Leaping for Joy
From Scripture we see that Mary
not only rejoices in God her Savior (Lk
1:47), but she also causes joy in John
the Baptist, who leaps in the womb of
his mother, Elizabeth, at the sound of
Mary’s greeting (Lk 1:41, 44). Just as
King David danced with joy before the
Ark of the Covenant (2 Sm 6:14-16),
so the infant John leaps for joy in the
presence of Mary, the Ark of the New
Covenant.
Mary is the cause of our joy because
“God ineffable . . . from the beginning
and before the ages chose and ordained
a mother for his only begotten Son”
(Ineffabilis Deus, Denz.-H, 2800). She is
the cause of our joy because she reversed
the disobedience of the first Eve. Just as
the first Eve cooperated with Adam in
bringing death and condemnation to
the human race, so Mary, the New Eve,
freely cooperated “in the work of human
salvation through faith and obedience”
(Lumen Gentium, 56).
As St. Irenaeus writes, “She, being
obedient, became the cause of salvation
for herself and the whole human race”
(Adv. Haer. III, 22, 4; cited in Lumen
Gentium, no. 56).
Representing the Human Race
The Blessed Virgin is the cause of
our joy became she freely consented
to being “the handmaid of the Lord”
(Lk 1:38). As the Lord’s handmaid,
however, Mary was not a mere passive
instrument. As Pope Leo XIII taught,
The eternal Son of God, about to
take upon himself our nature for
the saving and ennobling of man
and about to consummate thus a
mystical union between himself and
all mankind, did not accomplish his
design without adding there the free
consent of the elect Mother, who
acted in some way in the role of the
human race itself, according to the
illustrious and most true opinion
of St. Thomas: “Through the
Annunciation, the consent of the
Virgin, in the place of all human
nature, was awaited.” Octobri Mense,
Denz.-H, 3274; cf. St. Thomas
Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III,
q. 30, a.1
“She is a living example
of what God can do to a
human creature.”
When Mary said to the angel, “Let
it be done to me according to thy
word” (Lk 1:38), she spoke on behalf of
the entire human race. As St. Louis de
Monfort (1673–1716) writes, “God the
Holy Spirit formed Jesus Christ in Mary
but only after having asked her consent
through one of the chief ministers of
his court” (True Devotion to Mary, 16).
Icon of Womanhood
Pope Francis concludes his recent
apostolic exhortation, Evangelii
Gaudium, with a beautiful prayer to
Mary, whom he calls the “star of the
new evangelization” and “Mother of
the living Gospel.” The Holy Father
finds in the Blessed Mother a model
of joy and hope. He reminds us that
Mary “brought joy to John the Baptist,
making him exult in the womb of his
mother” (cf. Lk 1:44), and, “brimming
with joy,” she herself “sang of the great
things done by God” (Lk 1:49).
Mary is also the cause of our joy
and a sure sign of hope because she
is our spiritual Mother. Pope Francis
speaks of Mary as “Jesus’ gift to his
people” (no. 285). He reminds us that,
At the foot of the cross, at the
supreme hour of the new creation,
Christ led us to Mary. He brought
us to her because he did not want
us to journey without a mother, and
our people read in this maternal
image all the mysteries of the
Gospel. The Lord did not want to
leave the Church without this icon
of womanhood, Mary, who brought
him into the world with great faith,
and also accompanies “the rest of
her offspring, those who keep the
commandments of God and bear
testimony to Jesus” (Rev 12:17).
Evangelii Gaudium, no. 285
“Save Us from Every Danger”
We should give thanks to Jesus
for the gift of his mother who is our
mother, as well. Mary is a “cause of
our joy” and a sure sign of hope in the
power of Christ over sin and death.
The ancient prayer to Mary, Sub Tuum
Praesidium, dating from around 300
AD, manifests hope in Mary’s po ݕəհ)