With the beginning of the New Year we celebrate the Motherhood of Mary. Our minds immediately are reminded of the scenes in the stable and Mary holding the infant Jesus in her arms. But perhaps this feast comes too close to the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord to be fully appreciated? The feast is the “Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.” Ask any mother what it means to be a mother. While the birth of their child is important, there are many other joys and sacrifices that are part of motherhood that are often over looked, and Mary knew them all.
In his Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, Smaragdus writes of RB 4:1-2:
“A person sins in that part in which he loves God less. If we love him with our whole heart, there will be no part in us in which we may serve the desires of sin. And what is it to love God, if not to occupy the mind with him, to conceive the desire of enjoying the vision of him, … ” This is a striking statement when thinking of Mary on this day and also a reminder of why Mary is held up for such esteem among Christians. Our Lady shows us how to love our Lord with a mother’s heart and, if we take Smaragdus at his word, there would be no part left in her to serve the desires of sin. We may talk about imitating Mary’s love of God but we can never truly understand the deep love she had for him?
And, if we take the point further, can you think of anyone in the history of Christianity who’s mind was not more occupied with, and was more joyful when seeing and being with Our Lord? All of us pale in comparison with this great Mother in devotion and love of her son. The statement “a person sins in that part in which he loves God less” is enough to occupy a person’s mind for a lifetime. When pondered along side the example of Jesus’ Mother, it would preoccupy us for an eternity.
