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There is a repeating theme in Scripture that can be easily overlooked: God constantly directs people to take Mary into their home. From the moment she conceived Jesus, she is sent like a pilgrim toward the homes of others. If we are “Bible-believing” Christians, ought we not do the same?
Taking Mary Home
The first to take her into his home is Joseph:
Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21)
Then Mary is received into the house of Zechariah:
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:41-42)
God then sends Mary to Bethlehem, where she is received into humble quarters, shared with animals.[1]“Rather then ‘inn’ (Greek pandocheion) the Greek kataluma can mean a living room. The large family room of a simple dwelling would have animals and a manager, perhaps at a lower level. The ox and ass of tradional nativity scenes are a theological reflection of Is 1:3.” —footnote on Luke 2:8, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible, Study Edition, Image New York, p. 1947 It was there that the Magi would find her…
…on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. (Matthew 2:11)
First Known Image of Mary in the catacombs of Priscilla, Rome, Italy
And finally, Mary is literally given to the Church as a Mother beneath the Cross with this instruction in the presence of St. John:
“Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26-27)
In each instance, taking Mary into one’s home is first and foremost an encounter with Jesus. Joseph encountered the mercy and tenderness of Christ; Elizabeth, the power of Christ; the Magi, His majesty; and St. John, His providence and paternity. It is no wonder then that, from the earliest times, Mary was given the title “morning star.”
Mary, the shining star that announces the Sun. —POPE ST. JOHN PAUL II, Meeting with Young People at Air Base of Cuatro Vientos, Madrid, Spain; May 3rd, 2003; www.vatican.va
As I have often said, far from stealing Christ’s thunder, she is the lightning that illuminates the Way to Him. How?
…the Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence on men… flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 970
In other words, she mediates the graces merited for us by her Son, the Mediator. She who is “full of grace” dispenses these to us when we take her into our own home to mother us, as did St. John. Even Martin Luther understood this fundamental relationship between Christ the Head, and us, His mystical Body:
Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees… If He is ours, we ought to be in His situation; there where He is, we ought also to be and all that He has ought to be ours, and His mother is also our mother. —Sermon, Christmas, 1529.
In the annual message to Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo, Our Lady of Medjugorje said recently:
Dear children! With motherly love I implore you: give me your hands folded in prayer, give me your hearts cleansed in confession and I will lead you to my Son. Because, my children, only my Son, with His light, can illuminate the darkness; only He, with His Word, can remove suffering. Therefore, do not be afraid to walk with me, because I am leading you to my Son — salvation. —March 18, 2025 (with Ecclesiastical approval)
This is a direct echo of the approved message of Fatima:
My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God. —Our Lady of Fatima, June 13, 1917
If you are truly a biblical Christian, if you truly want a deeper personal relationship and encounter with Jesus, then listen to His decree: “Behold, your mother.”
It is Mary’s prerogative to be the Morning Star, which heralds in the sun… When she appears in the darkness, we know that He is close at hand. —St. John Henry Newman, Letter to the Rev. E. B. Pusey; “Difficulties of Anglicans”, Volume II
Today, on this Feast of St. Joseph, it is a perfect time to imitate Christ’s foster-father and take Mary into our home. Catholics call it “consecration” to Mary. That simply means handing oneself over to her so that she may hand us to Christ, more humble, purified, and obedient. I don’t know how to illustrate this better than by sharing what happened on the day I consecrated myself to Mary…
Taking Mary Into My Home
Several years ago, I was given a book called “The Total Consecration by St. Louis de Montfort“. It was a book to guide one closer to Jesus through consecration to Mary. I didn’t even know what “consecration” meant, but I felt drawn to read the book anyway.
The prayers and preparation took several weeks… and were powerful and moving. As the day of consecration approached, I could sense how special this giving of myself to my spiritual Mother would be — this taking her into my home. As a token of my love and gratitude, which St. Louis suggests, I decided to give Mary a bundle of flowers.
It was kind of a last minute thing… but I was in a small town and had nowhere to go but the local drug store. They just happened to have some rather “ripe” looking flowers in a plastic wrapping. “Sorry Mom…,” I said, “It’s the best I can do.”
I went to the local church, and standing before the statue of Mary, I made my consecration to her.[2]Suggested prayer of consecration:
I, (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands, O Immaculate Mother, the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomp and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful t o Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee this day, for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen. No fireworks. Just a simple prayer of commitment and invitation to let Mary mother me… perhaps like Mary’s own fiat, or her simple commitment to do the daily chores in that little house in Nazareth. Then I placed my imperfect bundle of flowers at her feet and went home.
Later that evening, I returned for Mass. As my family and I crowded into the pew, I glanced over to the statue to see my flowers. They were gone! I figured the janitor probably took one look at them and tossed them out.
But when I looked over at the statue of Jesus… there were my flowers, perfectly arranged in a vase, at the feet of Christ. There was even baby’s breath from heaven-knows-where garnishing the bouquet! Immediately, I was infused with an understanding:
Mary takes us into her arms, as we are, poor and simple… and presents us to Jesus clothed in her own mantle saying, “This, too, is my child… receive him, Lord, for he is precious and beloved.”
Several years later, I came across these words from Our Blessed Mother to Fatima seer, Sr. Lucia:
He [Jesus] wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and those souls will be loved by God like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne. —This last line re: “flowers” appears in earlier accounts of Lucia’s apparitions. Cf. Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words: Sister Lucia’s Memoirs, Louis Kondor, S.V.D., p, 187, Footnote 14.
…the name, Mary,
which means “Star of the Sea,” is proper to her;
because just as by means of the star of the sea,
navigators are directed to the harbor,
so too are Christians directed by Mary
to eternal glory.
—St. Thomas Aquinas, Sermon on the Hail Mary
(translated by Louis Every, O.P., Dominicana Journal)
Star of the Sea by Tianna (Mallett) Williams
Related Reading
The Marian Dimension of the Storm
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Footnotes
| ↑1 | “Rather then ‘inn’ (Greek pandocheion) the Greek kataluma can mean a living room. The large family room of a simple dwelling would have animals and a manager, perhaps at a lower level. The ox and ass of tradional nativity scenes are a theological reflection of Is 1:3.” —footnote on Luke 2:8, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible, Study Edition, Image New York, p. 1947 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Suggested prayer of consecration:
I, (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands, O Immaculate Mother, the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomp and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful t o Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee this day, for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen. |