All Marian feasts are filled with grace and joy. The newest feast was established by Pope Francis in 2018. It is celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost and honors Mary, Mother of the Church. Pope Paul VI gave Mary this title during the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964. A prominent mosaic of Mother of the Church is located on the exterior wall of the Apostolic Palace. Pope Saint John Paul II placed it there on December 7, 1981. He did so in thanksgiving to Mary for redirecting the bullet of his attempted assassination. Every title of Mary reveals a truth about her and Jesus. What truths and messages can we garner from the Mother of the Church? Today’s Gospel account (John 19:25-34) clarifies this loving relationship.
From the cross, we hear our Lord’s final will and testament. He poured his blood for the Church. He gave his garments to his enemies. He offered an inheritance in Paradise for the repentant thief. Before he gives his body to the grave and his soul to the Father, what will become of his two greatest treasures: his mother and beloved friend? He gives them to each other.
The statement, “Woman!” becomes the second Annunciation for Mary. At first, the Angel spoke the greeting “Ave Maria.” This Virgin was called to give the second person of the Trinity a human body. What follows, therefore, teaches us much about who she is. Mary is full of grace; the Greek word kecharitomene means “full of grace” and suggests an abundance of grace. This grace filled Mary from the beginning, so she overflowed with God’s favor, protection, and love from all eternity.
In her second Annunciation, there is no angel. God himself gives the Virgin a vocation rooted in the grace that filled her whole being. From the cross, Jesus calls her to be Mother to the Beloved Disciple who stands in place of all believers. This role was merited from her total obedience and trust in the Father’s will.
She does not become our mother by title of courtesy or simple figure of speech. She truly becomes the mother of us all by her perfect obedience, her immense sorrow, and her trust as she stood at the Tree of Calvary. What Eve could not do with Adam, Mary restored with her Son. Finally, when her earthly pilgrimage reached its end, she became Queen Mother.
As Queen Mother, Mary desires our sanctity as her sons and daughters. She wants us to bring about God’s Kingdom in the midst of our diverse love. In this Kingdom, rulers are cast down from their thrones, the lowly are lifted up, the hungry are filled with good things, and the rich are sent away empty (cf. Luke 1:52-53).
In his 15th-century marble masterpiece, Michelangelo Buonarroti depicts Mary’s desire to give Jesus to us in the Pieta. The pierced, scourged, and lifeless body of her son lies on the Blessed Mother’s lap. Her lap is like the altar on which, in her serenity and unshakeable trust, she gives him to the world. As we contemplate this, it is as if she gazes at us and says, “Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety, or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection?” (Our Lady of Guadalupe’s words to her servant, Juan Diego.) At the hour of our death, it will be Mary’s motherhood that will accompany us as we persevere to the end. She will stand with us in our suffering, and, through her prayers, will exercise the shameless and joy-filled duty of motherhood, so that we may stand before her Son to receive the crown of eternal life.
Mary, Mother of the Church, Pray for us!
Mary, Mother of the Church, is a feast we celebrate to remind us that we belong to a family established by Jesus, who is king, and that Mary is his mother and our mother. This reminds us we are not alone in life. We have nothing to fear. Even in the greatest tragedies that come our way, Jesus never leaves us as orphans.
Keep Learning About Mary, Mother of the Church
True Devotion to Mary: with Preparation for Total Consecration
Mary-Virgin, Mother, and Queen: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics
The Life of Mary As Seen By the Mystics
33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah
Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross
Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines
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