20220606 MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
06 June, 2022, Monday, Mary, Mother of the Church
Acts 1:12-14
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away; 13 and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Gospel | John 19:25-34 © |
'Behold your son. Behold your mother.'
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.
After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said, ‘I am thirsty.’
A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said, ‘It is accomplished’; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.
MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 1:12-14; JN 19:25-34]
Yesterday, on the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrated the birthday of the Church. It was on Pentecost that the Holy Spirit gathered peoples from every nation together and convoked them into the New People of God as they all shared in the One Spirit of Christ. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:12-14)
Significantly, just before the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Church, we read that Mary was with them in prayer. “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” Not even the names of the apostles were mentioned except Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is certainly important that Mary was with the Church right from the start before the Church was born at Pentecost. Mary was supporting the Church in prayer as they prepared themselves for the Holy Spirit. It is for this reason that this feast in honour of Mary, the Mother of the Church is fittingly celebrated by the universal Church immediately after the feast of Pentecost, to show the link between Mary and the Church.
This feast locates the place of Mary in the New Testament and perhaps the most ecumenical title that Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants could agree on. The biblical basis for this title of Mary, the Mother of the Church is linked with the patristic understanding of Mary as the New Eve. When Mary gathered the early Church together in prayer, her maternal care for the Church was manifested. It can be said to be a fulfilment of the protoevangelium in the book of Genesis. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gn 3:15) She became the mother of all the living at the foot of the cross of Jesus, her Son, when Jesus conquered sin and death by His death and resurrection.
Furthermore, in John’s gospel, the evangelist proposed Mary taking an active role once the Lord came to His glory at the passion and the resurrection. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” We must take note of the word “Woman” used by John, which is pregnant with meaning. By using the word, “woman” he was alluding to Genesis 3:15 which describes the mother of the Messiah as the “woman” whose offspring would conquer the Devil. At the cross, Mary became the Mother of the Church as Jesus handed His Spirit to the Church upon His death. “Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (Jn 19:30)
Again, St John deliberately brought Mary into the picture when Jesus’ ministry began. She was at the wedding at Cana in Galilee with her son. When she was told that the wine had run out, she told the Lord, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” (Jn 2:3f) In other words, the Lord was saying to Mary that her role of being active in the Church had not yet come. She had to wait until He had reached His hour of glory at His death and resurrection. Accordingly, at the foot of the Cross, when the hour had come, He gave Mary, the Woman, to His beloved disciple, who represents all disciples, as His mother; and to Mary, all disciples were to be her children. “And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.” (Jn 19:27) From that moment, Mary became the Mother of the Church because Christ entrusted the Church to her.
Another biblical basis for Mary’s motherhood is her virginity. It is also interesting to take note that against the views of those who claim that Mary had other children other than Jesus, it would be strange that Jesus had to entrust Mary to John when His other brothers would naturally have taken care of Mary if they were her children. The truth is that Mary had no other children other than Jesus. Being the mother of Jesus, she was also the mother of His body, the Church. It was appropriate and fitting that Mary remained a virgin so that she could truly be the mother of all the living and especially of the Church, which is the Body of her Son.
In the light of what we said, it is therefore appropriate for the Church to come under the maternal guidance and protection of our Blessed Mother. The fathers of the Church have always recognized Mary’s role in the Church. St. Augustine said that Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church. Pope St. Leo the Great said that the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body, thus indicating that Mary is at once Mother of Christ, the Son of God, and mother of the members of His Mystical Body, which is the Church. Hence, Blessed Paul VI invoked her under this title when he adjourned the Vatican Council in 1964.
In calling Mary, the mother of the Church, it calls for our reflection on the understanding of Mary with reference to the Church and conversely, to understand the Church from a Mariological perspective. By understanding Mary and the Church in relationship to each other, we will avoid over extolling Mary by putting her on the same level as Christ because she is with the Church on one hand; and on the other hand, forgetting that the Church, like Mary, is called to share the life of God through grace. Mary as a member of the redeemed Church puts her one with the Church as the recipient of God’s mercy and grace. Like Mary, we are raised up as sons and daughters of God through grace to share in His divine life.
In truth, Mariology and ecclesiology mutually enrich each other. Indeed, Mary represents the highest possibility of the Church in living out the life of Christ. When we include Mary with the Church, we see in her the greater part and the principal part of the Church. As Mother of the Church, Mary stands on our side as our sister and mother, one who shares fully our human nature. Above all, Mary as mother shows us what it means to live in grace and by grace. By her Immaculate Conception, Mary shows us what the grace of God can do for us in our Christian life. By her virginity, she teaches us how to devote ourselves entirely to the service of Christ and His Church. By singularly being devoted to Christ, we will be united with Him in doing His will and in love. By her suffering with Jesus on the cross, she teaches us how we too can share in the salvific work of Christ through our sufferings, especially unjust sufferings, and forgiveness of all our enemies. By her Assumption, she shows us how we can be glorified with the Lord by living our lives in identification with her Son, both in life and in death.
However, if Mary is identified with us as Church perfectly, it is because she is first and foremost identified with Christ. Like Mary, we are called to be totally identified with Christ. Jesus said of His mother, “My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Lk 8:21) Mary is the one who instructed us, “”Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5) So perfect is Mary’s union with the Lord that on Calvary, Mary shared in the priesthood of Christ by uniting herself with His sufferings. The Church too is called to share in Christ’s priesthood as well by sharing in Christ’s saving work for the salvation of the world.
Finally, Mary’s virginal motherhood was totally dependent on God, not on man. So too the Church was born through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Just as Mary conceived Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit at the incarnation, so too at Pentecost, the same Holy Spirit brought the Church into existence. We too must cling on to God’s grace alone if we are to accomplish His mission and be united with Him in doing His will and find salvation.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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