As he made his way to the balcony on Saint Peter's Square after his election as pope, everyone could see his devotion to Mary by looking at the new pontiff's stole. The new Pope, John Paul II, was letting everyone know how Marian his spirituality was. During the late 1960s and until Pope John Paul II's election in 1978, the Blessed Mother was not in the forefront of many Catholics' faith lives. Activism was in and the pure and lowly Blessed Mother was seemingly on the outs for some. Fortunately, Pope John Paul II's appearance on the balcony of Saint Peter's began to rekindle the hope that Mary would once again receive her rightful place in the Church.
In my book, The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism, I note that many have come into the Church as a result of the Blessed Mother. Her life is an inspiration to many converts who felt the only time they heard her name mentioned in Evangelical circles was at Christmas. During the 1980s, and with some help from Pope John Paul II, she would receive lots of attention in the Catholic Church and beyond.
In 1981, Pope John Paul II survived an assassination attempt by Mehmet Ali Agca. The date was May 13, the 64th anniversary of the start of the many apparitions at Fatima. The Holy Father believed it was because of Mary's intercession that his life was spared. On May 13, 1982, Pope John Paul II arrived in Fatima and placed the bullet, which almost killed him, in the crown of Mary's statue that adorned the vast Portuguese site. Some weeks after the failed attempt on the Holy Father's life, another miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary was said to have started in Medjugorje, which was at that time in Yugoslavia. While the Church has not yet ruled on the validity of Medjugorje, it became the focal point for many parish prayer groups as well as drawing many groups to travel to Medjugorje. During this period, countless Marian centers opened up across the US and the world. Once again, the Blessed Mother was back in the spotlight.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II released the Third Secret of Fatima on the May anniversary of the beginning of the Apparition. For years, rumors had circulated that the third secret contained dire warnings of impending doom. However, when it was released, many, including the Holy Father, felt that the Third Secret of Fatima foretold the attempt of John Paul's life in 1981. In his mind, Pope John Paul II began to piece together the attempt on his life with the third secret. For many historical observers of the 20th Century, the Apparitions of Fatima began to make political sense with the collapse of Communism starting in 1989. Its rise and fall was predicted by the three peasant children of Fatima. In the early 20th century, the thinking of many political observers was that, if Communism were to take hold, it would do so among the industrialized nations of the west like the United Kingdom, Germany or even the United States, not Russia. These children had little formal education and yet they spoke of the improbable coming of these events. Most reasonable observers concluded they had to be telling the truth and the role of Mary had to be understood and believed by Christians.
Some fundamentalists and Evangelicals have a hard time with the role of Mary. Some, like popular Evangelical television personality John Ankerburg, state that it is Satan who is deceiving Catholics with Marian apparitions. However, the evidence is to the contrary. If, as a result, people are repenting and returning to God, how could Satan be against Satan (Matthew 12:25-26)? Jesus gave this answer some 20 centuries ago and it still applies today.
During the last three decades, we have seen the fruits of Our Lady bringing more and more souls to her Son. Countless converts cite her as one of the reasons they entered the Church. Millions have seen the wisdom of the angel's words in Luke 1:26-28. In addition, because of the apologetics movement established by converts like Dr. Scott Hahn, many have begun to truly grasp the scriptural passages surrounding Mary.
Dr. Hahn and others have pointed out the significance of Luke 1:28, "Hail, full of grace the Lord is with you." One has to understand that an angel was addressing a human being with these words. Where else has that happened in Scripture? However, it is the Greek meaning of the word this is so significant. Kecharitomene (Full of Grace ) is rarely used in Greek and nowhere else in the Bible. It is an exclamation of great significance. In Revelation 12, Mary is the woman clothed in the sun who will bear the Son of God. She will fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15 that the woman will crush the serpent's head. Because she bore the Messiah, Satan's hold on us would be crushed. Because of all of this, many began to speak of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. There are some interesting parallels in Scripture. When we look at 2 Samuel chapter 6, we see the wonderful return of the Ark of the Covenant. It had been taken by the Philistines but returned, and it remained for three months in the Judean hill country. David's exclamation on seeing it is echoed by the words that Elizabeth said when she saw Mary in the Judean hill country. The Ark of the Covenant rested in the Judean hill country for three months, so did Mary. There are no coincidences in Scripture.
We need to rejoice in God's grace in giving us Mary. To thank her for saying yes to God and bearing our Redeemer, we need to inform all of our Christian brothers and sisters of her tremendous role in bringing about our salvation.
November 5th, 2007 at 12:36 am
One quick correction–The reference in Genesis 3:15, is to Satan striking at Christ's heel, but Mary (or her Son) crushes Satan's head…
Wonderful article, with the Old and New Testament parallels.
