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 contemplating Mary, the Church imitates her charity, her
faithful acceptance of the Word of God and her docility in fulfilling
the Father's will. By following the Blessed Virgin's example, she
achieves a fruitful spiritual motherhood", the Holy Father said at
the General Audience of Wednesday, 13 August, as he reflected on Mary's
motherhood as a model for the Church. Here is a translation of his
catechesis, which was the 59th in the series on the Blessed Mother and
was given in Italian.
1. It is precisely in the divine motherhood that the Council
perceives the basis of the special relationship between Mary and the
Church. We read in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium:
"By reason of the gift and role of her divine motherhood, by which
she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with her unique graces and
functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united to the
Church" (n. 63). The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church constantly
refers to this same presupposition to illustrate the prerogatives of
"type" and "model" which the Blessed Virgin enjoys
in relation to the Mystical Body of Christ: "In the mystery of the
Church, which is herself rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed
Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of
virgin and mother" (ibid.).
Mary's motherhood is defined as "eminent and singular",
since it represents a unique and unrepeatable fact: Mary, before
carrying out her motherly role for humanity, is the Mother of the only
begotten Son of God made man. On the other hand, the Church is a mother
because she gives spiritual birth to Christ in the faithful, thus
carrying out her maternal role for the members of the Mystical Body.
In this way the Blessed Virgin is a superior model for the Church,
precisely because of the uniqueness of her prerogative as Mother of God.
Mary's virtues are for the Church to imitate
2. Lumen gentium, in reflecting on Mary's motherhood, recalls
that it is also expressed in the eminent dispositions of her soul:
"Through her faith and obedience she gave birth on earth to the
very Son of the Father, not through the knowledge of man but by the
overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, in the manner of a new Eve who placed
her faith not in the serpent of old, but in God's messenger without
wavering in doubt" (Lumen gentium, n. 63).
From these words it can be clearly seen that Mary's faith and
obedience at the Annunciation are virtues for the Church to imitate and,
in a certain sense, they begin her motherly journey in service to men
called to salvation.
The divine motherhood cannot be isolated from the universal dimension
given to it in God's saving plan, which the Council does not hesitate to
recognize: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as
the first-born among many brethren (Rom 8:29), that is, the faithful, in
whose generation and formation she co-operates with a mother's
love" (ibid.).
3. The Church becomes a mother, taking Mary as her model. In this
regard the Council says: "The Church in deed, 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 preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal
life" (ibid. n. 64).
Analyzing this description of the Church's maternal work, we can note
how the Christian's birth is linked here 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.
Moreover, in contemplating Mary, the Church imitates her charity, her
faithful acceptance of the Word of God and her docility in fulfilling
the Father's will. By following the Blessed Virgin's example, she
achieves a fruitful spiritual motherhood.
4. But the Church's motherhood does not make Mary's superfluous:
continuing to exercise her influence on the life of Christians, Mary
helps to give the Church a maternal face. 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 daily experience of faith, in every age and place, highlights the
need many feel to entrust their daily necessities to Mary and they
trustfully open their hearts to implore her motherly intercession and
obtain her reassuring protection.
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.
5. The two mothers, the Church and Mary, are both essential to
Christian life. 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
mankind.
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