The Girl from Nazareth

DEAR READERS, May is once again upon us. I am especially fond of this month because nature is now in full bloom with her fragrant loveliness here in Padua. The month is also dear to me because it is dedicated to Mary, Jesus’ mother, who is always ready to intercede for all of us with her compassionate love.

In Lumen Gentium, one of the cardinal documents of Vatican II, we read, “By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and troubles, until they are led into the happiness of their home”. (LG - 62)



Our frenzied lifestyles, the many cares of life, the worries, disappointments and failures, as well as the bizarre and incomprehensible ways of our neighbours, can easily instil in us a sense of fear, insecurity and discouragement. Thank God the radiant figure of Mary comes to our aid. She is a source from which we may draw the strength and courage to lead our lives as true Christians, reassured by the fact that we are an essential part of that grand scheme of salvation and fulfilment based on God’s love.

We should therefore banish fear from our hearts and face life with the same confidence and courage that characterised the young girl from Nazareth.

When Mary accepted God’s proposal to give birth to His Son, she was only a poor, 14-year-old Jewish girl, yet she was not afraid of putting her own life at risk in compliance with God’s plan.



In those days, according to Jewish custom, marriage took place in two stages. First, the families of the spouses had to agree on a suitable dowry for the bride. When the affair was settled the woman, who in many cases was still a child, remained with her parents, but she was already considered the ‘property’ and bride of the man who had chosen her.

In this first stage of the process no intimate encounters between the spouses were allowed, though the marriage already had legal status. The second stage generally came a year later or when the child-bride was able to generate children of her own.

This means that Mary, since she was already ‘betrothed’ to Joseph when she conceived by the Holy Spirit, was at risk of being sentenced to death by stoning as an adulteress. However, she was not afraid and, placing her full trust in God, allowed Him to do what, from a human point of view, seemed impossible.

Perhaps it was the words Do not be afraid spoken by the Angel Gabriel at the moment of the Annunciation, but from that moment on the girl from Nazareth faced life with such incredible strength and courage that she became a symbol of fortitude and faith for all future generations of Christians.

It is clear that Mary herself was acquainted with the chilling presence of fear: the fear of Herod killing her son, the fear of migrating to a strange and foreign country, the fear of the malice in people, the fear for her husband’s health, the fear for her son’s fate…

How many fears! Despite all that, however, Mary faced every obstacle and danger with courage, with the awareness that even though she was the mother of God, she still could not pass through life unscathed.

In the Gospel of John, when dying on the cross, the saviour turned to His mother and to His ‘beloved disciple’ and said, “Woman, behold your son” (John 19:26). With these words Jesus did not give His mother to just one person, but to all of us.



With this in mind, let us turn to our Blessed Mother with the words penned by Father Tonino Bello, the former Bishop of Molfetta who passed away in 1993, and whose beatification is pending: “Holy Mary, please come to our aid in bearing our daily crosses and tribulations; let us not bear them in a mood of desperation, but with the serenity of those who know they are held in the palm of God’s hand. And should we be tempted to do away with ourselves when we feel we are at the end of our tether, reassure us with your presence. Walk beside us along our forsaken sidewalks and whisper words of encouragement into our ears.”