November 5th, 2007 at 6:09 am
Thanks! It has been corrected.
November 5th, 2007 at 6:40 am
The Blessed Mother is the reason why JPII had such a fruitful pontificate. While a priest’s ministry is impossible without Jesus, it's dry without Mary. She rounds out the sharp edges of the faith and makes it so much more human. I look back at the 80's when my own faith was more in line with the Evangelicals and Gnostics and it was dry and uneventful. There was a correctness about it that made it inhospitable to mercy, grace and love for those with whom I found differences.
God is Spirit with attributes of both sexes, yet in the Godhead the masculine prevails or at least that is the prevailing interpretation. Mary needs to be part of this faith so that it's graceful and beautiful and fruitful. She is the music to the dance.
November 5th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Actually, Medjugorje is not so cut and dry as Mr. Hartline has seemingly indicated. The local Bishop has come out numerous times against it since 1981. Even Pope Benedict responded to it negatively back in February 2006.
November 5th, 2007 at 10:46 am
http://www.christineschult.com
Great article.
I featured this article on my blog
Christine
November 5th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Watch what you read and KNOW and seek the fruits of Medjugorje - I doubt you find anything negative. As a Baptist back in 1991 my first experience with devout Catholics was with a couple who had just got back from Medjugore for their honeymoon. I was dumbfounded by what I heard and saw in this couple. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. They talked about going to daily mass and being obeident to the Pope and the church's teachings. I clearly saw their love for Christ, but I was confused because at that time, I didn't believe that Catholics really knew Christ. I personally am not a Medjugore follower, but I am surprised by some "better than the rest of us" Catholics who choose to find fault with Medjugorje - isn't that exactly what Satan wants them to do. His goal is to conquer and divide. What more glory will Satan get if he can divide devout Catholics??? I see this happening all the time with other apostolates - Division is clearly the work of the devil!
November 5th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
This is an interesting point about the term "full of grace" because, in English, it is also seems to be used in John 1:14 in reference to Jesus and in Acts 6:8 in reference to Stephen.
But only in Luke is the Greek term kecharitomene used. This may be worth knowing when you get questions about Mary from your Evangelical friends.
November 5th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
It saddens me to think negative comments are given about Medjugorje. For without my visits there, my 3 adult children and husband would not be Catholics today. I thank God in heaven that our Blessed Mother was able to bring me back to her son, Jesus. In my mind, that's her sole purpose in this reality. Without her i'd still be drowning in my sinful, materialistic, ego mania. I owe her everything. Throw me to the lions at this point in my life. My treasure and pearls lie within my faithful experience of the Catholic Church and her biblical sacraments, and all that supernatural grace/healing in the Eucharist aint too bad either…..xoxo to all, peace be with you…
November 5th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
While not a convinced believer in the apparations at Medjugorje, I have seen many fruits. Also, I have taken note that Rome has taken a very unusual step in the investigation by taking away the responsibilty of investigating the apparations from the local bishop and forming a commission. It is highly unusual and “may” indicate a problem with what the local bishop has done. Pope Ratzinger has not made any statements on it other than the act of taking it out of the hands of the local bishop. Time will tell, but I believe Rome is not sure and wants a complete and unbiased examination of the events. So it’s far too soon for anyone to affirm or deny the apparations. Many of the requests she has made are well within what the church and Fatima has always requested and are greatly needed in this current time, conversion, prayer, penance and fasting. Ave Maria!
November 6th, 2007 at 7:40 am
Rome has never stripped the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno of his authority to judge Medjugorje.
The visionaries have lied and slandered that Bishop. Vicka said that 'Our Lady said, "The Bishop has no real love of God in his heart."
The Blessed Virgin would never say such a thing against one of her Son's Bishops!
'She' also said that all religions are dear/equal to her and her Son. Read Janice O'Connell's book "Visions of the Children" to learn more on this point. N.B. O'Connell is pro-Medjugorje.
Such a statement is heresy!
November 6th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
A visionary can err and still have valid visions since there are three kinds of revelations according to Father Benedict Groeshel(sp?)
1. Real revelation
2. False revelation
3. Fraudulent revelation
Vicka may have had real visions of Our lady but misinterpreted a message or made one up, as may be the case regarding the bishop. We must remember that the Church has not prohibited Catholics from traveling to Medjugorje. And the Vatican has recently decided to reinbestigate these visions.
November 14th, 2007 at 7:40 am
I don't think that was the case. Vicka's direct quote was that the Blessed Virgin said. As in DIRECTLY said those words. There's no arguing the context. Vicka put those words to Our Lady.