Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. As a life-long Catholic, seeing Mary as my mother is about as natural as making the sign of the cross or saying grace before meals. How else could it be? Mary is the mother of Our Lord—the Blessed Mother; the Theotokos, the Mother of God.

Let me ask: you have certainly accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, but do you consider how Mary is the mother of the Church while also a mother to you?

I remember when I was given my statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She has been dropped, forgotten, and even once got left out in the rain. She still persists. I sit with that image of Guadalupe right on the same desk where I write articles and homilies. But Mary is even stronger than my little depiction of her and I feel her prayers for me and you all even when I’m away from my little statue.

We have walked with Mary throughout these weeks of Lent and then Easter. As we begin to enter Ordinary Time, we can still call upon the Blessed Mother to be a mother to us and all our brothers and sisters within the Church, for whom she also cares. Call upon your mother, today and everyday.