[00:00] So today we celebrate this Votive Mass of Our Lady, Mother of the Church. This is one of the, I guess, achievements, hard fought for, of St. Paul VI, who against much opposition, even within the Church because of different reasons, had to insist that Our Lady truly is Mother of the Church, and we have to venerate

[00:33] her as such. And this reality of Our Lady's spiritual motherhood was then taught by Him in a very solemn manner, and in the whole second half of the 20th century, Our Lady's spiritual maternity has been insisted upon by the Church. So St. Paul VI, on the 50th anniversary of Fatima, let's just say it's a coincidence, but on that 50th anniversary of Fatima, He issued an Apostolic letter, Signum Magnum, in which He says how true, how solemn, how

[01:05] obligatory faith in Our Lady's spiritual maternity is. He says, "The Blessed Virgin, after participating in the redeeming sacrifice of the Son, and in such an intimate way as to deserve to be proclaimed by Him the Mother of Mankind, now continues to fulfill from Heaven her maternal function as the cooperator in the birth and development of divine life in the individual souls of redeemed men." Now the crucial part. "This is a most consoling truth, which by the free consent of God, the All-Wise, is an integrating part of the mystery of

[01:39] human salvation. Therefore, it must be held as faith by all Christians." So it's like almost a dogmatic definition right there, close to it. So Our Lady is truly our spiritual mother. When Jesus from the cross, at that moment of our regeneration, rebirth to supernatural life, at that very moment, He says, "Behold your mother," and He means it. So Our Lady's spiritual motherhood is real. Not

[02:11] just metaphorical, but real. And it's real because it's based on her direct and active cooperation in the redemption, which the Popes have also called the co-redemption, through which she acquires grace for us and then distributes all these graces to us as the Mediatrix of all graces. She obtains and then she gives. St. John Paul II says that recognition of Our Lady's role as Mediatrix is implicit in the expression of our mother. Again, when we call Our

[02:45] Lady mother, the point here is it's not merely metaphorical. It's not just figurative. It's a real maternity in the order of grace, but real nevertheless. Truly, a participation in the life of God is impossible without Our Lady. Why? Because God so wanted it. And so says St. Paul VI. "The most consoling truth." Why is it true? "By the free consent of God, the All-Wise."

[03:21] St. John Paul II, I love quoting from Him. It's a little doctrinal this morning, but doctrine is good. Our devotion has to be based on doctrine for our devotion to persevere through any difficulties. So St. John Paul II says Mary's motherhood in our regard does not only consist of an affective bond. Instead, because of her merits and her intercession, she contributes effectively to our spiritual birth and to the development of the life of grace within us. That is why Mary is called mother of grace and mother of the life.

[03:55] Okay, not just affective, not just feelings. Our Lady does give us great feelings, you know, warm feelings. That's great. But her maternity is not just based on feelings. It's effective. It's an action on the part of Our Lady that produces something, causes something. We truly depend on Our Lady like a child depends on its mother. The generation of a soul to supernatural life is an

[04:25] inseparable cooperation of Jesus and Mary. Why? Because so Jesus wanted it. Why did Jesus want it that way? Well, He's God and He's all-wise and He establishes the economy of salvation. At the foot of the cross, it wasn't John who said, "Jesus, I want a mother too. I think you should give me a mother." It wasn't Mary who said, "Jesus, you're forgetting something. You're keeping me out of the picture. I demand to be a part of this." No, it's our Lord who took the initiative and says, "Behold, you're a mother." Not John's idea. Not Mary's idea. Not St. Peter's idea. He

[04:59] wasn't even there. It's Jesus's idea. Right? So again, St. John Paul II, again, He really emphasizes how this maternity, for it to be real, if we're going to talk about Our Lady as a real mother, we have to base it on her co- redemption. That's what makes her spiritual maternity real. He says, "Applied to Mary, the term co-operator in the redemption acquires a specific meaning different than our cooperation in the redemption. Different than that

[05:32] of anybody else. Specific. Unique. The collaboration of Christians in salvation takes place after the Calvary event. Mary instead cooperated during the event itself and in the role of mother. She alone was associated in this way with the redemptive sacrifice that merited the salvation of all mankind. In union with Christ and in submission to Him, she collaborated in obtaining the grace of salvation for all humanity." And so she obtains with Christ because He invites

[06:06] her into the process. With Christ, she obtains the grace of our redemption. She obtains supernatural life for us. Christ wants her to be with Him, the Redeemer, the Co-Redemptrix. Can't stress this enough. Why? Because that's how Christ wanted to redeem us. And two, that's what Our Lady's maternity is based on. And then she transmits to us what she obtains for us. She's the Mediatrix of all graces. John Paul II, again, "the gift of her universal

[06:37] spiritual motherhood stems precisely from this cooperation associated with Christ in the work of redemption, which includes the spiritual regeneration of humanity, and she becomes the mother of those reborn to new life. As a maternal Mediatrix, Mary presents our desires and petitions to Christ and transmits the divine gifts to us. Transmits the divine gifts to us, interceding continually on our behalf." So first, acquisition. She really merits. And then really a

[07:09] transmission. She really mediates. I'm saying this to all of you. You're probably wondering, what's Father Matthias talking about? I'm saying this to all of you because in theology, all of this is debated, contested, denied, rejected, and all of the above. But nevertheless, we have to know it and hold on to it as true, because otherwise our devotion to Our Lady will weaken. And that's what happens sometimes, often to some theologians. They study weird theology. They read weird authors. Weird things happen in their heads. And they start

[07:43] thinking, Mary's not a real mother. Mary doesn't really cooperate in redemption. Mary doesn't really give me anything. Mary really isn't an integrating part of God's economy of grace. I could really live my life without Our Lady, etc., etc. And that's the devil's fundamental strategy. Separate us from the one who crushes his head. That's what he's always trying to do. How does he do that? Well, theologians say, well, Our Lady doesn't really crush the head of the serpent.

[08:17] Therefore, you don't really need Our Lady. She doesn't really cooperate in the redemption. She doesn't really give you grace. Therefore, you don't need her. And therefore, Satan separates you from Our Lady. Well, then bad things happen. So, the reality and importance of Mary's spiritual motherhood, again, has been emphasized in the second half of the 20th century especially. And in Divine Providence, we accept that as, again, as something that God wants us to know, and

[08:49] to embrace, and to love, and to rejoice in. So, as we celebrate today's Votive Mass, let's, and we know Our Lady is our mother, but let's just rejoice in the fact that it's true. That it's based on solid theology. That Our Lord means what He says. When He says, "Behold your mother," that's exactly what He means. She is our mother, because she truly cooperated with Christ in regenerating us to supernatural life, and in giving that life to us. And we can trust her as

[09:19] a mother. A mother who's not only willing, that's the difference between Our Lady and every other mother. Every mother is willing to help. Great! Not every mother is able, but Our Lady is always able to help. Not just willing, but able. Why? Because God has made her powerful, and all-powerful by her intercession. Totally victorious over the serpent. Mediatrix of every single grace. Truly a mother.

[09:50] Truly willing. Truly able to always help us. Praised be Jesus and Mary.