Greetings on the Feast!
This really is the central mystery of our faith:
Two things:
1. Flesh and Blood
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. God is near, available, personal. We can have a relationship with the creator of the universe in the flesh, and whatever we do to flesh and blood we to to God.
2. The will of God
This is the most we can say of her. She heard the Word of God and put it into practice. Here am I, I come to do your will. When Jesus said " Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice," he was not diminishing Mary, but he was describing her. She is the first disciple. She is the one who responded first. This is what it means to have a devotion to Mary, we listen for God's Word, we fall in love with God's will, and we put it into practice, and then the Word of God becomes again, flesh and blood.
>When Jesus said " Blessed are those who
>hear the Word of God and put it into
>practice," he was not diminishing Mary,
>but he was describing her.
Beautiful, beautiful.
Let it be done unto me according to THY will. What a great way to describe Marian devotion to a Protestant, or really anyone who is curious but doens't "get" it!