“Yu mas go nau, yu gat wok.”

If you know English, you can probably already figure out what this line means. Pronounce it as phonetically and loosely as you can in English and you will catch the meaning. If you are still struggling, then I will just tell you. In Tok Pisin (Pidgin) this sentence means, “You must go now. You’ve got work to do.”

These were the last words that the mother of the late Sir Julius Chan spoke to him in her Rabaul home before she died. Until last year, Chan was the “last man standing” among Papua New Guinea’s pioneering men who led the country to peaceful independence from Australia in 1975. In his autobiography, Playing the Game, Chan reflects on the final words that his mother spoke to him saying, “That last exchange, when I walked away from my dying mother to serve my country, made me the kind of politician I am today.”

While reading Chan’s words late one night I couldn’t help but think back to another parting exchange between a mother and her son; one wherein a mother at Cana also told her Son to go and work (cf. Jn 2:1-5).

Despite the considerable differences between the parting exchange in Rabaul and the one in Cana, there is still something very similar: the strength that a mother gave to her son and his mission.

Perhaps it is hard for us to grasp that the All-Perfect Son of God could need any strengthening for his mission, yet Christ was a true man and He became like us in all things but sin. But even if He did not need to this sort of strengthening by His mother, we nevertheless have need of that recorded moment in His life story. We need it for our share in His redemptive mission.

Mary’s summons—they have no wine—beckons every soul consecrated to her in filial slavery of love. There is work to do and she is confident that we can do it with her.

Mary, our Mother, is confident that every man and woman consecrated to her in loving slavery can prolong the Incarnation and Redemptive mission of her Son. All we need is an open ear to her call, a willing heart to love, and docility to the Holy Spirit.

Whereas the summons of Chan’s mother “to go to work” was truly a final farewell in the life of the future trailblazer towards national independence, Mary’s summons at Cana was not a definitive goodbye. From Cana to Calvary (and even before Cana), Mary was always a part of Christ’s redemptive mission. Knowing our need for strength in carrying on His mission, Christ left to us this same mother to be our support.

Our first task in answering her summons to “go to work” in building the kingdom of her Son on earth is that of mutual confidence in her guidance and assistance. Our second task is to put the work of redemption into effect in the very place we find ourselves each day.

Give every mundane task to Mary for the glory of God. Give every setback and trial in patience to Mary for the salvation of souls. Recognize the goodness of every person, situation, and circumstance as a ladder of opportunity in climbing your way to heaven and bringing others along with you.

Yu mas go nau yu gat work. Knowing that Mary intercedes, guides and defends every soul consecrated to her in loving servitude, it is time now as Lent begins to commit ourselves anew to being her good children and her companions in prolonging the work of redemption in Christ.

Seize the day and make it all Hers!