The Most Holy Name of Mary
We are presented to Christ by His Mother. She presents our needs and petitions to Him; She is the instrument of His mercy and of the disposition of the "Treasury of Grace" won by Him for us on Calvary; She consoles our hearts and through Her maternal care, imparts to Her children whatever peace or happiness we can know in this vale of tears - nothing less than the peace of Christ.
The Most Holy Name of Mary
by Mark Alessio
"O name of Mary! Joy in the heart, honey in the mouth, melody to the ear of
Her devout clients!"
St. Anthony of Padua AD1231
Pondering the Meaning of "Mary"
In Hebrew, the name Mary is Miryam. In Our Lady's time, Aramaic was the
spoken language, and the form of the name then in use was Mariam. Derived
from the root, merur, the name signifies "bitterness."
Miryam was the name of the sister of Moses; and the ancient rabbinical
scholars perceiving in it a symbol of the slavery of the Israelites at the hands
of the Egyptians, held that Miryam was given this name because she was
born during the time of the oppression of her people. The Old Testament,
chronicling as it does the "Time of Expectation" of the Redeemer, is filled with
"types," or foreshadowings of people and events which would be made
manifest during the "Time of Redemption," when. Christ walked the earth.
Jesus Mary and Joseph, the Sacrament of Baptism, the Eucharist, the
Sacrifice of Calvary, etc., are all foreshadowed in the Old Testament, but we
view them there "through a glass darkly," so to speak, under the guidance of
the Catholic Church, which alone possesses the authority to interpret the
sacred texts.
Miryam, the sister of Moses is a "type" of the Blessed Virgin. Miryam was a
prophetess who sang a canticle of thanksgiving after the safe crossing of the
Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh's army; Mary prophesied in Her
Magnificat that all generations would honor Her, and She sang of how God
would topple the proud and raise the lowly. Miryam supported her brother,
Moses, the liberator of his people; as the Co-Redemptrix who united Her
sufferings to those of the One Mediator on Calvary, Mary labored alongside
the Redeemer, the true Liberator of His people. Just as Jesus was the
"antitype" [i.e., fulfillment] of Moses, so was Our Lady the "antitype" of
Miryam, the fullest realization of the courageous woman standing beside, and laboring
with, the one who comes to free captives.
Throughout the centuries, Saints and scholars have put forth different
interpretations for the name "Mary." A mixture of etymology and devotion has
combined to produce an interesting array of meanings:
"Mary means enlightener, because She brought forth the Light of the world. In
the Syriac tongue, Mary signifies Lady." [St. Isidore of Seville +636]
"Let me say something concerning this name also, which is interpreted to
mean Star of the sea, and admirably suits the Virgin Mother." [St. Bernard
+1153]
"Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean
star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary's maternal intercession." [St.
Thomas Aquinas +1274]
"This most holy, sweet and worthy name was 'eminently fitted to so holy,
sweet and worthy a virgin. For Mary means a bitter sea, star of the sea, the
illuminated or illuminatrix. Mary is interpreted Lady. Mary is a bitter sea to
the demons; to men She is the Star of the sea; to the Angels She is illuminatrix,
and to all creatures She is Lady ." [St. Bonaventure +1274]
"God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas or
maria [Latin, seas]. He gathered all His grace together and called it Mary or
Maria . . .This immense treasury is none other than Mary whom the Saints call
the 'treasury of the Lord.' From Her fullness all men are made
rich;" [St. Louis de Montfort +1716]
The hallowed title, "Star of the Sea," dates back to St. Jerome [+420]. It has
been said that the great Doctor had originally used the phrase Stilla Maris to
describe Mary as a "drop of the sea," the sea being God. A copyist's error,
then, could have resulted in stilla [drop] being written down as stella [star].
Of course, the hallowed title, "Star of the Sea," suits Our Lady perfectly:
" 'And the Virgin's name was Mary.' Let us say a few things about this name,
which can be interpreted to mean Star of the sea, an apt designation for the
Virgin Mother. She is most beautifully likened to a star, for a star pours forth
its light without losing anything of its nature. She gave us Her Son without losing
anything of Her virginity. The glowing rays of a star take nothing away from its
beauty. N either has the Son taken anything away from His Mother's integrity.
"She is that noble star of Jacob, illuminating the whole world, penetrating from
the highest heavens to the deepest depths of Hell. The warmth of Her
brilliance shines in the minds of men, encouraging virtue, extinguishing vice.
She is that glorious star lighting the way across this vast ocean of life,
glowing with merits, guiding by example.
