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How is Mary the greatest role model for Christian mothers?

Mother’s Day has a deep spiritual dimension. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the greatest of all mothers. Motherhood has always been a sacred and noble vocation, but Mary raised it to even greater stature when she became the Mother of God. As the mother who is “blessed among women” (Lk 1:42), Mary gives us the clearest and most inspiring picture of what the ideal mother should look like, and every Christian mother would be wise to take her cues from the one who excelled at motherhood like none other.

Mary was “full of grace,” or put more simply, God lived within her. This came naturally because of her upbringing. St. Ann was Mary’s mother, and the elder Ann taught her young daughter to be loving and kind, attentive to God’s Word, and obedient to God’s will. With such a firm foundation, Mary was so favorably disposed to God that when the archangel Gabriel appeared to her and said, “You will bear a son,” with deep faith she trustingly replied, “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:31,38). Every Christian mother loves God with all her heart and responds favorably whenever God calls.

Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35); it was by the grace of God that she conceived. Every conception is a miracle, and every Christian mother knows that she is a partner with God in the ongoing work of creation, deeply aware that her child is a gift from God. As a result, when a Christian woman is blessed with a pregnancy, she rejoices in her child as Mary rejoiced in Jesus, she completes her pregnancy rather than end it in abortion, and cares for her unborn child with good nutrition, medical check ups, and the avoidance of smoking, alcohol, or any drugs that could have a harmful effect.

Once Mary became pregnant, she immediately went to visit Elizabeth, her relative, who also was pregnant (Lk 1:39-45). Christian mothers do not focus solely on themselves and their own families. Instead, they have the marvelous ability to assist relatives and friends who are in need.

Not long after Mary became pregnant, she offered a magnificent prayer to God, one of the most beautiful prayers in all of Scripture, the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55). Mothers who follow Mary’s example are deeply prayerful, and speak to God from their hearts day-by-day.

On the first Christmas Mary gave birth to her Son, and she immediately wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes (Lk 2:7), and thereby cared for his physical needs. Christian mothers care the for their children’s physical needs as they feed them, clothe them, change their diapers, rock them to sleep, take them to doctor’s appointments, and nurse them through illness.

Several weeks after Jesus was born, Mary, along with her husband Joseph, presented their newborn Son Jesus to the priest in the Temple (Lk 2:22-38). By doing this, Mary consecrated Jesus to God, she acknowledged that God had a plan for her Son and agreed to do everything in her power to cooperate with God’s intended purpose for him. Likewise, Christian mothers consecrate their children to God in the Sacrament of Baptism, and promise to do everything possible to help their children do what God wants in their lives.

Next, evil King Herod tried to kill Jesus, so Mary fled to Egypt to protect her son (Mt 2:13-15). Christian mothers keep their children away from evil forces that could harm them: violent or abusive adults, undisciplined playmates, and bad television programs, to name a few.

Mary and Joseph took their son Jesus to the synagogue in Nazareth each week in observance of the Sabbath (Lk 4:16), and they took him to the Temple in Jerusalem once a year for Passover (Lk 2:41). For Mary, regular church attendance was automatic. Mothers who follow Mary’s example go to Mass each week, and they take their children with them, because it is so important to pray with others and be connected to other faith-filled families.

The gospel says that Jesus was obedient to Mary (Lk 2:51), which implies that Mary was firm and demanding with her Son. Christian mothers do not let their children do whatever they want, but have high standards for Christian conduct, have a set of house rules, and insist upon them.

When Jesus was crucified, Mary stood at the foot of the Cross and suffered with him (Jn 19:25). She never abandoned her child, even during adulthood, particularly when things were at their worst. This sort of enduring love is exemplary for Christian mothers. Children get into trouble, sometimes for the right reasons, sometimes not, as children or as adults. Mothers like Mary stand with their children throughout life, especially when things go bad, even if they are unable to alter the course of tragic events, to offer love and support in whatever way they can.

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Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles

A Reflection on Mary, Mother of the Church

By: Sister Laetitia Therese, O.C.D.

The Monday after Pentecost, the Church celebrates the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church. Instituted by Pope Francis in 2019, it seems very fitting for our times. The state of affairs in our world, our country, our Church, our families, and our own hearts can be very discouraging and bid us look for signs of hope. We are in great need of motherly care and we find it in Mary, Mother of the Church.

We celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the Church when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and transformed them into courageous witnesses to the Gospel, the Good News that mankind is not lost. God has entered into suffering humanity and taking it upon Himself has brought the good of our salvation out of the evil of His death on the cross. Sin and death no longer have the final word. By God’s design, Mary is central to His plan of salvation. By her humble assent to His invitation, she became the Mother of His Son. But, He would not keep her to Himself, and so at the foot of the cross, by His invitation, she became the Mother of all His disciples. She took her mission to heart. In the entrance antiphon of Mass for this feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, we are reminded that following our Lord’s Ascension, she gathered with the other disciples in prayer, beseeching Heaven for the gift of the Holy Spirit. By God’s design, Mary is crucial to the birth and growth of the Church. As she supported the first disciples with her presence and prayers, so now she supports us in the same way.

We are also reminded of Mary’s motherly intercession and her compassion in the Gospels. At Cana, she saw a need and helped to facilitate our Lord’s first public manifestation of His divinity. Our Mother Mary sees and knows our needs. She will not cease to entreat the Lord for every essential grace for us. We also find Mary receiving her mission as Mother of all the disciples at the foot of the cross. We can be assured that as our Mother, Mary has true compassion for us. She is not standing idly by watching us suffer – she is in the “trenches” with us. As her heart was united to that of her Son on the cross, so her heart is united to each of us in our sufferings. Her heart aches with our pain, and she gives us the courage and strength to follow after our Lord, carrying our cross, trusting that He will bring good out of everything. With Mary, we can continue to walk in faith and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us!

May 28, 2021 | Blogs , Carmelite Musings , Faith , Reflections , Scripture and Liturgy , template-updated

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Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

The first time Mary became part of my faith, I was a sleep-deprived new mother. I hadn’t grown up Catholic and converted just a year before my son joined our family. As I nursed him in a darkened room, in the middle of the night, I realized that Mary had fed Jesus just like this. I found this comforting as I looked down at my son, his long eyelashes wet with tears from calling to me in the dark, and prayed that he too would know her Son.

In 2018, Pope Francis added the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church to our Church calendar. Pope Francis hoped this devotion “might encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful.” [1]

The Scripture reading for this memorial feast is John 19:25–34, in which Jesus calls out from the Cross, entrusting Mary to his disciple John as his mother and entrusting his disciple to Mary as her son. Pope John Paul II taught us that through this Scripture passage, we understand that “Mary is present in the Church as the Mother of Christ, and at the same time as that Mother whom Christ, in the mystery of the Redemption, gave to humanity in the person of the Apostle John.” [2] Mary is our mother too—Mother to the Church and mother to us personally.

As a new mother, inviting Mary into my life was natural. I could relate to her so easily, but as I got to know her more, I realized I would have liked to have been in friendship with her sooner. I grew up in a Protestant church, in which so many of the models of faith put before me were men: Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, and Paul. It was difficult for me to connect with these stories, as a young girl without land or leadership. But Mary, I understood.

As a child, I longed for more faith and to sense God’s presence. Now, as an adult, I imagine Mary, the young Jewish girl waiting for the redemption of her people, and I know she would have understood. She could have been the model of faith I needed as a child, but now I look to her and say “Yes,” just as she did. She shows us how saying “Yes” to God reveals a world more magnificent than we could ever imagine. By saying “Yes” to God, Mary became the first disciple, Jesus’ first follower.

When I became a mother, I was overwhelmed by the hundreds of daily tasks I needed to do to care for my child and our home. As I washed what seemed like a never-ending pile of dishes or folded the mountain of laundry, I knew Mary was familiar with this work. She showed us how to live out a loving, vibrant faith through the simplicity of daily tasks. Yes, Mary was present at all the big moments in Jesus’ life, but she was also there in the tender, small moments. Her model of motherhood guided me to understand these small moments are precious in the life of my son and also showed me how to meet her Son in those places.

Sometimes I struggle, both with my faith in our Church and my place in it. I understand why Pope Francis added this feast day. We need to be reminded of how Mary heard the shepherds running in from the fields with the good news that they heard the angels sing that night, and she kept these things and “pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) We need the reminder of how Mary told the servers at a wedding in Cana, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5) We need our Mother to remind us of the magnificent mystery of our Church but also to move us into action.

We honor Mary as Mother of the Church on the day after Pentecost , reminding us that Mary was present with the disciples on Pentecost. Mary prayed with the first Christian community, awaiting the gift of the Holy Spirit for all believers. Mary prayed with them as the Holy Spirit descended. And Mary, our dear Mother, continues to pray for us.

Image: Stained glass panel from Klinte Church, Sweden. By Gabriel Hildebrand under CC BY-SA 2.5 .

