Blessed Are You

Portraits of Mary in the Gospels

Ever since the third century, when efforts were made to meld the four gospels into one, the church has insisted on maintaining the separate integrity of each account of the good news. The gospels were written at different times for different communities, and though they all present the same revealed truth of salvation through Christ, each one tells the story in a unique way, highlighting a different aspect of the gospel and of Jesus himself.

Just as the gospels differ in their accounts of Jesus, they also give us different portraits of his mother, Mary. Mark portrays her in terms of discipleship, and Matthew places her within the Holy Family. Luke emphasizes her role as virgin mother of the incarnate God, and John points to Mary as mother of the church. By exploring these different focuses, we can come to a deeper appreciation of Mary and the essential role that she plays in God’s plan of salvation.

Mark: Mary as Disciple. Mark’s Gospel was probably written around a.d. 65, and its goal was to encourage Christians, primarily of Gentile origin, in the way of discipleship. Mark skips over the stories of Jesus’ birth and begins with the ministry of John the Baptist. As a result, this gospel contains only two direct references to Mary…

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