The Mother of the Church in Roman Catholic liturgy

**The Mother of the Lord in today’s Roman liturgy**Mary is fundamental in the liturgical year as stated by the *Sacrosanctum Concilium* (n. 103):“In celebrating each year the mysteries of Christ, the Holy Church venerates with special love the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, inseparably united to the salvific work of her Son. In Mary, it admires and exalts the most sublime fruit of redemption and contemplates with joy, in a purest image, what it desires and looks forward to.”With this in mind, the General Roman Calendar (last updated in 1969) was revised, allowing for a more organic and closer integration of Mary’s memory into the annual cycle of Christ’s mysteries (*Marialis Cultus* 2). The figure of Mary shines with all her richness in feasts and memories dedicated to her. The Mass and Office formularies were deeply renewed or enriched with biblical and liturgical texts.However, her memory extends beyond Marian celebrations. Indeed, Advent is “particularly suitable for venerating the Mother of the Lord” (*Marialis Cultus* 3). From the first Sunday, the hymns and antiphons of the Lauds, Vespers, and Intermediate Hour mention the Virgin. Her memory takes center stage from December 17-24, as well as on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. We should also note that the month of Christmas begins with the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.The Christmas season itself constitutes a prolonged memory of Mary’s divine, virgin, and salvific motherhood, who gave the Savior to the world (*Marialis Cultus* 5). The liturgy remembers Mary in both Christ’s birth and the current experience of Emmanuel’s company. Her mission is still celebrated in feasts such as the Holy Family, Mother of God, and Epiphany.While the Lenten and Easter liturgies are discreet regarding Mary, they are not silent. Her mention appears in some daily prayers of Lauds and Vespers, repeated weekly, as seen in the *Collection of Masses for Our Lady*. We should also remember that Mary’s memory is celebrated uninterruptedly throughout the year on Saturday.**Mary in the celebration of sacraments and sacramentals**It is not enough to consider Marian feasts or Marian accentuations during the year; the Marian dimension of liturgical prayer must be assessed first. Indeed, the Church, through the bonds that unite her to Mary, desires to live the mystery of Christ with and as her, continually experiencing that the Most Holy Virgin is always by her side, especially in sacred liturgy, as mother and helper.By ancient and universal tradition, Mary’s memory belongs within the celebration of the Eucharist. The link between the Incarnation and the Eucharist, and therein the communion with one from whom historically we received the body and blood of Christ, connects Marian piety to the Eucharistic celebration. *From the virgin womb of the daughter of Zion, He who nourishes us was born with the bread of angels*. Therefore, in celebrating the Eucharist, the Church remembers, praises, and intercedes to Mary, experiencing her communion. One should not think that her mention in the Eucharistian Prayer is of a devotional nature; rather, it signifies that we cannot silence Mary’s memory within the remembrance of Christ’s mysteries. The event of the Word becoming flesh in the faithful Virgin, by the Holy Spirit, illuminates the mystery of the Word becoming flesh in the praying Church, so that, through the same Spirit, it becomes *in Christ one body and one spirit* as we pray in the Eucharistian Prayer.The woman at Pentecost became a living temple of the eternal Priest who intercedes for us with the Father (cf. Heb 7:25). She is the mirror of the Church in prayer: Mary’s attitudes, the Virgin of listening, the Virgin of prayer, the Virgin Mother, the Virgin offering, are examples for the Church in worship.In this vein, the *Magnificat* is prayed daily at Vespers. Similarly, the celebrations of the sacraments and sacramentals reveal or emphasize Marian resonances stemming from the very core derived from the sacrament: God among us. Lastly, it is significant that numerous blessings include memory of Mary.**Why with Mary?**In intimate communion, therefore, with the Virgin and prolonging her cultic attitudes, the Church celebrates divine mysteries in which perfect glory is given to God and men are sanctified; associating herself with the voice of the Mother of the Lord, the Church blesses God the Father and glorifies Him with her in the same song of thanksgiving and praise.With Mary, she desires to hear God’s word and meditate on it assiduously.With Mary, she seeks to participate in Christ’s paschal mystery and associate herself with the work of redemption.As Mary, who at the Cenacle, together with the apostles, waited in prayer for the coming of the Paraclete, incessantly implores the gift of the Spirit.With Mary, who watches over her path, she directs herself confidently to Christ.In addition, through the celebration of various mysteries, the Church continually appeals to her intercession, seeks refuge under her patronage, and implores her to visit the Christian people and fill them with her gifts.The image of Mary that we know in today’s Roman liturgy is a reflection of a renewed understanding, both in biblical texts and eucharistic prayers. The enrichment of the Lectionary as well as Marian celebrations (including the wide selection from Sacred Scripture in the *Collection of Masses of Our Lady*) corresponds to the expansion of prayers and prefaces, guided by a triple focus: biblical inspiration, appreciation of patristic thought, and reception of the mariological vision expressed in Lumen Gentium.Therefore, the conciliar Spirit also produced, at the level of celebrated faith, a re-reading of the evangelical testimony and tradition regarding Mary, fostering a renewed centralization of her image in light of Christology and Ecclesiology. This had the effect of further exalting the traits of Mary’s mission in the history of salvation.