After receiving the news that she would bear the Son of God, Mary’s immediate response was to seek the comfort and counsel of her older relative, Elizabeth. While we don’t have many details about Mary’s life, we can tell from the story of the Visitation that Mary had deep respect and love for Elizabeth. She knew she would be safe from scrutiny, prejudice, and ridicule regarding her premarital pregnancy in her cousin’s house. This relationship was one of value and importance to Mary; how special it must have been to share her pregnancy with Elizabeth as well.
Mary’s “specialness” did not end with the birth of Jesus, rather she continued to play an important role in his ministry even after Jesus’ Ascension. Mary accompanied Jesus and his disciples in their mission to bring the Good News. She was present at the Wedding Feast at Cana, at the Last Supper, at the Crucifixion, when Christ visited the Upper Room after his Resurrection, and at Pentecost. Her constant presence in Jesus’ life must have been reassuring to him; as a young mother, she was able to walk with her son through his entire life.
When it comes to Jesus’ ministry, his very first public miracle took place at the wedding of friends in Cana. His journey had just begun and he was not ready to take center stage, especially at such a personal event. Mary knew who her son was and what he was capable of - she was not going to let the hosts of the wedding feast suffer embarrassment when she knew there was a simple solution. We often laud Mary for her respect and honor of God’s timing, however the wedding at Cana sheds a different light on what she considered “God’s time.”
Mary knew Jesus’ mission before he did. So while Christ may have felt his time had not yet arrived, Mary must have known that it was God’s time to demonstrate what was to come. Her encouragement of Jesus to assist the bride and groom allowed him to gain momentum in his movement, gather followers for the future, and begin the spread of the Kingdom of God on earth. Her push in the right direction changed history - as she had before when she said yes to the invitation of the Theotokos. The ordinary actions of love performed by an ordinary mother led to extraordinary salvation for all people. The work of mothers is the work of love; to nourish, support, and protect a family, mothers make ordinary sacrifices. These ordinary sacrifices lead to extraordinary outcomes, even when the child is not the Savior of the Universe. Mary’s contribution to motherhood, womanhood, and all of Creation gave her special access to heaven when she was assumed body and soul into eternal life.
I have always found it amusing that the United States claimed Mary as our patron saint; it seems unfair to have the Mother of God as a patron when everyone else just gets another normal human saint. All saints are extraordinary in their own right, but to have Mary as our main intercessor is special. As we celebrate Mary’s Assumption into heaven, let us remember to trust God’s timing and give our loved ones a little push when they need the encouragement to show their own specialness.
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