What Was Mary’s Vocation?

As a woman in the Church, Mary has been both a source of challenge and a source of peace for me throughout my discernment and growth as a minister. In a faith that holds Jesus as the perfect example of love and personhood, it has been hard for me to understand the need to hold Mary to such a high standard of perfection when she was not God. I, of course, understand a desire to see myself in someone who lived a holy life, yet isn’t this why we have the example of all the saints, including Mary? The unrealistic expectations the Church sets for women based on the view they have of Mary troubles me and can be very damaging. 

It is important to note a few things – these are my personal observations about the role of Mary and what has been emphasized to me my entire life. I accept the majority of the teachings in the Church regarding Mary, but struggle with some. While this is true, I have come to a deeper appreciation for Mary in recent years. While completing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, I prayed through much of Mary’s life found in the Gospels. I had a profound experience in praying through the story of Pentecost that completely changed the way I hold Mary in my spiritual life. 

Pentecost is the birth of the Church; it is the moment in history during which the Holy Spirit empowered the first leaders of the Church to begin spreading the Gospel message. We know from the Scripture that Mary was present at this event and received the Holy Spirit in the same way the Apostles did. Just like Peter, she left that hidden room and was ready to tell people about Jesus and the incredible work of salvation he accomplished for all people. What I took from this prayer experience and spiritual interaction with the Pentecost story reflects a new view of Mary’s vocation. 

Traditionally, I think we would say that Mary was called to say “Yes” to God’s big ask. She was called to be the Mother of God, the ideal Jewish wife, the “theotokos.” While these are true parts of who Mary was and continues to be for us, they do not capture the entire essence of who Mary can be and what she can stand for in the world today. Because of her participation in the Pentecost, I think Mary was also called to be a leader in the Church. Especially in the earliest days of the Christian movement, every voice was critical to moving the mission forward. Mary supported the movement in huge ways. 

We typically use Pentecost as a Scriptural source for the sacrament of ordination – as Mary was part of this event, I draw the conclusion that Mary was a priest because of this. Can we use Mary as a type for the female priesthood? According to my own prayer and discernment, I would echo Mary’s own resounding “YES!” Mary was part of the early Christian worship rituals, she was a minister to those in need, she advised on matters of faith, her voice was heard by Peter, John, and James in the first major decisions of the Church, she was a key player in the formation of the early Church. 

Even now, we consider Mary a powerful intercessor; it is well established that she has the ear of her son, Jesus Christ, and a special relationship with God the Father. Mary has been compared to the Holy Spirit as well, holding the feminine dimension of the Third Person of God. I am hesitant to make the same connection, as we know Mary was entirely human and not God in any way. However, she is an incredible example of holiness and I believe that had different leadership of the Church existed at the times of her various doctrines being formed, we may have had a totally different tradition surrounding her identity and role in the faith. 

I am not the first person to suggest that Mary’s vocation included the priesthood in some way; many people have written on and studied the possibility of a Marian priesthood. I would suggest that treating Mary’s priesthood differently than that of Peter or Paul, for example, would be incorrect, given the similarity of her experience to male leaders in the conferral of the Holy Spirit and involvement in the early Church. We can certainly use Mary not only as an example of holiness for all Christians, but as evidence for the possibility of women’s ordination in the Catholic Church. 

Source:

https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/p/priestly-dimension-of-mary.php#:~:text=Every%20priest%20is%20a%20mediator,also%20participate%20in%20his%20priesthood.