Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Mary gave her ‘Yes’ to the invitation of God to be the mother of the redeemer with her full consent and free will. Her ‘Yes,’ allowed the second person of the Trinity to enter this world to take human flesh and redeem the world. She was aware that her vocation was a call for extraordinary lifelong suffering. It is an invitation to a vocation of being “with Jesus.” Mary gave Jesus her own flesh and blood; she suffered with him in all his earthly suffering, and she walked with Jesus the steps to Calvary.

From the Annunciation onward, wherever the redeemer went and whatever the redeemer did, Mary was always His constant companion at every stage of suffering. Mary experienced an immolation; she shared the immolation of the victim, who was born of her, and she died with Jesus in her heart. It is about the union of the heart that she participates actively at Calvary, that she was crucified spiritually with her son, who was crucified physically. At Calvary, the crucified Christ said, “Woman, here is your son”. Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home (Jn 19:26-27). Mary’s work of redemption does not stop here at Calvary, but it is the beginning of both redemption and her role as the spiritual mother of all people. Mary is “with Jesus” from the Annunciation to Calvary, redeeming the world. 

We are called to be co-redeemers like Mary. St. Paul said we are called to be co-workers with God (1 Corinthians 3:9), which means we are called to participate in the redemptive action of Jesus with God. We become co-redeemers by offering our prayers, sacrifices, and penances.  As John takes Mary into his own home, we are invited to take Mary into our own lives, into our hearts. 

Sr. Ja Len, smf