Readings: Gen 3:9-15; Ps 87; John 19:25-34
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Today we celebrate a rather new feast, the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Although instituted in 2018 by Pope Francis, it has its roots in apostolic tradition and in the witness of the Chrch Fathers.
For example, St. Augustine wrote that "The Virgin Mary...is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer...She is clearly the mother of the members of Christ...since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head."
And, then, in the year 431 the Council of Ephesus gave Mary the title, Theotokos, a Greek word meaning “God Bearer” or “one who gives birth to God” or as we say today, “the Mother of God.” By giving her that title, the council didn’t mean that Mary was the Mother of God from eternity. But because Jesus Christ is true God and true man, and Mary gave birth to Him, she is, therefore, the Mother of God in time.
It’s the misunderstanding of the Church’s long-held teaching on this relationship between Mary and Jesus that has led some Christians to think that we Catholics worship Mary as some sort of goddess. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. From the reality of this relationship, we can fulfill her prophecy in the Magnificat and can call Mary the “Blessed Mother.”
Today’s reading from Genesis sets the stage at the very beginning when God promises redemption to our first parents, whose prideful disobedience brought humanity to its fallen state.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” [Gn 3:15].
It is these words to Satan that the Church has
long called the proto-Evangelium or “first Gospel” because they point to
the Redeemer who will enter into the world through a new Eve, through Mary. It
was a promise fulfilled when Gabriel told Mary:
“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” [Lk 1:31-33].
Mary, then, knew from the first that this child
of hers was the “Son of the Most High.” But in the years that follow, she
is given only glimpses of what it will all lead to: the visits of shepherds and
Magi, the prophecy at the Presentation, the long trek to Egypt, the Passover
pilgrimage to Jerusalem – in each event Mary finds herself in the dark, but in
every instance, she ponders these things in her heart.
She need not fully understand it all, and how could she understand? And so, she ponders. She steps away from the crowd, seeks the quiet of contemplation, and savors all that has been revealed to her. She ponders, she returns to the source, to that day when the angel proclaimed her to be, “full of grace” [Lk 1:28], to that day when her heart overflowed.
And in that pondering, Mary teaches the Church
how to pray, how to accept God’s will, how to abandon oneself to God’s love. The
pondering heart of Mary focuses solely on Jesus. “Do whatever He tells you”
[Jn 2:5], she commands at Cana, for Mary is single-hearted. She trusts in God,
just as she trusted when Gabriel asked for her response.
At the foot of the Cross, that same trusting, pondering, immaculate heart begins to understand the crucifixion of her Son. It is then that Jesus gives her to the Church and to the world. It’s a double commissioning, and the order is important.
“Woman, behold, your son” [Jn 19:26], Jesus tells
His Mother, commissioning her, giving the Apostle, giving the Church, to her.
Only then does He say to the Church, to that faithful Apostle, “Behold, your mother” [Jn 19:27].
With these words, the Mother of God becomes Mother of the Church. Now her prayerful heart is focused on you and me, interceding for our salvation. And as Mother of the Church, she intercedes too for unity among Christians.
I’m convinced that it will be through Mary, through her prayerful intercession that the unity Jesus Christ prayed for in the upper room will finally arrive. Fifty years ago, we never heard of Protestants praying the Rosary, but no longer. Today thousands join in this prayer of intercession. And just a month ago, as Diane and I drove through South Carolina, we passed a church with the surprising name: Virgin Mary Baptist Church.
Yes, indeed, Mary, Mother of the Church, is active interceding for the salvation of all. It is she whom we honor today, Theotokos, the Mother of God and Mother of the Church.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us.
And please pray for me today on the 24th annversary of my ordination. As the old saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun..."
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