The seventh week of the Ordinary Time of the liturgy begins, and today it offers us the celebration of “Mary, Mother of the Church”. It is an acknowledgment of the gift left to us by Jesus on the cross, and by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Mary, who accompanies the disciples in their mission, in their fraternal life, is first and foremost the Mother. A living memory of Jesus’ life on earth, it is through her love, her faith, her witness, her strength on the cross, that the Mother is able to receive us all into the Church as her children. We thank her for sheltering us under her loving protection. Mary is the bodily Mother of Jesus, but she is also the Mother who gave birth to all her sons and daughters on the cross. Mary is the Woman of ‘Yes’, of ‘Let it be done’, the very best giver of life through the Gospel. This is a call to fortitude in the face of adversity, to fidelity in faith throughout our life.