Mother of the Church

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the role of Mary as the Mother of the Church.

Path to St Mary's

The reading from the Book of Genesis describes the actions of Adam and Eve leading to the Expulsion from Eden and image of the battle between the Church and the serpent.

* [3:15] They will strike…at their heel: the antecedent for “they” and “their” is the collective noun “offspring,” i.e., all the descendants of the woman. Christian tradition has seen in this passage, however, more than unending hostility between snakes and human beings. The snake was identified with the devil (Wis 2:24; Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose eventual defeat seemed implied in the verse. Because “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), the passage was understood as the first promise of a redeemer for fallen humankind, the protoevangelium. Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. A.D. 130–200), in his Against Heresies 5.21.1, followed by several other Fathers of the Church, interpreted the verse as referring to Christ, and cited Gal 3:19 and 4:4 to support the reference. Another interpretive translation is ipsa, “she,” and is reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. “She” was thought to refer to Mary, the mother of the messiah. In Christian art Mary is sometimes depicted with her foot on the head of the serpent.1 

In Psalm 87 the bond between the exile and the holy city is praised.

* [87:5–6] The bond between the exile and the holy city was so strong as to override the exile’s citizenship of lesser cities.2 

In the Gospel from John during the Crucifixion of Jesus, Mary is given a role as the mother of Christians.

* [19:26–27] This scene has been interpreted literally, of Jesus’ concern for his mother; and symbolically, e.g., in the light of the Cana story in Jn 2 (the presence of the mother of Jesus, the address woman, and the mention of the hour) and of the upper room in Jn 13 (the presence of the beloved disciple; the hour). Now that the hour has come (Jn 19:28), Mary (a symbol of the church?) is given a role as the mother of Christians (personified by the beloved disciple); or, as a representative of those seeking salvation, she is supported by the disciple who interprets Jesus’ revelation; or Jewish and Gentile Christianity (or Israel and the Christian community) are reconciled.3 

David Kiblinger, SJ, shares his research in the Jesuit Post into Mary: Mother of the Church.

while promulgating the completed Lumen Gentium (or, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), Pope Paul VI proclaimed Mary “Mother of the Church” in a discourse closing the third session. The pope thus made this title official, certainly to the delight of those on the losing side of the narrow vote, who generally supported expanding Mariological doctrine to its maximum extent.4 

Mark Latta comments on Jesus' words “Woman behold, your son” and to his beloved disciple “ Behold your mother” as an example to us to love our families and that in that love we have responsibility for them.

While Jesus was clear on our priorities: 1) God first, 2) our families 3) our service to the His kingdom. Serving Christ first however doesn't mean that we are free to neglect our other priorities --  it means only that we must organize our priorities in the proper relation to each other. We should have faith that God will give us wisdom to work this out. Sometimes our families misunderstand or disapprove of decisions we make. In those moments we are called to walk towards them in love, not away.5 

Don Schwager quotes “God borrows Mary's flesh to lead humanity to glory,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.

"The virgin mother, when wine was lacking, wanted Jesus to do a miracle. She was at once answered, 'Woman, what have I to do with you?' as if to say plainly, The fact that I can do a miracle comes to me from my Father, not my mother. For it was from the nature of his Father that he could do miracles but from the nature of his mother that he could die. When he was on the cross, then, in dying he acknowledged his mother whom he commended to the disciple, saying, 'Behold your mother.' And so, when he says, 'Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour is not yet come" (John 2:4). he is in effect saying, In the miracle, which I did not from your nature, I do not acknowledge you. When the hour of death shall come, however, I shall acknowledge you as my mother, since it is from you that I can die." (excerpt from LETTER 10.39.27) 6 

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 19:25-34 shares a story that shows how God has given mothers a unique ability to tend to their children’s hearts and heal their woundedness. This is, actually, one of the things that Pope Francis emphasized last year when he instituted today’s feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. In his decree, he said he wanted to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church.” In a homily on last year’s feast, Pope Francis explained that tenderness is a hallmark of Mary and of all motherhood, including the motherhood of the Church.

A young mother stood in line at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Holding her children’s hands, she wondered what to expect as the motorized sidewalk carried her toward the miraculous image of Mary on St. Juan Diego’s tilma. She had never had a particular devotion to Mary, but her own mother had died years earlier, and she wondered what place Mary might have in her life now. As she looked up at the tilma, the words Mary spoke to Juan Diego sounded clearly in her mind: “Am I not here who am your mother?” The words touched her heart, and she began to weep as the tenderness of Mary’s maternal love overwhelmed her.7 

Friar Jude Winkler notes the separation between God and us, between ourselves, and ourselves and Nature that are the consequences of sin in Genesis. The Church becomes the brother of Jesus expected to raise up children for Jesus in the Gospel as Mary is declared Mother of the Church. Friar Jude shares the symbolism in the piercing of Jesus on the cross that connects to Eve.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, quotes Mirabai Starr as he shares that in mythic imagination, he thinks Mary intuitively symbolizes the first incarnation—or Mother Earth. He is not saying Mary is the first incarnation, only that she became the natural archetype for it.

 When Christianity collided with indigenous religions around the world, a kind of nuclear fusion unfolded between the Earth Mother and the Mother of Christ. The apparition known as Our Lady of Guadalupe, from the Valley of Mexico, is a particularly potent example. This hybrid of Mother Mary and Tonantzin, the Mother of the Corn in Aztec tradition, appeared on the exact spot where the Nahuatl people had been worshiping the fertility goddess for millennia, and she spoke first to an indigenous farmer in his own language. Her skin was dark like their own, yet her features were European. She wore the traditional pre-Columbian maternity sash and also a mantle of stars, like the Virgin Mary. She made it clear that she was the Mother of All People and that her task and her delight was to love us, to give us shelter, to comfort our hearts, and to protect us.8

The apparition of Mary to Juan Diego is witness to the Mother of the Church drawing people together as brothers and sisters of Jesus.

References

1	(n.d.). Genesis, chapter 3 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 87 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/87
3	(n.d.). John, chapter 19 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/19
4	(2017, November 9). Mary: Mother of the Church | The Jesuit Post. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from https://thejesuitpost.org/2017/11/mary-mother-of-the-church/
5	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries - Creighton University. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
6	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
7	(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/06/10
8	(2019, June 10). The First Incarnation — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 10, 2019, from https://cac.org/the-first-incarnation-2019-06-10/