Behold Your Mother: Jesus Gives Us His Mother and Expands the Family Circle

By Deacon Keith Fournier
9/25/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.

Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you." He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.This biblical passage is sometimes misinterpreted.

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CHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) - The Gospel reading for Holy Mass on Tuesday of the 25th week in Ordinary time is taken from St. Luke: "The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you." He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it." (Luke 8:19-21)

This biblical passage is sometimes misinterpreted. Some claim that it stands for the proposition that Jesus intended to lessen the importance of his earthly mother and her role in the plan of salvation. Such an interpretation is textually inaccurate and theologically mistaken. It runs contrary to the biblical context of the encounter and rejects the consistent, unbroken Christian tradition. Such a misreading ascribes a minimalist role to Mary in the Christian revelation and consequently in the life of every Christian.

It can also cause one to miss a profound truth concerning the Christian vocation. It can discourage one from digging deeper into the text and thereby grasping a deep, profoundly important insight. I stand with the Christian tradition, rooted in the patristic literature (writings of the early Church fathers), and subscribe to the exact opposite interpretation. What is actually revealed through these words and in this encounter is a framework for an authentically human and relational spirituality, a spirituality of communion.

This interchange was recorded for all time for a purpose. Through it, Jesus teaches us something about the interior meaning of our personal redemption, the redemption of the whole human race and the redemption of the entire created order. The message is simple but profound; God is a God of love and relationship. He has invited us into an intimate and eternal communion. Through our Baptism, we are all invited into the family of God. When we choose to be obedient to the will of God; we enter into an eternal relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We actually become "mother" sister" and "brother" to the Lord.

In His final act of Self-giving love, revealed for all eternity on Golgotha's Hill, Jesus also elevated and expanded the importance of His mother and "brothers". We read about this encounter in the Gospel of St. John. Picture the poignant scene, right before He was to breathe His last breath: "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home." (John 19:26-27).

From antiquity, the Fathers of the Church have correctly and uniformly taught that this encounter was also about more than the relationship between the Apostle John (whom sacred scripture calls "the beloved disciple") and Mary the mother of the Lord. It was -and is- about the expanded family of the Church, the community that Jesus came to found - and of which He is the Head.

As a final gift, right before He died, He gave His mother to His whole family, through giving her to the beloved disciple John. This was a gift for all of us, an exchange, and an expansion of the family circle of relationship. In this exchange, the tradition has long taught, He also entrusted all of us to her maternal care. Jesus was not minimizing His relationship with His mother through these words given in response to the crowd, He was expanding it. He hungers, through Divine love, to include all of us in the "family circle" of God.

As with so many of the treasures of the Catholic faith, the treasure of Mary is a gift to be received. Moving from the acceptance of Mary as the Mother of the Lord to Mary as "my mother" requires the gift of faith. I am what is often called a 'revert" to the Church. Though raised as a Catholic, I fell away from the practice of the ancient faith. My teenage search for truth finally led me home. The route was circuitous. Among the places it led was reading the Fathers (early Bishops and teachers) of the first centuries of the Church. In ancient Christian writings I discovered how the early Christians viewed their participation in the Church as integral to their belonging to Jesus Christ. The Church is fundamentally relational.

After intensely questioning of many of the teachings of the Catholic Church in my journey home to the Church I came to see that the proclamation of the early Church Council of Ephesus that Mary is "Theo-tokos", Greek for Mother of God, was a profoundly Christological declaration. It was spoken to confront growing heresies in the Church which undermined the very core proclamation of the Gospel about who Jesus is. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, ...

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1 - 8 of 8 Comments

Valerie Bechtell
7 months ago
I am overwhelmed with love,my heart is exploding...Thank God for His constant care, and for you Dr. Fournier !
andrew
7 months ago

[Fifth Sorrowful Mystery] "Behold your Mother" and the prophesied sword pierces her heart. As was the custom in those days, a dying son would leave his widowed mother in safe hands if possible. Times were tough on widows then but, the prospect of such a life did not hurt Mary. She knows now that her son is telling her that he opts to die, like all humans, ordinary men, dust to dust, that he may not be who she thought he was. That hurts.
Well, the good news is that they both did what Jesus asked them to do. After all, was it not said during the marriage at Cana: "Do as he says". Some say that the beloved disciple took her to his home or as we say: "Home is where the heart is".
Paul F. Misura
7 months ago
I am a Revert too.
Bill Sr.
7 months ago
Let me add also..
We should recall the birth of Christ was a really very personal thing for one young woman as well as the amazing singular moment in time which changed the course of history for mankind's existence.

This awesome moment came about as a result of the decision that a young woman made nine months earlier when asked if the Spirit of the Most High God could be allowed to come into her very soul and body in order to bring salvation to suffering humanity. Frightened by the very presence of the Spirit of God to which she had dedicated her life there before her, yet certain of her desire to please her Lord she humbly surrendered herself to His personal plan for her and His universal plan for mankind. That decision, that surrender and that act of faith formed the foundation for what we proudly cherish as Christianity today.

