Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church
Scripture:
Genesis 3:9-15, 20 or Acts 1:12-14
John 19:25-34
Reflection:
Today we celebrate the Feast Mary the Mother of the Church. Search as you might, you won’t find this title for Mary anywhere in the New Testament! It does appear, however, at different times over the centuries. The title first appeared in the 4th century writings of Saint Ambrose of Milan. It was also used by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 and then by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. In 1964 Pope Paul VI declared it an “official title” of Mary and Pope John Paul II placed it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. On February 11, 2018 Pope Francis inserted a feast by this title into the Roman Calendar to be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost.
There can be no doubt that since the very beginning of the Church, Mary has had a firm hold on the Christian imagination. She is celebrated as the one human being who was totally responsive to God. And, by her complete openness and welcome to the mystery of God, she gives the Son of God human flesh and brings him into our world. What a gift Mary has given to the whole human family.
But sometimes, in our wonder at the impact Mary has had on the human family, we can lose sight of the fact that she was a frail human being who didn’t always understand what was happening to her, just like all of us. Down through the centuries many theologians and spiritual writers have reflected on her perfection, her sinlessness, her all-encompassing virtue. So often in art she is depicted as the beautiful Madonna, peacefully at rest in the ethereal light, smiling benignly down upon the perfect baby who certainly is not crying but rather smiling gently in his contentment. Beautiful images all and expressing a truth about who Mary is.
But in the Gospel stories we find not a passive, placid, contented Madonna, but a woman who from her teen years was fully engaged with a challenging and often enough painful life. Whether we recall the very beginning when she asks the question of the Angel Gabriel “How can this be?” or imagine Mary coping with the consequences of her pregnancy outside of marriage, or the anxiety she must have experienced as she had to give birth away of home and family, or the pain and fear of fleeing her home and of becoming a refugee in Egypt to save the life of her son, or the stress and fear she must have experienced for her Son as opposition and hostility to him solidified around him, or the final tragedy of his arrest, torture, crucifixion and death. In all of these experiences and more, Mary was constantly challenged to trust in God’s faithfulness to her in the face of extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
Yet it was her all-encompassing openness to God and unwavering trust in God’s fidelity that began so early in her life that we celebrate in today’s feast. And, it was her ever-constant love for Jesus and his mission that underlies her title as Mother of the Church.
Strangely enough it is not so much in her perfection that Mary is so deeply loved and such a great model for us, but is, rather, in her response to the very difficult and tragic experiences in her life.
Most all of us have trust issues, even with God. We have those issues because what is happening to us at a given moment of our lives often doesn’t make sense to us. Figuring out how to respond is even more difficult. And then, of course, there are those experiences of misunderstanding, disappointment, and even betrayal. Events in our lives can easily overwhelm us and fill us with fear. It is in times like these that the life of Mary and our awareness that Jesus, as he was dying on the Cross, gave us to her as her children, can speak to us. She was battered by many tragedies in her life and was, I’m sure, afraid often. Yet, her steadfastness in remaining open to the mystery of God and trusting in God’s faithfulness never wavered. She was present from the beginning to the end and beyond, into the life of the early Church. She is the true disciple. As we remember and honor her today, may each of us ask God to help us in our lives to never lose heart and trust that God is with us.
Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California.