"When you find yourself tossed by the raging storms on this great sea of life,
far from land, keep your eyes fixed on this Star to avoid disaster. When the
winds of temptation or the rocks of tribulation threaten, look up to the Star,
call upon Mary!" [St. Bernard, Second Homily on the Missus Est]
The interpretation "Lady" for Mary was also proposed by St. Jerome, based on
the Aramaic word, mar, meaning "Lord". This would render the meaning
"Lady" in the regal or noble sense [as in "Lord and Lady."] Catholic
sensibility, however, recognizing in Mary the simple dignity of a Mother, as well as the
grandeur of a Queen, did not hesitate to add an affectionate touch to this
majestic title. Mary is not just "Lady;" She is "Madonna," Notre Dame-----i.e.,
She is Our Lady. This aspect of Mary -----"Lady" or "Mistress"-----is close to
Our Lord's Heart. We read in the Scriptures how, for a time, the youthful Christ
made Himself "subject" to Her and St. Joseph, an act of Divine condescension
which caused St. Bernard to wonder:
"Which shall we admire first? The tremendous submission of the Son of God,
or the tremendous God-given dignity of the Mother of God? Both are marvels:
both amazing. When God obeys a woman, it is humility without precedent.
When a woman commands her God, it is sublime beyond measure." [First
Homily on the Missus Est]
It is not difficult to see why these various interpretations of the name "Mary"
should have been proposed and cherished, for they encapsulate many of our
Marian doctrines and beliefs. "Bitter sea [mara = bitter; yam = sea]," for
instance, in addition to the interpretation given by St. Bonaventure, also calls
to mind Our Lady's Seven Sorrows and the sword which "pierced" Her soul on
Calvary, recalling the lamentation of the mother-in-law of Ruth, who had lost a
husband and two sons: "Call me not Noemi, [that is, beautiful,] but call me
Mara, [that is, bitter,] for the Almighty hath quite filled me with bitterness
[Rt. 1: 20]." Maror are "bitter herbs," such as are found on the seder plate at
Passover.
The "Illuminated" points us to St. John's apocalyptic image of the "Woman
clothed with the Sun," a dual image encompassing both the Catholic Church
and Mary, the Mother and Image of the Church. In addition, the "Illuminated"
has also been rendered as the "Enlightener" and, like St. Bernard, St. Aelred
[+1167] combines this meaning with that of the Stella Maris in a powerful
passage:
"Therefore a certain Star has risen for us today: Our Lady, Saint Mary. Her
name means Star of the sea; no doubt the Star of this sea which is the world.
Therefore, we ought to lift up our eyes to this Star that has appeared on earth
today in order that She may lead us, in order that She may enlighten us, in
order that She may show us these steps so that we shall know them, in order
that She may help us so that we may be able to ascend. And therefore it is a
beautiful thing that Mary is placed in this stairway of which we are speaking,
there where we must begin to climb. As the Evangelist says, Jacob begot
Joseph, the husband of Mary, so immediately at the very moment of our
conversion She appears to us and receives us into Her care and enlightens
us in Her light and accompanies us along this laborious path." [Sermon 24,
For the Nativity of Holy Mary]
There is another interpretation for the name "Mary" which is quite interesting
in that it relates to the Church as well. This supposes the name to be derived
from the Hebrew verb mara, meaning "to be fleshy or robust. In the East, such
descriptions implying corpulence were used to indicate beauty and fecundity.
Here, then, Our Lady's name would indicate "The Beautiful One," quite fitting
for the Immaculate Conception. [Tota Pulchra Es, M aria!-----"You are all
beautiful, Mary!"] The Psalms prophetically describe the Church in this
manner, all alluding to the fruitfulness and spiritual gifts of the Holy Ghost:
"The mountain of God is a fat mountain. A curdled mountain, a fat mountain . .
. A mountain in which God is well pleased to dwell." [Ps. 67:16-17]
This image resonates with the prophecy of Isaias concerning the New
Dispensation [and the Church], and with the words of Our Lord:
"And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared
on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all
the nations shall flow unto it [Is. 2: 2] . . . You are the light of the world. A
city that is set on a mountain cannot be hid." [Mt. 5: 14]
It is here that the Psalms intersect with St. John's Apocalyptic vision, to
present the maternal function of the Church, a virginal maternity mirroring that
of Our Lady, which begets new "brethren" of Christ, new sons and daughters
of Mary ["the rest of Her seed," as Catholics are called by St. John in his
Apocalypse] and new children of God the Father:
"But as many as received Him, He gave them power to be made the sons of
God, to them that believe in His name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." [Jn. 1: 12-13]
"The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains: The Lord loveth the gates
of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob. Glorious things are said of Thee, O
city of God . . . Shall not Sion say: This man and that man is born in Her? And
the Highest Himself hath founded Her." [Ps. 86: 1-3, 5]
The inspired texts prophesy that the Church will be "exalted"-----It shall be
exalted above the hills, and all the nations shall flow unto it. So, too, will
be the Mother of the Church, She who prophesied that "all generations shall call
Me blessed." Another proposed meaning for the Blessed Virgin's name
reflects this exaltation, the majesty of the Queen of Heaven. It derives from
ancient Canaanite literature, where the word mrym [pronounced somewhat
like Maryam] means "height" [sharing the same derivation as marom, the
Hebrew word for "height"]. This would render Mary's name as "Highness" or
"The Exalted One."
This fascinating-----and very, very Catholic-----desire to explore the meaning
and depths of the holy name of "Mary" is not merely a pious pursuit, unrelated
to any theological concerns. In the various interpretations set forth, a wealth
of Marian doctrine is made manifest, not in the clinical language of theology , but
in rich, colorful meditations on Our Lady's name, and sacred truths are
explored and taught in language easily comprehended and appreciated by
all.
In his fine book, The Wondrous Childhood of the Most Holy Mother of God, St.
John Eudes [+1680] offers meditations on seventeen interpretations of the
name "Mary," taken from the writings of "the Holy Fathers and by some
celebrated Doctors. "Among these are "God born of my race," [St.Ambrose]
"Rain of the sea, falling at convenient time and season," [St. Peter Canisius]
"Myrrh of the Sea," [St. Jerome] and "The hope of those who voyage on the
stormy sea of this world." [St. Epiphanius] It is quite clear-----from
Scripture, Tradition and history-----that the Church owes so much to Mary, the Mother of
the Redeemer and our Mother "in the order of grace." How does the gratitude
and affection of Her spiritual children manifest itself in the beautiful Feast
of the Holy Name of Mary,and what does this cherished name mean to those
who love and venerate the Mother of God?
The Virtue and Power of Our Lady's Name
A balanced view of salvation history will grant to the Blessed Virgin Her
proper place in both the Incarnation of the Second Divine Person and in the
Kingdom won by Him on Calvary. Therefore, She is venerated with
thanksgiving as both the one who, in union with the Blessed Trinity, gave
Jesus to the world, and as the one who stood by Him during His Passion,
uniting Her "Com-Passion" to His Salvific Passion for the restoration of fallen
mankind to the friendship of God. It was prophesied in Eden that the Mother of
Christ would be given a share in the work of the One Mediator and, because
of this, a unique share in His glory. As had been prophesied by Simeon in the
Temple, the soul of the Co-Redemptrix was pierced beneath the Cross on
Calvary. The Mother of the Church, who experienced no physical labor pains
during the birth of the Incarnate God at Bethlehem, did undergo unimaginable
spiritual 'labor pains' as Her Son hung on the Cross, dying the cruelest death
imaginable. And God, in His wisdom, has decreed that these sufferings of
Mary count for something, and something indescribably precious, in the
economy of salvation. They were not the sufferings which redeemed
humanity, like those of Jesus. They were not needed in order to augment or
complete the superabundant Sacrifice of Jesus, which alone could and did
atone for all the sins of the world. Yet, God decreed that Our Lady unite Her
Sufferings to those of Jesus, the Woman of Genesis standing beside Her
Seed during the restoration of the world.
Our Lady did this-----suffered as She did-----for us, for the spiritual progeny
bequeathed to Her by Jesus in the person of St. John: "Woman, behold Thy
son!" Therefore, we truly are brethren of Jesus, "the rest of Her seed:"
"And a great sign appeared in Heaven: A Woman clothed with the sun, and
the moon under Her feet, and on Her head a crown of twelve stars: And being
with child, She cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered . . .
And She brought forth a man Child, Who was to rule all nations with an iron rod:
and Her son was taken up to God, and to His throne . . . And the dragon was
angry against the Woman: and went to make war with the rest of Her seed,
who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." [Apoc, 1-2, 5,17]
The Woman prophesied in Eden . . . The Virgin prophesied by Isaias . . . The
Beautiful One of the Canticles . . . When the time had finally come, the world
knew Her name at last: "And the Virgin's name was Mary." This woman
uniquely honored with the title, Co-Redemptrix, was rewarded by Her Lord
and Redeemer with a queenly crown in His Kingdom . . . and with the role of
Mediatrix of All Graces, to dispense those graces which had cost Her Son so
dearly on the Cross.
