Their race will be famous throughout the nations and their offspring throughout the peoples. Today the Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Fatima. In 1917, the Blessed Virgin appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. In the apparition, Our Lady urged the human race to make a conversion by repenting from sin. It is a call that echoes the calls of the prophets of old as well as Jesus. Mary is honored because of her contribution to, and participation in a unique way in this role of the prophets (of calling humanity to repentance and conversion). While Mary’s unique and unrepeatable contribution immortalizes her as a blessed (cf. Isaiah 61:9 [First Reading]), she is given us as a model and example of faithful discipleship, as today’s Gospel Reading clearly points out. 
Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed. This was a statement that could only have been made by a woman as the text rightly points out. The statement was crediting the Blessed Mary for having such a charismatic wonder-worker as a son. It was a statement of praise directed at the mother of Jesus for what Jesus has turned out to be. It was a statement that was meant to congratulate the Blessed Mary for a job well done. It was a statement that would have filled Jesus’ mother with pride if she was present. It is perhaps this last observation that elicited Jesus’ response that seemed to say: “ You are right in saying that my mother is blessed. But you should look at it this way: blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” While Jesus would definitely have wanted his mother to have this special moment and savor it, he at the same time did not want this one moment to steal the show. He did not want those who had gathered to listen to him to lose their focus. Yes, Mary had done a good job in how she raised Jesus, but it was not all about her. Had she not said to the Lord that “ I am your servant; let it be done unto me as you wish?” (cf. Luke 1:38). Mary had achieved whatever she was being credited for, not of her own accord, but because she heard the word and observed it. “ My mom is blessed, yes, but all that she did was something that all of you here listening can as well do,” continued Jesus, “ for all that it takes to be blessed is to be a doer of God’s word. You too can be what my mother is. You too can be a bearer of the Word. But first of all you must be open to that word and do as the word says.”
Jesus was not playing down the position her mother holds in the history of the salvation of the universe. He did recognize his mother’s unique contribution, but at the same time, he offered that same opportunity to those who were gathered about him and listening to him. In a rather subtle way, he was offering her mother as an example, as someone to be imitated. Those who were listening to him were also in the same position as Mary, for they too were listening to God’s messenger speak to them. Would they too be referred to as blessed in posterity? What about me listening to God’s word today? Will generations refer to me as blessed because of how open I am to the Word of God? Am I ready to cooperate with the word of God for the salvation of the peoples?