Jesus Carried His Mother in His Heart
The Blessed Virgin Mary’s Role in Salvation History
“Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43, RSV).
Elizabeth spoke these words of wonder when her cousin, an expectant Blessed Virgin Mary, arrived for a visit.
Elizabeth’s question can be echoed by all of us who love Jesus.
Like many Scriptures, that verse from Luke’s Gospel applies to a broader audience, namely every person on earth.
God entrusted the Blessed Virgin Mary with the supreme privilege of bringing the Son of God to us. We are fortunate to experience the joy and surprise that Elizabeth did when the mother of our Lord came to her. Why? Because Mary’s role never ended. She continues to bring her Son to each of us.
In fact, Jesus entrusted His mother to his beloved disciple, John, when from the cross, Jesus said “Behold your mother” (John 19:27). John took Mary home with him and cared for her. Jesus’ words had a broader meaning: we all inherited access to the Blessed Mother in Heaven whose only goal is to glorify God by bringing us closer to the Son. It is an amazing revelation!
During this Lenten season, I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to take the blessings of Christianity, especially salvation, for granted. How often do we really imagine the suffering that Jesus willingly endured for us as well as the pain and sorrow His mother must have felt?
Our Blessed Mother was only human, albeit full of grace. Can you imagine how she must have wished she could take her Son’s place on the cross? She probably vicariously suffered the pains of His death.
She is in a very real way the gateway to salvation. She brought us the Son of God. She revealed Him to the world when she gave birth to Him in a lowly stable and placed Him in a manger. Following God’s will, she did nothing to prevent her Son from embarking on the way of the cross and dying a cruel, undeserved death.
The Blessed Virgin Mary never sought any glory for herself. She remained in the shadow of her Son. And she had to have been always in His thoughts. When we honor her for her role in salvation history, we honor our Lord as well. Praying the rosary, for example, allows us to immerse ourselves in all the major events in Jesus’ life through the lens of His Blessed Mother.
Sometimes Protestants object to the Catholic practice of praying to Mary because they mistakenly equate all prayer with worship. Worship belongs to the Holy Trinity alone. Prayer, however, can include simple veneration as well as asking for assistance in much the same way as we ask others on earth to pray for us. There is no harm in widening the network of those with whom we share our prayer requests!
We hail Mary in the same way the angel Gabriel did.
In the seasons of Advent and Christmas, it is impossible even for Protestants to ignore the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in salvation.
But what about her role in the life and death of the Lord?
Now during Holy Week, as we once again focus on the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ, in preparation for the splendor of His Resurrection from the dead on Easter Day, we would do well to remember and honor the Blessed Virgin Mary for the role she played in our salvation.
The Blessed Virgin Mary carried Jesus in her womb: on the cross, Jesus carried His mother in His Heart.
Never again can the Divine Son and His mother be separated from each other in heaven where we too have the holy hope of joining them forever.