[1] DECREE ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

[2] IOANNES PAULUS PP. II REDEMPTORIS MATER - On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Pilgrim Church

Shemaiah Gonzalez

Shemaiah Gonzalez is a freelance writer who holds a B.A. in English Literature and a M.A. in Intercultural Ministry. She thrives on moments where storytelling, art, and faith collide. Published on Busted Halo and America Magazine among others, she is obsessed with being well-rounded as she jumps from Victorian lit to Kendrick Lamar, from the homeless shelter to the cocktail party. A Los Angeles native, she now lives in Seattle with her husband and their two sons.

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Mary (flourished beginning of the Christian era) was the mother of Jesus , venerated in the Christian church since the apostolic age and a favourite subject in Western art , music , and literature . Mary is known from biblical references, which are, however, too sparse to construct a coherent biography. The development of the doctrine of Mary can be traced through titles that have been ascribed to her in the history of the Christian communions—guarantee of the Incarnation , virgin mother, second Eve , mother of God, ever virgin, immaculate, and assumed into heaven . She has a number of feast days in various Christian traditions, several of which are holy days of obligation for Roman Catholics . Shrines to her that have become internationally famous as pilgrimage sites, where assorted miracles have supposedly occurred, include Our Lady of Fatima , Our Lady of Lourdes , Our Lady of Guadalupe , Our Lady of Loreto , and Our Lady of Medjugorje.

The New Testament account of her humility and obedience to the message of God have made her an exemplar for all ages of Christians. Out of the details supplied in the New Testament by the Gospels about the maid of Galilee , Christian piety and theology have constructed a picture of Mary that fulfills the prediction ascribed to her in the Magnificat (Luke 1:48): “Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.”

The first mention of Mary is the story of the Annunciation , which reports that she was living in Nazareth and was betrothed to Joseph (Luke 1:26 ff.), and the last mention of her (Acts of the Apostles 1:14) includes her in the company of those who devoted themselves to prayer after the ascension of Jesus into heaven. She appears in the following incidents in the Gospels: the Annunciation; the visit with Elizabeth, her kinswoman and the mother of John the Baptist , the precursor of Jesus (Luke 1:39 ff.); the birth of Jesus and the presentation of him in the Temple (Luke 2:1 ff.); the coming of the Magi and the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:1 ff.); the Passover visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old (Luke 2:41 ff.); the marriage at Cana in Galilee, although her name is not used (John 2:1 ff.); the attempt to see Jesus while he was teaching (Mark 3:31 ff.); and the station at the cross , where, apparently widowed, she was entrusted to the disciple John (John 19:26 ff.). Even if one takes these scenes as literal historical accounts, they do not add up to an integrated portrait of Mary. Only in the narratives of the Nativity and the Passion of Christ is her place a significant one: her acceptance of the privilege conferred on her in the Annunciation is the solemn prologue to the Christmas story, and, not only does she stand at the foot of the cross, but in the Easter story “the other Mary” who came to the tomb of Jesus (Matthew 28:1) is not she—according to traditional interpretations, because, having kept in her heart what he was to be, she knew that the body of Jesus would not be there. On the other hand, the three incidents that belong to the life of Jesus contain elements of a pronouncedly human character, perhaps even the suggestion that she did not fully understand Jesus’ true mission.

The story behind Madonna with the Long Neck

Since the early days of Christianity , however, the themes that these scenes symbolize have been the basis for thought and contemplation about Mary. Christian communions and theologians differ from one another in their interpretations of Mary principally on the basis of where they set the terminal point for such development and expansion—that is, where they maintain that the legitimate development of doctrine may be said to have ended. To a considerable degree, therefore, a historical survey of that development is also an introduction to the state of contemporary Christian thought about Mary.

