The Church As Mother

A Reflection on the First Reading for July 3rd, 2022
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Isaiah
66.10-14

Rejoice with Jerusalem,
and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her --
that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom.

For thus says the Lord:
“I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
and it shall be known
that the hand of the Lord is with his servants.”

It is beautiful how God helps us to better understand His love for us with analogies of both Fatherhood and Motherhood throughout scripture. Having made man and woman in His image and likeness, it makes sense that each reflects His nature uniquely. As a woman, it feels particularly affirming to hear God say, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you… ”. With the language that Isaiah uses to describe Jerusalem as Mother, this passage led me to further reflect on the identity of the Church as “Mother”. 

The Church is feminine in relation to Christ, and we hear this referenced repeatedly in God’s Word and in Tradition. She is the Bride of Christ, and the marriage of Christ and the Church is made to be a fruitful one — with many spiritual children born from their union. If we are the Church, we then have much to discover about the mystery of our maternal identity.

I explored the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and found one passage that stood out to me for how it emphasized this dimension of the Church:

“… a true filial spirit toward the Church can develop among Christians. It is the normal flowering of the baptismal grace which has begotten us in the womb of the Church and made us members of the Body of Christ. In her motherly care, the Church grants us the mercy of God which prevails over all our sins and is especially at work in the sacrament of reconciliation. With a mother's foresight, she also lavishes on us day after day in her liturgy the nourishment of the Word and Eucharist of the Lord.” (CCC 2040)

There is much to unpack here. How lovely it is to consider the Church as having a womb — a safe place for baby Christians to grow and be nourished as they develop. How wonderful it is that — just as with a mother’s body — we can give of ourselves to sustain life; and the primary way the Church can do this is through Christ in the Word and Sacrament of Communion. It is also an honour to have motherhood linked to tender care, merciful love, wisdom and foresight and to have these qualities associated with the Church. Yet, we must recognize there have been innumerable ways in which we, the Church, have failed to live this out… this is who we are, and it is also who we are in a process of becoming. 

Rather than thinking of the Church as an institution, I want to practice embracing her in a more personal way — just as I know I need to encounter and relate to Christ personally. I believe that asking the Holy Spirit to help us experience and live out our motherhood will lead to further growth in intimacy, responsibility, and spiritual maturity. Let us also ask Mother Mary to intercede for us, that our hearts may expand and make room for Him and for others. Amen.




​Kendra L.
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