Text written by Sr. Shalini Mulackal, PBVM, published in the UISG Bulletin 182

Like all humans, Mary of Nazareth was a pilgrim on this earth. The knowledge we have of Mary today is not only from what is written about her in the Bible but also from faith reflections of Christians over the centuries, their devotions and their faith experiences of praying through her intercession. As the understanding of Jesus and his mission grew in the early Christian communities, so too the understanding of Mary and her role in God’s salvific plan. In this process, certain legends, apocryphal writings, archaeological evidence, the geography of Palestine and the memory of Mary preserved in certain locations by the early Christians helped to give a better picture of Mary and her faith journey.

From what is written about her in the Scripture, one can get a fairly good idea of the person of Mary. She comes across as a woman of deep faith in God. Like any other mother, she nurtured the infant Jesus to his adulthood. She helped the growth of Jesus in his consciousness. She supported him as he learned to walk, taught him to talk, to respond, to pray and to manifest the usual signs of love. She allowed him to grow as an individual with freedom. In that process, together with her husband Joseph, she willingly accepted all the difficulties that came her way in protecting Jesus from all dangers. The flight into Egypt with the infant and looking for the lost boy in the temple are two of the difficult and anxious moments she underwent as a mother.

However, Mary’s role was not limited to being the biological mother of Jesus. She followed
him and was his strongest support in his mission until he breathed his last on the cross. Besides, the few scenes which the four Evangelists present before us suggest that Mary was a person who was sensitive to other’s needs. Even before someone asked for help, she reached out and helped them. Her visit to her elderly cousin and her intervention at the wedding at Cana are windows that allow us to have a glimpse of a woman who was sensitive to the needs of others and reached out to be of help.

But Mary did not walk alone. She had a companion all along the way. That companion is none other than the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. This paper is an attempt to understand Mary’s pilgrim journey with her soul companion, the Holy Spirit.