Mary, Mother of God’s Word and Temple of the Trinity

The Blessed Virgin, temple of the Holy Trinity, radiates God's light. Daughter of the Father, source of life, Mary is not a goddess but a creature loved and redeemed by God. Mother of the Word made flesh, image of the Father, Mary manifests to the world the infinite richness of the knowledge of God revealed by Jesus.

The Blessed Virgin was that blank page upon which God wrote the history of salvation. The white page evokes Mary's availability and her absence of sin. Through Mary, God made Himself visible to our eyes. The Life of God was manifested in Jesus. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father. Just as a narrative makes us see the story told as if it were unfolding before our eyes. Through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God makes the face of Christ visible in the light of the faith: "Jesus Christ is the human face of God and the divine face of man."

Far from being a possessive mother, Mary always leads to Jesus as she did at the wedding at Cana: "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn 2:5). Spouse of the Holy Spirit, God's gift to us that makes the Church grow, Mary contributes through her intercession to the growth of the faith and of the Body of Christ, the Church.

Mary's divine motherhood does not stop at the Nativity. It unfolds until Calvary when Jesus gives her as spiritual mother to John, the beloved disciple who represents the Church, and at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles praying in the Upper Room and upon a multitude of believers gathered in Jerusalem.

Glorified in body and soul, the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, continues to work alongside her Son for the growth of the total Christ, the Head, Jesus, and the members, who are the baptized and those who believe in him. French bishop and theologian Bossuet defined the Church as "Christ extended and communicated."

Hence the role of the Blessed Virgin in evangelization. Many religious missionary congregations have chosen the patronage of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God’s Word. Of about 400 female congregations of apostolic life, 130 have a Marian name. No one has loved the Word made flesh as much as Mary. No one has welcomed the Word of God with as much faith and love as Mary.

Adapted from: Fr. Manuel Rivero O.P

Cathedral of Saint-Denis (Reunion Island)