A Mother's Yes: Learning from Mary, Our Queen and Mother

On 22 August, the Church celebrates the Queenship of Our Lady. And when we look at Mary, we see a kind of greatness that is so different from what the world often tells us greatness should look like.

Mary’s greatness comes through humility, service, faithfulness and, most importantly, her yes to God.

Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Luke 1:38

We know this as Mary’s fiat, her “yes.” And through that yes, she welcomed Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, into the world.

I think there is something particularly beautiful about reflecting on Mary’s “yes” as a mother, because motherhood itself is filled with so many little “yeses” we never really anticipated.

It means getting up again.

Answering another question.

Forgiving.

Putting someone else first.

And praying, even when we’re exhausted.

As Christians, we are called to be examples for others, but particularly for the little people watching us day in and day out.

And what better example to have before us than Our Lady herself? In her greatness, Mary didn’t strive for importance, recognition or to be first. Instead, she loved and served with courage and faithfulness.

And Mary’s fiat wasn’t simply a single “yes” at the Annunciation. Her whole life became a continued yes to God: Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazareth, Cana, and at the foot of the Cross.

Yes, after yes, after yes.

And on 22 August, the Church celebrates this humble woman as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Her queenship isn’t about worldly power or status. The woman we honour as Queen first called herself the handmaid of the Lord, in other words, a servant of God.

Mary shows us that greatness in the eyes of God can look very different to greatness in the eyes of the world. And I think there is a beautiful lesson here for motherhood too.

A mother’s life can sometimes feel ordinary and repetitive. There are countless things we do that nobody else sees, but our faith values these hidden acts of love and service.

Mary shows us that holiness isn’t necessarily found in doing extraordinary things. Often, it is found in the ordinary, everyday tasks before us, when we choose to do them with love. As St Teresa of Calcutta so beautifully said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

So perhaps, in one of those difficult little moments of our day, we can offer our own small “yes” to God.

When patience is running thin.

When we are tired.

When something hasn’t gone to plan.

We can simply pray:

Mary, help me to say yes to Jesus in this moment and please be a mother to me now

While our yes may feel small, perhaps that is exactly where God is asking us to meet Him.

with love,
nat xx
Catholic mum, author & storyteller