Mary
“The greatest example of how God and His Church hold women in the highest regard is Mary…She is unique among human beings…She speaks to the ultimate value of women.” (Sacramental Living)
"Mary did what we are all to do as Christians – bring Christ into the world. Mary did it physically...As Christians, bringing Christ into the world is something we are to do also. We are to do it spiritually via our transformation as we grow in Christ and reflect more and more of His nature in what we do and say and how we treat others.” (Matthew Gallatin)
"Mary’s response to the Archangel Gabriel… is the model of doing God’s will, the synergy of God’s grace and her response to that grace, is our greatest example of a human response to God. Mary showed us both the freedom to accept God’s will and the blessings that come with that acceptance. Even though Mary would suffer when her Son suffered, she was in God’s will the whole time and when the pain passed, it didn’t compare to the glory that would follow. Mary’s life is the model of a life lived for God.” (Sacramental Living)
“Mary also shows us that she did not live a life of blind and unreasoning faith. By asking Gabriel questions and then accepting God’s will and choosing to do it, she sets an example for us of a faith that engages the whole person including the mind.” (Father Stanley Harakas)
“… Mary showed herself to be a person of contemplation and introspection, a person of depth and perfect devotion to the Lord. Starting with her acceptance of the Lord’s will when she said"Let it be according to your word” and throughout her life, Mary followed God’s will even in pain. Luke 2:51 says that concerning the words and actions of her Son,"[she] kept all these things in her heart.” She was clearly seeking deeper meaning in the ordinary events of His and her life. She was actually being a model Christian as she sought to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, to understand God’s will in daily life…” (Sacramental Living)