Q.1
Catholics do not 'worship' Mary as such, but they revere her and send their prayers through her, since they believe she was and is a uniquely close and potent channel to the Godhead. Which of the aspects or attributes below would you identify as the least directly applicable, or transferable, to modern Catholic witness?
  • The historical Mary was a pillar of faith, responding to whatever God demanded of her without pressing her own doubts or questions ('Why me? Why here? Why now? Why this?' etc.)
  • While obviously not male, she was to all other intents countable as a faithful and diligent Disciple, and frequently mentioned in their company (bearing in mind how different assumptions generally were, in those times, about women's presence and participation)
  • Hearing and obeying God's Word, she is a model for the Church's relationship with Him as 'the Bride of Christ'
  • She is typologically identified as the New Eve (the 'old' one having played a key role in the Fall from Grace'; Mary is instrumental in enabling Salvation)
Q.2
Mary was present at Jesus' first recorded public miracle: what was this miracle, and its context?
  • The First Supper
  • Bringing Lazarus back from the tomb
  • Walking on the Water of Lake Galilee
  • Transforming water into wine at a wedding in Cana (Galilee)
Q.3
Catholic doctrine draws out three particular strands in the life and actions of Mary ( ~ the Church's beloved Three, perhaps not accidentally echoing the persons of the Trinity?). Which of the suggestions below is the least genuine?
  • Humility before God the Father and Creator, in acceding to His will at and after the Annunciation
  • Obedience to God and loyalty to her own, amazing, male Son during His ministry
  • Poverty, in laying aside any claims of her own to riches, peace or reputation in her own life
  • Service to Jesus, from giving Him birth to cradling His body deposed from the Cross
Q.4
Which of the following correctly describes Mary's demographic status at the time of the Annunciation?
  • She was engaged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth
  • She and Joseph were newly married
  • She was Joseph's handmaid
  • She was Joseph's cousin
Q.5
The Catholic Church allots itself a series of festal days each year to contemplate and honour aspects and incidents in Mary's life. One that is completely unique to her (rather than how a birthday, or martyrdom anniversary, would be with any lesser saint) is the Assumption ... of what, and when?
  • Mary's bodily Assumption (taking-back-up) into heaven, celebrated on 15 August
  • Lady Day (25 March, being 9 months prior to Christmas as per the standard duration of a human pregnancy)
  • Good Friday (variable date from year to year, but in the early spring): the day on which her precious Son was put to death
  • Our Lady of Seven Sorrows (15 September)
Q.6
With all due respect to Mary herself and the millions of Catholic believers, it might almost seem hard now to set a question asking 'where HADN'T a vision of the Blessed Virgin' somehow been claimed to have been seen by someone or other down 2,000-odd intervening years. However, the following list includes three very well-attested shrines and one knowing fake. Which is the duff one?
  • An appearance of the Virgin is honoured by annual pilgrimages to Walsingham in East Anglia
  • Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531 (Her first such manifestation in 'Latin' America)
  • There is a shrine to Our Lady in the volcanic hills above Christ Church, New Zealand (S Island) since an earthquake there in the 1840s
  • The Virgin appeared to St Bernadette in the grotto at Lourdes, in south-west France (1858)
Q.7
So far as English-speaking Catholics are concerned, Mary's whole adventure as mother of Jesus of Nazareth began with the Archangel Gabriel's announcement (Annunciation) to her: 'Hail Mary, full of grace ...' [ ... then what?]
  • Fear not
  • Blessed among women
  • The Lord is with you
  • Peace be upon you
Q.8
As reported in the Gospels, Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was six months ahead with her own pregnancy, and Elizabeth felt her child 'quicken' (move inside her) for the first time in presumed direct response to being in proximity to Mary and Jesus. Who was Elizabeth's baby to become?
  • The Apostle James
  • John the Baptist
  • Lazarus
  • The writer of Mark's Gospel
Q.9
Mary's response to the Annunciation message was, for all Christians, besides being historically crucial, a model of humility. As one might almost expect at such a surprising and emotional moment, her diction becomes poetic rather than everyday (slightly like how characters break into 'song mode' at key moments in operas and musicals, rather than just carrying on ordinary dialogue): she draws various contrasts between 'the meek and the mighty', as she prioritises God's purpose. Her song ~ adopted as a Canticle, rather like the Psalms she would already have known as a pious Jewess ~ is traditionally known by the Latin version of its first word ... as ... ?
  • Sanctus
  • Adoremus
  • Venite
  • Magnificat
Q.10
Obviously, the circumstances of Jesus' birth (the Annunciation, the first-Christmas trek to the stable and 'all that') were pretty unusual: but Mary also, much later, had to endure one particular agony that not many mothers ever do. What was probably the worst aspect of this?
  • He returned from the dead on the first Easter morning
  • She watched her own Son die within her own lifetime
  • He was put to death by particularly barbaric means while innocent of any crime
  • She saw virtually everyone turn definitively against Him
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