all the secretaries, cooks, janitors, gardeners, and other service employees of parishes and dioceses.

There are also many Part-time Volunteers in the Church, especially those serving in liturgical ministries (lectors, altar servers, eucharistic ministers, greeters, ushers, choir members, musicians, etc.), but also including social service, sacramental, and educational ministries (catechists, baptismal sponsors, confirmation sponsors, homebound visitors, bereavement teams, volunteers collecting and/or distributing food or clothing to the poor, etc.).

Christian Married Couples also live out an important "vocation," since God calls married people to share their love (ultimately God's love) with each other, with their children, and beyond in service to the wider church and world; Christian Parenthood includes the responsibilities of bringing Christ alive in one's children, thus building up the Church for the future; the family is sometimes even referred to as a "Domestic Church."

Following Jesus is sometimes referred to as The Way, literally meaning “road, path, journey”, and is even used as a group designation for early Christians [Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 24:22]. Repentance, meaning “to turn around, turn toward, return” initiates the life of Christian discipleship. Then as one who is instructed or seeks to pattern one’s life in imitation of Jesus, the believer grows in “trust” of God and “entrusts” one’s life to God and/or Jesus. 3

1 [Source: Excerpts from the introductory commentary to the Mass, Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Volume 1, Sacramentary, Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1992, p. 79.]
2 (Source: Fr. Johann G. Roten, S.M., The Marian Spirituality of St. Anselm, online, www.campus.udayton.edu/mary, 2008)
3 (Source: Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D., Discipleship and Mission, 2008, Disciples and Apostles in the New Testament, online, www.catholic-resources.org, 2008)