May Meeting Recap

Hi Connect!

Here is a recap of our meeting from a couple weeks ago. It was great seeing everyone again! I also appreciate those of you who still keep in touch with me when you can't make it. We miss you!

Upcoming Events: 

1. Good Karma 5k run May 26th at Seward Park 9 AM

2. Serve dinner to families of patients at Seattle Children's Hospital at the Ronald McDonald House on July 14th. We want to serve the house with 75 people! We need your support and commitment for this big service event. More info to come.

Rhea led the discussion about Mother Mary in honor of Mother's Day.
She is the Mother of God, Mother of Jesus, wife of St. Joseph, and the greatest of all Christian saints. The Virgin Mother was, after her Son, exalted by divine grace above all angels and men. Traditionally, she was declared the daughter of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Born in Jerusalem, Mary was presented in the Temple and took a vow of virginity. Living in Nazareth, Mary was visited by the archangel Gabriel, who announced to her that she would become the Mother of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. She became betrothed to St. Joseph.

Many prayers and petitions are said to Mary to ask her to intercede with her son. The nature of intercessory prayer is that it is a request for a person in heaven to intervene with God and bring the petitioners prayers to the notice of God. Most Catholics feel a strong personal relationship to Mary, because sh is in a sense, mother to all. To the Father, represented as God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, you would bring your large concerns. Prayers for Mary's intercessions can bring up the small wounds and hurts that may not be big enough to talk to God about.

Genesis 3:15 contains the promise of the redemption of mankind after the Fall of Adam and Eve. The Incarnation of the Christ was the manifestation of the promise and it was fulfilled with Jesus Christ's sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. The New Testament portrays Jesus as the "Second Adam" whose obedience and sacrificial death on the cross undo Adam's disobedience (see Romans 5:12-21 and 1 Corinthians 15:45-49). Jesus, the Second Adam, triumphed over the same temptations to which the first Adam fell into sin (compare Genesis 3:6 to Luke 4:1-13). Just as there is a Second Adam there is also a Second Eve. Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ is the Second Eve.
The two Eves contrasted:
The Virgin Eve-

• Daughter of the first Covenant
• Pledged obedience under the covenant
• Eve's disobedience resulted in the fall into sin of the entire human race. The result was death, physically and spiritually
• Eve's name means the "mother of all living" and indeed all of humanity is descended through her

The Virgin Mary-

• Daughter of the Sinai Covenant
• Pledged obedience under the covenant
• Mary's obedience to God resulted in the offer of the gift of salvation to the entire human race. The result was eternal life.
• Mary is the "mother of all who truly live" when, at the cross, Jesus gave His mother to the Church as the Mother of all who come to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord and therefore receive the gift of eternal life.

From a practical sense, the Virgin Mary also supports the woman's role in the church. Mary is a servant, a mother and lives free of sin. Women should be servants, mothers, caretakers, and strive for sinless living. Copying Mary assumes that women do not take a leadership role in the Church, but instead a role of servitude. This reinforces Catholic doctrine that women are not meant to be priests. This definitely brought much debate amongst the group!

Thank you, Rhea, for leading an informative discussion!

God Bless,

Reggie