Sister Margaret Fitzgibbon shares how Mary is no longer “her mother” but Mother of the Church.
When I was at school I related to Mary as "my Mother". When I became an SMSM I saw her as "Mother of the Congregation". When I arrived in Taveuni, Fiji, I saw a statue there dedicated to Mary in thanksgiving that no-one in the Mission Compound died of the flu after World War I in 1918. I saw Mary as Mother to all the people who lived there at that time. As I moved among other cultures I began to understand Mary's role more and more. She was not only my Mother - she was everyone's Mother.
I once wrote a poem about the birth of Jesus and I saw so much detail in the event. I saw Mary as a wonderful Mother to Jesus as she attended to his needs and watched over him with love and devotion. I recalled the words of Father Colin, "Mary supported the Church at its birth, she will do so to the end, and she will do so through you...." What then was Mary asking of me? I prayed with Mary at Pentecost and I saw how she served in the early church. She not only prayed with the Apostles but she helped to guide them to Christ. Mary extends a daily invitation to me to bring others to Christ through prayer and by my way of acting and speaking and listening. My horizons have become so much wider as I watch the news and read the daily papers. Mary is indeed Mother of the Church and her Motherly protection also stretches beyond that to embrace all people.
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