Mary, Mother of the Church
“Then Jesus
said, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his
home.”
This past
year, on February 11, 2018, on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Francis
added a new feast to the calendar: Mary the Mother of the Church. This feast
will be commemorated by the universal church every year on the Monday after
Pentecost.
Mary is a
central part to our salvation and our relationship with God through Jesus
Christ. We see in scripture how Mary was always focused on doing the Will of
God.
Our first
encounter with Mary in Scripture is in Luke, chapter 1. In this chapter Gabriel
first visits Zechariah and informs him that his wife, Elizabeth, was going to
have a baby, who was to be called John. Gabriel then goes to Mary and informs
her of the fact that she will conceive and carry a son, who she is to call
Jesus. Upon first encountering Mary, Gabriel says, “Hail full of Grace, the
Lord is with you.” Though Mary was startled and wasn’t sure what this greeting
meant, she would listen attentively to Gabriel as he went on to explain God’s
plan for salvation, using Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary wasn’t
sure how this was to take place since she wasn’t yet married and had not yet
had any marital relations with Joseph. After being explained that it was
through the power of the Holy Spirit that this will occur, Mary replies, “I am
the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.”
Then years
later, at the Wedding Feast of Cana, we see Mary concerned about the bride and
groom running out of wine. Mary’s advise to the waiters was, “Do whatever he
tells you.” As a result, Jesus saves the day by making wine out of water.
Then finally
we see Mary at the foot of the cross, watching her Son being cruelly put to
death on the cross. With her is John the Evangelist. Jesus, from the cross,
instructs John to take care of His Mother, and in turn he gives His mother to
John. This is symbolic of the feast we are remembering today. By giving Mary to
John, Jesus is in turn giving Mary to the Church and to each one of us.
As
heartbreaking as it was, watching her son die such a cruel death, she had hope
and trust in God. She would, three days later, see her risen Son on that First
Easter Sunday.
When our
Lord gave John his mother on that Good Friday morning, he was giving her to us
as well, to be our mother. We are called to imitate her in all things. God was
always at the heart and center of all she did in her life. She was called by
God, through the Angel Gabriel, to bring Jesus into the world. Then she would
be part of his life as a good mother throughout his entire life here on earth.
Her priority throughout life was to always have Jesus at the center of all she
did. Then Jesus was given to us to draw us closer to Him and to get closer to
the God who loves us.
Prayer was
always an important part of Mary’s life and relationship with God. She was in
prayer when Gabriel first appeared to her to be the mother of Jesus. Then, as
we heard in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, she was praying
with the apostles: “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
In the book
The True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin by Saint Louis-Marie De Montford we
read, “When Mary has taken root in a soul, she produces in it wonders of grace
which she alone can produce for alone she is the fruitful Virgin who has never
had and never will have her equal in purity and fruitfulness.” When we allow
Mary to take root in our soul, we allow the Lord Jesus to be in our souls as
well. Saint Louis-Marie De Montford goes on to say, “With the Holy Ghost Mary
produced the greatest thing that ever was or ever will be: God-Man; she will
produce, consequently, the greatest thing that will come to be in latter
times.”
With the
Blessed Mother, our Mother, in our souls, we will allow Jesus to be the center
of all we do. We, like the Blessed Mother, are able, through the grace that is
produced by her, to bring Jesus into the world and our lives, thus making it a
world that is more God-centered.
Allow Mary
into your heart and soul. Call upon your Mother in all your cares and needs!
And Jesus will be there to bring you the peace and joy that can only come from
God.
