The addition to the General Roman Calendar of the memorial, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, was announced by Pope France on March 3, 2018. The unfolding of this title dates back to today’s reading from the Gospel of John and grew over the centuries as the Church reflects on Mary’s role in salvation history. To understand this title, I unpacked some of the biblical accounts of Mary.

Mary was “full of grace” (Lk 1:28), as she said “yes” to God’s invitation and pondered the meaning of the message (Lk 1:29). Traveling to visit her cousin, she must have reflected further on Gabriel’s visit. She demonstrated her understanding of God’s call when she became the first to proclaim the good news to Elizabeth (Lk 1:46). I see a courageous and resourceful mother trusting in God’s guidance as she left everything behind, fleeing to Egypt (an undocumented immigrant?) to save her infant son’s life (Mt 2:13-15). Mary trusted God’s purpose for her son by initiating Jesus’ public ministry at the wedding at Cana. There, she spoke her final words recorded in the Bible: Do whatever he tells you (Jh 2:5). Over the next three years, she was further transformed by witnessing the miracles, teachings, compassion, and love her son shared with everyone. As with other experiences (Lk 1:29, 2:19, 2:51), I imagined she held these events in her heart, continually bringing them to God and growing in faith. Finally, I turned my attention to the woman I encountered in today’s reading, standing at the foot of her son’s cross.

I imagined Mary in the depths of excruciating emotional pain, struggling to make sense of the scene unfolding before her – her son suffering unimaginable cruelty as he hung dying on a cross. It must have taken all their combined strength (Mary, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdala) to stand witness to such a horrific event. Perhaps she clung to hope, only as a mother can hope, that Jesus would somehow survive.

The Mary at the foot of the cross is not the young girl visited by God’s messenger. She is a mature, faithful woman, having experienced births and deaths, laughter and tears. I imagine her pondering Jesus’ death and dealing with her sorrow by “mothering” the disciples and helping to prepare that first meal without Jesus.

Mary slips out of the gospel pages after Jesus’ resurrection, but I imagine her sitting with her son, the disciple Jesus loved (Jh 19:26-27), sharing their memories. I assume she continues to ponder the events of her life and those of Jesus. I see her giving freely the wisdom learned from a lifetime of growing in trust, hope, and

love for God. Gently and quietly, I imagine her faith helps shape the content of what we know today as the Gospel of John. I end my reflection on Mary by asking how she can be anything but the Mother of the Church.

As I consider Mary’s impact, I have renewed hope for the world. No one needs to know the solutions to our big problems because God can unfold anything with a simple “yes” from just one woman of faith.

O joyful Virgin, who gave birth to the Lord;
O blessed Mother of the Church,
who nurture in us the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.