Probably the earliest allusion to Mary in Christian literature is the phrase “born of woman” in Galatians 4:4, which was written before any of the Gospels . As parallels such as Job 14:1 and Matthew 11:11 suggest, the phrase is a Hebraic way of speaking about the essential humanity of a person. When applied to Jesus , therefore, “born of woman” was intended to assert that he was a real man, in opposition to the attempt—later seen in various systems of gnosticism , a 2nd-century dualistic religion—to deny that he had had a completely human life; he was said by some gnostics to have passed through the body of Mary as light passes through a window. It seems unwarranted to read anything further into the phrase, as though “born of woman” necessarily implied “but not of a man and a woman.” Thus, the phrase made Mary the sign or the guarantee that the Son of God had truly been born as a man. For the ancient world, one human parent was necessary to assure that a person was genuinely human, and from the beginning the human mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has been the one to provide this assurance . Some scholars have even maintained that the primary connotation of the phrase “born of the Virgin Mary” in the Apostles’ Creed was this same insistence by the church upon the authentic manhood of Jesus. That insistence has been the irreducible minimum in all the theories about Mary that have appeared in Christian history. Her role as mother takes precedence over any of the other roles assigned to her in devotion and in dogma . Those who deny the virgin birth usually claim to do so in the interest of true humanity, seeing a contradiction between the idea of Jesus as the human son of a human mother and the idea that he did not have a human father. Those who defend the virgin birth usually maintain that the true humanity was made possible when the Virgin Mary accepted her commission as the guarantee of the Incarnation ( Luke 1:38): “Let it be with me according to your word.” This is the original source of the title co-redemptrix—indicating some participation with Christ in the redemption of humankind—assigned to Mary in Roman Catholic theology , though the term has come to connote a more active role by her; the precise nature of this participation is still a matter of controversy among Catholic theologians.

By far the most voluminous narratives about Mary in the New Testament are the infancy stories in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke . In their present form, both accounts make a point of asserting that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary without any human agency (Matthew 1:18 ff.; Luke 1:34 ff.), yet the many textual variants in Matthew 1:16, some of them with the words “Joseph begat Jesus,” have caused some scholars to question whether such an assertion was part of Matthew’s original account. The passages in Matthew and in Luke seem to be the only references to the matter in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul nowhere mentions it; The Gospel According to Mark begins with Jesus as an adult, and The Gospel According to John , which begins with his prehistorical existence, does not allude to the virgin birth, unless a variant of John 1:13 that reads “…who was born” rather than “…who were born” is followed. Matthew does not attach any theological significance to the miracle , but it is possible that the words of the angel in Luke 1:35 are intended to connect the holiness of the child with the virginity of the mother. In postbiblical Christian literature the most voluminous discussions of Mary have been those dealing with her virginity. On the basis of the New Testament, it was the unanimous teaching of all the orthodox Fathers of the Church that Mary conceived Jesus with her virginity unimpaired, a teaching enshrined in the early Christian creeds and concurred in by the 16th-century reformers as well as by most Protestant churches and believers since the Reformation .

One of the interpretations of the person and work of Jesus Christ in the New Testament is the formulation of parallels between him and Adam : “for as all die in Adam , so all will be made alive in Christ” ( 1 Corinthians 15:22). Decisive in the parallel is the contrast between the disobedience of Adam, by which sin came into the world, and the obedience of Christ, by which salvation from sin was accomplished ( Romans 5:12–19). Whether or not the story of the Annunciation in the first chapter of the Gospel According to Luke is intended to suggest a similar parallel between Eve and Mary, this did soon become a theme of Christian reflection. Writing at about the end of the 2nd century, the Church Father St. Irenaeus elaborated the parallel between Eve, who, as a virgin, had disobeyed the word of God, and Mary, who, also as a virgin, had obeyed it:

for Adam had necessarily to be restored in Christ, that mortality be absorbed in immortality, and Eve in Mary, that a virgin, become the advocate of a virgin, should undo and destroy virginal disobedience by virginal obedience.

Irenaeus did not argue the point; he seems rather to have taken the parallel for granted, and this may indicate that it was not his own invention but belonged to tradition, for which he had a high respect. In any case, the parallel did ascribe to Mary and to her obedience an active share in the redemption of the human race: all had died in Adam, but Eve had participated in the sin that brought this on; all were saved in Christ, but Mary had participated in the life that made this possible.

The first widespread theological controversy over Mary had to do with the propriety of applying to her the title of Theotokos , meaning “God-bearer” or “mother of God.” The title seems to have arisen in devotional usage, probably in Alexandria , sometime in the 3rd or 4th century; it was a logical deduction from the doctrine of the full deity of Christ, which was established as a dogma during the 4th century, and those who defended that dogma were also the ones who drew the inference . Perhaps, as the 19th-century English theologian John Henry Cardinal Newman supposed, the determination of the Council of Nicaea in 325 that Christ was not merely the highest of creatures but belonged on the divine side of the line between Creator and creature was even responsible for the rapid growth of devotion and speculation attached to Mary as the highest of creatures. By the end of the 4th century, the Theotokos had successfully established itself in various sections of the church. Because it seemed to him that the supporters of the title were blurring the distinction between the divine and the human in Christ, Nestorius , the patriarch of Constantinople, objected to its use, preferring the less explicit title Christotokos , meaning “Christ-bearer” or “mother of Christ.” Along with other aspects of his teaching, Nestorius’s objections were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431.

