This is the sixth in a ten part guest series by Beth Turner, the wife of Barrett Turner. Beth and Barrett were received into full communion at Easter 2010 and live in Virginia with their four children. Beth’s story of her journey into the Catholic Church can be found at Saved by Love: A Seminary Wife’s Journey.

Relationship with Christ, Relationship with Mary

Behold, your mother! (John 19:27)

“Accordingly, let us approach Mary confidently, wholeheartedly beseeching her by the bonds of her motherhood which unite her so closely to Jesus and at the same time to us.” (Magnae Dei Matris 13)

Mary is our mother in a spiritual sense, because Jesus is our brother in a spiritual sense (Romans 8:29). Jesus proclaimed her spiritual motherhood for the disciples when He gave her to the beloved one (John 19:27). And because she is our mother in the Spirit, she longs for us to be at peace with one another in matters of the spirit. In particular, she longs for us to be of one mind (Acts 1:14), just as Jesus prayed that we may be so (John 17:20-23). As at Pentecost, this unity of mind among Christians precedes the powerful action of the Holy Spirit in the world. How it hampers our witness and constricts the action of the Holy Spirit when we are not united in our belief!

Part 5 of this series is available here.