When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. – Galatians 4:4-5
Jesus was born of a woman. Think about those words. God the Father determined that Jesus should be born of a human mother. He could have come to us in any way that He desired. He could have appeared on earth as a great ruler in all His glory. He could have come as an earthly prince. But God sent His Son to save us through a humble, poor woman. He came in the same way: as a humble, poor newborn, vulnerable to the world. He came in this way to take on our humanity, and He came through the womb of a woman.
Because of this, Mary has an important role in salvation history and in our personal salvation. She bore Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. St. Anselm preached: “Without God’s son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s son, nothing could be redeemed.” For Jesus received His human nature from His mother, and our human nature is what He came to redeem!
Through Baptism, we “receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:5). Jesus is our brother, and Mary our Blessed Mother. When she said “yes” to becoming God’s mother, she said “yes” to being our mother, too. Jacques-Benigne Bossuet wrote, “We are those to whose salvation she consented when she said, ‘Let it be done to me according to your word’ (cf. Luke 1:38). She carried all of us in her womb with Jesus Christ, in whom we were.” Just as Jesus came to us through Mary, we can go to Him through Mary. May we always turn to her in prayer in our need. May we reverence her name and give thanks to God for such an exquisite blessing.
Mother Mary, thank you for saying “yes” to being Jesus’s mother, and for being my mother, too. Help me follow your example and learn to cooperate with God’s grace.