Various corollaries could be deduced from the New Testament’s assertion of Mary’s virginity in the conception of Jesus, including the doctrine that she had remained a virgin in the course of his birth (the virginitas in partu ) and the doctrine that she had remained a virgin after his birth and until the end of her life (the virginitas post partum ). The Apostles’ Creed appears to teach at least the virginitas in partu when it says “born of the Virgin Mary.” Although this teaching about how Mary gave birth to Jesus occurs for the first time in the 2nd-century apocryphal , or noncanonical, Protevangelium of James, its origins and evolution are not easy to trace, and Roman Catholic and Protestant historians have come to contradictory conclusions. The growth of the ascetic ideal in the church helped to give support to this view of Mary as the model of the ever virgin. The doctrine is neither asserted nor denied but is simply ignored in the New Testament , and Old Testament passages adduced in support of it by Church Fathers (such as Ezekiel 44:2 and Song of Solomon 4:12) were probably convincing only to those who had already accepted the doctrine.

As the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary implied an integral purity of body and soul, so, in the opinion of many theologians, she was also free of other sins . Attempting to prove the universality of sin against Pelagius (whose teaching was condemned as heretical by the Christian church but who did maintain the sinlessness of Mary), St. Augustine , the great theologian and bishop from northern Africa, spoke for the Western church when he wrote:

We must except the holy Virgin Mary. Out of respect for the Lord, I do not intend to raise a single question on the subject of sin. After all, how do we know what abundance of grace was granted to her who had the merit to conceive and bring forth him who was unquestionably without sin?

It was, however, the distinction between original sin (i.e., the sin that all people are born with) and actual sin (i.e., the sins that people commit during their lives), firmly established in Western theology by the same Augustine, that eventually compelled a further clarification of what the sinlessness of Mary meant. Certain Eastern theologians in the 4th and 5th centuries were willing to attribute actual sins to her, but most theologians in both East and West came to accept the view that she never did anything sinful, a view that found expression even among the 16th-century reformers. But was she free from original sin as well? And if so, how? St. Thomas Aquinas , the most important medieval theologian in the West, took a representative position when he taught that her conception was tarnished, as was that of all humans, but that God suppressed and ultimately extinguished original sin in her, apparently before she was born. This position, however, was opposed by the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception , systematized by Duns Scotus , a 13th-century British Scholastic theologian, and finally defined as Roman Catholic dogma by Pope Pius IX in 1854. According to this dogma, Mary not only was pure in her life and in her birth but

at the first instant of her conception was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, by the singular grace and privilege granted her by Almighty God, through the merits of Christ Jesus, Saviour of mankind.

When the Immaculate Conception was promulgated , petitions began coming to the Vatican for a definition regarding the Assumption of the Virgin into heaven, as this was believed by Roman Catholics and celebrated in the Feast of the Assumption. During the century that followed, more than eight million persons signed such petitions, yet Rome hesitated because the doctrine was difficult to define on the basis of Scripture and early witnesses to the Christian tradition. No account of the place and circumstances of Mary’s death was universally accepted in the church (although paintings depicting her “dormition,” or “falling asleep,” in the ancient Ionian city of Ephesus were quite common); no burial place was acknowledged (although there was a grave in Jerusalem that was said to be hers); and no miracles were credited to relics of her body (although the physical remains of far lesser saints had performed many). Such arguments from silence, however, did not suffice to establish a dogma, and, on the positive side, even the earliest doctrinal and liturgical testimony in support of the idea had appeared relatively late in history. Finally, in 1950 Pope Pius XII made the dogma official, declaring that “the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was run, was assumed in body and soul to heavenly glory.”

