There is a very special place in my heart for adoptive mothers. As you might remember, my brother and sister-in-law are adoptive parents to two beautiful little girls. I will never forget seeing the first pictures of my sister-in-law, Maura, holding her new baby daughter, Chiara in the hospital in California. God had brought Chiara to her in a miraculous way and she was immediately in love. I could see the tenderness and care in her eyes in those pictures. There is absolutely nothing that compares with the tenderness of a mother’s heart for her children. All of you mothers know what I’m talking about. Even though your children may drive you nuts, there is always a tender place for them deep within you. I have seen that tenderness in my own mom and recognized it when I saw Maura with Chiara for the first time.
Some of my favorite depictions of our Blessed Mother are those that show her cradling the infant Jesus in her arms. I love to see artistic representations of that perfect motherly tenderness Mary showed toward Jesus from the beginning. Throughout His life on earth and even now beside Him in glory in Heaven, Mary’s heart continues to burn with that perfect tender love toward her Son, God with us.
Today is the Octave Day of Christmas. As Catholics, we stretch out the celebration of our most important feasts over the course of 8 days. The eighth and final day represents the crowning of the feast. So today we gather on the eighth and final day of our celebration of Christmas and we honor Mary under her ancient title, Mother of God. Why? Because this feast reminds us of the central truths of Christmas: that God has come among us to save us and that He doesn’t come alone–He comes with and through a human mother!
The ancient title ‘mother of God,’ which the Church has defended as proper for Mary, reminds us that the infant whom she cherished with perfect tenderness is not just some great teacher, or demi-god like Hercules, but truly fully God and fully human. So Mary, as the mother of God-made-man, is a singular type of mother, the one and only mother of God! But even if we understand the logic of calling Mary ‘Mother of God’ we still might wonder, ‘OK, but how does that apply to me?’
The answer lies in the fact of God becoming one of us. God the Son became flesh and was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary not just to impress us, but to save us by drawing us into His own life. Jesus joined humanity and divinity in Himself so that we too might have a share in that divinity. Through our Baptism and sharing in all of the other Sacraments, we do just that–we are drawn into and made sharers in God Himself! And so calling Mary ‘Mother of God’ reminds us that she is the Mother of the one God who loves us so much that He became one of us so we might be adopted by Him! Thus, in a very deep way, we are all children of the Mother of God because we have become sharers in God’s own life–His adopted sons and daughters. This is what St. Paul reminds us through his letter to the Galatians: “Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Praise God! So this tender mother of Jesus, God with us, is given to us as our mother. The Mother of God is the mother of the adopted sons and daughters of God–you and me. When I observed that great, tender love of my sister-in-law for her adopted daughter, I think it gave me a glimpse into that tender love the Blessed Mother has for each of us as adopted sons and daughters of God through her Son. Mary’s heart burns with love for us, just as do all of our earthly mothers at their best. A great mother is one who delights to see her children grow and mature into the best versions of themselves. She is merciful with her children when they fail because her heart still loves them tenderly. This is the case with our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God. Her heart rejoices to see us growing into the best versions of ourselves through Jesus’ grace. When we falter and fail, she continues to love and pray for us, because she is our mom!
The Gospel for today’s Feast tells us that Mary, after hearing the amazing story of the shepherds, “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” I think that Mary, in pondering the marvelous message of God delivered to the shepherds, began to see more fully how Her Son was going to draw many people to God. She must have had a mother’s intuition that these people Her son was to save would need her motherly care. We can see her motherly heart active throughout the Gospels: through her care for the couple at the Wedding Feast at Cana; through her staying close to Jesus with John, the beloved disciple, throughout Jesus’ Passion; and through her prayer with the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. Her motherly heart has always had room for all of those whom Jesus touches by His grace. She was a tender and powerful mother to the first members of the Church during her time on earth, and now remains so for each of us during her reign in Heaven. The Mother of God cares for us and brings our needs to Jesus more perfectly than we ever could, because her Immaculate Heart is the perfect motherly heart.
So as the adopted sons and daughters of God, let us all remain close to Mary, the Mother of God, whose heart remains set on each of us as her dear children. Let’s enjoy her company when things are going well, and draw close to her tender heart when we are down and in need of prayer. She is there for us so that, God-willing, each one of us can grow into more perfect disciples with her at our side throughout our journey here on earth, and thus rejoice with her and all of the Saints forever in Heaven.
I close today praying the Memorare, a beautiful traditional prayer to Mary that we as a church have prayed for centuries. If you aren’t familiar with this prayer, look it up. It is well worth knowing by heart.
+ Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen. +