Mary’s Intercession
05/06/2023
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Mary… Mother. Jesus could not have defined a better and more complete role for Mary. Only the Mother takes care of the child unconditionally. For Mary, it doesn’t matter what her son did, it doesn’t matter how far he strayed from good, it doesn’t matter how much he neglected or let concupiscence take over his life, or the value that the things of the world assumed for him. . And does that mean she doesn’t grieve for her son? Are you not saddened or worried? Of course! But Mary is the one who most authentically trusts in divine mercy and providence and lives mercy as she learned from her Son. In the face of such love and welcome, can we stop believing in her tender intercession?
Let us remember a well-known scene in the Gospels, when Jesus was invited, together with his Mother and the apostles, to a wedding feast in Cana. (cf. Jo 2, 1-11).
At a certain point in the party, there is no wine. And who notices? Maria. With her intuition, she senses that the couple’s happiness could be harmed by this situation. Maria takes on the problem herself, with the sensitivity of a mother. And he doesn’t hesitate to tell Jesus: They don’t have wine.
His words are not a simple comment, but contain a request. Jesus understands and replies: What does it matter to me and you, woman? My time has not yet come.
In our view, we consider that Jesus’ words even seem to have a tone of reproach to a request coming from the mother’s heart.
Maria, however, continues. And She, who knows the soul of the Son and, therefore, does not hesitate to immediately ask those who serve: Do whatever He tells you. She knows that she will be listened to, even having heard the obstacle mentioned by Jesus: “My hour has not come”.
Jesus’ acceptance of the Mother’s request did not take long. Christ commands the servants to fill six large stone vessels with water. Afterwards, he orders them to serve the wine and present it to the master waiter, who is surprised to see that the owners of the party had saved the best for last.
From then on, the intercession of Mary is perceived, who is actively present at the beginning of Christ’s public ministry, and she is present in an active and precise way. It is from her request that Christ advances the time to start his miracles, which they will be signs of his divinity and visible testimonies of the Truth that he is. And it is the realization of this first sign that will make the disciples believe in Jesus.
With this attitude, we recognize that Jesus has the decision to accept all the requests that come to him through the care of his Mother, who shows herself to be lovingly attentive to the spiritual and material needs of all her children.
At Cana, Christ showed with his actions that Mary occupies a prominent place, of mediation, in carrying out his saving work on behalf of men. It didn’t have to be that way, but God wanted her to have this role.
“Mary stands between her Son and men in the reality of their privations, their needs and their sufferings. She puts herself “in between”, that is, she acts as a mediator, not as a stranger, but in her position as a mother, aware that as such she can – or rather, “has the right to” – make present to the Son the needs of men. Her mediation, therefore, has the character of intercession: Mary “intercedes” for men. And that’s not all: as a Mother, she also wants the messianic power of the Son to be manifested, that is, his salvific power that is destined to help human misfortunes, to free man from the evil that, in different forms and in different proportions, it makes you feel the weight in your life.”Saint John Paul II, in Encyclical Redemptoris Mater, n. 21
As we trust in the discreet but faithful intercession of Mary, we talk to our mother so that she prays for us with her son, Jesus. It is to him that Mary points, it is to him that Mary points out, it is his divinity that she reveals and, through her, we reach the graces we seek, when we do it with faith, believing in the immeasurable and irreplaceable power of God.
“…after being taken up to heaven, she did not abandon this saving mission, but, with her manifold intercession, she continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. She takes care, with motherly love, of her Son’s brothers who, amid dangers and anguish, still walk the earth, until they reach the blessed homeland. Therefore, the Virgin is invoked in the Church with the titles of advocate, helper, help, mediator. But this is understood in such a way that nothing takes away or adds to the dignity and efficacy of the only mediator, who is Christ.”Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 62