And so, we call out to this Mother and Queen in confidence: Ave Maria . . .
Salve Regina . . . Ave Maris Stella . . . Ave Regina Caelorum. Because of this,
we honor, respect and set aside in our hearts a special place for Her Holy
Name, "Mary," for it was the beacon of our redemption. During the nine
months that Jesus rested in His Mother's womb, no one encountered Christ
except through Mary, as did the infant St. John the Baptist in the womb of St.
Elizabeth. Men and women still, and always will, go to Jesus through Mary:
"Considering things as they are, because God has decided to begin and
accomplish His greatest works through the Blessed Virgin ever since He
created Her, we can safely believe that He will not change His plan in the time
to come, for He is God and therefore does not change in His thoughts or His
way of acting." [True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin]
Mary, the daughter of Joachim and Anne . . . She is not a goddess, not a
mythological warrior-queen, not a curious, elusive character recalled through
the mists of antiquity. She is a person, a uniquely blessed and honored
individual, but a person still. "When you approach the time for reading about
Mary Immaculate," wrote St. Maximilian Kolbe [+1941], "always remember that
you are entering into contact with a living, loving person." No wonder, then,
that Catholics [members of Christ's Mystical Body and, therefore, the "rest" of
Mary's seed] should hold their Blessed Mother's name in such esteem. It
reminds us of God's goodness, of His mercy and generosity to struggling
mankind:
"The name of Mary is a name of salvation for those who are regenerated; it is
the insignia of virtue, the honor of chastity, the sacrifice agreeable to God,
the virtue of hospitality, the school of sanctity, a name altogether maternal." [St.
Peter Chrysologus +450]
Of course, in a proper understanding of doctrine and Scripture, such a
declaration will not be misinterpreted as any contradiction to the words of St.
Paul concerning Our Lord and His sacred Name:
"For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name
which is above all names: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those that are in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth: and that every
tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the
Father." [Phil. 2: 9-11]
St. Peter Chrysologus did not say that the name of Mary is a "name of
salvation." He wrote that "the name of Mary is a name of salvation for those
who are regenerated." A person who wishes to follow Christ, yet denies the
Mother given to him by Jesus on Calvary, is fooling himself. Through the
inspired Gospels, Our Lady has been presented to the world as Advocate and
Mediatrix [in the Visitation and Wedding at Cana episodes], and as Spiritual
Mother [on Calvary]. Because there are no empty shows or meaningless
displays with God, then we are bound to understand Mary's advocacy and
spiritual maternity as active, vital components in the life of the soul, for it
is the good of souls that moved God to ordain the Incarnation:
"For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever
believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting [Jn. 3: 16] . .
.
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." [Lk. 19:
10]
The Blessed Virgin, then is a Divine bestowal, a gift bequeathed to the
Church by Her dying Savior. And Her name? Her name will become more
than a name It will be a sign of Our Lord's solicitude, a pledge of His love . .
. and a prayer unto itself:
"We scarce remember now that once this name was spoken softly in a time
before the Aves rang. Perhaps across some threshold it was said, so casually,
by one who called to Her, 'Mary.' Then, She might have turned and come,
obedient from where the children played together in the dusk: and no one
knew that more was said than just a young girl's name." [Fr. John W. Lynch, A Woman Wrapped in Silence]
The Introit for the Mass of the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, taken from
Psalm 44, is an eloquent testimony to the reason we celebrate this beautiful
name:
"All the rich among the people shall entreat Thy countenance: after Her shall
virgins be brought to the King: Her neighbors shall be brought to Thee in
gladness and rejoicing . . . My heart hath uttered a good word: I will speak my
works to the King."
We are presented to Christ by His Mother. She presents our needs and
petitions to Him; She is the instrument of His mercy and of the disposition of
the "Treasury of Grace" won by Him for us on Calvary; She consoles our
hearts and through Her maternal care, imparts to Her children whatever
peace or happiness we can know in this vale of tears-----nothing less than the
peace of Christ. We may struggle to maintain this peace in our bruised and
weary hearts, but Our Lady is always ready and eager to share it with us
again and again. Yes, the name of Mary, this brief, simple name, speaks
volumes to us. "There is hidden in that Divine name [of Mary] a spell so
potent," wrote Abb' Orsini, "and of such marvelous sweetness, that merely to
pronounce it softens the heart, merely to write it beautifies the style." St.
Bonaventure declared the the name of Mary "cannot be pronounced without
bringing some grace to him who does so devoutly."
The Most Holy Name of Mary
Reprinted from the September 2001 Issue of Catholic Family News.
The Most Holy Name Of Mary