It is probably true that only a mother can appreciate about being the mother of Jesus. The woman in the crowd who praised Mary must have been a mother herself. She called out to Jesus "Blest is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you." In other words, she was saying "Your mother must be really proud of you." Jesus replied "Rather, blest are they who hear the Word of God and keep it." His reply was not a reproof of the woman or a denial of what she said. It was Jesus' way of saying that there was something more important about Mary than the fact she had given physical birth to Him. Actually no human person has fully heard the Word of God and has kept that Word more completely than Mary.

Mary was more than the mother of Jesus. She was His perfect disciple. Yes, she is the model for all Christians. We should look to her - her faith in Jesus and her love for Him, her humility and her eagerness to serve Jesus, above all the fact that Jesus was the centre of her life; these are the virtues which we must imitate to be true and faithful disciples of Jesus.