The Mother Leading Us to Jesus!

Monday, May 25, 2026

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Gen 3:9-15, 20; Jn 19: 25-34

Today, our Mother Church celebrates the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church.

How is Mary the Mother of the Church? And what does the title mean?

Pope Saint John Paul II put it this way: ‘The title ‘Mother of the Church’ thus reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ, but also of the faithful. She who is recognized as mother of salvation, life and grace, mother of the saved and mother of the living, is rightly proclaimed Mother of the Church.’ 

Put differently, we may say that Mary is the mother of Christ, and because the Church is the mystical body of Christ, she is also the mother of all who believe in him. 

The two readings point to Mary’s motherhood unfolding through salvation history. 

In the first reading from Genesis, we read what happens after the Fall. When fear enters the human heart with sin, God promises, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers.’ The Church has always identified the ‘woman’ as a reference to Mary. If Eve was the mother of all the living, Mary became the mother of all the living in grace. Thus, what was lost through Eve’s disobedience is duly restored through Mary’s obedience. Viewed thus, Mary has been part of salvation history from the beginning in accordance with God’s plan. The woman (Mary) stands in opposition to the serpent. Jesus, her son, will crush the head of evil. Thus, Christ’s victory over death and evil is inseparable from Mary’s motherhood.

In the Gospel, we find Mary standing at the foot of the cross. When all others abandoned Jesus and fled for their lives, Mary stood firmly under the cross, witnessing the birth of the Church from the pierced side of Christ. When Jesus entrusts his mother to his beloved disciple and the beloved disciple to Mary, it is not merely that they are given to each other’s care. Instead, the Church believes that the beloved disciple represents every disciple, and, as such, Mary is given as the mother to all who follow the Lord. Thus, the mother of every believer is also the mother of the Church.

In Acts of the Apostles, we find Mary accompanying the disciples gathered in the upper room. Mary was with those who were united in prayer with one accord. Thus, Mary was present at Pentecost, the moment when the early Church witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit and began its mission to the nations. Through her accompanying presence, Mary shows that she is the perfect disciple, believer, and mother, who has accompanied the Church since its birth. Ever since Jesus entrusted his beloved disciple to her care, the Mother has never abandoned her children. Thus, Christ’s gift to humanity on the cross was to give us his own mother.

And why should Mary be the Mother of the Church? Because she always points to Jesus with her words, ‘Do whatever he tells you’ (Jn 2:5). In other words, Mary, the Mother of the Church, helps the disciples imitate Jesus better. 

Let us pray that our discipleship may be nurtured more by Mary’s accompanying presence. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar