Reflection for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Every once in a while, I get into a “get rid of the clutter” mode. I was recently making my way through a closet, garbage bag next to me, when I found a card my mother had sent me shortly before her death in 2002. It was signed "Always Love and Prayers, Mom.” I decided to cut the signature from the card and place it in my Breviary, my prayer book, as a memento. But, “Always Love and Prayers, Mom” also summarizes Our Lady’s role in my life and in the lives of all who believe.

“Woman, behold your son…son behold your mother…” At the cross, Our Lord entrusted Mary to John, His beloved disciple. And he “takes Her into his home.” This act of entrustment is not simply the Crucified Lord’s wish that John cares for His mother after His death. Jesus entrusts Mary to the Church as "Mother,” establishing her in a maternal relationship with believers in every age. As St. John Paul II taught us, "Mary's spiritual motherhood transcends the boundaries of time and space. It is part of the Church's history for all times, because she never ceases to exercise her maternal office or to help us." (Signum Magnum 33)

Luke tells us that Mary “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Mary constantly contemplates the meaning of the events of salvation as they unfold in Her and in Her Son. In this, she is a model of prayer that seeks to discern God’s presence and action in the world. But She also “actively cooperates” in those events. She surrenders Herself to God’s work in Her Son and repeats Her “fiat”, “Let it be done!” throughout the whole of Her life, from Gabriel’s joyful announcement, to the cross, the resurrection, and with the newborn Church on the day of Pentecost.

This “pondering in the heart” and “active participation” in God’s work in Jesus Christ is the heart of the Rosary. If you haven’t prayed it recently, I urge you to do so. If you don’t know how to pray the Rosary, we have pamphlets available in the literature rack that will teach you. By reflecting on the mysteries of Christ in union with Mary, we “ponder” God’s work in Christ so that we too can become “active cooperators” in it.

Today we honor Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Word Incarnate. But she is also the Mother of the Church, our Mother, drawing us more deeply into the mystery of Christ and the Church through Her love and prayer. Through our own pondering of the mystery of Christ and active participation in life of the Church, may the Heart of Mary draw us more deeply into the Heart of Jesus. "Always Love and Prayers, Mom.”