The Mother of Jesus

Here lies the mystery. Our devotion to Mary has been forever questioned! We have been called idolaters, worshippers of a “Goddess” and even blasphemers. Some have accused us of making Mary more important than Jesus and others have said with limited Scriptural evidence, why do we even bother honouring a human so much and even writing prayers to her. Some give me the impression that we have erred so much that it is time to throw in the towel and admit that it’s time to forget Mary!

I must caution that I don’t intend to offer a Mariology nor defend the truth that sometimes individual believers may have over emphasised the role of Mary in a non-Christocentric sphere. What I intend to write is why the ‘Mother of Jesus’ continues to be loved and honoured among Catholics.

My starting point is the title given to Mary by the author of the Gospel according to John. Some may know this but unlike other evangelists, the fourth Gospel never calls Mary by name but only refers to
her as ‘the mother of Jesus’. As Middle Eastern born Catholics this is normal. A mother is always called by her eldest son’s name. We call the mother of Tony, exactly that (Mother of Tony or in Arabic Emm Tony).

But John never ever uses Mary or Mariam/Miriam. Here I believe is the heart of Catholic theology on Mary. Why in the midst of criticism, reformation, incorrect individual believer practises, we have insisted on Mary’s role in our faith.

St Marcellin Champagnat who dreamt of a society that belongs to Mary, the founder of the Marist Brothers, who were “MARYists” says: “Mary has always Jesus her son in her arms or in her heart.”

Every prayer, every confession, hymn, kneeling, procession, devotion, Rosary, doctrine and every intercession that we offer to and through Mary is because and only because she is the Mother of Jesus. It is because we love Jesus and worship him, we honour Mary. It is because Jesus is our
life and daily bread that we love Mary too. It is because Jesus is God-Man, that Mary is ‘Theotokos’, the Mother of God or the “God Bearer”.

Systematically, once we realised who Jesus was, we began to look at those who were in relationships with him, especially His Mother. We began to ask about her role in the Annunciation and Visitation? Her role at Cana? We asked: “What about her presence at the Cross? And her presence at Pentecost?”

Who is this woman who  was called ‘full of grace”? Who never left Jesus’ side? Who gave birth to him in a miraculous way? Who loved him and influenced him? Who held him in her arms? Who was presented by the author of the Gospel of John as being the model of the perfect disciple? Who is this woman who Jesus asked us to take into our homes?

These are questions that cannot be ignored. The Church Fathers asked them and pushed the answers to the end. And the Church continues to do so.

Mary is the first disciple, the first of “the new creation” because she is ‘in’ Christ and Christ is and was ‘in’ her (2 Cor 5:17). “The Virgin Mary received the Word of God in her heart and in her body and gave Life to the world” and is “united to Jesus by a close and indissoluble tie’ (Lumen Gentium).
Indeed, her obedience to God in the face of the “How Can this be?” question, is what makes Mary so worthy of honour. And even more, her simplicity is breathtaking. St. Therese of Lisieux reminds us of this in her prayer to Mary: “Mother full of grace, I know that in Nazareth, You live in poverty, wanting nothing more. No rapture, miracle, or ecstasy.”

This is why I love the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of the Church, our Sister in the faith.