Sunday, May 8, 2016

Mary, open vessel of longing (Hans Urs von Balthasar)


   In Mary this petition has been granted:  she is, as it were, the open vessel of longing, in which life becomes prayer and prayer becomes life.  Saint John wonderfully conveys this process by never mentioning Mary’s name in his Gospel.  She no longer has any name except the Mother of Jesus.  It is as if she had handed over her personal dimension, in order now to be solely at his disposal, and precisely thereby had become a person.

--Hans Urs von Balthasar, Mary: The Church at the Source

Image source:  Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mill Valley, California

No comments:

Post a Comment