And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. (Acts 2:2)
After the ascension of Our Lord, the Eleven Apostles, along with some others, gather for ten days, cozied up in a room together “for fear of the Jews” (Jn. 20:19). They have not yet received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so they do not have the grace required to “bend the stubborn heart and will” and “guide the steps that go astray” (Veni, Sancte Spiritus).
What would have kept them positive and trusting throughout those ten days? After all, Jesus did say it would be just “a few.” By day four, we can imagine that some of them might have felt those fears and doubts begin to creep back in again! Jesus would have known this. This is why He did not send His Apostles to the Upper Room to wait all by themselves. He sent them to Jerusalem, right in the thick of the firestorm, with His secret weapon: His mother.
“After the events of the Resurrection and Ascension, Mary entered the Upper Room together with the Apostles to await Pentecost, and was present there as the Mother of the glorified Lord…Thus there began to develop a special bond between this Mother and the Church.” – Pope St. John Paul II
It is here in this Upper Room, St. John Paul II tells us, that the Apostles begin to develop a “special bond” with Mary. Certainly, they would have already loved her to pieces. No doubt Mary would have been the one to drop off a basket of cookies or flatbread for snacks to bring on their journeys. She would have always had a warm meal and a bed ready for any disciple who might be passing by her home on His way to the other towns.
The Apostles would have all felt at ease, comfortable, and loved in Mary’s presence. Though Mary would have been a woman of few words, she would have been a terrific listener, and the words she did speak would have always penetrated the heart and stayed with the one hearing them—forever. It would have been an absolute pleasure and comfort to be in Mary’s presence.
But now, in this Upper Room, a “special bond” develops between Mary and the Apostles. Whatever bond they had before is characteristically different from the bond they are developing with her now. All they had with her before still holds true: the comfort, the love, the words of wisdom and counsel they have received from Mary. But now, something has changed. Actually, two specific things have changed.
The first aspect of their relationship that has changed has been defined by Jesus from the Cross:
Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (Jn. 19:27)
Mary has become their mother. Of course, there is a spiritual aspect to this definition, as certainly Mary did not physically give birth to each of the Eleven. But just because it is spiritual in nature, does not make it any less real. In fact, it makes it more real, because just as God the Father is our ultimate Father, our perfect Father, the Father who created us—even more so than our own biological father—so too is Mary our ultimate, perfect mother, the Mother of God Himself! Thus, when Jesus redefined our relationship with her, we must understand the magnitude of this gift.
For us, Mary is the one to whom we go just as we would our own mothers: we can tell her about the details of our day when absolutely no one else in the world would care to hear about it; we can go to her for advice; we can go to her when we are hurting; we can even go to her just to let her know how much we love her. We can do all this even if our earthly mother is not the kind of person whom we can go to for any of these things!
If this all sounds “spiritual” in nature, let’s understand: there is no mother on earth who could provide a better listening ear, give us better counsel, or offer us more comfort. Mary is the best mother in the universe. Let us strive to appreciate the unfathomable gift we have in her.
On the day Jesus said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son,” we must also realize that we ourselves became gifts to Mary too. Perhaps this sounds like a pitiful exchange because, after all, what could we possibly offer Mary that compares with all that she does for us? Mary, however, is not looking to “get” anything from us in return for her help in our lives. Like a mother who gives birth to her newborn, she looks upon us, her children, as helpless babies who cannot take care of themselves without aid. Her heart yearns to care for us! It is what her mother’s heart was created to do. The thought does not even cross her mind to abandon us just because we complain, are ungrateful, indifferent, or offensive. Whether we act like toddlers or teenagers, Mary will never stop loving us. She will never stop fighting for our souls.
Which brings us to the second characteristic that has changed in Mary’s relationship with the Apostles in the Upper Room. Not only is Mary their mother now, but Jesus has sent her to remain with them in the Upper Room for a specific reason: she is to be His “secret weapon.” She is to be the reason that they would not lose faith and hope and trust after a “few” days have gone by without visible evidence of the Spirit, and she is the same reason that after two thousand years, the Church still has not lost faith and hope and trust that Jesus will come back “soon.”
Mary is not just our mother; she is also our intercessor before Jesus, making requests of Him when and where and how we need it most—even when we ourselves do not know what we need. She is the one to not only ask Jesus, but rather, tell Jesus when we need water turned into wine. And, as her obedient, loving Son, Jesus will do as Mary asks, trusting that all His mother’s requests come from a loving, pure intention. Jesus will even enact a “change-in-plans” for the sake of His mother.
Therefore, like the Apostles, let us remain in our own Upper Room with Mary, our mother. Let us accept the “secret weapon” that Jesus has given us, by faithfully praying the rosary each day, with all the love we can muster—even if it is filled with involuntary distractions. Mary doesn’t mind the fact that we sometimes act like toddlers.
In fact, she thinks we’re adorable.
Author’s Note: This article was adapted from a chapter in 26 Steps with the Mother of God: A Treatise on the Life of Mary.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
