Jesus, on the cross, saw Mary and John standing below Him. He said to John, “Behold your mother.”
The world changed because of the crucifixion. Jesus’ offering of Himself for our sins overcame death, the great power of sin. Salvation and eternal life with God became possible again.
But another change was the motherhood of Mary, given not only to St. John, but to the whole world. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church over the centuries has recognized that Jesus was not simply making earthly arrangements for the care of His mother by entrusting her to the Beloved Disciple. Rather, He made Mary the Mother of the Church and the mother of all the living.
Each of us is the object of a mother’s love from Mary. In the mystery of salvation, Mary knows every other member of the human race and desires our union with Christ her son. Because of those words, “Behold your mother,” each of us has the privilege and the right to call upon Mary, asking her to pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. And Mary’s role, as Queen of Heaven, means that her earthly closeness to Jesus that allowed her to intercede with Him even to turn water into wine at a wedding feast points to an even greater power of intercession for us now.
In this month of May, the Church annually renews her love and devotion to Mary. The May crownings and Marian devotions highlight in a special way our own role as Mary’s children. Our relationship with and love for the Blessed Mother is intended to be personal and heartfelt, just as is our love for Jesus.
This week, we also celebrate Mother’s Day. While it is a civil celebration, the Church joins in what is a great good which is the honoring of our mothers and of the very nature of motherhood. And the image of Mary as our mother is not absent from even that earthly celebration.
By God’s loving plan, each of us has been marked by a physical and even psychological closeness and union with our mothers by our time in her womb. Those nine months of love and dependence result in a bond between mother and child that is perhaps the closest among all human relationships.
The role of nurturing is a special calling given to mothers. What an intense role of forming, correcting, teaching and being a model of love mothers have. And so often in the family, the mother has a special role in the faith that binds the father and the children to the knowledge of God and the living of a life that seeks holiness.
It is remarkable to see how often the mother makes various kinds of heroic sacrifices, offering herself in many self-giving ways for the good and betterment of the children that she has born.
In our time, it is sad to note the dangerously diminishing numbers of children being born in our country. The sacrifice and the love between mother child, this essential gift and part of God’s plan for family and the human race, is being less and less appreciated and honored.
As we approach this Mother’s Day, it is a moment to thank our moms for all that they have done for us. For those mothers who have already passed away, it is a day to remember to pray for them and to them, still expressing our gratitude for the many gifts of love they have given us.
It is also a time to reflect on how to pass on to the coming generations the sense of reverence and beauty of being a mother. How much the world needs that love lived out in family life, resulting in more marriages and the resulting fruitfulness of children.
In our earthly mothers, we see the reflection of our heavenly mother. We sense the love and care of both. And in so doing, we recognize how blessed we are.
Happy Mother’s Day!
