Mother of the Church

Mother of the Church

Today the church celebrates the memorial of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Mary is also called the Mother of the Church.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up with a complicated relationship with Mary, and it has taken me many years to discover a Mary that I could really relate to and one that seemed authentic and real.

If this were a live conversation, I’d ask you about your history with Mary, and maybe you can pause for just a moment and reflect on this. What did you previously think about Mary (if you did at all)? What do you think now? How central is she to your spirituality or faith?

I remember almost a decade ago having a conversation with a woman whose young adult son had been killed on the streets of Rochester. She sought counseling because the loss was so profound for her. Being a woman of faith, she often related to the Christian scriptures and used them for comfort. In them, she found Mary, a mother like her, whose son was killed. And in the midst of these conversations, I know that I came to a different appreciation of Mary.

There’s also a growing body of historical scholarship that suggests that Mary was not only the mother of Jesus but that she was a powerful leader in the early church. While not much is written about her, she is everywhere in the artistic images that came out of that era and was revered among the disciples – often being portrayed as priest/bishop and viewed as a leader of the early Christian movement alongside Peter and Paul.

Moreover, while Mary is often depicted as being rather docile and obedient (let alone a virgin – but that’s a topic for a whole other reflection), she was likely anything but that.  The Magnificat (or the “Song of Mary” which she delivers in Luke 1 after a visit from the angel Gabriel) is revolutionary in nature.

Rev. Carolyn Sharp says, “I don’t envision Mary as the radiant woman peacefully composing the Magnificat in Marie Ellenrieder’s 1833 painting, but as a girl who defiantly sings to her God through her tears, fists clenched against an unknown future. Mary’s courageous song of praise is a radical resource for those seeking to honor the holy amid the suffering and conflicts of real life.” .[1]

Her words in the Magnificat were considered so subversive that they were banned from being sung in India during British Rule. On the last day of British Rule, Gandhi requested that the song be sung as the British flags were being lowered.

So as we pause today to remember Mary, the Mother of the Church, it is a good opportunity to reflect upon which version of Mary we’re celebrating and which one we and the world need right now. It may invite us to do some unlearning and unpacking of what we have been taught. It may invite us to reflect on the patriarchal systems that have bound us for so long and kept us from a whole and vibrant Mary that we so desperately need. It may invite us to envision a #MeToo Mary who finds her voice against the violence so many women endure. And it may invite us to reflect upon the many women, like Mary herself, who find themselves among the ranks of the poor in this world – women dreaming of a world of justice and liberation.

Theologian Elizabeth Johnson says it so well when she says, “To relate to Miriam of Nazareth as a partner in hope in the company of all the graced women and men who have gone before us; to be encouraged by her mothering of God to bring God to birth in our own world; to reclaim the power of her dangerous memory for the flourishing of suffering people; and to draw on the energy of her memory for a deeper relationship with the living God and stronger care for the world this theological approach fits at least one pattern of contemporary spirituality. When the Christian community remembers like this, Mary the friend of God and prophet inspires the lives of women and men alike.”

May we be a church true to her witness.

[1] https://www.stphilipelca.com/post/mary-the-mother-of-jesus-was-a-radical

7 Comments

    Kathy Kearney

    Mike, This reflection touched a nerve. I grew up with Mary as my 2nd Mom. I felt She was always close by, even if I couldn’t see Her, I felt Her presence. Thanks for sharing.

    Peter Veitch

    Interesting reflection, Michael, thank you. I’m reading a book called ‘Abuelita Faith’ I think you would enjoy.
    No part of me believes that an actual girl in history recited what was later written into the gospel as the Magnificat. It’s more likely that it existed as a hymn and was inserted into the story as the infancy tale was woven together using hymns and stories from folk narratives and oral tradition.
    Marian devotion can be subtly subversive, since it’s practice is not imposed by the church, but has a powerful place in the kitchen spirituality handed down from our mothers, grandmothers and female elders.
    I remember growing up in a neighborhood with many families who had a grandmother living with them. The whole world stopped when the Family Rosary for Peace came on the radio in the evening.
    Peace,
    Peter

    Barbara Lantiegne

    I recite the Magnificat every day, but your reflection opened new windows for me. Thank you so much.

    Monica Anderson

    Omg do I relate to this! Blessed Mother has been my model of saying yes to God in the most challenging moments of my life!
    The first was when I called upon her to intercede for me with her son as she did at the wedding feast of Cana. It was when our 2nd daughter was about to be born, full term, but stillborn. At that time, I felt the love and presence of God in a way I will never forget. It was as though Christ were standing next to me when Bernadette was born without life. I drew my strength from Mary in my grief knowing that she grieved the loss of her son. I focused on what I had rather than what I didn’t have, which was our 15 month-old daughter, Cara, at home.

    Many years later, Mary was once again my inspiration to endure the trials of Cara’s, struggles with chemical dependency and HER subsequent death almost six years ago. Mary was my role model of surrender. My source of strength came from my God.
    The rosary is my daily companion. Having been born on the feast of our Lady of Lourdes and seeing my father’s rosary on his night stand, I grew up with a reverence for her. My mither belonged to the Rosary Society. The In Girl Scouts, my knowledge of Mary was increased by earning the Marian Award. I became more aware of her appearances all over the world from Fatima to Knox, to Medjugorge when she said to pray for the conversion of Russia and for world peace

    I have a statue of her in the garden behind our house. I look at her as I say the particular mystery of the rosary for that day. It brings the scriptures to life. I love her spirit dearly and worship her son.

    Annie OReilly

    Wow! ?That was powerful. I regained an appreciation of Mary after I came across a prayer that I found at the Abbey of the Genesee. I pray to her when I am the most anguished and also every morning, if I make room for it. At night, I say the names of all the people I am carrying and trouble places and then I say at least 10 hail Mary’s while fingering the crystal beads of my late mother’s rosary. The prayer that I say starts with: Oh most gracious Virgin Mary. Never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence I fly unto you, oh Virgin of virgins, my mother. To thee do I come, before thee do I stand ………Fill in what you like…Oh Mother of the word incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me Amen.

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