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Your Mother Too
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My dear parishioners, I truly believe that to know Jesus Christ, one must come to him through the immaculate heart of Mary, his mother. The word through is important. In all circumstances Mary points to her son and says, “Do whatever He tells you”. [Jn 2:5] Mary was the first and best of Jesus’ disciples. As he hung on the cross, Jesus entrusted the maternal love and care of his mother to John, one of the Twelve. All generations have called Mary blessed. [cf Lk 1:48]
God willed that Mary’s motherhood embrace the divine mysteries of the Holy Spirit’s “overshadowing”, our Lord’s incarnation, his ministry, and passion, death and resurrection. Let’s not forget Mary’s quiet presence in other instances of her son’s active ministry, most importantly, the Church’s sacramental birth at Pentecost. Simply put, the maternity of Mary is the maternity of the Church.
Interestingly, very little is revealed to us about Mary. In fact, she is quite hidden in significant ways. We know nothing about her parents except their names, Ann and Joachim. The record of her childhood is unknown. Also shrouded in time are the details of her betrothal to Joseph and the circumstances of her death or where she died. Luke's gospel account, which offers the most information, shows a twelve year gap between Jesus’ infancy and the dramatic moment when Joseph and Mary discover their lost son in the Jerusalem temple engaging the scholars.
There follows an even larger gap in the holy family’s history between the temple event and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry at about thirty years of age. After that, the gospel record of Mary is very sparse, recorded in scarcely three occasions: Mary’s presence at the wedding in Cana, at Jesus' crucifixion and at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit conferred on those present tongues of fire.
Mary is honored because we regard her as “twice chosen” by God. Mary was chosen by God to be theotokos (Gk. “God-bearer”), that is to say, the “Mother of God”. Moreover, at Vatican Council II (1962-65), the Church’s magisterium formally recognized Mary's exalted place as “Mother of the Church.” These titles, God-bearer and Mother of the Church, reveal God’s desire to place Mary at the heart of discipleship and evangelization of the gospel.
If Mary had no other widely known titles, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Divine Grace, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes or many others, nothing of her role and dignity in salvation history or the Church would be diminished. All other titles are beloved nicknames, colloquially speaking, for they derive from the first two.
What can you say about a quiet woman who “heard the word of God and kept it”? [Lk 11:28 para.] Not much, except that Mary was asked by God to be the mother of his incarnate son. Greatly perplexed by what she heard, why did she agree to cooperate with God? Mary’s fiat [Lat. let it be done] to God is credited to her as an act of righteousness: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” [Lk 1:38]
Trappist monk and priest Thomas Merton observed that Mary’s true character and quality of sanctity has nothing in common with displays of power and showmanship. Rather, her yes is synonymous with her hiddenness:
AS A matter of fact, this is precisely her greatest glory: that having nothing of her own, retaining nothing of a ‘self’ that could glory in anything for her own sake, she placed no obstacle to the mercy of God and in no way resisted his love and his will. [Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. NEW SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION, NY: New Directions 1961, 171]
Perhaps Mary would be fairly indifferent to all this discussion. Echoing what God asked of her, she simply would say to each of us: I am your mother too, if you do what He tells you. Today is the feast of Mary, Virgin of Guadalupe. I give you joy. Sincerely in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker.
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