While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Today’s Gospel is sometimes used to discredit the Blessed Mother. Those who do not understand the Church’s strong devotion to Our Lady claim that Jesus Himself said that she was no greater than any other believer. However, a closer look at this short yet important Gospel passage reveals exactly the opposite. In this passage, Jesus explained precisely why we honour Our Lady.

“[B]lessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” This is something that all Christians must strive to do, but none can do it as perfectly as Mary did. Fra Angelico painted a beautiful fresco depicting the Annunciation, and on Mary’s knee, he depicted a book lying open. This book is meant to symbolize the Scriptures, with which Mary was very familiar. 

In the Gospel of St. Luke, when she visited her cousin Elizabeth, Mary offered her canticle of praise, the Magnificat. In this prayer, Mary showed her intimate relationship with the Word of God in Sacred Scripture: she made many references to the Old Testament in her prayer, especially the prophecies regarding the Messiah, Who was now in her womb. The many Scriptural references and parallels in the Magnificat are beyond the scope of this reflection, but Mary’s prayer showed how deeply she knew and understood the Scriptures. 

St. Bonaventure, a Doctor of the Church, once said, “If you desire to know… ask grace, not instruction; desire, not understanding; the groaning of prayer, not diligent reading; the Spouse, not the teacher; God, not man.” These words beautifully express Mary’s relationship with Sacred Scripture. She did not simply read it and keep it in her heart as mere words; she recognized it as the Word of God Himself and lived its message out in her own life accordingly. 

“[B]lessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” St. Ignatius said that when the Scriptures form an important part of our prayer lives, we will be able to properly discern God’s Will for us. Mary is the epitome of this, as she demonstrated at the Annunciation: through her unreserved “yes,” her fiat, Mary fully cooperated with God’s plan for the salvation of the world. She knew the Scriptures intimately and lived them out fully in her life, culminating in the moment she gave her “yes” to the Angel Gabriel. 

Today, may we ask Our Lady’s guidance to follow her example in growing ever closer to God in Sacred Scripture and living out His Word in our own lives.