The Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church

The meaning of the Celebration:

+ On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis declared this new memorial be added to the Church’s Universal Calendar, assigning it to the day after Pentecost Sunday.

+ This memorial highlights Mary’s role as Mother of Christ and, therefore, she is also the mother of his Body, the Church.

+ Saint Luke tells us that Mary was with the Apostles on that Pentecost day when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and she was a witness of the early ministry of the Apostles.

+ Pope Francis had observed that he wanted to promote devotion to Mary, Mother of the Church, to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as growth of genuine Marian piety.”

+ Inspired by the Second Vatican Council’s document Lumen Gentium, the title “Mother of the Church” was decreed by Pope Saint Paul VI in 1965.

For prayer and reflection:

“This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.”—Pope Francis

Spiritual bonus:

On this day we also remember Saint Ephrem of Syria. A renowned theologian and preacher, he is celebrated as the greatest poet of the Syrian Church. One of the Church’s earliest hymn-writers, he used his poems and hymns to counter the efforts of local heretical groups who were spreading their teachings through sung verse. Honored for his many sermons and commentaries on Scripture, Ephrem died in 373 and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1920 and is sometimes honored as a special patron of spiritual directors.

Prayer

O God, Father of mercies,
whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross,
chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother,
to be our Mother also,
grant, we pray, that with her loving help
your Church may be more fruitful day by day
and, exulting in the holiness of her children,
may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Father Silas Henderson, S.D.S.