I cannot not take credit for that title. It is the actual title of the image produced by artist Elizabeth Zelasko based upon a 13th century image. A friend of mine gave me the image and I found it quite interesting. It made me think of writing this article, written on the feast day of Mary, Mother of the Church. The image is available at www.elizabethzelasko.com starting at $40.00.
Mary, Mother of the Church is a recently assigned memorial (2018), however the title goes back for many centuries, at least until the time of St. Augustine. As the memorial readings indicate in the Gospel, it is based upon John 19:25-34 where at the foot of the cross, Jesus “gives” His Mother to John and “gives” John to His Mother. Some people say that Jesus did this to “protect” His Mother, since after His death she would have no male family members. There certainly may be some truth in that, HOWEVER, I believe that Jesus did that to protect John, and in essence, all of us. Jesus knew that His mother was strong, holy and pure. He knew that she was the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and was the perfection of humankind. Jesus also knew that the Devil, who had tempted and attacked Him on many occasions would do the same to His body, the Church. He knew that Mary could help us fight the devil off.
Jesus knew of the Old Testament sayings showing that a new Eve would come who would undo the damage done by the original Eve on behalf of the devil (see Genesis 3:15). The Early Church fathers saw Mary as the new Eve. Just as the old Eve listened to the Devil and brought sin in to the world, Mary, the new Eve listened to God’s holy angel and said YES to bringing Jesus in to the world as the answer to sin. In the book of Judith, the brave widow crushes the head of the enemy delivering her people from ultimate destruction. The Church often applies the praise given originally to Judith, to Mary saying, “Blessed are you, daughter by the Most High God, above all women on earth.” In the book of Exodus (25) the Ark of the Covenant held the Word of God and demons trembled before it. Mary is seen as the new Ark of the Covenant holding the Word of God. Demons tremble before her.
The New Testament also shows how Mary, in her humble YES to God, devastated the Devil by undoing what the original Eve did in saying Yes to the Devil. It is because of her YES to God that the Word became flesh, salvation entered history and Satan’s power over humanity began to collapse. Read Mary’s magnificat in the Gospel of Luke (1:46-55) to see this. Also the book of Revelation talks about the Woman clothed with the sun defeating the devil. There are many other instances where we can see that Mary has so much power over Satan. Of course, she has this power because of her YES to God and God gives it freely to her. Jesus knew that Mary would help His brothers and sisters, THE CHURCH, stand up to and defeat Satan. I truly believe that Jesus gave Mary to us as our Mother, the Mother of the Church so that with her help, we could all punch the Devil in the face.
Obviously, if we see Mary as our Mother, we need to see Jesus as our Brother and God as our Father. Don’t forget that Mary is also known as the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Seeing ourselves within this Holy Family we can experience the power needed to fight off the difficulties of this life, especially those that may be caused by the Devil. We need to draw in to a deep relationship to Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit, and to the Church. Mary, in her various roles always calls us in to closeness to her Son, her Father and her Spouse. Mary, in the humility that she always shown, does not seek any glory for herself, only for the three persons of the Trinity. When we are in close union to Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Devil has no hold upon us at all. Mary’s role is to help us grow closer to God. She exists to bring Jesus to all people and to help us in our walk with God. Whenever we do experience the temptations or attacks of the Devil, Mary is there to punch him in the face.