Motherly Wisdom: Weekly Message for 05-03-2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

What must have been one of the most poignant moments during Jesus’ earthly trek isn’t found in Scripture.

It’s the moment after the Resurrection when he appears first to his mother Mary.

A long tradition in the Church attests to this encounter. Saints Ambrose and Albert the Great were among the Doctors of the Church who maintained that the Blessed Virgin was the first to see her risen Son.

This would explain why Our Lady didn’t bother to go to his tomb on Easter morning. She knew that his body wouldn’t be there.

That Jesus would appear first to this holiest of women is a sign of hope for the rest of us. For this is the same woman he bequeathed to us. “Behold, your mother” (John 19:27).

In this month of May dedicated to Mary, we can also find comfort in the fact that the Blessed Virgin lived a life that was anything but comfortable.

Rather, she endured hard trials: poverty, childbirth in a stable, the spectacle of her townspeople rejecting her Son, and then, most painfully, his own demise on a cross.

Mary shares our pains. She knows our hearts. And she knows how the world can tempt us to sin and despair.

But she also knows how faithful God is. She didn’t give up on Jesus on Good Friday, and the Trinity didn’t give up on her.

This is one way to appreciate Mary in our own lives. She is a strong Mother whose example can help us weather the worst storms of life.

To meditate more deeply on Our Lady’s role, turn to The Fire and the Rose: A Retreat Guide on the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Her heartfelt message to us is: Never lose faith in her Son.

If we heed that message, we, too, can hope for a joyful encounter with the risen Lord.

In Christ,

Father Edward McIlmail, LC
Ask a Priest contributor