Mary, Mother of Jesus

Mary is an extraordinary model of dynamic faith in God. While her distinct role as the physical mother of Jesus was utterly unique, the way she responded to God’s providence helps us understand how we can exercise faith today. The angel Gabriel declares her “favored” by God, and she responds by welcoming God’s undeserved grace. He informs her that she will bear the Son of God, and she responds by thoughtfully interrogating God’s promises. Without understanding everything that will happen to her, she embraces wonder with her famous response, “Let it be to me as you have said.” And while struggling to understand what it all means, she engages God’s people in the form of her older cousin Elizabeth, who may have been a spiritual mentor, and who helps confirm and extend her unique calling. And for the rest of her life, through many more hard and confusing situations, Mary continues to exercise humble, thinking faith.