She Surpassed Them All

"Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all."

(Proverbs 31:29)

She had surpassed all the Biblical women of faith, with her humility, virtue and firm belief.

Sarah bore the son of the promise, Isaac. Mary bore the Son of God, God's promise of redemption and salvation.

Rebekah by her charity made to drink the thirsty servant of Abraham and his camels. Mary, in her charity desired to provide wine in the wedding at Cana, and inform her Son about it, who is the source of all satisfaction.

Rachel cunningly guided her Son Jacob to outwit Esau, so is Mary, who reared her Son who became submissive to her and to his foster father in Nazareth. By this he grew in wisdom and is greatly favored by God and men.

The mother of Moses hide him three months. When she couldn't anymore hide him, she cared for it in an ark and let it drift in the river, while his sister watches on. Mary kept her son thirty years, and let him go in the start of his public mission, yet she still look after her son, even to the cross.

Rahab helped the spies in their hiding and in their excursion within the walls of Jericho. Mary helped the apostles and all the believers in their hiding by praying with them for nine days.

With All the Saints

It is All Hallow's eve in the western hemisphere when I write this, and I presume that the western neighborhoods is now at full throttle with all of the Halloween stuffs, like the trick-or-treating, halloween parties and the like. here in the Philippines, we got a share of the American halloween spirit by watching scary movies at home. But most of the time, Filipinos never see Halloween as something horrifying at all, but holy and a special day for praying for the dead.

November 1 is a special day for all the saints. In many parts of the country, Filipino catholics (and even a huge number of Protestants) would go to the cemetery to visit the gravesites of their deceased loved ones and offer candles and prayers for them. It is queer that many do this visitation on November 1, while it is more proper to do this on the day afterwards (November 2, All soul's day). But logic prevails: offering prayer on November 1 can be very advantageable for prayers are directed to the saints in order for them to help the souls in purgatory.

De fide, the saints do offer their prayers today to all mankind for today is their feast day. Special favors are granted from all of them. It is a holy obligation to ask their assistance in this day. For me, praying to them entails the benefit of praying for yourself and your loved ones, alive or late.

Mary Vs. Atheism

Did Mary encountered Atheism in her life, too? Scripture is vague about that, and will ever be if the mother of Jesus is concerned. But there are hints in the scriptures that Mary did faced tumultuous chapters in her lives which can vary from slight doubts, distresses and grave temptations to give-up. One of them is the drama of Calvary.

Mary was there. Scripture cited her being there with her kins and the apostle John (c.f. John 19:25-27) . If Mary was there all along, witnessing the sufferings of her Son, then maybe she, who has that godly attitude of humble discretion and keeping significant events in her heart, must have recalled what Simeon the Just had said to her at the time when Jesus has been presented to the Lord.

"... and a sword will pierce even your own soul..."(Luke 2:35a)

Mary must have kept this prophecy from that time on, and everything significant, from the annunciation of the angel to Jesus' ministry, Mary had kept all in his heart, pondering it until all became clear to her.

At the Calvary, Mary must have observed the irony of man, the insincerity and untruthfulness of men who applauded Jesus' entry to Jerusalem days ago. Mary, in his feminine tendencies, felt herself weak before the crowd, who shouted "Crucify him! Crucify him!" hours ago. Mary must have felt that painful feeling in witnessing someone whom she knows so much, condemned before many and will be lost from her soon . Mary must have felt, hours ago, that she died before Jesus did, for the heart of a mother cannot take the misfortune of his children especially if they are death-bound.

Just as Mary is "full of grace" and "highly favored", there is no room for the devil in her. But Satan wanted a foothold and that opportunity he seek in the humiliation of her dearly beloved Son. Mary felt that the temptation of Eve is crawling to her, saying "Don't believe in God anymore. See, here is your Son, downtrodden and dying before you. How can you trust someone up there if he cannot save your Son from this unbearable trial and shame?" The scripture drama of Eden is coming alive before her eyes. Satan is offering her the fruit of disbelief as the answer to her confusion. Yes, Mary is confused just as Eve has been confused. But unlike Eve, Mary had seal her answer already to God and not of the devil. Mary knows what he had answered to God that changed her whole life through from that moment.

"Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word"(Luke 1:38)

The approval that she had commend to God is what she must have kept fromthe start. She had been praying from the beginning. This is her Son's hour, which her Son had said in Cana. "Why do you involve me Woman, and what does that have to do with us? My time has not yet come!" (cf. John 2:4) Yes, wine is not the drink that can replenish the thirst of the soul. His Son can give that true drink, and he will pour it in His own hour. And she'll see it being poured, she must witness it all, so that His Son may testify to her and say again "Woman!" to her, thus fulfilling the "hour" that Jesus had told her heart. Everything that Jesus had told she kept in her, and the 'Woman!" call in the cross finally terminizes her pondering over it. Yes, that is the hour. The hour when Jesus reproof finally gave way to Satan's scourge.

The victory of Mary over her personal doubts about God came from her complete dependence in her Son. She had been praying from the beginning, just as all mothers do, that his Son might be victorious in the end. Atheism has became Mary's scourge for a while, but Mary's faith is too much for atheism. They cannot harmonize just as oil cannot mix with water. The sword that peirced in her heart became her sorrow, a sword that opened her heart and poured out what was being kept there. It fulfilled the scriptures inside her heart, whom she had kept as a mother must. The living epistle of Mary, that is, her heart's recesses, is declared in that sword. It is through suffering that many hearts will be revealed.


At the end of the day, Mary hadn't stopped her devotion. As in the beginning, she was found praying again, now not alone, but with his Son's legacy, the infant church. And she wil always be praying for it. Disbelief hadn't got a toehold in her, all because of her simple words "let it be done" that dovetailed great faith.

First Words

Hi, I am the owner of this blog. I am a catholic Christian, and it is natural for us Catholics to expressively honor our Lord's Mother, Mary.

In this blog, we will talk about Mary, her privileges, the rightful honors that must be rendered on her, and her rightful place in the salvific plan of God.

Hope that you'll learn much from this blog, and may this enrich your ardent devotion to the blessed Mother. To our Mother who dearly loved her Son so much and who has been loved by her Son in return, may Her name be honored in all generations. Amen.