With her “fiat,” Mary consented to the mystery of Incarnation and cooperated in all that her Son had to accomplish. The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to her as Mother “everywhere where He is Savior.”
Mary holds a unique place in the eyes of the Church and all of mankind: “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace” (Vatican II, Lumen gentium §61).
Mary is the Mother of God, as well as the mother to all the brethren of Christ, or the Church. She charitably assists to the birth of each new member in the Church. It was the fruit of her whole journey to accompany her Son to the Cross and be finally given as a mother to one of His disciples: “Woman, here is your son ...” (Jn.19: 25-27).
The Church also exercises maternity, because it teaches us about the spiritual life. “We believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not 'in' the Church as if it were the author of our salvation” (St. Faustus of Riez).
Mother Church teaches us about faith. For example, it has taught us that we can find the Lord through illumination of our hearts and minds. If we had not learned this, how would we be able to say that God can be found?
Édouard Huber
