Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia” at paragraph 57 treats with the truth of the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary at every Mass; a truth which gives joy to the heart and light to the mind of every priest and every Catholic who recognises the Mother of Jesus as their own Mother personally entrusted by the Lord at the hour of his supreme sacrifice (cfr. Jn 19, 25-27). The Servant of God John Paul II reveals the bond of love between the Eucharist and Mary; “inseparable” like the Eucharist and the Church: “In the “memorial” of Calvary all that Christ accomplished by his passion and his death is present. Consequently all that Christ did with regard to his Mother for our sake is also present. To her he gave the beloved disciple and, in him, each of us: “Behold, your Son!”. To each of us he also says: “Behold your mother!” (cf. Jn 19: 26-27). Experiencing the memorial of Christ's death in the Eucharist also means continually receiving this gift. It means accepting - like John - the one who is given to us anew as our Mother. It also means taking on a commitment to be conformed to Christ, putting ourselves at the school of his Mother and allowing her to accompany us. Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist. This is one reason why, since ancient times, the commemoration of Mary has always been part of the Eucharistic celebrations of the Churches of East and West.” (John Paul II, “Ecclesia de Eucharistia”, n. 57).
This truth therefore is not simply part of private devotion of the faithful more sensitive to Marian piety, it is part of the highest Magisterium of the Church which, through the voices of the Supreme Pontiffs, lightens the path of the People of God. What a consolation to know that in the Eucharistic memorial, besides the gift of the Body and Blood of Christ the Lord gives us again and again the gift of his Mother!
To each of us the Lord repeats the moving words he said to John “behold your Mother” (Jn 19, 27). There can be no moment more solemn, more important or more significant than this to hear theses words again with faith in the depth of our heart and receive them as a gift of love, like John who “from that moment took Mary into his home” (Jn 19, 27), that is, among his most precious possessions.
The deeper we immerse ourselves into Christ’s eucharistic mystery the better we understand the gift of the universal motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who leads us to make our own the intentions of the Heart of her Son teaching us to “receive him better” as Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily at the Marian Shrine of Altötting on 11 September: “Here in Altötting, the adoration of the Lord in the Eucharist has found a new location in the old treasury. Mary and Jesus go together. Through Mary we want to continue our converse with the Lord and to learn how to receive him better!”.
In this light how profound is the theological and spiritual value of the recitation of the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament! And what shall we say of love for the Eucharist which flows from the spirituality of the Rosary! If we truly believe that “Mary and Jesus go together”, we will not be surprised to have in mind and heart the conviction that where Jesus is there is also his Mother, not an invading presence, but rather a maternal presence of tender concern which entrusts all of us to the arms of God’s Love. (Agenzia Fides 27/9/2006; righe 42, parole 591)
