by Bishop James Conley
As Catholics, we are familiar with the title “Mother of God” given to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God on January 1. This title goes back to antiquity where Mary was called in Greek theotokos or “God-bearer,” a title that was affirmed at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD.
The Blessed Virgin Mary gave a human nature to Jesus. Mary, of course, did not create God; she is but a mere creature. She did, however, give birth to Jesus, the son of God, as human mothers give birth to sons and daughters, and so the title Mother of God is appropriate. God the Father chose Mary as the fitting womb for the Incarnate Word, the first tabernacle, giving shelter to God made man.
A perhaps lesser known title of Mary is “Mother of the Church.” It’s believed that this title was first used by St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, in the 4th century. While Mary possesses the exalted title of “Mother of God,” she is also “Mother of the Church,” for she is the mother of the Body of Christ, the mother of us all.
After all, the Blessed Mother gave a human nature to the Redeemer of the World. Thus, she played a crucial role in our redemption. She gave birth to the Son of Man; she continues to give life to souls as Mother of the Church.
We recall that when Jesus hung upon the cross, Mary and St. John were present, along with a few others. Jesus, knowing that Mary needed someone to care for her after he died, said to St. John, “Behold your mother.” But, before this, he said to his mother, “Behold your son.” Mary’s motherhood has now expanded.
St. Pope John Paul II reflected on the universal nature of this passage saying, “As he left this world, Christ gave to his Mother a man, a human being, to be like a son for her: John. He entrusted him to her. And, as a consequence of this giving and entrusting, Mary became the mother of John. The Mother of God became the Mother of man… in John every human being became her child.”
On May 13, 1981, the day St. John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square, he was reeling from the bullet wound and noticed that there was no image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the square. After he recovered, he commissioned a large mosaic of the Blessed Mother to be placed in a prominent place in the square under the title Mater Ecclesiae, Mother of the Church.
We are all the children of the Blessed Mother, and she cares for each of us as a mother would. She wants what is truly best for us. We turn to the Gospels with an example of tender loving care. In his Gospel, St. John describes the misfortune at the Wedding at Cana. They ran out of wine at this joyful feast, much to the embarrassment of the newlyweds. The waiters turned to Mary, and she told Jesus the problem. And despite Jesus’ hesitation, she told the waiter, “Do whatever he tells you.”
The Blessed Mother ushered in Jesus’ first miracle, in which she essentially inaugurated his public ministry, a public ministry that would end ultimately in his redeeming action. Her action flowed from her pure, loving, motherly heart. As conceived without sin, she only responds in love; she only responds in accord to the will of God.
Mary is the Mother of the Church and, thus, the perfect model of what the Church is to be. In his letter St. Peter says, “Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-5).
Mary is the most beautiful Church ever constructed—more beautiful than St. Peter’s Basilica, Notre Dame in Paris, or St. Patrick’s in New York. Those structures are beautiful because an architect had in his mind a beautiful plan of what each would look like and it was perfectly executed. The builders and artisans took the marble, the bricks and mortar and all of the materials at their disposal and submitted to the architect’s design. Mary is the model of Christian life because she submitted perfectly to the Divine Architect’s design of what it means to be human, of what it means to love, and of what it means to find joy.
Last weekend, throughout the United States we honored mothers in the annual celebration of Mother’s Day. I thank all mothers for the devoted love you show in your families—actions both seen and unseen. And that concern is not just about your children’s physical and emotional health—providing food, clothing, shelter and concern. Christian mothers care for the spiritual good of their children, knowing the goodness of God, but also the destruction of sin and how it undercuts real joy and peace.
This past Mother’s Day was particularly poignant for me as it was the first one after the loss of my own mother, Betty. I was blessed to have her as a wonderful, loving and holy mother who was always a great inspiration and example to me. She was self-giving, sweet and filled with joy. I miss her every day, but I know God will reward her goodness and kindness.
I’ve often thought about how St. Pope John Paul II turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the time of his own loss. His mother died when he was 8 years old. All of his siblings and his father died before he was even ordained a priest. He once remarked, “at 20 I had already lost all the people I loved, and even those I might have loved, like my older sister who, they said, died, six years before I was born.”
And yet, John Paull II, in all of this loss turned to the Blessed Mother. As pope he took as his papal motto Totus Tuus, “totally yours.” He knew that he could have the enduring, tender love of Mary, despite his many losses. He handed over his gifts, his will, his whole life to Our Lady, and in doing so was greatly blessed.
On this Mother’s Day, we remember that our gracious God has given us a mother to help us to become the spiritual edifice, the great Cathedral, who is both a model of holiness and great intercessor for us. Like a good mother she is selfless in regard to her own will. What she wants more than anything else is to bring us close to her son, our redeemer who promises us everlasting happiness. Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, the Mother of the Church.
