3.5 Response
STAGE 3: In Communion with Mary
MARY AND THE CHURCH
THE MATERNAL WAY
RESPONSE
Aim: To personally respond to the qualities making Mary the Model of the Church.
Reading
Mary type and model of the Church (LG 63-64): “As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. For in the mystery of the Church, which is itself rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virgin and mother […]. The Church indeed, contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will, by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By her preaching she brings forth to a new and immortal life the sons who are born to her in baptism, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God. She herself is a virgin, who keeps the faith given to her by her Spouse whole and entire. Imitating the mother of her Lord, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, she keeps with virginal purity an entire faith, a firm hope and a sincere charity”.
Comment
The Church is mother like Mary. Like Mary, the Church is a spiritual mother, who brings us to new life in the Holy Spirit, through her preaching and the sacrament of Baptism. In this regard, Lumen Gentium says: “The Church indeed, contemplating Mary’s hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will by receiving the Word of God in faith, becomes herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism, she brings forth sons and daughters, who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life” (LG 64).
Christians are mothered by the Church just as Jesus is mothered by Mary. Analysing the description of the Church’s maternal work, we can note how the Christian’s birth is linked in a certain way to the birth of Jesus, as though a reflection of it: Christians are “conceived by the Holy Spirit”, and therefore their birth, the fruit of preaching and Baptism, resembles the Saviour’s.
The Church imitates Mary to be “personal” with people. In the light of Mary, the motherhood of the ecclesial community, which might seem somewhat general, is called to be expressed in a more concrete and personal way towards every person redeemed by Christ. By showing herself to be the Mother of all believers, Mary fosters in them relations of authentic spiritual brotherhood and constant dialogue.
Both mothers are essential to Christian life. The prayers addressed to Mary by people in every age, the many forms and expressions of Marian devotion, the pilgrimages to shrines and places which commemorate the miracles worked by God the Father through the Mother of his Son, show Mary’s extraordinary influence on the Church’s life. The love of the People of God for the Blessed Virgin points to the need for close personal relations with their heavenly Mother. At the same time, Mary’s spiritual motherhood supports and increases the Church’s concrete practice of her own motherhood. The two mothers, the Church and Mary, are both essential to Christian life.
Complementary mothers. It could be said that the one is a more objective motherhood and the other more interior. The Church becomes a mother in preaching God’s Word and administering the sacraments, particularly Baptism, in celebrating the Eucharist and in forgiving sins. Mary’s motherhood is expressed in all the areas where grace is distributed, particularly within the framework of personal relations. They are two inseparable forms of motherhood: indeed both enable us to recognize the same divine love, which seeks to share itself with humankind.
Personal Reflection and Sharing
As I think of today’s Church, how do I react to the statement that she “mirrors” the motherhood, virtues and attitudes of Mary? Does she? How?
In my life of faith, what difference is there (if any) between the way I respond to Mary and the way I respond to the Church?
[3-5] CALL RESPONSE COMMITMENT PRAYER