Mary and prayer

Our last few posts have been about prayer.  In the first, we spoke of Jesus as the source, object, and model of prayer.  In the last post, we spoke about prayer in the life of the Church, the Body of Christ.  In this post, we will speak of prayer in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and specifically Marian prayer in the life of the Church.

The Catechism notes two special prayers of Mary in her life, the Fiat and the Magnificat. 
In her Fiat, when the angel of the Lord appears to her to announce Jesus' birth through her, she says "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38).  This is a prayer of offering her whole self to God, to wholly belong to Him.  This is what we should seek to do in prayer.
In her Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), which takes place when she visits her cousin Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist), she proclaims the following:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

These verses are known as Mary's "hymn of praise" to God.  In the last post, we mentioned praise as the highest form of prayer.  The Church recites this perfect prayer of praise every evening in Evening Prayer.  I would also say there are elements of the prayer of thanksgiving here, as well.

Mary also asks prayers of intercession.  The Catechism poses Mary pleading the plight of the people at the Wedding Feast of Cana to her Son, as a type of a prayer of intercession.  She tells him they have no wine, and after he makes her plea known to Our Lord, she then says to the servants to do whatever he tells them to do.  This is our model in prayer; we make our pleas to Jesus, in union with her, he hears them, he responds, and then we have to do whatever his response dictates we do.

At the foot of the Cross, Our Lord makes his mother the mother of the whole Church.   She therefore nurtures the prayer life of every one of her members.  If Jesus is the way of prayer, she is the sign that surely points to him as that way, like a street sign pointing out the correct road.  Wherever he is, she is, just like she was while he walked the Earth.  Therefore, we can say whenever we pray to Jesus, she is there, as well.  In addition, we have said that any prayer to Jesus is done in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Mary had an utterly unique cooperation with the Holy Spirit among all mankind, past, present, and future.

For all these reasons. it makes sense to include prayers to Mary in the life of the Church, and in our own prayer lives.  We pray with her, and to her.

The Catechism notes that in Marian prayer there are generally two movements; "magnifying" or praising the Lord, as she did in her Magnificat, and afterward, supplications/ intercessions on behalf of mankind. She was one of us, with a special relationship with Our Lord, and therefore, is a quite capable intercessor.

The privileged Marian prayer that has developed in the life of the Church is the Ave Maria, or Hail Mary, and it contains both of these movements.  The first part of the prayer quotes the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, followed by her cousin Elizabeth from the Visitation.   Hail (or Rejoice) Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.  Holy Mary, Mother of God  This is praise for what God is doing through Mary. In the second part of the prayer, we find the intercession.   Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  This part is not necessarily based in Scripture, but it is based in the Tradition of the Church, who affirms that Mary prays and intercedes for us.

Everyday in our prayer, we must remember to pray to Mary, and to unite our own prayer with hers. 

How graced was Saint Joseph to be around this privileged witnesses to prayer.  He was, as the litany to him indicates, the Spouse of the Mother of God, and Chaste guardian of the virgin.  May he, who faithfully served as her spouse and guardian while on earth, continue, in his role as Protector of the Universal Church, to honor the Mother of God, and protect her from the wounds of neglect, dishonor, and indifference that exist in the world today regarding her.   May we follow his example of honor to her, and realize her importance to the plan of salvation, as he did.  May we be inspired, as Joseph was, by her prayer of faith, her surrender to God, and be led, as Joseph did, to do the same; to praise God, pray in faith, interceed for others, and surrender to His Divine Will.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.