Mary in the Liturgy

08-10-2025Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold, M.A.

Later this week, the Church will celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics. I have previously written about the four Marian dogmas, of which the Assumption is one, and the fifth Marian doctrine. I invite you to visit my website and read those to refresh your memory about what the Church teaches regarding Mary and how those teachings reveal truths about Jesus. So, rather than focusing on the Assumption specifically this week, I’d like to discuss Mary and her relationship to Catholic liturgy.

The first Marian dogma is Mary as Theotokos or “God-Bearer.” The dogma formally defines Mary as the “Mother of God” because she gave birth to Jesus Christ, who is both fully human and fully divine. It is in her dignity as the Mother of God that all of her other titles and privileges find their source. Mary plays a unique role in salvation history since she cooperated with God’s grace to bring forth the Savior of the human race, shared in her Son’s suffering and sacrifice, and continues to intercede on our behalf. So, it is fitting that she has a place of honor, liturgically speaking, while in no way detracting from her Son.

Mary’s relationship with the Church does not begin and end with her simply giving birth to the Redeemer. We see that the Blessed Mother engaged in liturgical activity with her Son on more than one occasion in Scripture. After his birth, Mary, along with Joseph, takes Jesus to the temple as an oblation to the Father. This is a liturgical action. Taking Jesus to the temple and offering him to the Father also foreshadows the ritual action she will take later when she stands at the foot of the cross, offering her Son as a sacrifice. Of course, in the crucifixion, Jesus is offering himself, but his Mother is cooperating in the sacrifice in a subordinate way.

The Blessed Mother is also the impetus for the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and his first public miracle as she pleaded on behalf of the couple at the wedding feast at Cana. Recall Jesus’ words when his Mother first draws his attention to the lack of wine: “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). It was not time for Jesus to begin his public ministry, but it was his Blessed Mother’s intercession for the couple, who represent all of us, that made it the right time. Then, her response is, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). The result is that Jesus changes the water into wine, a miracle that foreshadows the transubstantiation that takes place in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Mary’s contribution does not detract from the liturgy or Jesus’ work; rather, she complements it.

At the foot of the cross, Jesus assigns Mary and John to the care of one another when he says, “Woman, behold, your son!” and “Behold your mother!”
(Jn 19:26-27). Of course, we know that John represents all of us in that passage because we hear that often, but there is another way to view this moment. John is one of the apostles, and the apostles were the first priests responsible for celebrating the first liturgies. What we also see here is a moment where Jesus entrusts the priesthood to his Blessed Mother and the care of his Mother to the priesthood. Additionally, since priests stand in persona Christi, it is fitting that she would care for each of them as she would her Son. Finally, in the Acts of the Apostles, Mary is present and praying in the upper room with the disciples when the Holy Spirit descends and the Church is born, further binding her presence to liturgical activity even after her Son ascended to Heaven.

Now, we turn to the liturgy as we celebrate it today. Mary is present in every liturgy (not just her special feast days) mediating on behalf of the human race in the Church’s official prayer. At Mass, when we pray the Confiteor, we “ask blessed Mary Ever-Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.” Here, we are asking many people to intercede for us, but Mary is given a place of primacy and a title, honoring her unique role. The priest also asks for Mary’s intercession in the Eucharistic prayers during the consecration of the
Eucharist. During Marian Masses, the focus is on her specific virtues, distinct gifts, and privileges, as well as the various ways she assists us, as reflected in her different titles. The readings from the Old Testament foreshadow what Mary will eventually fulfill in the New.  Finally, the Magnificat, Mary’s canticle of praise, is included in the Liturgy of the Hours every evening, which is the Church’s continuous, ongoing prayer.

While Mary was honored and her intercession was invoked from the beginning of the Church, for which there is ample evidence, there was no specific feast day for her until the 5^th century, following the Council of Ephesus (431). Tradition held that on her journey to Bethlehem, while pregnant with Jesus, Mary stopped to rest. A woman by the name of Ikelia built a chapel on the site to identify Mary’s resting place, and the first liturgy for the Mother of God was celebrated. This feast was called Kathisma, meaning “sitting” or “resting place.” Then, around the year 450, the celebration moved to Gethsemane, where a basilica had been built to enshrine what was believed to be Mary’s tomb at the time. The feast was then called the Anapausis (“falling asleep”) or Dormition of the Mother of God. After this, the development and implementation of Marian liturgies grew. Over the centuries, many feast days and Masses were added and subtracted from the liturgical calendar — too many to go into here. However, in 1970, Pope Paul VI simplified the calendar of the Roman Rite, reducing the number of official Marian feasts to the thirteen we celebrate today, though there are still many more that are considered optional feast days.

Read and reflect on the passages where the Blessed Mother appears in Scripture. You may not have viewed her actions through a liturgical lens before, and this might bring a new perspective. How do Mary’s liturgical actions point us to her Son? How does her cooperation with Jesus’ actions complement what he is doing rather than detract from it? When you go to Mass, notice the moments when we ask for Mary’s intercession and be more conscious of the request rather than merely habitually saying the words. Remember to go to Mass on Friday!