Mary Mother of the Church (2026-05-25)

 

Today, on the Monday after Pentecost, the Church celebrates Mary, Mother of the Church.

That title is deeply connected to Pentecost itself. Yesterday we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. Today the Church asks us to remember that Mary was there at the Church’s beginning: present at the Cross, present among the apostles, present in the Upper Room as the disciples waited together in prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Mary is Mother of the Church because she first gave flesh to Christ, the head of the Church, and because from the Cross Jesus entrusted her to his disciples. Her motherhood did not end at Bethlehem. It continues in the life of the Church.

The Acts of the Apostles tells us that after the Ascension, the disciples gathered together “with one accord in prayer,” and Mary was there among them. Before the Church went out into the world, there was first prayer, waiting, unity, and silence before God.

That is important for us to remember today because this year this feast falls on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day began as a day to remember those who died in war. Over time it became a national remembrance for all who gave their lives in service to the country. And one of the traditions associated with Memorial Day is the national moment of silence observed at 3:00 this afternoon.

What is interesting is that the moment of silence is meant to interrupt ordinary life. It comes in the middle of the picnic, the baseball game, the family gathering, the long weekend. For a brief moment, activity stops, and the nation is asked to remember sacrifice.

In some ways, the Church understands that kind of interruption very well.

Christian prayer also interrupts ordinary life. Silence interrupts noise. Prayer interrupts self-absorption. Remembrance interrupts forgetfulness.

At the Cross, Mary stood in sorrow and faith. In the Upper Room, Mary waited in prayer with the disciples. Her silence was not emptiness. It was trust in God. It was fidelity. It was hope.

And the Church still learns from her how to pray.

We live in a noisy world, a divided world, a distracted world. Yet before Pentecost came upon the apostles, there was first a community gathered together in prayer with Mary. Before the Church spoke, the Church listened. Before the Church went out into the world, the Church waited upon the Holy Spirit.

That is why silence can be holy.

Silence allows grief to become prayer.
Silence allows memory to become gratitude.
Silence allows us to listen for God.

Today, as our nation remembers those who died in sacrifice and service, we pray for them. We pray for all the faithful departed. We pray for peace in the world. And we pray for unity in our country and in the Church.

Mary, Mother of the Church, teaches us that true unity is not created merely by politics or human effort alone. Unity begins when people gather together before God in prayer.

And so today we ask her intercession for the Church and for our nation:
that the Holy Spirit may bring peace where there is division,
hope where there is discouragement,
and deeper faith where there is fear.

May Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us and lead us always closer to her Son.