“Nothing is so beautiful as spring,” the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote. All around us there are signs of new life, from flowers in full bloom to green trees with fresh leaves. Birds have begun to nest, preparing for the arrival of a new generation. The whole world seems filled with new life and new joy. Is it any wonder that we choose this month to honor the one who gave life to the Son of God, our Blessed Mother?
At this time each year, we look for special ways to honor Mary. This is especially true in this second preparatory year of our Golden Jubilee, which we have dedicated to Mary, our Blessed Mother. We crown her with flowers. We pray the Rosary, the Angelus and the Regina Caeli. We sing songs in her honor. We make pilgrimages. We consecrate ourselves to her. We beg her intercession. We honor her as our mother and queen. These are beautiful and holy ways to honor the Mother of God during this special month. This year, allow me to recommend one more.
Just a few short weeks ago, we recalled that Mary, along with John the Apostle, stood beside Jesus in his final hours. “Woman, behold your son,” Jesus said to his mother. To John he said, “Behold your mother.” With these words, Jesus gave a gift to all humanity. He invited us to make his mother our own; to bring to her our needs, our hopes and our sorrows; to ask for her guidance, her comfort and her help; to walk alongside her on the way of the cross.
Jesus meant something else by these words, too. He invited us to contemplate Mary’s example. “Behold your mother,” he tells the Church. If you want to know how to love, observe what she does. If you want to know how to enter the Kingdom of God, look to her who is first among you. Jesus’ words call to mind Mary’s “yes” to God at the Annunciation: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.” Equally, they remind us of Mary at Cana, when she beheld the needs of others and, in turn, beheld with them the first miracle of Jesus. We recall that, just shortly before Our Lord spoke these words on the cross, she beheld her son’s agony and freely shared it, offering him quiet comfort as he carried his cross to Calvary.
“Behold your mother.” What is it that we see when we behold Mary? “(A)s we look at her, in glory, we understand that true power is service,” Pope Francis said. Mary is queen of heaven and earth, but she is no ordinary queen. Her reign is not a show of dominance, but a sovereignty of love. She does not seek to impose her own will, but to “magnify the Lord.” She does this by offering herself first to God, and at his beckoning, in service to humanity.
Therein lies the key. This May, may we honor Mary with works as well as with crowns. Let us observe the needs of those around us and dedicate ourselves in service to them. In a special way, let us remember the mothers in our midst whom we also celebrate this month. Like Mary, let us be mindful of their needs, especially the needs of those mothers who lack resources and support. Please also pray for those mothers who have died and advocate for us to our Father in heaven.
Many apostolic works already exist to help us in this endeavor. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently launched “Walking with Moms in Need,” a program aimed at helping parishes to better accompany and serve vulnerable mothers and children. Catholic Charities offers a variety of resources to help mothers in need, including prenatal care through its Mother of Mercy Clinic. Our own diocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Respect Life provides resources for mothers in need of spiritual, emotional, medical, and financial support during pregnancy and beyond. We offer unique ministries to mothers who have suffered pregnancy loss, either through miscarriage or procured abortion. To these we add the many efforts of lay people in our diocese and across our nation who have dedicated themselves to supporting pro-life and pro-family initiatives in many forms. These efforts flow out of our deep Marian theology and witness, uniting our works to her heart and the heart of her Son.
Perhaps the most powerful support we have to offer is demonstrated through the model Mary gives us in the Gospels through her quiet acts of love. May we share this same love for the mothers and families we meet every day in our churches, our communities or right next door. This May, may we honor Mary by learning to see their needs and responding in love. May we lay at her feet the greatest gift we have to offer: a faithful, loving and generous heart.
