MARY IS MY MOTHER TOO.
January 1, 2022
The Octave Day of Christmas Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the Mother of God.
“The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and
Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.” Lk 2:16.
A Namibian proverb says: “A mother is always a mother.” And
an Akan proverb adds: “A mother's heart is always with her children.”
A beautiful Marian hymn says, “Mary is my mother too”. And
the lyrics go this way: “The Angel Gabriel announced to Mary, she would be
God's Mother, you see and God was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the
Virgin Mary. Hail Mary, Mother of God, Lady in Blue, I love you. Hail Mary
Mother of God, Mary is my mother, too. Each day I'll say a little prayer to
Mary, everywhere, her Medal, I'll wear. Her Son on the Cross, who is Christ,
our brother, said, "Behold thy Mother".”
The mystery we are celebrating on this first day of the new
year takes its roots here, in the great mystery of the Annunciation and
Incarnation of God. Through the words of the Angel and her Fiat in obedience to
God's will, Mary was given the singular and special privilege, among all the
women, to bear in her wombs, the Son of God. And Elizabeth confirms it:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how
does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk
1:42-43)
The Greek expression of this mystery is the
"Theotokos" translated in the Latin, "Mater Dei". What do
we mean by the Dogme of the Theotokos and what are its implications on us
today? The Council of Ephesus (431), basing its arguments on the unity of the
person of Christ, anathematized all who denied that Christ was truly divine,
and asserted that Mary was truly the Mother of God because she was made
God-Bearer.
Beyond the Dogme and the teachings to preserve Jesus’
identity and nature, the "Theotokos", reveals a profound truth not
only about Mary but also about each one of us. We are like exhorted to enter
into the very relationship that Mary had with her Son. We are called to become
"God-bearers" and bring Him to all those we encounter in our everyday
life.
Mary is the Mother of God by nature, from the Incarnation.
But she also became our Mother at the hour of the Redemption. Jesus, while on
the Cross, entrusted his mother to his beloved disciple, and his disciple to
his mother. Through John, then, we are those the Lord puts under the maternal
care of Mary and asks us in return to love her as our own mother.
Celebrating the Mater Dei, the readings, on this first day
of the year, are a blessing for us, children of God, and children of Mary. To
Moses and Aaron, the Lord says, “This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!”
These blessings are those God, as a Father has in reserve for his beloved
children. Entering this new year, as that is a tradition to exchange good
wishes and blessings, let us make them ours and send them also to our brothers
and sisters. We are God's children by adoption in Christ Jesus, people called
to approach him as children, so, let us make ours too, the petitions and needs
of our brothers and sisters.
St. Paul, in his address to the Galatians, reminds us of our
common brotherhood in Christ. He says, “As proof that you are sons, God sent
the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are
no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.” As
God's children, we are brothers and sisters of Jesus. We share his Father with
him, so too, we share his Mother, the woman through whom he took our humanity,
the wombs that bore him. In Jesus and through Jesus, Mary is our Mother too. We
cannot proudly accept Jesus as our brother and Savior and profess our faith in
him and refuse or deny our filiation to Mary. He who takes Jesus in hand and
his life, takes Mary in his heart. Mary is always where Jesus is, there, she
stands as an ever-caring and loving mother. She was with her Son from the womb
to the tomb and beyond. So too, she can be and must be with us in all the
events and situations of our lives. Mary is our mother too.
As people in search of the Lord, the Gospel of Matthew tells
us where we can find him. Through the episode of the shepherds in Bethlehem, we
are told that, if we too go in search of Jesus, the Newborn announced by the
Angels, the surest and safest place we can find him is in the hands of Mary and
under the fatherly care of Joseph. Mary keeps Jesus and all about him in the
secret of her lovely and motherly heart. Therefore, she can keep us and all our
secrets, as a mother, into her heart. Mothers are unique, so too is Mary unique
for us, she is our Heavenly Mother.
Don Orione, with prophetic zeal and passion, can say: “Our
mothers pass away and die; Mary, the mother of all our mothers, is the great
Mother who never dies. Twenty centuries have passed and she is more alive today
than when she sang her Magnificat and prophesied that all generations would
call her blessed. Mary remains, lives, and remains because God wished all
generations to listen to her and have her for their mother. Mary is the great
Mother who shines with glory and love over the horizon of Christianity. - and
is the guide and consolation of each one of us: she is a powerful and most
merciful Mother for all who call to her and invoke her. She is the merciful and
most holy Mother who always listens to the wailing of those who suffer, who
runs quickly to answer our supplications.”
Through Mary, then, let us entrust this new year to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and say Ave Maria, and onwards…
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