• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
A depiction of the Pieta is seen in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Feb. 15, 2013. (CNS photo/Gerard Roussel Panoramic via Reuters)

Mary, Mother of the Church

May 3, 2019
By Archbishop William E. Lori
Filed Under: Charity in Truth, Commentary

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

The Blessed Virgin Mary, our model and mother, intercedes for and consoles the Church, the Body of Christ.

Invaluable to the Christian life is a warm and loving devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. I was blessed to grow up in a home where the rosary was prayed daily, even on the busiest and most difficult days. There was always a statue of the Blessed Mother in our home and other reminders of Mary’s love for us, her children. At school, May processions culminated in the crowning of a statue as we all sang to Our Lady.

In time, I got into the habit of praying a daily rosary, and as I meditated on the life of Jesus through the eyes of Mary, my vocation came into sharper focus. In my final years at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, I often went to the beautiful grotto up the mountain, a national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. In the quiet of that grotto, my love for Mary deepened as I prepared to serve the church as a priest.

But it was not until I visited Lourdes, France, for the first time in the 1980s, that I was overwhelmed with the healing power of the Blessed Mother’s intercession. In that holy place, where Mary revealed herself to St. Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, I experienced a wonderful healing, cleansing and renewal of body, mind and spirit. Over the years, I have returned to Lourdes many times, often with pilgrims, many of whom suffer from serious illnesses. I visit with them before they go into the baths and, when feasible, pray with them after they emerge. The purifying love and powerful intercession of Mary is palpable in those encounters.

My love for the Blessed Mother likewise intensified when I visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the first time in 1990 and looked upon her miraculous image. The experience filled me with joy and opened my eyes to Mary’s role in the evangelization of the world.

Inspired by these experiences, Marian devotion has become an essential part of my life. Like every good Knight of Columbus, I carry a rosary in my pocket. My father’s own K of C rosary also remains in the little chapel in my residence. When the house is quiet at night, I often slip into the chapel and pray with my dad’s rosary. As I do so, I think about all the people I met during the day and the many people who asked me to pray for them. As the day comes to a close, nothing is more consoling than to spend a little time in conversation with Mary.

I also look upon a beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother that I received from my mentor and friend, Cardinal James Hickey, when I became a bishop many years ago. When I look upon that image, I never fail to pray for the cardinal, whose example and memory continue to influence my life so deeply.

That devotion is only intensified by the tragedy in Paris April 15, when fire damaged Notre Dame – French for “Our Lady” – Cathedral. Beyond being a sacred space, it is a world treasure.

During the month of May, we honor Mary in a special way, and on June 10, the Monday after Pentecost, we will celebrate her as the Mother of the Church. Her virginity symbolizes the truth and purity of the church’s teaching and the sacrifice that the church daily offers. Her motherhood symbolizes the maternal care that the church gives to us, her children, reborn by water and the Holy Spirit. This love reaches us through many channels, not the least of which are the church’s ministries of healing and charity.

These days, though, it is the church – sinful in her members – that needs healing. Sins against young people and the failure of church leaders to respond continue to haunt and hobble the Body of Christ. Many practical steps still need to be taken to ensure that bishops and other leaders are held accountable for their actions. But those steps alone, important as they are, won’t fully heal the church’s wounds. For that, we must turn our gaze toward Mary, asking her prayers that the church might be purified, cleansed, healed and renewed.

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Archbishop William E. Lori

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Question Corner: Can we bring the Precious Blood to the sick?

Impact of DOGE cuts on migrants, refugees

Remember common decency in immigration enforcement

confirmation

Sponsors – for life

Listen for God this summer

| Recent Local News |

Father Robert Wojsław dies at 52

Scopes Monkey Trial ignited century-long debate on evolution and belief 

Deacon Gary Elliott Dumer Jr., active in men’s ministry, dies

Radio Interview: The music and ministry of Seph Schlueter

Hunt Valley parishioner recalls her former student – a future pope

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Church of England weighs proposal to place St. Thomas More’s skull in shrine for veneration
  • Father Robert Wojsław dies at 52
  • Stop the hatred; humanity is at stake, Pope Leo says in video message
  • As excavation begins at Irish maternity home, Catholic experts urge fact-based news reporting
  • Question Corner: Can we bring the Precious Blood to the sick?
  • Impact of DOGE cuts on migrants, refugees
  • White House agrees to exempt PEPFAR from rescissions package
  • From Boston to Baton Rouge, faithful unite to help Texas flood victims
  • New Catholic scouting patch honors Pope Leo XIV

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en