Q&A: In an editorial in The Queen some months ago, it was stated that Mary is our sister. I have always been taught that Mary is our Mother. I never heard of Mary being called our sister. How can she be our Mother and our sister?
Father J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
Submitted by Member: PD, St. Louis, MO.
Mary, Our Sister?
There is no contradiction in calling Mary both our sister and our mother. The titles are given to Our Lady from different points of view. She is our sister because she is a member of the human family; she is our mother because she uniquely cooperates in Christ’s redemption. Redemption of the universe whereby new life is given to humankind.
That Mary is our sister is clearly stated by Pope Paul VI in his 1974 Apostolic Constitution, On Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, #56. “Mary in fact is one of our race, a true daughter of Eve; though free of that mother’s sin. And truly our sister, who as a poor and humble woman fully shared our lot.”
Blessed Mary, Our Mother
Mary our sister is called Mother of the human family because of the special role she plays in our supernatural life in Christ Jesus. She is our sister who by her consent at the Annunciation opened the doors of this world to the Second Person of the Trinity. In doing so our redemption may be accomplished through the Incarnation of the Word, Jesus.
The Second Vatican Council clarifies this point. “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a Mother to us in the order of grace”. (Constitution on the Church, #61).
In teaching adult education courses on Our Lady, I have always found that the students better understand the authentic Mary if they first grasp that she is one of us, our sister. With that as a foundation, the course then proceeds to topics like the Divine Maternity, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, etc. This method is often called “ascending Mariology”. Distinguishing it from “descending Mariology,” which begins with the highest dignity granted to Our Lady, the Divine Maternity.
