Mary, Mother of Jesus, Aged Nine and a Half by Nikki Salt

Young Virgin Mary by Francisco de Zurbaran

 In the season of Epiphany, our heads may be filled with images of magi travelling miles across dangerous lands, guided by a star while carrying expensive, if not rather peculiar presents but I would like you to cast your minds back to Mary, Jesus’ mum. 

This is what I asked my year fives to do in the last RE lesson just before we broke up. We spent some time looking at the events leading up to and including the birth of Jesus from Mary’s point of view. We had some interesting conversations about what being a virgin means and the practicalities of being chosen to be the Messiah’s mother. Following this, each child was asked to write a monologue as Mary. The results were beautiful and I know they won’t mind if I shared a few with you. Some made me simply nod with satisfaction that they’d understood and achieved the objective but some (like those below) made me giggle with delight and even cry with laughter (at one point I had tears pouring down my cheeks!) I have copied some excerpts exactly as they were written only spell-checked and grammatically improved! Please enjoy!

Mary One

Today! Oh, today was horrendous! I was just minding my own business, putting away the clothes, when Angel Gabriel puffed out of nowhere leaving trails of white specs of dust behind him before stopping right in front of me. He came right up to me and said, “Mary, you are going to be pregnant with a Messiah.”

I rushed off to tell Joseph the good news but he didn’t believe me! He said, “I truly loved you, Mary but you go off and get pregnant with someone else’s baby! I thought you were a kind girl! But, I won’t let you get stoned, I’m quietly divorcing you!” And then he walked right out the door!

Mary Two

Hello, I’m Mary and this is my story about how an angel visited me and told me I am the mother of the Messiah.

Once upon a time, an angel visited me and said, “God has announced you will be the mother of the Messiah.” I couldn’t believe it! Really? An angel sent by God? Not boasting, or anything, but this was the most important thing ever and it was Gabriel.

“Why me?” I asked the Angel. “See, the only problem is, I am a virgin.”

“Because you’re holy to God and you’re the right person to do the job. Well, that’s what God said, anyway.”

I didn’t know what to say. The angel disappeared and I thought, ‘Oh gosh, what’s my mother, father and Joseph going to say?’

When I arrived home, Joseph was furious. He was in pure rage. “What? You just creep around and get pregnant with another man? You’re just annoying! You know what? We’re done, I’m breaking up with you!”

Mary Three

I’m Mary and this is my story of how Jesus was born. It all started when me and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem. We were looking for a place to stay but all the inns were full. I couldn’t believe God hadn’t reserved a place for me to give birth to the MESSIAH!

When we asked the last innkeeper he said his place was full but he said that he had a stable which was a bit pongy. He asked us if we wouldn’t mind sharing with a few cows and a donkey. Joseph said it was OK because we were desperate.

The pain was really hurting so Joseph got some hay and laid me down to feel comfy. After that, he lay some hay in a manger to make a bed for Jesus.

After Jesus was born, Shepherds arrived at the stable. Oh no! I’d just given birth to Jesus and now shepherds were coming! They told me they’d come to worship Jesus because the angels had told them to. I was so proud of giving birth to a boy who will change the world.