Describing Mary

The beloved words of the prayer, the "Hail Mary", derive from Luke 1.  There is a powerful dialogue between the angel, Gabriel, and Mary as he announces a son will be born to her.  In Luke 1:28, after a common salutory greeting, the angel Gabriel states "you are favored with grace. The Lord is with you".  Often overlooked is that the term we simply translate as "favored " also appears, in a slightly different form in Luke 1:30.  The term is derived from the term, "charis".  

Modern readers get the term "charismatic" from this term.  Luke, an educated writer, seemed to know that the image of the "charis", reaches back into the Old Testament.  At times, most notably in the Samson narratives (Judges 13-16), the Spirit of the Lord, called the "charisma" by modern scholars, comes down on specially chosen people who rose to leadership roles in Israel.  In addition to Samson, David, the progenitor of the Messianic line, also had the Spirit rush upon him (1 Samuel 16:13).  Indeed, this imagery passed into the Gospels.  Jesus received the Holy Spirit, same as the Spirit of the Lord, at his baptism (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10 and Luke 3:22).  The Spirit, whether in the Old or New Testament, was a gift from God, a singular grace, designating one for a special role in His plan of Salvation.

The term charis is complemented by another term found in the dialogue brtween Gabriel and Mary.  Gabriel continues, "blessed are you among women".  The term "blessed" affirms the imagery found in charis.  The term used is "eulogeo", the word from from which derive eulogy.  In modern times, a eulogy is spoken at  funeral, offering a special tribute to the deceased.  It is about the deceased and should be a unique tribute to the person who passed away.  This is also the core meaning of the Gospel term; God has spoken a special praise for Mary.  Such speech was seen to have conferred some benefit or blessing upon the person.  To the mindset of Biblical peoples, only God can bestow a blessing.  People can wish blessings upon each other, but this is the province of God.  It was thought that with a blessing, God gives one all the tools and resources one needs to succeed in the mission given to him or her.

Therefore, Mary has received a special grace and blessing from God.  In her humility, she never presented this favored and unique state as something at which to be grasped.  Although, she has become the model of a faithful response for all of her children.  Mary was one of God's chosen leaders, with unique and inimitable position in the Heavenly Kingdom.  She was to be the mother of all Christians, beginning with Jesus Christ.