Mater Dei. Regina Coeli. Madre de Dios. Our Lady of the Snows. Coredemptrix. She is known by thousands of names by people of many faiths. But her family, her friends, the people who knew her best simply called her Mary.

According to tradition, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was the only child of Joachim and Anne of Nazareth. It is believed that Joachim and Anne married young, but were not able to have children for many years. After many years of prayer, Joachim and Anne each received a message from an angel telling them that Anne was pregnant.

In Anne’s message she was told that God had heard her prayers and she would have a child who would be praised throughout the world. Her reply: “As my God lives, if I should conceive either a boy or a girl, the child shall be my gift to God, serving Him in holiness throughout the whole of its life.” It is said that Anne kept that promise, placing Mary in the service of the Temple when she was only three years old.

Little is known of Mary’s life from the age of three until her early teens. We can assume by looking at historical accounts of the people and culture of rural Galilee that these were busy years in Mary’s life. In addition to her service in the Temple, Mary worked just like any other young girl, preparing foods, weaving materials, feeding the animals, taking care of younger children, and carrying the daily supply of water for cooking and washing from the town well.

Mary’s faith also grew strong and deep in these years. As a young Jewish woman, she lived in a war-torn country that was occupied and governed by the Romans. She was aware, everyday, how powerless her friends and neighbors felt against their Roman oppressors; but she also believed in an all-powerful God who could–and would–raise up the lowly.

Sometime between the ages of 13-16, Mary’s parents made plans for her to be married to a carpenter named Joseph. The engagement took place and Mary returned home to wait for their marriage.

During this time of betrothal, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she, as a virgin, would conceive and bear a son who would be the Messiah, the chosen one, God’s own son. Scripture tells us that Mary was confused, but we can imagine that she was also frightened and nervous as well. Despite all of that, Mary spoke with deep faith when she said, “yes,” to all God had planned for her.

That “yes” led Mary, through her son Jesus, on a journey she could never have imagined. It led her from his birth in a stable through his childhood and his public ministry, to the foot of the cross, to the empty tomb, and into the early Christian Church. She is often called “the first disciple.”