Mary's Presence at the Altar

Not too long ago I noticed a small statue of the Blessed Mother in front of the altar, gazing out towards the congregation, as the priest offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I was moved to reflect upon her presence at the altar as the Good Lord, through the hands of the priest, re-presented the Sacrifice He so willingly offered for us more than two thousand years ago. This experience reminded me that just as she was by His side when He sacrificed His life on Calvary, she is also very much next to Him as the unbloody sacrifice is offered at each Mass. In the Official Handbook of the Legion of Mary, founder Frank Duff tells us that the Blessed Mother cooperates with Jesus’ Sacrifice on the altar and intercedes for us as she stands by Him. Throughout the Liturgy, Mary has a prominent presence at the altar and reflecting on her presence there can deepen our understanding and experience of the Mass and lead us to a greater appreciation of just how much God loves us.

When we begin Mass, after the opening prayers, we confess our sinfulness before God and His people and ask for His forgiveness and grace to help us avoid future occasions of sin. Reflecting on our tendency towards sin is not easy at all; rather, it is a difficult and painful task not to be taken lightly. Let us find consolation, however, that we are not alone here: 1. We acknowledge our sins in the presence of the living God who loves us tenderly, 2. We’re surrounded by a community of believers going through the same process, and 3. We are in the company of the gentle heart of our Blessed Mother.  When we acknowledge our sins before God and our fellow believers, we can look to the example of Mary as she willingly proclaimed her “YES!” to the will of God revealed to her through the angel Gabriel. Her answer seems to have contained fear and confusion but also trust and courage. She did not completely understand at the time what God was asking and why, but she also had a strong conviction that He loved her. She was willing to follow His plan for her, knowing that He would never abandon her in it.

After visiting Elizabeth, the Blessed Virgin Mary pours out a hymn of praise from her heart, known as The Canticle of Mary or the Magnificat. In this prayer of humility Mary acknowledges her own lowliness and need of a Savior; she also proclaims the great power He exerts in the lives of those who live with humble trust in Him. She received the grace to bear in her heart and womb the One who would be her Savior and the Savior of the world. His grace has worked many wonders in countless lives over the last two thousand years, and it can work wonders in our lives too if we welcome it. In imitating Mary’s “YES!” to God’s will and reflecting on her words in the Magnificat, we may find strength to fight the demons of despair in the face of our sinfulness. We are then better able to enter deeper into God’s presence at Mass.

There are instances in Mary’s life where she exhibits a prayer demeanor in the face of significant life events. For instance, St. Luke tells us of the shepherds speaking of the miraculous things that were to come from the Infant Jesus who lay in the manger. Mary hears this and “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart (Lk. 2:19).” These words reappear when Mary and Joseph, who in the search for their missing Son, joyfully find Him preaching in the temple. When asked why He didn’t stay with them, Jesus replies, “Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house (Lk. 2:49)?” Mary, undoubtedly surprised by this answer, responds with her prayerful demeanor as she “kept all these things in her heart (Lk. 2:51).” This response in both situations reveals that she was able to keep her heart fixed on God in the midst of life’s anxieties. It also reveals how critical it is to maintain our inner peace in order to discern what God is saying to us. Mary’s example helps us to be more attentive to what God is saying to us in the readings and by her prayers and intercession will help us to maintain this prayerful spirit in our daily lives outside of Mass.

After hearing God’s Word spoken to us and discussed in the homily, we turn our attention to the petitions read aloud and those we hold in the quiet of our hearts. We are invited to offer them up to the Father so that He might answer them according to His Divine Will through Mary’s intercession. A beautiful example of her intercession occurs in the account of the wedding feast at Cana. The guests eventually run out of wine, a matter Mary brings to Jesus. His answer is puzzling, but Mary returns to the guests, instructing them to obey Him. The guests fill the empty jars with water as commanded and bring them to the headwaiter. In the meantime, Jesus turns the water into wine, inspiring many into discipleship. Jesus has performed for humans that which is not possible, and He does so through Mary’s intercession. We will experience the same graces in our lives when we offer our petitions with unshakeable confidence through the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because of our faith, Jesus will answer our prayers in ways we would never expect to be possible.  

The most powerful part of our lives as Catholics is the reception of the Holy Eucharist. This is the source and summit of our faith lives and everything in the Mass centers on the critical and mysterious conversion of bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our dearly beloved Lord, through the hands of the priest. At this moment heaven and earth are united on the altar. The Sacrifice freely accepted by our Lord on the Cross more than two thousand years ago is presented to us. Our minds and hearts are taken back to this defining moment in our Church’s history, and at the foot of the Cross we find the beloved disciple with the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is present at the altar during the consecration in very much the same way she was present at the foot of the Cross. In both instances she stands before Him, cooperating with Him in His Sacrifice, and she hands over our petitions to Him with a sweetness that can only come from the Mother of God.

A second moment at the altar also deserves some attention here: the elevation of the Blessed Sacrament. The priest raises the Body and Blood of Christ to the heavens for us to behold with our eyes. At this time we proclaim that we are unworthy of our own merit to receive Him and our trust that He alone makes us worthy. We are invited to lay ourselves before His True Presence and offer our lives and everything we hold in our hearts completely to Him. We find inspiration for this fin the account of Mary presenting her Son at the temple in Jerusalem in keeping with the ancient Jewish custom of offering one’s firstborn son to God. In making this offering the mother was to undergo a ritual of purification so that her offering might truly be pure. When meditating on this event in praying the Holy Rosary, the gift we can hope to obtain is purity. We can imitate her example at Mass by calling to mind again our sinfulness, professing a desire for conversion away from sin, and asking for God’s mercy and forgiveness. We should ask her to make us holy by God’s grace and present ourselves to receive the Eucharist, bringing with us the offering of our lives in thanksgiving.

Having devoutly received the Holy Eucharist, we welcome the grace of history’s greatest miracle into our hearts, allowing Christ to transform our lives for our own good. This part of the Mass reminds me of Mary’s journey to visit Elizabeth, who is unexpectedly pregnant with John the Baptist. At this time Mary is already carrying in her womb the Savior of the world, taking Him with her as she embarks on a mission of charity. After we receive His Precious Body and Blood we too are invited to bear Him in our hearts as we embark on our own mission of charity each day. The Closing prayers and Dismissal reinforce this idea as we are sent out into the world to spread Christ’s loving presence to all we meet. We have the opportunity to re-enact Mary’s visit to Elizabeth as we carry the Lord with us in our hearts and allow Him to awaken in those we encounter the same joy Elizabeth experienced in her heart and in her womb as her own infant leapt for joy at Mary’s arrival (c.f. Lk. 1:44).  

Just as she does in our daily prayers, Mary’s presence at the altar brings sweetness to our experience of God’s love at Mass. We do not worship her or treat her as an equal to the Lord, but we recognize her as our greatest intercessor whose motherly love and prayers bring us deeper into communion with Him who loves us first. She helps us to increase our devotion to Him and strengthens our experience of His love. Meditating on Mary’s presence beside us and beside her Son on the altar gives us a greater understanding of the Mass and magnifies our participation. Transformed by this experience, we are then sent out into the world to spread God’s love wherever we go with unceasing joy!