Mary, Mother of Our Lord

August 15 – Mary, Mother of Our Lord –

The honor paid to Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God, goes back to the earliest days of the Church. Indeed, it goes back further, for even before the birth of her Son, Mary prophesied, “From this time forth, all generations shall call me blessed.” A right regard for her will always direct us to him who found in her his first earthly dwelling-place.This we may take to be the summation of Mary’s message to the world. If we listen to her, she will tell us, “Listen to him. Listen to my son. Do what he tells you.”

When we see Mary, we see her pointing to her Son. If our regard for the Blessed Virgin does not have the immediate effect of turning our attention from her to the One whom she carried in her womb for nine months and suckled at her breast, to the Incarnate God, the Word made flesh, then we may be sure that it is not the kind of regard that she seeks.