Earlier this year, Pope Francis announced the creation of a new feast day in commemoration ofthe “Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church,” which will be celebrated every year on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday. The new feast will be celebrated this year next Monday, May 21st. The Catholic Church’s devotion to Mary as “Mother of the Church” is not new. For centuries, God’s people have broadly venerated Mary’s maternal care and protection for the Church. In addition, the Church in Argentina and in Poland, along with Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, have long celebrated this feast day on their own. But it was not until 1964 that Blessed Pope Paul VI formally bestowed on Mary the title of “Mother of the Church.”

In last week’s message, we considered Mary’s role as Mother of God, Mother of Christ, emissary of the Eternal Word, and bearer of the greatest gift, the greatest joy, and the greatest sorrow that the world has ever known. But what is Mary’s vocation as Mother of the Church? Almost two decades ago, I was blessed to participate in a small group retreat with a local pastor in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. During Mass, the priest revealed an icon of the crucifixion which depicted the Suffering Christ, his Sorrowful Mother, and the Beloved Disciple. He preached simply but powerfully about how the Church began there, at the foot of the Cross, as Jesus entrusted his mother to his best friend, and his best friend to his mother. The Church began there, at the foot of the Cross, as the Blessed Mother and the Beloved Disciple wept, worshipped, and continued to believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

Mary is Mother of the Church because she is the Mother of God. Mary is also Mother of the Church because the disciples were entrusted into her maternal care. And Mary is Mother of the Church because she loves, nurtures, and prays for all of God’s children, beyond all borders, across all ages, and for all time. In announcing the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, Pope Francis writes: “Mary became the tender Mother of the Church which Christ begot on the Cross…Christ, in turn, in the Beloved Disciple, chose all disciples as ministers of his love toward his Mother, entrusting her to them so they might welcome her with devoted affection.” In this way, the Holy Father reminds us that Mary loves each of us as a mother loves her own child; and that we are called to love her with the same love that a child feels for their own mother.

In the Manual for Marian Devotion, we read: “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and let nothing upset you. Is it not I, your Mother, who is here?” If you have been blessed like me with a good, heroic, and selfless mother, then you already know what this means. Mary is always present, ever present, always praying, and forever praying — for you, for me, for our community, for our country, and for our troubled world. Mary is there at the beginning: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Cana, and Jerusalem. Mary is the first person to believe in Christ and his mission. Mary is there at the end: along the way of the Cross, at the foot of the Cross. When so many others fled, there she remained. Mary is there at the new beginning: among the first to believe in the Resurrection; as faith in the Risen Christ spreads among God’s people; as the Early Church grows and reaches across the whole world. Mary is here now, too: always consoling, always encouraging, always praying, and always pointing the way to her Son.

Saint John Paul II writes: “Mary’s exceptional pilgrimage of faith represents a constant point of reference for the Church, for individuals and for communities, for peoples and nations, and in a sense for all humanity.” As May, Mary’s Month, continues, let us ask Mary, Mother of God, to pray that each one of us has the courage to be who we are called to be and to do the things that we are called to do. Let us ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to help us become a community truly united in prayer, fellowship, and service. And let us ask Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, to help us — as individuals and fellow parishioners — to live the Gospel, share God’s love and mercy, and rebuild the Church in our small corner of the world. Amen!

Cliff Garvey
Associate Minister
Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport
Contact: cgarvey@ccgronline.com

Bringing Home the Word (5-13-18) 
CCGR Weekly Newsletter (5-13-18) 
Pope Video: Mission of the Laity (May 2018)

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