Introduction

There is something deeply human and deeply revealing about the voice that suddenly rises from the crowd in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus is teaching, surrounded by listeners, when a woman calls out, almost impulsively: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.”

It is a spontaneous cry of admiration, affection, even reverence. That unnamed woman praises Jesus by praising his mother. Many of us would instinctively agree with her. Her words feel right. After all, they echo centuries of Marian devotion, by honoring motherhood, intimacy, and the sacred bond between Mary and her Son.

And yet, Jesus gently, but decisively, redirects her praise:

“Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11:28)

In that moment, Jesus does not diminish Mary. He reveals her true greatness. And in doing so, he quietly re-frames what it means to belong to him at all. In this light, this narrative brief exchange opens a door into the heart of discipleship and into the deepest mystery of Mary herself.

A New Family, Born of the Word

If read too quickly, Luke 11:27–28 is one of those Gospel passages that can easily be misunderstood. On the surface, Jesus appears to correct (or even rebuke) a well-meaning woman who honors his mother. But Luke’s Gospel consistently invites us to read more deeply, to move beyond appearances, and to discover the spiritual logic beneath the words.

This scene unfolds within Luke’s broader vision of discipleship. Again and again, Luke emphasizes that true belonging to Jesus is not defined by blood, biology, or proximity, but by openness to God’s word and fidelity in living it. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus declares that his true mother and brothers are those who “hear the word of God and put it into practice” (Luke 8:21). Later, at the foot of the Cross and beyond the Resurrection, Luke will show the Church coming into being as a community gathered around prayer, the Spirit, and shared faith.

Within this vision, Mary stands at the very center not only as the mother of Jesus, but as the first person to fully live this new way of belonging.

From a La Salette perspective, this matters deeply. Indeed, La Salette spirituality is rooted in conversion of heart, attentive listening, reconciliation, and lived response. Mary’s role at La Salette, and throughout salvation history, is never passive. She listens, she responds, she warns, she invites, and she sends. She embodies what it means to hear the Word and allow it to shape one’s life.

Luke 11:27–28 is not a marginal Marian text. It is a key that unlocks who Mary truly is (and who we are called to become).

Reflection

Mary’s True Blessedness

Francis J. Moloney reminds us that much of Christian devotion has instinctively sided with the woman in the crowd rather than with Jesus’ reinterpretation of her praise. Over the centuries, it has often been easier to focus on Mary’s physical maternity involving her virginity, her womb, her nurturing presence, than on the interior journey of faith that made those realities possible in the first place (1). In other words, Mary’s greatness lies in her radical attentiveness to God’s word and her courageous willingness to live by it.

Mary herself understood this. In the Magnificat, she proclaims that all generations will call her blessed, not because of biological privilege, but because God has looked upon the humility of his servant (Luke 1:48). Her blessedness flows from her faith. Her maternity is the fruit of her discipleship, not the source of it.

Luke’s infancy narratives quietly but powerfully confirm this. Mary is the first person in the Gospel to hear the Word and trust it fully. She is the first to stake her life on a promise she cannot fully understand. In this sense, she is not simply the mother of Jesus; she is the first believer, the first disciple, the first member of the “new family” Jesus comes to create.

Mary as the Model Disciple in Luke’s Gospel

Luke consistently portrays Mary as the embodiment of true discipleship. Each time she appears, she is shown receiving God’s initiative and responding with faith. For this very same reason, Elizabeth blesses her not for her maternity alone, but for her belief: “Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45). Faith comes first. Fulfillment follows.

Twice, Luke tells us that Mary “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19; 2:51). Discipleship involves reflection, patience, and an interior wrestling with mystery.

And in Luke 11:27–28, Jesus confirms publicly what Luke has been showing all along: Mary belongs to him not merely because she gave him flesh, but because she gave him her faith.

As St. Augustine famously observed, Mary conceived Christ in her heart before she conceived him in her womb. Her yes was first an act of trust, then an act of incarnation. Through faith, she became the Virgin Mother, and through discipleship, she became the Mother of all who believe.

Mary at Pentecost: Disciple Among Disciples

Luke’s final mention of Mary is deeply significant. After the Ascension, she appears again: not alone, not exalted above others, but gathered with the Apostles and the women, praying and waiting for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14).

This image liberates our understanding of Mary. She is no longer confined to the past or limited to Jesus’ earthly life. She stands at the threshold of Church history, inseparable from the community of believers.

