5 May, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

Mary the Mother of God

1. The near-infinite greatness of Mary flows from the fact that she is the Mother of God. The Eternal Word of the Father, consubstantial with Him in nature and equal to Him in majesty, willed to become man in order to set us free from the slavery of sin and to regain Heaven for us. He became man in the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary. He took a human body and soul and was born of her as the God-Man. For this reason there is attributed to His Divine Person the title of Son of Mary and to Mary the title of Mother of God.

There is a relationship between Mary and each of the three Divine Persons, for she is the daughter of God the Father, the spouse of the Holy Spirit by whose power the Word became incarnate in her, and the mother of the Word made man. She is, moreover, in the words of Dante, the “termine fisso di eterno consiglio.” (Paradiso, 33:1-3) In other words, she is the centre of the eternal plan which God established for the redemption of the human race. It was God's eternal design to reunite creation to the Uncreated by means of Mary. She became the mother of the Eternal Word, in whom the divine and human natures were indissolubly united. He redeemed us by His infinite merits, but in this work of redemption He employed the co-operation of His holy Mother. All the graces, privileges and virtues of Mary flow from this great mystery of her divine Motherhood. As befitted the future Mother of God, she was conceived free from the stain of original sin and full of grace. Her mortal life was a continuous ascent towards the highest peak of sanctity. When she died, she was assumed body and soul into Heaven, where she was crowned in glory as Queen of Angels and Queen of Saints.

When we consider the sublime nobility of Our Lady, we should be moved to love and venerate her. This love and veneration does not subtract in the slightest from God's glory, because she is the Mother of God. In fact, it is of great advantage to us to imitate her and to call on her to intercede for us.

2. St. Matthew (Cf. Mt. 12:46-50) and St. Mark (Cf. Mark 3:31-35) relate how Jesus was preaching one day in Galilee, surrounded by his Apostles and by a large crowd, when a man approached and said: “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are standing outside, seeking thee.” “Who is my mother,” He answered, “and who are my brethren?” Then He extended His hand towards His disciples and said: “Behold my mother and my brethren! For whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.” These words were directed at us, not at Our Lady. Not only was she the immaculate Mother of Jesus Christ, but she performed lovingly on all occasions the will of the heavenly Father. She did His will in poverty and obscurity, in exile, and on Mount Calvary. Therefore she was God's mother in the spiritual as well as in the physical sense of the word, in so far as she was constantly united to Him by a bond of love and of conformity with His desires.

Christ's words indicate that Mary's perfect and continuous acceptance of God's will was even more pleasing to God than the dignity of the divine Motherhood. We cannot equal her in dignity, but we can imitate her in this other respect. Jesus will look on us as His brothers and as worthy sons of Mary if we carry out His will in all things. It is not always easy to do this. It is not easy when we are strongly tempted to commit sins of pride, anger or impurity. It is not easy when we are overcome by sorrow or by sickness, when we are let down or misunderstood by others, when we are in want, and when we feel that we are collapsing beneath the weight of our cross. At times like these we should pray for Mary's spirit of complete acceptance of the will of God.

3. Most Holy Mary, not only were you raised to the dignity of Mother of God, but you carried out His holy will heroically on all occasions. Obtain for me from your divine Son, Jesus, the grace to co-operate always and at all costs with His designs for me, both in life and in death. Amen.