Neither St.
Paul in any one of his many Epistles, though he mentions the names of
many of our Lord's disciples, nor St. James, nor St. Peter, who must
often have seen her during our Lord's ministry, nor St. Jude, nor St.
John in any of his three Epistles, or in the {274} Revelation (though,
as we learn from his own Gospel, she had of especial trust been
committed to his care)--no one of these either mentions her as living,
or alludes to her memory as dead.
The first occasion on which any reference is made in the New Testament
to the Virgin Mary is the salutation of the Angel, as recorded by St.
Luke in the opening chapter of his Gospel. The last occasion is when she
is mentioned by the same Evangelist, as "Mary the Mother of Jesus," in
conjunction with his brethren and with the Apostles and the women all
continuing in prayer and supplication, immediately after the ascension
of our blessed Lord. Between these two occasions the name of Mary occurs
under a variety of circumstances, on every one of which we shall do well
to reflect.
The first occasion, we have already said, is the salutation of Mary by
the angel, announcing to her that she should be the Mother of the Son of
God. Surely no daughter of Eve was ever so distinguished among women;
and well does it become us to cherish her memory with affectionate
reverence. The words addressed to her when on earth by the angel in that
announcement, with a little variation of expression, are daily addressed
to her by the Roman Catholic Church, now that she is no longer seen, but
is removed to the invisible world.
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