The Journeys of Mary

At age four, Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, made her first journey. Accompanied by her mother Anne, her father Joachim, her sister Mary Heli, and her niece Mary Cleophas, Mary went to Jerusalem for her Presentation to the Temple. Some of the other journeys that folowed included trips to Sephoris, Bethlehem, Matarea, and Heiropolis as well as many other trips to Jerusalem. When her son, Jesus, began his public ministry, Mary moved from Nazareth to Capharnaum. With her friends, the Holy Women, she followed Jesus as he travelled around Galilee and throughout the Holy Land. Ultimately, Mary followed Jesus to Golgotha and the foot of the cross. After the Crucifixion and Ascension, Mary relocated to Ephesus, Turkey. She travelled to Jerusalem and back again to Ephesus before ending her earthly life there. The Journeys of Mary is the story of Mary's life and the life, Passion, and death of her son. In Part I of a trilogy, Mary leaves for Ephesus. As she travels with St. John the Evangelist and her maidservant Leah, Mary reflects on her early life and the journeys she took with her husband, St. Joseph. With him as her escort, Mary travelled to visit her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country around Sephoris. As the wife of Joseph, she travelled to Bethlehem where her son was born. When the life of Jesus is threatened, Joseph takes Mary and the child to Egypt where they lived for many years until their return to Nazareth. The Journeys of Mary is the story of both the interior journey that Mary takes as the mother of Jesus and the exterior journeys she takes as she lives out her life fulfilling the will of God.