Mary Mother of the Church

On Monday, June 9th, we celebrated the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church. Such a feast has a long and interesting past. To begin with, this feast is celebrated exactly on the day after we celebrate the solemnity of Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit in the Church. This important detail shows the close relationship of Mary with the Holy Spirit and the Church.

As the Book of the Acts of the Apostles rightly puts it, they were in the upper room, with Peter and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts 1:13-14). They, including Mary the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14), were all in prayer when they received the Holy Spirit. 

What this important detail highlights is the fact that Mary’s role within the Church is that of being her Mother as well as the spiritual Mother of all believers. Already from his Cross, Jesus gave Mary to us as Our Mother. We are all by now familiar with the following Johannine text, which is also part of the Gospel for this feast day: But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:25-27)

When reading this text we are also gently reminded of the beautiful catechesis Pope St John Paul II delivered during his General Audience of May 11, 1983. In this catechesis the Polish Pope highlighted that Jesus, by giving his Mother as our Mother was his final gift for us. Mary accepts Jesus’ invitation to be Our Mother not only collectively but also individually. Hence, her unique presence within the life of every believer is crucial.

At the very moment when he was consummating his sacrifice, Jesus said to his mother those fundamental words: ‘Woman, behold your son’, and to the disciple: ‘Behold your mother’ (Jn 19:26-27). And the Evangelist notes that, having spoken them, Jesus was aware that all was accomplished. The gift of the Mother was the final gift that he granted to humanity as the fruit of his sacrifice. It is therefore a gesture intended to crown the redemptive work. By asking Mary to treat the beloved disciple as her son, Jesus invites her to accept the sacrifice of his death, and, as the price for this acceptance, he invites her to assume a new motherhood. […] Furthermore, by giving this motherhood an individual form, Jesus manifests his will to make Mary not simply the mother of all his disciples, but of each of them in particular, as if she were his only son, who takes the place of his only Son.

Let us not forget what was written in the Decree on the celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of the Church in the General Roman Calendar, issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on February 11, 2018, the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes: 

This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.

But what does Mary’s Motherhood of Jesus as Redeemer and of us the redeemed really imply? A sermon written by the bishop St Sophronius, which is read as the second reading in this liturgical memorial, makes us appreciate the fact that through Mary the Father’s blessing has shone forth on mankind. Mary was chosen by the Father to be the instrument thanks to whom His blessing, Jesus Christ, comes into our world to make us a blessed community whose mission is to share His blessing, Jesus, with everyone we meet. Here is the text from St Sophronius:

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. What joy could surpass this, O Virgin Mother? What grace can excel that which God has granted to you alone? What could be imagined more dazzling or more delightful? Before the miracle we witness in you, all else pales; all else is inferior when compared with the grace you have been given. All else, even what is most desirable, must take second place and enjoy a lesser importance.

The Lord is with you. Who would dare challenge you? You are God’s mother; who would not immediately defer to you and be glad to accord you a greater primacy and honor? for this reason, when I look upon the privilege you have above all creatures, I extol you with the highest praise: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. On your account joy has not only graced men, but is also granted to the powers of heaven.

Truly, you are blessed among women. For you have changed Eve’s curse into a blessing; and Adam, who hitherto lay under a curse, has been blessed because of you.

Truly, you are blessed among women. Through you the Father’s blessing has shone forth on mankind, setting them free of their ancient curse.

Truly, you are blessed among women, because through you your forbears have found salvation. For you were to give birth to the Savior who was to win them salvation.

Truly, you are blessed among women, for without seed you have borne, as your fruit, him who bestows blessings on the whole world and redeems it from that curse that made it sprout thorns.

Truly, you are blessed among women, because, though a woman by nature, you will become, in reality, God’s mother. If he whom you are to bear is truly God made flesh, then rightly do we call you God’s mother. For you have truly given birth to God.

Enclosed within your womb is God himself. He makes his abode in you and comes forth from you like a bridegroom, winning joy for all and bestowing God’s light on all. You, O Virgin, are like a clear and shining sky, in which God has set his tent. From you he comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber. Like a giant running his course, he will run the course of his life which will bring salvation for all who will ever live, and extending from the highest heavens to the end of them, it will fill all things with divine warmth and with life-giving brightness.

In his homily on the occasion of the liturgical feast of Mary Mother of the Church, which was also the date chosen to celebrate the Jubilee of the Holy See, represented by its employees and workers, lay, priests and religious alike, Pope Leo XIV explained to us the outstanding connection between Mary and the Church who both have Christ as their common origin: 

The fruitfulness of the Church is the same fruitfulness as Mary’s; it is realized in the lives of her members to the extent that they relive, “in miniature,” what the Mother lived, namely, they love according to the love of Jesus. All the fruitfulness of the Church and of the Holy See depends on the Cross of Christ. Otherwise, it is only appearance, if not worse. A great contemporary theologian wrote: “If the Church is the tree that grew from the tiny mustard seed of the cross, this tree is destined to produce mustard seeds in turn, and therefore fruits that repeat the shape of the cross, because it is precisely to the cross that they owe their existence” (H.U. von Balthasar, Cordula ovverosia il caso serio, Brescia 1969, 45-46).

St Teresa of Calcutta’s prayer to Mary sums up precisely what we mean when we say Mary the Mother of the Church. In her deep and simple faith, the saint from Calcutta fervently prayed: Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now. This simple prayer is so effective, particularly in times of great distress when we are seeking comfort and support. We too, as Christians, as Church, seek Mary’s comforting presence as we venture through this valley of tears.

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.