Introduction
Beloved in Christ, as you and I know, the Christian life is a journey of faith and service. And Jesus calls his disciples not only to believe in His promises but sends them out on a mission to share the faith lived and bear fruits as a testimony of witness of God’s love for others (cf. Jn 15:12-16). So in this wonderful mission of faith and service, the Blessed Virgin Mary stands out as our perfect model and exemplar. From her humble “yes” to God at the Annunciation (Lk 1:26-38) to foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-27). In fact Mary teaches us that faith is trusting and total surrender to God’s will when there is no logical precedence to believe, while true service is joyful self-giving of oneself to others gratuitously. So by walking with Mary, one realizes that true Christian discipleship is not only a temporary path one travels alone but a constant and consistent way of life shaped by faith, expressed in service and sustained by God’s grace.
Mary as a model of faith for humanity
Biblically, the wonderful thing that took place at Nazareth after the angel Gabriel’s greeting, is that Mary “believed”, thus becoming the “mother of our Lord”. In these few words, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), is the greatest and most decisive act of faith in human and Biblical history. Origen, one of the famous Church fathers said that it is as if Mary is saying to God,; “Behold I am a tablet to be written on: let the writer write whatever he wills, let the Lord do with me as he wishes. Mary offered herself to God as a clean page on which God could write whatever He wanted.
The Second Vatican Council pushes it further when it affirmed that Mary, too, does not only walk in faith; rather she “advances’’ in faith. That is to say, she grows in faith and perfects in it. In this regard Mary talks to us on the importance of faith. Let us, too, BELIEVE so that what is fulfilled in her may also be to our advantage as Christians. Interestingly, the contemplation of Mary’s faith urges us to renew, above all, our personal act of faith and abandonment to God. And the simple thing we can do after praying, is to take it into action so that our prayer does not remain superficial and superfluous to God by repeating merely the words Mary uses “Here I am, I am the servant of the Lord: let it be done according to your word” (Lk.1:38) With this we are saying, “yes, my God”, to His divine plan with hope and trust without questioning, I give you myself even when it sounds meaningless.
Mary a perfect model of selfless service
In the Old Testament, the qualification “servant” of God is likened to all those who are called at a particular time and space to exercise a particular mission for the sake of the Chosen People of Israel. Talk of Abraham (Gn 26:24), Isaac (Gn 24:14) Jacob (Ex 32:13), Joshua (Jos 24:29), David (2 Sam 7, 8, etc.).
As you and I may know, In the New Testament, Mary, though aware of the lofty dignity and honor conferred upon her at the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel, Mary spontaneously declares herself as “the handmaid of the Lord”. In this new commitment of Mary, she also includes her intention and desire to serve her neighbor wholeheartedly and indiscriminately. As a link between the episode of the Annunciation and the Visitation, having been informed by the angel Gabriel of her cousin, Elizabeth’s pregnancy in her old age, Mary sets out “in haste’’ (Lk 1:39) for Judah, with total availability to share in her joy and assist her in house chores and accompany her to prepare for the birth of John The Baptist. She thus offers Christians of all times and seasons a sublime model of selfless and faithful service to Tom, Dick, and Harry.
On one of the weekly audiences of Pope Francis of blessed memory on Mary, he said that “Mary was not only Christ’s mother, but also his obedient and faithful disciple and a model of concrete service to others. “So throughout her life, Mary did everything that the Church is asked to do in perennial memory of Christ. Which means with faith, “we learn to open our hearts to obey God, in her self-denial, we see the importance of attending to the needs of others; in her tears, we find the strength to console those experiencing pain’’.
Conclusion: Beloved-in- Christ, in a nutshell, to walk with Mary is to embrace faith that trusts wholeheartedly and service that loves gratuitously and unconditionally. Mary’s life shows us that the Christian life is both a gift and mission to be shared and lived respectively. So like her, may we rise each day with a joyful “yes” to God, and go forth to make our faith visible and pragmatic through a humble and selfless service and a truly genuine love for others.
With this shall we invoke the Madonna with the sweet title of Virgo fidelis: Virgin most faithful, pray for us, that as we walk with you, mother Mary, we would remain steadfast in faith and persevere in charitable deeds through selfless service to our God and our neighbor, even in the difficult moments of our lives.
PETER KWASI BOADI (THEOLOGY THREE)
ST. PETER’S REGIONAL SEMINARY, PEDU-CAPE COAST
THEOLOGY THREE
References
Cantalamessa, R. (1992). Mary, mirror of the Church. Collegeville, Minnesota. Liturgical Press
Origen. (1959). Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, fragment 18 (M. Rauer, Ed., GCS 49 p. 227). Akademie-Verlag.
Vatican II. (1964). Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution of the Church). In Austin Flannery (Ed.). Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents. England: Fowler Wright Book Ltd.
John Paul II. (1996, September 4). Mary offers sublime model of service. General Audience. Libbreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved on September 17, 2025 from https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=5668
Francis. (2016, October 8). Marian Vigil of the Jubilee of Mercy. The Holy See. Retrieved on September 17, 2025 from https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/34716/mary-imitated-god-through-service-pope-says.