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The Virgin Mary and the Church: The Marian Exemplarity of Ecclesial Faith

In this essay I would like to consider in three stages the topic of the Virgin Mary as a model of ecclesial faith. I will do so by recourse to themes found in the doctrine of grace of Thomas Aquinas, especially as it relates to the unfolding of the divine economy. In the first part of the essay I will consider Aquinas’s doctrine of faith in three respects: in terms of the teleology of faith, its ontological degrees of perfection, and its communal character. In the second part of the essay I will consider more briefly the anthropological process of development in faith as it is related to love, particularly with regard to the question: how can faith grow through the occasions of joy and suffering? In the third part of the essay I will consider three mysteries of the life of the Virgin Mary, with respect to her faith: her divine maternity at the Annunciation, her meritorious compassion at the Cross, and her divine queenship in the Assumption, at the term of her earthly sojourn in faith. The goal is to show in these three mysteries how the characteristics of faith elaborated in part one of the essay (which are common to all the faithful) are exemplified in the life of the Virgin Mary, who, like all other Christians, grew in faith both through joy and through suffering. However, these same mysteries of grace are also expressed or realized in her in an absolutely unique mode, one that is not partaken of by another person in the divine economy. As I will argue in conclusion, however, the uniqueness of the Virgin Mary is not something purely extrinsic to the ecclesial life of believers. On the contrary, her prerogatives are intrinsically related to the ecclesial communion of the Church. They are various ways that she affects the lives of all believers, shining forth simultaneously as the Mother of the Redeemer and the Mother of all the faithful.

Related Papers

Vianney Azam

Pope Francis has established a new Marian feast, Mary the Mother of the Church on 03rd March 2018 and later a decree by Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacrament was issued. In 1964, Blessed Pope Paul VI formally declared Mary as the “Mother of the Church.” Mary, the Mother of the Church finds its roots in the Scripture and ancient Catholic traditions. In my attempt to describe this current Marian feast, I will briefly present the exegesis of John 19:25-27 as the biblical foundation. An additional insights on immediate context, i.e., seamless robe and “it is finished.” As the analysis begins, one can see that how the birth of the Church is taking place and Mary, the Mother of Jesus is given a new task, i.e., to be Mother of the Church.

Marian Studies

Kevin Clarke

In certain manuscripts of Sirach, wisdom proclaims herself the “mother of fair love” (Sir 24:18: ἐγὼ μήτηρ τῆς ἀγαπήσεως τῆς καλῆς), a title often attributed to Mary. This paper will explore the beauty of the Mother of God for the various calls or vocations of Christian life. The word “for” is quite intentional here, since hers is no mere appearance to gratify sense perception, but a beauty chosen for God and, therefore, able to elevate, to save, to purify all the creation. Since the radiance of this beauty penetrates into the whole created order, it also does so for the sake of each believer and each vocation. The main sources for the reflections herein will be the dormition homilies of the Church Fathers, the Marian Psalter attributed to St. Bonaventure, and the theology of the body of Pope St. John Paul II. First, the Church Fathers’ homilies show how Mary’s bodily assumption is the eschatological sign for all believers, and hence the Virgin illumines the mystery of consecrated life especially. Furthermore, she plays an essential role in deification: “For if you had not gone before us, no one would ever become perfectly spiritual,” wrote St. Germanus, and “all things are made holy by your myrrh-like fragrance,” according to St. Andrew of Crete. Secondly, in exploring the Marian Psalter, one encounters in Our Lady a beauty most desirable and fecund that bears fruit for those who praise her. This beauty speaks to the universal call to holiness (universali vocatione ad sanctitatem). Beauty is a thread woven throughout the psalter’s praise of the Virgin. Her body and her face are beautiful; her beauty is pedagogical: “Beautiful are your ways: and your paths are peaceful. In you shine forth the beauty of chastity, the light of justice, and the splendor of truth.” The psalmist even writes in the language of eros concerning the virtue of Mary: “I have coveted your chastity from my youth up.” Finally, this article will show how the image of spousal love given by Pope St. John Paul II in his theology of the body points beyond Eve to Mary, the New Eve. He wrote, “Man appears in the visible world as the highest expression of the divine gift, because he bears within himself the inner dimension of the gift. And with it he carries into the world his particular likeness to God, with which he transcends and also rules his ‘visibility’ in the world, his bodiliness, his masculinity or femininity, his nakedness.” The femininity of the Virgin-Mother exists as gift to her Son, but as sign it also is a sacrament of divine love. In this section, particular attention will be paid to John Paul’s exegesis of the Song of Songs to see how the beauty of the vocation to spousal love is particularly illumined by the mutual love of Jesus and Mary and by the communion of persons in the Holy Family.

