Our Lady, Our Mother

By: Rick Hernandez

​​As a Eucharistic person, I often picture in my mind the time of the Institution of the Eucharist, especially when I hear the words from the Gospel according to Luke:

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” (Luke 22:19)
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​Remembrance? Who can have a more perfect remembrance of Our Lord than Our Lady, Mother Mary? This is not difficult to see. For her, remembrance meant the whole of her life with Jesus, every moment, every thought, every feeling, all the instances of motherly life.

For Mother Mary, remembrance is alive, true love in action, all the moments of joy and sadness.

It is the wholeness of her life, via her most perfect humility, that became Mary's sublime offering to God the Father. We know that along with her opening to the Holy Spirit and her caring for Our Lord Jesus, she also offered her life to mother the Church across all of time...

Our Lady knew we were not to be orphans, neither fatherless nor motherless… not then and not now. 
 
Saint Peter Julian Eymard gave Our Mother Mary the beautifully insightful title of “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.” From that first Mass in the Upper Room, Our Lord Jesus kept being with Our Lady in the same way that He is now with us.

As the “Lady of the Blessed Sacrament,” Mary is the most perfect example of the Eucharistic life in Christ for the Church. Mother Mary lived what it means to remain in Him who loves us, a perfect, intimate union achieved in the Eucharistic communion.

Saint John Paul II writes in his Encyclical “Ecclesia Eucharistia”:
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If we wish to rediscover in all its richness the profound relationship between the Church and the Eucharist, we cannot neglect Mary, Mother and model of the Church. …Mary can guide us towards this most holy sacrament, because she herself has a profound relationship with it.

At first glance, the Gospel is silent on this subject. The account of the institution of the Eucharist on the night of Holy Thursday makes no mention of Mary. Yet we know that she was present among the Apostles who prayed “with one accord” (cf. Acts 1:14) in the first community which gathered after the Ascension in expectation of Pentecost. Certainly, Mary must have been present at the Eucharistic celebrations of the first generation of Christians, who were devoted to “the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42).
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But in addition to her sharing in the Eucharistic banquet, an indirect picture of Mary’s relationship with the Eucharist can be had, beginning with her interior disposition. Mary is a “woman of the Eucharist” in her whole life. The Church, which looks to Mary as a model, is also called to imitate her in her relationship with this most holy mystery.

Mother Mary birthed Jesus, becoming the first one to know Jesus in the flesh, but she was also one of the first to become one with Jesus Eucharistic.  As Mary is, so we are called to be, one with Our Lord…
 
Today, so many of us struggle with recognizing Jesus in the Eucharist. Is it because we have not seen? Well, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29). If we are called to truly recognize Jesus Eucharistic so that we may believe, should we not ask Mother Mary for help? She can help us see.
 
The Blessed Virgin Mary knows the way. Our Mother Mary patiently waits for us to seek her counsel. She is the Mother of Good Counsel. She holds the key to many Graces for us, for she is “Full of Grace” (Luke 1:28). We only have to ask... 

Mother of Mercy and Mother of Grace …Through Our Mother, we access Jesus’ Mercy and partake of His Grace.
 
Mother of Hope and Virgin Most Faithful …Through Our Lady, we access the fullness of Hope. We learn fidelity at the foot of the most faithful of the faithful.
 
Refuge of Sinners and Comfort of the Afflicted …The first adorer, Mary, teaches us, sinners, how to commune with Christ. As Mother, she comforts us, takes us by the hand to Jesus. 

I remember hearing as a child that Mary was the “Fountain of Grace.”

A fountain does not produce water; the water comes from somewhere else, but the fountain manages the water to create beautiful displays and to help combat thirst. Such is Our Lady, Full of Grace.

Mary manages the graces from Our Lord and displays them in the fullness of her beautiful life, an example to be followed, and yet, out of her love for God and us, she also distributes the graces so that we may not wilt. In this, as in everything she does, Mother Mary points to Our Lord Jesus.

​If we open our hearts to her, our Mother accompanies us on the road home, on the path to Heaven.

Gentle Mother, faithful servant, fearless general, Fountain of Grace. Our Lady has a great many titles, the greatest one being “Mother of God,” but I like to think that, as she looks upon her children in the world, her sweetest one is “Our Mother.”

Let us pray:

​Prayer to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament

Blessed are you, Mary,
exalted Daughter of Sion!
You are highly favored and full of grace,
for the Spirit of God descended upon you.

We magnify the Lord and rejoice with you
for the gift of the Word made flesh,
our bread of life and cup of joy.

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament,
our model of prayer in the Cenacle, pray for us
that we may become what we receive,
the body of Christ your Son. Amen.

Rick Hernandez

Rick Hernandez is a Lay Associate of the Blessed Sacrament and lives in Trinity, Florida, with his wife Ivonne and their children.