Mother of the Church
From today’s Scripture: “‘Behold, your mother.’”—Jn 19:27
Mothers are pretty awesome people. They carry new life, from its earliest, tiniest days till the time when the baby outgrows her womb and must be born. But life doesn’t stop there, as we all know. Normally a mother is there at every step of the child’s journey to adulthood: giving, and giving, then giving some more.
When we call St. Mary “Mother of the Church,” that’s what we are saying. She was open to the will of the Holy Spirit. She bore, then nurtured Jesus to adulthood. If Jesus was not only God, but also fully human, a central belief of Christians, she no doubt helped to grow in his faith and awareness, even at the Cana wedding, indicating when it was time for his first miracle. She not only stood with him till the end, but then nurtured the early Church after his Resurrection.
That’s why we call her not only the Mother of God, but also the first Chirstian, nurturer, Mother of the Church. Each of us is called to imitate her faithfulness.
Let us pray: Lord, you show us a way to faithfulness in motherhood. Help us to be faithful, through thick and thin.
Today’s author is John Feister, an award-winning journalist and leader of Glenmary’s Communications Team.
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