Deirdre J Good

FrDr Stel Muksuris

Within Byzantine liturgical worship, most especially during the Eucharistic Divine Liturgy, replete are the instances in which the Mother of God is besought by the worshipper to fulfill specific needs, foremost of which is salvation. Equally prominent are the occurrences that elevate her to a position of honor, not least of which is the privilege of being the saint in whose honor the eucharistic sacrifice is especially offered. The controversial Latin notion of Mary as a “complement to the Holy Trinity” in terms of God’s salvational activity, and as “co-Redemptress” with Christ raises the question of her actual role in the divine economy of salvation. Fueling this “ontological “elevation is, avowedly, the Western doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, but the Eastern Orthodox Church interprets her salvific contribution to humanity as her complete fulfillment of her calling as Theotokos, or God-bearer. Hence, in the act of redemption, she is not a “helper of Christ” as much as an “enabler of Christ” through her direct involvement in the Incarnation. In this paper, I will argue that Mary’s salvific role centers around her fulfilled motherhood, a key concept within the liturgical celebration of the Church. Several references to festal troparia taken from the hymnological wealth of the Church’s Tradition, laden with rich theological and soteriological imagery, will support this position. Based on the aforementioned research, I will conclude that the privilege of a sanctified life, generally speaking, is achieved through the synergistic efforts of man when he fulfills his vocation and God who bestows upon man the crown of theosis and completes his personhood in the divine image.

Hope and Vision: The Magazine of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary USA

Lisa L Gierlach

This paper intends to take a fresh look at Mary as seen first and foremost through the Scriptures, then through the writings of the earliest Church Fathers. From there, this paper will focus on the Reformers and the subsequent loss of Mary in the Protestant church. Finally, this paper will discuss characteristics of Mary that can enliven Protestant discipleship and bring forward an awakened consciousness of the Mother of God. Specifically, with what we can say that we certainly know of Mary, this paper will aspire to demonstrate how Mary is an essential element in the Gospel and to all of Christian life.

The Nigerian Journal of Theology

Anthony A UDOH

God is a Mystery. However, in Christ, the Incarnate Word, we have come to know God. The truth about the Incarnation, that Christ became human, taking up human flesh in the womb of Mary, is the mirror through which Christian faith is explained. This Biblically grounded truth forms the basis for our communion with God and our Christian faith. In light of this, this paper insists that the truth of the role of the Mother of God is only possible through the lens of the truth about the Son of God for whom she is the Mother and in relation to the Church that he founded for us as the universal means of salvation. It demonstrates how this relationship is the framework for her maternal mediation in the Church. Our study, done contextually and analytically, leads us to conclude that the best place to situate the theology of Mary is within the theology of Christ and his Church as indeed Vatican II's Lumen Gentium does. Such an approach provides greater depth, context, and clarity to Marian mediation.

Ecce Mater Tua: A Journal of Mariology

Taylor Patrick O'Neill

This article outlines the implications of the Thomistic understanding of predestination for Mariology, providing for a robust understanding of her grace and the great intimacy between Mary and Christ. It is, I think, a speculative treatment with spiritual implications. The work argues along lines espoused by St. Thomas and St. Augustine (and developed by the Thomistic commentators, especially Garrigou-Lagrange who plays prominently herein) that it is Mary’s divine maternity which is the source and cause of her plentitude of grace. Her free cooperation with God’s grace effects a most fitting mother, not just of Christ’s human nature, but a mother of the unified Person of Jesus Christ.

Journal of English and Germanic Philology

Annemarie Carr

De Maria Numquam Satis: The Significance of the Catholic Doctrines on the Blessed Virgin Mary for All People

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Mary, the Mother of God and Our Spiritual Mother

On Wednesday, 29 April 1998, the Holy Father, in his catechesis on Jesus Christ the Son, shifted his gaze to Mary, since “we cannot separate the Son from the Mother.”

1. In directing our gaze to Christ, the Jubilee also invites us to turn our eyes towards Mary. We cannot separate the Son from the Mother, because "being born of Mary" belongs to Jesus' personal identity. In the very first formulas of faith, Jesus is acknowledged as the Son of God and Son of Mary. Tertullian, for example, recalls this when he states: "We must believe in one God, the Almighty, the Creator of the world, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary" ( De virg. vel., 1, 3).

As Mother, Mary was the first human person to rejoice over a birth that marked a new era in the religious history of humanity. From the angel's message she knew what her child's extraordinary destiny would be in the plan of salvation. Mary's joy lies at the root of all Jubilees to come. The Jubilee we are going to celebrate was thus prepared in her maternal heart. For this reason, the Blessed Virgin must be "indirectly" present, so to speak, in dealing with the themes planned throughout the preparatory phase (cf. Tertio millennio adveniente, n. 43). Our Jubilee will have to be a sharing in her joy.

