As recounted in the Gospel of St. John, while upon the cross, Jesus gave his mother to “the disciple whom he loved” (John 19:26). While most scholars believe this was a reference to St. John the Apostle specifically, theologians also refer to this passage and explain how Jesus was giving his mother to all of humanity, especially Christian disciples.
This means that the Blessed Mother was destined not only to become the mother of Jesus, but also the Mother of All the Living, the new “Eve” in a spiritual sense. Mary was thus transformed into a spiritual mother who looks tenderly upon us all, desiring that we draw closer to her Son.
St. Louis de Montfort, an 18th-century priest devoted to the Virgin Mary, explained the depths of her love in his book True Devotion to Mary.
He describes how much the Blessed Mother loves her spiritual children, in particular those who surrender themselves to her and become her faithful servants.
She loves them tenderly, more tenderly than all the mothers in the world together. Take the maternal love of all the mothers of the world for their children. Pour all that love into the heart of one mother for an only child. That mother’s love would certainly be immense. Yet Mary’s love for each of her children has more tenderness than the love of that mother for her child.
United to her Son in Heaven, Mary is capable of a love that is difficult to imagine here on earth. She loves us much more than we can possibly imagine and desires to lead us along the path of life.
Furthermore, St. Louis de Montfort explains what exactly the Virgin Mary wants to do as a loving mother of us, her spiritual children.
Mary, Star of the sea, guides all her faithful servants into safe harbor. She shows them the path to eternal life and helps them avoid dangerous pitfalls. She leads them by the hand along the path of holiness, steadies them when they are liable to fall and helps them rise when they have fallen. She chides them like a loving mother when they are remiss and sometimes she even lovingly chastises them. How could a child that follows such a mother and such an enlightened guide as Mary take the wrong path to heaven?
For those who want to draw closer to Jesus Christ, one of the most effective ways is to let the Virgin Mary guide you. She knows the Way better than anyone else and can provide us safe passage, protecting us as any loving mother would want to do.
Remember the immensity of the love she has for you and allow her to lead you to her Son, the source of all love.
Read more:
5 Essential keys to a more loving devotion to the Blessed Mother
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How to make a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
And today we celebrate...