"...she is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God...it is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God."
Martin Luther, Sermons on John 14
Since the Virgin Mary figures prominently in modern apparitions, understanding her role in the development of Christianity might prove helpful in evaluating apparitions where she is purported to appear or speak. As an historic personage, Mary can best be described as a Jewess, the daughter of Joachim and Ann, who came to the attention of the world through the remarkable events surrounding the conception, birth, life and death of her son Jesus.
According to the Protoevangelion of James, a first century manuscript describing the early events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, Mary was pledged to service in the Jewish Temple at Jerusalem in fulfillment of a pledge made by her parents to an angel who visited them prior to her conception. She went into service at the Temple at the age of three and served there for ten years. She took a vow of life-long chastity while in Temple service. At the age of thirteen, she was sent home by the Temple priests to be betrothed to Joseph, a Nazarean carpenter.
As a member of the Jewish community, she likely followed traditions which called for personal and dietary purity as well as familial religious practices that included temple worship, setting aside a portion of each meal for the poor and the lighting of the lamp to signify the start of Sabbath. She became married to Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth, and probably lived the humble life of a Jewish wife and peasant in Roman-occupied Palestine.
As noted in the New Testament, Mary was a virgin, probably in her early teens, when she conceived Jesus through the intercession of the holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-35). Mary was greeted by the angel Gabriel as "full of grace, the Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28), a unique biblical phrase reflecting the holiness of the person addressed. This greeting occurred prior to her acceptance of the role Gabriel proposed to her, illustrating the pre-existing holiness given to her by the grace of God.
She was involved in the life of Jesus throughout His ministry. She cared for Him as an infant (Matt 1:18 - 2:23); she looked for Him in the Temple when she thought He was lost (Luke 2:41-49); she cared for Him through adolescence (Luke 2:51-52); she interceded with Him at the wedding at Cana (John 2:2-5); she worried about Him as He began His ministry (Matt 13:46); she was at His cross when He was crucified (John 19:25-26); and she prayed with the other followers of Jesus after His ascension (Acts 1:14).
Mary's role at Cana illustrates the importance in which she is held by her Son. Mary, God's humble servant, noticed that the wedding no longer had any wine and brought this to the attention of her Son. He responded to her admonition, "They have no wine."(John 2:3) by willingly doing something miraculous. Her last recorded words in the Bible, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5) signify her full expectation that her Son would do the miraculous by causing nature to bend to His will. She was and is full of faith in Him; she was His first disciple.
It is during Mary's presence at the Cross that her future role in the development of Christianity is unveiled. "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold your son.' Then he said to the disciple, `Behold, your mother.'"(John 19:26). The use of the word "woman" in this context is unusual. Jesus, like any loving Jewish son of His time, would address His mother with more affection than the use of "woman" seems to indicate. However, Jesus is quoted at the crucufixion and at the wedding at Cana as referring to His mother as "woman". This is likely a reference to the Genesis description of the savior, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel" (Gen 3:15). In this statement, God promises humanity salvation through the woman of Genesis; her offspring will crush the head of the serpent. This is Jesus' way of reminding all that He is the salvation promised by His Father. He reminds us that God always keeps His covenant.
By giving His mother to the disciple at the Cross, she becomes the Mother of all Jesus' followers and the Mother to His Church. It is in this role that she has occasionally appeared to the pious throughout history.
While Marian apparitions are reported to have occurred in the past, until the last two centuries they have been rather infrequent. The Catholic Church has taken note of these appearances by constructing basilicas, churches or chapels to honor Mary's special presence at these locations. Some of the more well-known of these are listed below:
TITLE LOCATION VISIONARY YEAR
Our Lady of the Snows Italy John of Rome & wife 352
Our Lady of Walsingham England Richeldis de Faverches 1061
Our Lady of the Rosary Spain Dominic de Guzman 1208
Our Lady of Sorrows Italy seven noblemen 1233
Our Lady of Mount Carmel England Simon Stock 1251
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mexico Juan Diego 1531
Our Lady of Mercy Italy Antonio Botta 1536
Our Lady of Czestochowa Poland painting of Mary 1655
Our Lady of Lavang Vietnam a number of parishioners 1698
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal France Catherine Laboure 1830
Our Lady of La Salette France Maximin Geraud 1846
Melanie Mathieu
Our Lady of Lourdes France Bernadette Soubirous 1858
Our Lady of Hope France six children 1871
Our Lady of Knock Ireland fourteen witnesses 1879
Our Lady of Fatima Portugal Lucia dos Santos 1917
& 2 other children
Our Lady of Beauraing Belgium Gilberte Voisin 1932
& 4 other children
Our Lady of Banneux Belgium Mariette Beco 1933
Each of these apparitions were accompanied by reports of miraculous events such as healings, messages from heaven and other signs of supernatural intervention. There appear to be distinct groupings of apparitions: in the Middle Ages which was probably associated with the growth of Islam and the Albigensian sect in southern Europe; in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, associated with the expansion of Christianity into the Far East and New World; and, most recently, the unprecedented eruption of apparitions since the nineteenth century associated with the philosophical progeny of the "Enlightenment". Clearly, Mary has been involved with her Son's disciples down through the ages and continues to be involved...but evidently never more so than in the last half of the twentieth century as we shall soon see.
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