The early Church is described as being united in teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer (Acts 2:42). At the heart of this community stands Mary, the only person named besides the Apostles themselves. Luke makes a quiet but decisive point: the one who knew Jesus most intimately is now fully one with his disciples.

Mary does not withdraw after Pentecost. She remains present as the Church is born, as the Spirit descends, and as fearful disciples are transformed into courageous witnesses.

From Fear to Mission

Before Pentecost, the disciples are hesitant and afraid. They hide behind locked doors, uncertain of their future and unsure of themselves. They have been chosen and commissioned, but they have not yet been changed.

Everything shifts when the Spirit comes.

The same men who once fled now preach openly. The same voices that trembled now proclaim boldly. The Gospel is spoken in languages all can understand, and thousands respond (Acts 2:41). The transformation is unmistakable.

Mary, who once stood at the Annunciation trembling yet trusting, now stands among them as a living reminder of what surrender to God can accomplish. She has already walked this path from fear to faith, from confusion to trust, from promise to fulfillment.

Mary of La Salette: A Living Model of Discipleship

At La Salette, Mary appears not as a distant figure, but as a mother who listens, feels, warns, and sends. Her words reveal the active qualities of discipleship lived in compassion and truth. Consider the following:

• She draws close to her children with tenderness: “Come closer, my children; don’t be afraid.”
• She intercedes tirelessly for their faith: “If I want my Son not to abandon you, I am obliged to plead with him constantly.”
• She names spiritual realities honestly, even painfully, because love requires truth.
• She warns of hardship not to frighten, but to awaken responsibility.
• She calls for conversion, prayer, and fidelity—not as moral scolding, but as an invitation to life.
• And finally, she sends: “Well, my children, you will make this known to all my people.”

As Pope Francis reminds us, there is a Marian style to evangelization, a way of proclaiming the Gospel that invites, reconciles, and calls to action without coercion. Mary does not replace Christ. She leads to him.

Conclusion

Mary, the First Disciple, continues to invite us into deeper listening, conversion, and mission. At the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, this invitation takes concrete form through prayer, reconciliation, retreats, and communal discernment.

Consider visiting and spending time at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette and at La Salette Retreat Center, whether through a retreat, a day of reflection, or quiet prayer, allowing Mary to lead you more deeply into her Son’s reconciling love. Join one of our spiritual programs, or simply come and listen. Like Mary, may we hear the Word, keep it, and make it known. Click one of the two links to see the up-coming programs and retreats: National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette and La Salette Retreat Center.

Application

Living as Disciples Today

Mary’s discipleship is not a distant ideal. It is a lived path, offered to every believer.

To hear the Word today means cultivating a listening heart through Scripture, prayer, silence, and openness to God’s interruptions.

To keep the Word means allowing it to shape our choices, relationships, priorities, and witness.

To belong to Jesus’ family means entering into communion with Christ and with one another.

Discipleship has both a vertical and horizontal dimension. It binds us to God and to the community. Faith is never solitary. It is shared, sustained, and strengthened together.

Mary teaches us that faith is not the absence of fear, but the decision to trust despite it. She shows us that pondering precedes action, that obedience matures over time, and that surrender opens the door to new life.

Prayer

Memorare to Our Lady of La Salette

Remember, Our Lady of La Salette, true Mother of Sorrows,
the tears you shed for us on Calvary.
Remember also the care you have taken
to keep us faithful to Christ, your Son.
Having done so much for your children,
you will not now abandon us.
Comforted by this consoling thought,
we come to you pleading,
despite our infidelities and ingratitude.

Virgin of Reconciliation, do not reject our prayers,
but intercede for us,
obtain for us the grace to love Jesus above all else.
May we console you by a holy life
and so come to share the eternal life
Christ gained by his cross. Amen.**

Invocation:
Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners,
pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you.

Questions for Reflection

• Who are the disciples of Jesus I have encountered in my own life, and what qualities in them have drawn me closer to faith?
• When I think of Mary, which images most shape my devotion, and how do they invite me into deeper discipleship?
• Where in my life am I being asked not only to hear God’s word, but to act on it?
• How do fear, uncertainty, or hesitation affect my response to God’s call?
• In what ways am I being invited to share faith, reconciliation, and hope with others?

Footnote

(1) Francis J. Moloney, SDB, Woman: First Among the Faithful (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1986), 64–65.