Knowing this we need to view the joy of Christmas not only for God's great gift of His redeeming Son but also the opportunity to thank Mary for her most gracious and humble offering of total personal submission to the will of God for the benefit of all mankind. The shouts and praise hailed to all the kings of this world for their triumphs over the centuries are whispers compared to Mary's gentle but earthshaking voice that night when she softly answered "yes" to God and said "be it done unto me according to your Will".

So, with this perspective, whether we realize it or not we can and do in fact celebrate Christmas every time we devotedly and faithfully say "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death".
abey
7 months ago
That which was is what that which is. The words of Jesus regarding His Mother & Brothers do in no way Diminish the importance & role of Mary, but was expressing the utmost importance of our relationship with The Father, The very Life itself. He who came in the name of the Father does nothing else other than The Will of The Father to his words "Without the Father I can do nothing"& again "Me & The Father are one" , "Seeing me is seeing The Father" & 'No man comes to me except they be drawn to me by My Father" & only them will He accept. All of these make Him to be The Express Image of God even unto being of the same substance of The Father together with the Holy Spirit. When on the cross He he gave Mary, the new Eve as Mother to Apostle John & vice versa, the significance being that John who was under John the Baptist, was taken as a disciple by Jesus after the death of The Baptist who Himself was born in the Spirit & power of Elias to be an intermediate one between the old & new generation, but from John the Apostle was the Beginning of the new Generation until this day. to the words of Jesus "This Generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled" & unto this generation is given Mary as Mother, the eternal in the new Covenant, the Original covenant from Heaven. The Arc of the Covenant, with its emphasize on the 'Mercy Seat' can be stated as "In the Mercy of God came the Covenant which is the Fulness of Christ Jesus to the Grace" with the period called "The Dispensation of Grace" The Grace that which is greater than the law, as was told to St Paul by the words "My Grace is sufficient for you".
Bill Sr.
7 months ago
My Mother Mary…….yes, that Mary….
….who was living a simple life dedicated to serving the God of Israel from her very early childhood.
…who was full of grace and awaiting the angel's salutation to share a child with the Holy Spirit and carry our Lord in her womb for nine months that He might carry the Cross of Salvation for all of us.
…who, in union with God's plan, willfully in true charity and sacrifice accepted the prophecy, announced on her son's first visit to the temple by Simeon, because of this child that her heart would be pierced like none before her.
…who cared for and nourished that child sharing house, home, and daily family and personal exchanges of love and devotion with Him for thirty years as He grew to manhood.
…whose mutual love had so entwined its trust in her young son that it would allow Him leave of her for nearly two days journey in their humble land (a preview of his passion and burial) until she would become aware of His absence from friends and her own loving care.
…who, as His closest companion over many years, knew exactly where to look for Him upon her return to Jerusalem.
…who would accept His decision to "be about His Fathers work" but with a mothers love guided His youthful ambitions to a more proper time and place for fulfillment where at her wish and petition He initiated His ministry with the miracle at the wedding feast of Cana.
,,,who faithful to words of God to Simeon had to watch with a bleeding heart the horrid brutality thrust upon her child during His powerful passion.
…and finally that Mary, who though weeping in sorrow would be so willing to lovingly listened to and carry out her son's dying request along side the disciple whom He loved well that she now take John under her wing in place of Him and that John in turn protect and defend her among men until she rejoined her son the Prince of Peace in heaven.
This Mary, the world's very first "Christian", is my mother and should be recognized in faith as truly the mother of all Christians.
KATHY
7 months ago
As a convert, I had a hard time with "Mary". I began to go to daily Mass, and encountered a group of women who prayed the Rosary before Mass. I began to go early and joined in the daily Rosary. I didn't know if I really believed what I was praying...I asked Mary to help me...and could feel her being so very patient with me. Then on day, I read the verse...."behold your Mother". I literally jumped for joy. I cried tears of much joy. I now feel that I have a special relationship with Mary, my Mother. I felt her tell me to increase my devotion to her...many prayers have been answered...one being my son turning away from a cult that had a grip on him, that I could not even talk with my son any longer. One day, he came out of his room, with tears, and told me that it was over, and that all of a sudden knew that what he was involved with was wrong. I have spoken to him about the Catholic Church, and he is open to learning more. PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM. And I thank the blessed Mother for her prayers too.
Kasoy
7 months ago
Jesus was not satisfied with giving us His Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity in the sacred host to refresh us on our pilgrimage to heaven. He left us His Immaculate Mother as our spiritual mother to help and guide us especially in times of great distress and suffering. Let's remember to ask the help of our Mother of Perpetual Help in this time of growing persecution of truly obedient Christians in our nation.

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