Jesus' Mom

The last time humanity needed a course correction, God didn't send down an angel to scare or inspire an adult to become a prophet. Been there, done that. No, he wanted someone who could really connect with mankind, so he sent his son, to be born, live, and die as a man. To truly be a man, of course, he had to be raised as a man. God couldn't just inspire the young Jesus to become the Son of God all at once, imprinting right behavior on his brain. That would have left Jesus insufficiently human. No, God needed someone who would raise the human infant in the right path, loving him, fussing at him, teaching him right from wrong, to raise him as men are raised. The mix of divinity and the best earthly rearing would make a man who could change the world. To fulfill his plan, God needed to find the perfect mom.

He chose, of course, Mary. Today The Anchoress tells us how Mary fulfilled her calling, with emphasis on the sorrow it caused her, but also on the important role she fulfilled, different in scope but not kind from the role played by all mothers of men everywhere:

The guidance (and the role of overseer) which is part and parcel of a mother’s job is - while indespensible - rarely understood as “leadership.” This is as true today, in our “enlightened age” as it was in the “patriarchal Judean culture.” The attention to detail, the fussy “human” stuff, the work, wisdom, planning and supervisory/administrative role of a mother is as under-appreciated now as it was, then, but in either era it is the backbone of…well, if you really stop to consider, the role of The Mother is the backbone of everything that is and was and will be.

Luke does not write about Mary in the Acts, but it is not unthinkable that as the apostles were building up the church Mary was doing more than simply feeding people and washing clothes. I am sure she did do those things…but she was a mother - The Mother of the church - and so I am quite certain that aside from her domestic tasks Mary was pointing the apostles and those first followers in this direction and that saying, “make sure you talk to so-and-so,” “don’t forget about thus and such,” “did you remember to do this or that?” “I overheard such-and-such, you’d better be aware of that, and make sure you…”

But most importantly (in the eyes of us children, anyway), a mother comforts and reassures and takes care of us:

But that is what a mother does. She reassures. She works for her family. She serves. She carries on and carries forward, doing the things that need to be done. Even if all the while, her heart is pierced with a sword of deep and lasting sorrow.

Catholics are often accused of worshiping Mary, but we don't. We venerate her, as we venerate others who display extraordinary devotion to God and their fellow men. Nobody ever accused The Beatles of being overly respectful to Catholicism, Christianity, or Jesus himself, but even they got it right:

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me,
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be,
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Mary is not the gateway to heaven. The light which shines is Christ. But Mary, like our own mothers, whispers words of wisdom and stands with us in the darkness so we are not alone.