Mary, Mother of Reconciliation

Mary, Mother of Reconciliation: Jn 19:25-27, the universal spiritual motherhood and the Redemptoris Mater of John Paul II (1987)

The last form of this liturgical season draws the attention of the Christian community to Mary, recognized and invoked as the “Mother of Reconciliation.” If on the one hand we place ourselves harmoniously within the typical penitential character of Lent, on the other we highlight the very close relationship that exists between Christ, who with His “precious blood reconciled the world” with the Father, and Mary, invoked as “reconciler” and “refuge for sinners.”

In Jn 19:25-27, we read the perspective of the “entrustment”: all the disciples who call upon mercy are entrusted to Mary, and the disciples know that they find in her the “Mother of reconciliation”. Let us think of Paul’s invitation to be reconciled with God (2 Cor 5:17-21). A reconciliation that passes through the cross, sign of the covenant established between God and all flesh that is on the earth.

If we now look at the Paschal prayers, we notice that from the moment when peace was established between God and humanity in the virginal womb until “at the foot of the cross”, when the Father “constituted the Virgin Mary reconciler of sinners”, it is all a succession of events that see the Virgin as an active participant in the redemptive work of the Son. For this reason she is proclaimed a companion of God in the work of reconciliation.

It is from this recognition that the attitude of the faithful springs, aware that they find in Mary, compassionate toward our misery, a heart full of mercy toward sinners. 

Sinners, turning their gaze to her maternal charity, take refuge in her and implore forgiveness. Contemplating her spiritual beauty, they fight the dark attraction of evil. Meditating on her words and her examples, they are drawn to observe the commandments of the Son.

In its simplicity, the constant path of reconciliation for the faithful of all times and places becomes an itinerary that culminates in and is continually sustained by the Eucharist. It is through participation in the “sacrifice of expiation and praise”, and therefore in the “communion with the body and blood of Christ”, that the faithful have the living experience of the “sacrament of reconciliation”.

Mary’s exemplarity emerges clearly from the form as a whole: she who was the instrument of the beginning of the new times for our redemption is the same one who in the time of the Church welcomes and “reconciles” sinners, directing them to the Eucharist, where the gift of the Father’s mercy and the reward of eternal redemption are accomplished.

The exemplarity of the Virgin, who attracts by her maternal charity, by her spiritual beauty and by her words and examples, presents to the Church the mission that in all times exercises the ministry entrusted to her with maternal charity toward all who wish to have a renewed experience of God’s love, seeking to fulfill the Word of Christ, contemplating the word and the example of the Virgin.

Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian apparitions and the Postgraduate Program in Mariology.

To deepen the reflection on the mediating role of Mary in the reconciliation of humanity with God, consult the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater of Pope John Paul II.