A clarification on some verses that are often used to discredit the Blessed Virgin and the Catholic religion

Dear Father Angelo,

Since I came to Bologna and read two texts by Saint Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort, a Dominican tertiary and father of the Montfortian congregation, I have become a great devotee of the Blessed Virgin, and I recite the Holy Rosary every day. Those two texts, The Treatise on True Devotion to Mary and The Wonderful Secret of the Holy Rosary, brought me into contact with a Mother, Mediatrix, and Friend whom I had previously ignored.

I wanted to ask you for clarification on some verses that are often taken by sects as a point to discredit the Blessed Virgin and the Catholic religion. The verses are these: As he was saying this, a woman raised her voice from the crowd and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it !” (St. Luke, chapter 11, verses 27-28).

Another verse taken from the miracle at the wedding at Cana: “What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come!” (St. John, chapter 2, verse 4). I kindly ask for your advice on how to respond when these verses are presented to me so that I may defend the name and honor of the Holy Mother of God.

M.

The priest’s response

Dear M.,

1. I am happy for the great grace that the Lord has given you by allowing you to read the two beautiful texts by St. Louis Grignion de Montfort: The Treatise on True Devotion to Mary and The Wonderful Secret of the Holy Rosary.

These texts overflow with the piety of this great saint and have a holy influence on those who read them.

2. The two verses you mentioned do not discredit Mary, except in the minds of those who have preconceived ideas and read the text only in a material sense, without making any effort to understand if the Lord means something else.

3. Well, regarding the first text, it must be said that Jesus does not deny that Mary is blessed for having given him life. But he points out that those who listen to the word of God and put it into practice are even more blessed. Putting it into practice is like giving birth to it.

Mary is undoubtedly blessed for having given life to Jesus, but she is even more blessed for having faithfully listened to and put into practice the word of God.

None of us can imitate Mary in giving birth to Jesus.

But we can and must imitate her in bringing him to life in our own lives by listening to and putting the Gospel into practice.

After all, it is the evangelist St. Luke who emphasizes twice that “Mary, for her part, kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19); “His mother kept all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:51).

And it is St. Luke again who recalls Jesus’ other words: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice” (Lk 8:21).

4. Regarding the second verse, I offer you John Paul II’s interpretation in his catechesis of February 27, 1997:

“Jesus’ response to Mary’s words: ‘What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come’ (Jn 2:4), expresses an apparent refusal, almost putting his Mother’s faith to the test.

According to one interpretation, from the moment He begins His mission, Jesus seems to question the natural relationship of a son, called into question by his mother. The phrase, in the spoken language of the time, is intended to emphasize a distance between people, with the exclusion of communion of life. This distance does not eliminate respect and esteem; the term “woman,” with which He addresses His mother, is used in a sense that will recur in His dialogues with the Canaanite woman (cf. Mt 15:28), with the Samaritan woman (cf. Jn 4:21), with the adulteress (cf. Jn 8:10), and with Mary Magdalene (cf. Jn 20:13), in contexts that reveal Jesus’ positive relationship with his interlocutors.

With the expression, “What have I to do with you, woman?”, Jesus intends to place Mary’s cooperation on the level of salvation which, committing her faith and hope, requires her to go beyond her natural role as mother.

Of greater significance is the reason given by Jesus: “My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4).

Some scholars of the sacred text, following St. Augustine’s interpretation, identify this “hour” with the event of the Passion. For others, however, it refers to the first miracle in which the messianic power of the prophet of Nazareth was revealed.

Still others believe that the phrase is interrogative and prolongs the previous question: “What have I to do with you, woman? Has my hour not yet come?” Jesus makes Mary understand that he is no longer dependent on her, but must take the initiative to do the Father’s work. Mary then meekly refrains from insisting and instead turns to the servants to invite them to obey him.

In any case, her trust in her Son is rewarded. Jesus, to whom she has left the initiative entirely, performs the miracle, recognizing his Mother’s courage and docility: “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water,’ and they filled them to the brim” (Jn 2:7). Their obedience, therefore, also contributes to providing wine in abundance.

Mary’s request, “Do whatever he tells you,” retains its ever-present value for Christians of every age and is destined to renew its wonderful effect in the life of each one. It exhorts us to trust without hesitation, especially when we do not understand the meaning and usefulness of what Christ asks.

As in the story of the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:24-26), Jesus’ apparent refusal strengthens the woman’s faith, and so the Son’s words, “My hour has not yet come,” together with the performance of the first miracle, reveal the greatness of the Mother’s faith and the power of her prayer.

The episode of the wedding at Cana exhorts us to be courageous in our faith and to experience in our lives the truth of the Gospel word: “Ask and it will be given to you” (Mt 7:7; Lk 11:9).

5. You do not need me to urge you to continue reciting the Holy Rosary every day and to continue to experience in Mary , a Mother, a Mediatrix, and a Friend whom you did not know before.

My desire is that everyone may experience this.

I thank you for your testimony, I promise to remember you in a special way in the recitation of the Holy Rosary, and I bless you.

Father Angelo

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