Did Jesus Belittle Mary?

Jesus said something about Mary in a way that bothered me for a long time.

A village woman comes up to him and says, "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nourished you."

And Jesus responds with: "Rather blessed at they who hear the word of God and keep it."

It was one of those passages that I just moved quickly past trying to ignore how unsettling it was. Because, at face value, it seemed to me like Jesus was belittling or minimizing his mother.

But recently, a spiritual giant taught me otherwise.

In his response, Jesus actually highlights the origin of Mary's greatness: her willingness to ability to say "yes" to God AND live out that yes faithfully.

Not everyone will carry a child in their womb and not everyone will nurse a baby at the breast.

But we are all called to hear the word of God and faithfully live according to that word.

Or, in the words of St. Jose Maria Escriva:

"The Virgin did not merely pronounce her fiat; in every moment she fulfilled that firm and irrevocable decision. So should we."

Happy Feast of the Assumption y'all.