The Scriptures mention explicitly that among the disciples at Pentecost was Mary, the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14, 2:1). Why is it significant that Mary is mentioned by name? Because what was about to happen to them at Pentecost, had already happened to her. The Holy Spirit had already been poured out upon her – “overshadowed” her – so that she conceived divine life in her womb, and gave birth to the Word-Made-Flesh, manifesting Jesus to the world (see Lk 1:31-38). Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is “full of grace.” She is fully responsive to the Holy Spirit and fully participating in the mystery of Pentecost, so that (following the phrase of St. Francis of Assisi) she is commonly called “the spouse of the Holy Spirit.” As we see from the references to her in the Bible, her heart is fixed on the glory of God, the salvation of sinners, and leading people to Jesus. In a very deep sense, Our Lady is the first evangelist! She is the archetype for all evangelists.
After the Virgin Mary was assumed into heaven at the end of her earthly life, she has continued to spread the gospel through her powerful intercession. She has been deeply involved in the work of evangelization in the Church. She has even appeared at critical points in history to lead people to her Son Jesus, and to greater repentance and belief — most importantly in Mexico (as Our Lady of Guadalupe), in Paris (as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception) and in Portugal (as Our Lady of Fatima).
Making Our Lady an “Arm-in-Arm Partner”
For all these reasons, Our Lady is a source of inspiration and strength for every evangelist, and every evangelist should take her on as a partner in witnessing to her Son. In fact, in our efforts to evangelize, she should not be an “optional extra on the side,” but an “arm in arm partner.” Here are four ways to invite Mary into our evangelization efforts:
- Pray the rosary for the salvation of souls and for overcoming obstacles in evangelization
The rosary is a “school of the gospel” for us. It allows us to meditate on the mysteries of our salvation in Jesus Christ, and so helps us to conform our hearts to these mysteries. And that makes us better instruments of God for salvation. The rosary is also a weapon, a powerful intercessory prayer. The evil one will constantly try to prevent our work from bearing fruit, but faithful recitation of the rosary and meditation on its mysteries will stop him. - Read the messages from Our Lady’s appearances at Fatima
In 1917, at Fatima, Portugal, the Blessed Virgin appeared to three shepherd children, Servant of God Lucia, and Saints Jacinta and Francisco. Her message was essentially a repetition of the gospel, especially the call to repentance and intercession for the conversion of sinners. It tells us, in all simplicity, how God sees things in the world in our time, and what we should do to save many souls from hell. - Invoke Our Lady before you do any evangelistic work
The Virgin Mary is our mother (see Jn 19:25-27; Rv 12:17), our advocate (see Jn 2:3). Consider offering a Hail Mary, or some other prayer to Our Lady, before every work of evangelization that you do. Make her your constant partner in bringing Jesus to others. - Give out rosaries and Miraculous Medals in your evangelistic work
The usefulness of sacramentals and other devotional objects in evangelization should not be underestimated. Through our faith and the grace of God, little things can have great ripple-effects in the world. The Rosary and the Miraculous Medal, in particular, are beautiful gifts from the Virgin Mary to the Church. Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), and many others to this day, give away Miraculous Medals to people and see good fruits. They put great trust in Our Lady’s desire to convert hearts through them.[1]
The most important part, perhaps, of bringing our Lady into our work of evangelization, is to imitate her. We should imitate her faith (Lk 1:45), her humility (Lk 1:38, 48), her joy (Lk 1:47), her faithful sorrow (Lk 2:35; Jn 19:25), her reliance upon grace (Lk 1:28), her devotion to God (Lk 1:46), her boldness in interceding (Jn 2:3-5), and her pondering heart (Lk 1:29; Lk 2:19, 51). We should read and internalize her “Magnificat” (Lk 1:46-55). Most of all, like her we should acknowledge the unique role that the Father has for us in the work of salvation, and obediently say, “Let it be done unto me according to Your word” (see Lk 1:38).
[1] There have been many miracles and conversions particularly through the Miraculous Medal. Many Saint Paul Street Evangelization teams have “Miraculous Medal stories” of these kinds. In history, some well-known converts to the faith through the Miraculous Medal are Alphonse Ratisbonne (1842), Claude Newman (1944), and Zachary King (2008).