Marie de Nazareth
To Jesus, through Mary
The Virgin Mary was a mother like any other, in the way that she experienced, like all mothers, the joy of giving birth, the happiness of watching her child grow in grace and wisdom, and the pleasure of receiving his unerring love and tenderness. She also experienced every mother's daily concerns, and kept busy with cooking, cleaning, sewing (Mary, for instance, wove the tunics her family wore with her own hands and took part in the activities of the women of Nazareth).
Mary, like all mothers, felt distress for her child: remember, among others, those three days she and Joseph frantically searched for their son on their way back from Jerusalem; while all along Jesus was among the Doctors in the Temple… Like all mothers, Mary also experienced the sadness of seeing her son, as he grew older, leave his home little by little, until the very day he gathered his belongings and began his public life for good.
But Mary was not just a mother like all mothers – she was the Mother par excellence:
“Behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).
She was the Mother because she took care of the upbringing of her Son the incarnate Wisdom - during all of His childhood and youth – therefore in addition to the joys of child rearing, alongside her spouse Joseph, were the joys of daily contemplating the incarnate Verb humbly given unto the considerate care of the Holy Family.
She was also the Mother because she never held her Son back, even though she knew his tragic destiny… As a loving mother, and as a mother jealous of her child’s happiness, Marie could have tried to avoid the via dolorosa which she had been foretold at the time of the Presentation at the Temple when Simeon had predicted:
“You yourself a sword will pierce” (Luke 2:35).
Moreover, the Virgin knew the Scriptures and knew about Isaiah’s prophecies regarding the Messiah, the One who would be the immolated Lamb, handed over for the salvation of the world… Mary did not try to lead her son off his path – contrary to a possessive mother- she was a model of generous motherly self-sacrifice.
Lastly, Mary was the Mother above all mothers because in the midst of her inexpressible pain, she not only agreed to give her Son, but also at the very moment that men were taking her Child away from her, she agreed as a supreme gift to become the mother of Mankind:
“Behold, your mother”
said Jesus to the apostle John at the foot of the cross:
“Woman, behold, your son”
said the Savior to Mary at John’s side.