[19] Then his mother and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. [20] He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you." [21] He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."
(CCC 501) Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came to save: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and formation she co-operates with a mother's love" (LG 63; cf. Jn 19:26-27; Rom 8:29; Rev 12:17). (CCC 541) "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel'" (Mk 1:14-15). "To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth" (LG 3). Now the Father's will is "to raise up men to share in his own divine life" (LG 2). He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, "on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdoms" (LG 5). (CCC 542) Christ stands at the heart of this gathering of men into the "family of God". By his word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by sending out his disciples, Jesus calls all people to come together around him. But above all in the great Paschal mystery - his death on the cross and his Resurrection - he would accomplish the coming of his kingdom. "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Into this union with Christ all men are called (Jn 12:32; cf. LG 3). (CCC 959) In the one family of God. "For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity - all of us who are sons of God and form one family in Christ - we will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church" (LG 51; cf. Heb 3:6).
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