Fr Francis Moloney SDB, the key presenter, explored Mary as disciple, woman, and mother. He looked at the birth narratives in Luke and Matthew and then spoke about how Mary is seen in Luke’s Annunciation story. Moloney outlines the process of Mary’s “yes”. Upon hearing the angel say “Rejoice, you in whom God has rejoiced” Mary was deeply troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this is. Then the angel says she will be the mother of the Jewish Messiah. Mary then goes to reason – How can this be? But the angel goes further to name the child as Son of God. Then she says “yes”. This is a paradigm for all faith journeys.

When she can’t understand what is happening, “she treasures all these things in her heart”. Moloney makes the point that this is not merely a memory. To treasure something in your heart that you don’t understand means to take it into the depths of your being in biblical language. It means to wait for the time when God will make it known to you what it really means. A paradigm for responding to the mysteries of joy and pain that confront us in our lives.

Moloney’s talks are full of such great biblical insights. You can download resources from this eConference at http://www.bbi.catholic.edu.au/news/news.html

Fr Gerald O’Collins SJ will present the next eConference sponsored by the Broken Bay Institute and the Australain Catholic Bishops on Jesus The Christ on September 16, 2010.