In the most recent installment of the catechetical series “Thy Kingdom Come”, the president of the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) and bishop of Cuernavaca, Ramón Castro Castro, presented catechesis number 38 dedicated entirely to Saint Mary as Mediator of the Kingdom. With a deeply pastoral and accessible tone, the prelate reminded the faithful that the Virgin is not a distant figure in the history of salvation, but a delicate yet powerful presence that accompanies Jesus from his birth to his glory and, with Him, accompanies every Christian in building the Kingdom of God.
The bishop began his reflection by underscoring Mary’s unique role: “Her fiat allowed Christ to enter history and made her the Mother of the King”. From this divine choice arises her direct participation in the redemptive mission. Mary is the woman God chose to be his mother on earth, the first disciple and gate of heaven. On the cross, moments before consummating his sacrifice, Jesus formally entrusted her to humanity. Addressing her and the beloved disciple, he pronounced the words that forever mark Mary’s spiritual motherhood: “Woman, behold your son”. Then, to the disciple: “Behold your mother”. From that moment, the disciple received her into his home and, with him, all Christians recognize ourselves as children of the Kingdom.
In baptism we receive the royal office, explained Castro Castro. Christians are not mere spectators of the Kingdom, but active builders called to erect it in our daily lives, always following the maternal example of Our Queen. The catechesis recalled two emblematic moments in which Mary was already exercising this mission: the wedding at Cana and Pentecost. In both, the Mother accompanies her children and shows them how, with concrete actions, it is possible to manifest the essential notes of the Father’s house and the attitudes necessary to reach it.
One of the deepest moments of the exposition was when the bishop placed Mary in the perspective of the Kingdom after Christ. “Mary’s place in the perspective of the Kingdom after Christ is the most important, for she is the boundary and access between creation and the creator”. Citing the encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam by Pius XII, he highlighted Mary’s sublime union with Christ the King: “This union with Christ the King derives for her such splendid sublimity that it surpasses the excellence of all created things.” From that same union arises the royal power with which she can dispense the treasures of the Kingdom of the Divine Redeemer and the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession with the Son and with the Father.
For all these reasons, the bishop concluded, Mary is Queen of Heaven, Mother of the King, and Mediator of Humanity. This triple dignity is not an honorary title, but a living reality that must become the first recourse for every Christian. She should be the first to whom we entrust each of our endeavors to contribute to the establishment of the Kingdom on Earth, the first to whom we confide the worries and joys of daily life, the first from whom we ask for intercession to obtain the virtues and graces necessary to work in the cause of her Son Jesus Christ.
With emotive and inviting language, Ramón Castro Castro invited the faithful to a concrete act of trust: “Let us place our hearts in Mary’s hands so that, looking upon us with mercy, she may present us to her Son as the Salve prays, as an advocate, and may show us Jesus and with her we may exclaim: Thy Kingdom Come!”.
Catechesis 38 of the series “Thy Kingdom Come” arrives at a time when the Church in Mexico seeks to strengthen the baptismal identity of the faithful as living members of the Kingdom. By placing Mary at the center of the mystery of the Kingdom, the bishop of Cuernavaca not only honors the Marian tradition of the Catholic Church, but also offers practical and spiritual guidance to face daily tribulations with the certainty that we have the most powerful intercession after that of Christ.
The complete preaching, full of encouragement and doctrinal clarity, can be viewed at the following YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N3NtvVMhFA. It is an open invitation to all Christians to rediscover in Mary the Mediator of the Kingdom and, through her, to hasten the coming of the Kingdom of God in our families, communities, and the entire world.
With this installment, Ramón Castro Castro reaffirms that Marian devotion is not a pious addition, but an essential part of the Christian vocation, to be, like Mary, humble and courageous servants of the Kingdom that has already begun and that one day will arrive in fullness.