Sermon Blog
The Wonderful Mother
May 2, 2025
The Church dedicates the month of May to our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary. She who is “our tainted nature’s solitary boast” is the mother of our Lord and also our mother. As our mother, she has our affection. Our admiration for her grows as we consider who she is and what she has done. St. John Henry Newman in “The Wonderful Mother” calls us to reflect on her title as “Mater Admirabilis.”
As “Mother Most Wonderful,” our Lady literally amazes us. Newman writes, “The Holy Church proclaims, preaches her, as conceived without original sin; and those who hear, the children of Holy Church, wonder, marvel, are astonished and overcome by the preaching … Even created excellence is fearful to think of when it is so high as Mary’s.” Holy Scripture attests to this. While the visitation of St. Gabriel the archangel to Daniel caused him to faint, and brought great fear to Zacharias, Mary was not moved in his presence. Newman explains: “Since she is so much holier than that angel, and we so much less holy than Daniel, what great reason we have to call her the Virgo Admirabilis … ”
But what is it that makes her so special? She is flesh and blood like us. Isn’t the Church making too much of her and diminishing the praise of God? Not in the least. Mary fills us with awe and wonder because God made her full of wonder. He filled her with grace so that there was no place for sin or selfishness. It’s Mary who says, “[God] has done great things for me” so that “all generations will call me blessed,” (Lk 1:49). Our praise of Mary is praise of what God has done in her.
Mary’s chief virtue consists in her total surrender to God. That’s it. She didn’t save herself from sin, die on the cross or lead a nation in battle. She said “yes” to God. No one in history has ever done that so completely because she was full of grace. No one in the future ever will.
What she accomplished in that “yes,” so little in the eyes of the world, directs our attention to God. The Creator of the universe asked for permission from one of its poorest inhabitants to enter his world. Then he placed Himself in the most fragile state in the womb and then in the hands of this young maid. God called Our Lady and she responded with a pure and total love.
He is calling us too; and if we pause to reflect, we will hear our own hearts cry out. We also want to say yes, holding nothing back, surrendering our whole lives. It’s fitting that we ask Our Lady to intercede for us. She is close to Jesus and will ask Him to help us follow Him. We also look to her as our model of faith, and we are moved to imitate her as she imitates her Son.
As we begin this month in this season of Easter, the Church prays for the election of the next pope, the successor of Peter. We pray to the Holy Spirit to grant wisdom to the college of cardinals, and ask our Lady’s intercession. Mary, Mater Admirabilis, pray for us!
