Denver Catholic

31 DENVER CATHOLIC | MAY 25-JUNE 7, 2019 Rediscover Our Lady in the Bible M ay is the month of Mary, a time of new growth and a return to life fi tting for the New Eve. Blessed John Henry Newman spoke of how nature itself bears wit- ness to the joy we fi nd in Our Lady: "Why is May chosen as the month in which we exercise a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin? The fi rst reason is because it is the time when the earth bursts forth into its fresh foli- age and its green grass after the stern frost and snow of winter, and the raw atmosphere and the wild wind and rain of the early spring. It is because the blossoms are upon the trees and the fl owers are in the gardens. It is because the days have got long, and the sun rises early and sets late. For such gladness and joyousness of external Nature is a fi t attendant on our devotion to her who is the Mys- tical Rose and the House of Gold" (Meditations and Devotions, Part I). May provides a fi tting time to increase our devotion to Mary, espe- cially by praying the rosary more often and learning more about her central role in our salvation. Dr. Edward Sri, who has written many books on Our Lady, provides an excellent account of what the Bible teaches us about her in his new book, Rethinking Mary in the New Testament (Ignatius Press/ Augustine Institute, 2018). Although it may seem at fi rst glance that there are few passages that speak of Mary, Sri leads us through the depth and importance of the verses in the Gos- pels and the Book of Revelation that point toward her mission as Mother of God, Ark of the New Covenant, New Eve, and Mother of all disciples. Sri's book serves as a model of biblical theology, allowing the words of the Bible to speak clearly and to lead us into the realities of God's rev- elation. In attending to the words of Scripture, we fi nd that the Bible has much to say about Mary. Sri organizes his book around these words, with each chapter focusing on just a few at a time. The book accomplishes a diª cult feat: summarizing a depth of scholarship and remaining eminently readable and accessible at the same time. One example can be found in his analysis of Gabriel's greeting to Mary as kecharitomene, which we translate as "full of grace." He unpacks the meaning of the original Greek, noting it could be translated as "you who have been and continue to be graced," answers objections seeking to down- play its signifi cance, looks at its importance as a name given to Mary (expressing her essence), notes the word's transformative character and relates its connection to the Immacu- late Conception (23-28). Sri explores the entire Annun- ciation narrative in fi ve chapters, giving similar depth to the Visitation, Presentation, Finding in the Temple, Wedding at Cana, foot of the Cross, and appearance of the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation. There are many "aha" moments, such as how Jesus brings God's glory back to the Temple, how this occurs 490 days after Gabriel appears to Zechariah (itself following the 490 years of Daniel's prophecy), how Cana occurs on the seventh day of John's Gospel to demonstrate the new creation brought by the New Adam and his mother, the New Eve, Mary's role in Jesus' hour of redemption, and how this role helps to explain the meaning of the imagery of the woman in labor pains in Revelation 12. Rethinking Mary in the New Testa- ment is a powerful and moving book with much to teach us in reading the Bible attentively and coming to know our spiritual Mother more deeply. Once again, May is the per- fect moment to take it up, when the beauty that surrounds us points to our Mother, who, as the poet Hopkins writes, exceeds its beauty still: Be thou then, O thou dear Mother, my atmosphere; My happier world, wherein To wend and meet no sin; Above me, round me lie Fronting my froward eye With sweet and scarless sky; Stir in my ears, speak there Of God's love, O live air, Of patience, penance, prayer: World-mothering air, air wild, Wound with thee, in thee isled, Fold home, fast fold thy child. such meddling and monitoring is pre- cisely what SB 360 involves. I realize that non-Catholics and nonbelievers might not appreciate how precious the sacrament of confes- sion is to Catholics and why the seal of confession matters so profoundly. In my last year in the seminary, my classmates and I took a course in the theology and practice of the sacra- ment of reconciliation (to give it its proper title). Our professor said some- thing that has stayed with me for the thirty-three years of my priesthood, burned into my mind and soul. He told us, "If someone asks, 'Father, would you hear my confession?,' the answer is always yes. Even if hearing that con- fession puts your own life in danger, the answer is always yes." And he went on, "If a person inquires about what was said during a confession, you should act as though the confession never even happened. And if doing so puts your own life in danger, you should still act as though the confes- sion never happened." Why do we Catholics take this sac- rament with such seriousness? We do so because we believe that through this sacramental encounter, a sinner accesses the healing and forgiving grace of Christ. In the context of con- fession, the priest, we hold , is operat- ing in the very person of Christ, and therefore, the penitent is speaking to and hearing from the Lord himself. Thus, absolutely nothing ought to stand in the way of a sinner who seeks this font of grace. In light of these clarifi cations, one can understand the indispensable importance of the seal. If a penitent thought that the priest to whom he confessed were likely to share with others what was given in the most sacred confi dence, he or she would be reluctant indeed ever to approach the sacrament of reconcili- ation. And this is why the Church has striven so strenuously to protect, at all costs, the integrity of confession. And through the entire course of our country's history, the govern- ment has protected the right of the Catholic Church to determine its own sacramental practice and has never sought to compel the violation of the seal. Given this venerable tradition, grounded in the second clause of the First Amendment, an extraor- dinary burden of proof, it seems to me, lies with those who would seek to dispense with the exemption. But what is impossible to doubt is that religious liberty is indeed under grave threat, especially when we consider the slippery slope onto which SB 360 would invite us. Surely murder, theft, spousal abuse, child neglect, and rape are terrible crimes. Would the state determine that priests are obligated to report these o¯ enses to the author- ities, should they hear of them in the confessional? For some time now, the public insti- tutions of the Church have been under attack from the secular state. The government has been seeking to deter- mine what is taught and practiced in Catholic schools and what is carried out in Catholic hospitals, even when these practices run counter to the Church's formal doctrine. But with SB 360, the secular authorities are reach- ing into the inner life of the Church, into its sacramental practice and dis- cipline. Catholics should, of course, rise up in strenuous protest against this very aggressive incursion — but so should anyone who cares about the freedom of religion in our society. The Catholic Reader R. Jared Staudt, PhD, is a husband and father of six, the director of formation for the Archdiocese of Denver, a Benedictine oblate, prolifi c writer, and insatiable reader. DR. R. JARED STAUDT PHOTO BY JOSH APPLEGATE | UNSPLASH

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