The imitability of Mary's attitude

Mary's destiny was certainly exceptional. The Mother of the Messiah could only be unique. The Mother of the Son of God could only be a woman intensely loved, eternally chosen, and lovingly prepared.

But that was God's business alone; it was the legacy left on this earth by God's plan. Jesus' intention about his Mother was to highlight not so much the unheard-of nature of her destiny as the quality of her response to God. Mary bore and nourished Jesus: in this she cannot be imitated, and her beatitude cannot be shared. But what is day-to-day and imitable in Mary's attitude is what Jesus wants all of us to adopt: "Blessed are all who hear the word of God and keep it."

This is still a portrait of his Mother, the one that Jesus prefers. Let us reflect on the attitude of the Handmaid of the Lord, replaying God's words in her heart until they are fulfilled. Every son and daughter of God can say to himself or herself: "I can be like her, I will be like her" and this icon, particularly loved by Jesus, bears a family resemblance to us all.

Jean Lévêque, o.c.d.

Magnificat, October 14, 2023