Luke 1:38
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
It is possible to take a statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus and re-sculpt it so that it depicts only Mary. But then one is driven to answer, “Why bother, since Mary only matters to us insofar as she was the Mother of Jesus?” However, an even more vexing challenge would be to chisel away at Mary until the Infant Jesus is left floating in the air. No one has ever accomplished this. And for good reason, the interrelationship of Mother and Son is part of the warp and woof of the Incarnation and of salvation itself. No Mary, no humanity for the Second Person of the Trinity; no humanity, no ability to die on the cross; no death, no resurrection; no resurrection, no salvation for you and me. Ergo, no Mary, no salvation. Thank you, Blessed Mother, for saying “yes” to God!