Thanks to this motherhood, Jesus, the Son of the Most High (cf. And if after the announcement of the heavenly messenger the Virgin of Nazareth is also called "blessed among women" (cf. This is the gospel in which Mary is present as the mother who conceives Jesus in her womb, gives him birth and nurses him: the nursing mother referred to by the woman in the crowd. . This is true not only of John, who at that hour stood at the foot of the Cross together with his Master's Mother, but it is also true of every disciple of Christ, of every Christian. The promised Messiah is to be "great," and the heavenly messenger also announces that "he will be great"-great both by bearing the name of Son of the Most High and by the fact that he is to assume the inheritance of David. In no way do they impede the immediate union of the faithful with Christ. In the salvific economy of God's revelation, Abraham's faith constitutes the beginning of the Old Covenant; Mary's faith at the Annunciation inaugurates the New Covenant. Even though Jesus' reply to his mother sounds like a refusal (especially if we consider the blunt statement "My hour has not yet come" rather than the question), Mary nevertheless turns to the servants and says to them: "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn. As has already been mentioned, also among our divided brethren many honor and celebrate the Mother of the Lord, especially among the Orientals. She was not among those whom Jesus sent "to the whole world to teach all nations" (cf. 11:27-28 and Lk. She was present among them as an exceptional witness to the mystery of Christ. Mary's "obedience of faith" during the whole of her pilgrimage will show surprising similarities to the faith of Abraham.
At Cana Mary appears as believing in Jesus. In the following reflections we wish to concentrate first of all on the present, which in itself is not yet history, but which nevertheless is constantly forming it, also in the sense of the history of salvation. According to scholars this city would be the modern Ain Karim, situated in the mountains, not far from Jerusalem.
"The maternal role of Mary towards people in no way obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power":The Church knows and teaches that "all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on mankind originate...from the divine pleasure. We know from Luke that when, on the occasion of the census ordered by the Roman authorities, Mary went with Joseph to Bethlehem, having found "no place in the inn," she gave birth to her Son in a stable and "laid him in a manger" (cf. 2:11), Mary together with the child has to flee into Egypt in the protective care of Joseph, for "Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him" (cf. 15:27-28). One can say that this dimension of motherhood belonged to Mary from the beginning, that is to say from the moment of the conception and birth of her Son. In the liturgy the Church salutes Mary of Nazareth as the Church's own beginning,2. Her motherhood has a significance which is not exclusively contained in the words of Jesus and in the various episodes reported by the Synoptics (Lk. (Lk. 2:5-6). 25; 31; 35; 55). And how is one to understand that "kingdom" which "will have no end"?Although through faith she may have perceived in that instant the was the mother of the "Messiah King," nevertheless she replied: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Lk. will take place towards the end of the evening. This maternal role of Mary flows, according to God's good pleasure, "from the superabundance of the merits of Christ; it is founded on his mediation, absolutely depends on it, and draws all its efficacy from it.
At Cana Mary appears as believing in Jesus. In the following reflections we wish to concentrate first of all on the present, which in itself is not yet history, but which nevertheless is constantly forming it, also in the sense of the history of salvation. According to scholars this city would be the modern Ain Karim, situated in the mountains, not far from Jerusalem.
"The maternal role of Mary towards people in no way obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power":The Church knows and teaches that "all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on mankind originate...from the divine pleasure. We know from Luke that when, on the occasion of the census ordered by the Roman authorities, Mary went with Joseph to Bethlehem, having found "no place in the inn," she gave birth to her Son in a stable and "laid him in a manger" (cf. 2:11), Mary together with the child has to flee into Egypt in the protective care of Joseph, for "Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him" (cf. 15:27-28). One can say that this dimension of motherhood belonged to Mary from the beginning, that is to say from the moment of the conception and birth of her Son. In the liturgy the Church salutes Mary of Nazareth as the Church's own beginning,2. Her motherhood has a significance which is not exclusively contained in the words of Jesus and in the various episodes reported by the Synoptics (Lk. (Lk. 2:5-6). 25; 31; 35; 55). And how is one to understand that "kingdom" which "will have no end"?Although through faith she may have perceived in that instant the was the mother of the "Messiah King," nevertheless she replied: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Lk. will take place towards the end of the evening. This maternal role of Mary flows, according to God's good pleasure, "from the superabundance of the merits of Christ; it is founded on his mediation, absolutely depends on it, and draws all its efficacy from it.