There is a lovely, little-known Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Mary, Mother of the Church. It was established by Pope Francis in 2018 and is celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost.

On this Memorial, I find myself praying with the way that the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary, overshadowing her at the Annunciation. The Gospel says clearly that the Word becomes incarnate by the work of the Holy Spirit in the virginal womb of Mary (see Mt 1:18, Lk 1:35). I marvel at the way the Holy Spirit permeated Mary’s life for the rest of her life, giving life and hope to those who were around her. When she greeted Elizabeth, for instance, her elderly cousin who was shortly to give birth to John the Baptist, this humble woman exclaimed at Mary’s arrival, and was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 1:41). The Spirit brought Simeon to the Temple to hold in his arms, to see with his very eyes, the infant Jesus who had been brought in Mary’s arms to be presented in that holy place (see Lk 2:25-27).

Finally, the apostles had gathered around the Mother of Jesus after he had ascended into heaven, waiting with her for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Mary knew well the presence, almost the “feel”—spiritually speaking—of being inhabited, of being a Temple, of the Spirit of Jesus. She had profound spiritual sensitivity and was no stranger to the movement of the Spirit, through whom the Son of God took flesh within her.

At the Annunciation she became the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of the Son of God, and at that moment, in some mysterious way, the Mother of us, all of us who are the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ.

In the Cenacle, as the Spirit was poured out on all Jesus’ disciples praying there, Mary is manifested as a type of the Church who, as a mother herself, will give birth to children of God at the baptismal fonts of every country and every time through the grace poured out by the Spirit. This grace is a gift given on the initiative of God, purifying and elevating our nature without suppressing or changing it in its very being.

At the Annunciation Mary became the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of the Son of God, and at that moment, in some mysterious way, the Mother of us, all of us who are the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ.

Mary, Mother of the Church—our Mother, yes. But we, as a member of the Church, participate in this Motherhood by bringing others to the Church, to baptism, to the sacraments, to grace, to prayer, to communion with the other members of the Body of Christ. Mary shows us how to be a mother, solicitous and simple in the way we care about the salvation of those with whom we journey on the road of life.

The apostles went forth from the Cenacle, now powerfully sensitive to the movement of the Spirit who was sending them into the world with the mission of Jesus:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” ( Mk 16:15-16)

They preached and then they baptized that day over 5000 persons. From that humble Cenacle where the disciples of Jesus received the divine gift of the Spirit, the Church has spread out, lifting people up to Jesus, as new citizens of the kingdom of glory.  

Mary, Mother of the Church, teach me how to be a mother to people who have fallen away from the Church. Inspire me how to enter into the troubled moments of others’ lives with a quiet invitation to accompany me to the Eucharist or adoration, there to meet your Son. Encourage me to say a gentle word of faith at a time when their heart is ready to receive it. Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for me.