The Mother-child Relationship as an Archetype for the Relationship between the Virgin Mary and Humanity in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation

Following the work of Stevens Rogers (2002), this article starts with the premise that humanity can be seen as a child growing in changing relationship with his or her mother. With Jesus representing humanity, the relationship between a mother and a child can be an archetype for understanding the changing relationship between the Virgin Mary and humanity as narrated in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation. With the Annunciation by the Angel, the Boy Jesus in the Temple, the wedding at Cana, and Mary at the foot of the cross as developmental stages, this article shows the changing relationship between humanity and the Virgin Mary. Pierre M. Balthazar is a student in the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology.