By Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky.

Praying to Mary by invoking her various titles may disturb people accustomed to dismissing devotion to Mary as extra-Biblical. But John Henry Newman warns, "Throwing off devotion to her, countries cease to worship Christ." (Meditations & Devotions) Mary's virtuous beauty radiates throughout the Gospels.

God reveals Himself through Moses, the prophets, the ministry of Jesus, the testimony of the Apostles, Scripture, and Church teaching. Most - if not all - of the original Scriptural scrolls have returned to dust. Revelation is like a holy swarm of bees, directed by Tradition and held together by the Magisterium of the Church. And Mary - not to press the metaphor too far - is the Queen Bee, interceding to rescue renegade drones. Mary forever directs us to the binding words of Jesus.

Mary's obedience brought us the Incarnation, "the greatest Peace Conference ever held." (Legion of Mary Handbook) At the Annunciation, God and man are reconciled. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to thy word. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." cf. Luke 1:38 & John 1:14).

Mary teaches us how to pray and live. Our Blessed Mother ponders the words of the Angel Gabriel in her heart. Her obedience magnifies the Lord. (cf. Luke 1:46-55). Like Mary, we joyfully receive God's word and hold fast to the doctrines handed down to us through the Church. Mary helps us identify the many pieces of Church teaching, assemble them, and, with God's grace, apply them. With Mary, we, too, magnify the Lord in virtuous living.

Mary teaches us to abide by God's will. John writes the last recorded words of Mary at the wedding feast in Cana: "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5) Like John the Baptist, Mary, in humility, decreases as Jesus increases. But Jesus gives Mary the highest compliment in a disguised form:

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brethren! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Matthew 12:46-50)

Mary's Immaculate Conception and perfect obedience to the Father radiate her virtuous beauty: "Our tainted nature's solitary boast." (Wordsworth)

Jesus commissions Mary to intercede for us as our mother with Saint John as His proxy: "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, 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 to his own home." (John 19:25-27)

We can easily imagine the months and years of conversations between Mary and John during their sojourn in Ephesus. John's Gospel was the crown jewel of Catholic theology. (cf., the high priestly prayer of Jesus, John 17) In a way, Mary intercedes as the senior editor of the Gospels, with the Holy Spirit as the Executive Editor. Mary is the guardian of orthodoxy and nourishes her children with the words of Jesus through the words of the evangelists.

The prayerful example and intercession of Mary encouraged the theological reflections of the Early Church Fathers. The disobedience of Adam and Eve ruined our happiness and brought condemnation. The obedience of Jesus unto death reveals Him as "the New Adam," restoring our innocence in Him. Mary's obedience earns her the distinction of "the New Eve," the mother of all the living redeemed in Jesus.

Mary, the co-worker of salvation with her Son, crushes the head of the serpent as prophesied in Genesis 3:15. With the help of faithful and learned theologians, we sort out conundrums in the beehive of Revelation:

The Hebrew assigns the head-crushing to a he or ...