2. The inseparability of Christ and Mary comes from the Father's sovereign will in carrying out the plan of the Incarnation. As St Paul says, "when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman" ( Gal 4:4).

The Father wanted a mother for his incarnate Son, so that he would be born in a truly human way. At the same time, he wanted a virginal mother as a sign of the child's divine sonship.

To make this motherhood a reality, the Father asked Mary for her consent. The angel explained the divine plan to her and waited for an answer, which had to come from her free will. This can be clearly seen in the Annunciation account, which stresses that Mary posed a question that reveals her intention to remain a virgin. When the angel explained to her that the obstacle would be overcome through the action of the Holy Spirit, she gave her consent.

3. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" ( Lk 1:38). Mary's acceptance of the divine plan had an immense effect on the whole future of mankind. We can say that the "yes" she expressed at the time of the Annunciation changed the face of the world. It was a "yes" to the coming of the One who was to free human beings from the slavery of sin and win for them the divine life of grace. A future of happiness for the universe was made possible by this "yes" from the young woman of Nazareth.

A wondrous event! The praise that wells up from Elizabeth's heart in the story of the Visitation aptly expresses the joy of all humanity: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" ( Lk 1:42).

4. From the moment of Mary's consent, the mystery of the Incarnation becomes a reality. The Son of God enters our world and begins to live as a man, while remaining fully God. From that moment Mary becomes the Mother of God.

This is the highest title that can be given to a creature. It is totally justified in Mary's case, because a mother is mother of the person of her son in the complete fullness of his humanity. Mary is the "Mother of God" inasmuch as she is the Mother of the "Son of God", even if this motherhood is defined in the context of the mystery of the Incarnation.

It was precisely this insight which gave rise to the title of Theotókos, Mother of God, in the hearts and on the lips of Christians from the third century. The most ancient prayer addressed to Mary originated in Egypt and asks for her help in difficult circumstances, invoking her as "Mother of God".

Later, when some challenged the legitimacy of this title, the Council of Ephesus solemnly approved it in 431, and its truth has prevailed in doctrinal language and in prayer.

5. By her divine motherhood Mary fully opened her heart to Christ, and in him to all humanity. Mary's total dedication to the work of the Son is especially shown by her participation in his sacrifice. According to John's testimony, the Mother of Jesus "stood by the cross" ( Jn 19:25). She thus united herself to all the sufferings that Jesus endured. She shared in the generous offering of his sacrifice for the salvation of mankind.

This association with Christ's sacrifice brought about a new motherhood in Mary. She who suffered for all men became the mother of all men. Jesus himself proclaimed this new motherhood when he said to her from the height of the cross: "Woman, behold, your son" ( Jn 19:26). Mary thus became the mother of the beloved disciple and, in Jesus' intention, the mother of every disciple, every Christian.

Mary's universal motherhood, intended to foster life according to the Spirit, is an extraordinary gift to humanity from Christ crucified. Jesus said to the beloved disciple: "Behold, your mother". And from that hour he "took her to his own home" ( Jn 19:27), or better, "among his possessions", among the precious gifts left him by the crucified Master.

The words, "Behold, your mother", are addressed to each of us. We are invited to love Mary as Christ loved her, to welcome her into our lives as our Mother, to let her lead us along the ways of the Holy Spirit.

Paragraph 6. MARY - MOTHER OF CHRIST, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

963 Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the mystery of the Church. "The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer.... She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' ... since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head." 500 "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church." 501

I. MARY'S MOTHERHOOD WITH REGARD TO THE CHURCH

Wholly united with her Son . . .

964 Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; 502 it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:

Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son." 503

965 After her Son's Ascension, Mary "aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers." 504 In her association with the apostles and several women, "we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation." 505

. . . also in her Assumption

966 "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death." 506 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:

In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death. 507

. . . she is our Mother in the order of grace

967 By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity. Thus she is a "preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary realization" (typus) 508 of the Church.

968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace." 509

969 "This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation .... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." 510

970 "Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it." 511 "No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source." 512

II. DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN

971 "All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship." 513 The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs.... This very special devotion ... differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration." 514 The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary. 515

III. MARY - ESCHATOLOGICAL ICON OF THE CHURCH

972 After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own "pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity," "in the communion of all the saints," 516 The Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.

In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God. 517

973 By pronouncing her "fiat" at the Annunciation and giving her consent to the Incarnation, Mary was al ready collaborating with the whole work her Son was to accomplish. She is mother wherever he is Savior and head of the Mystical Body.

974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son's Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.

975 "We believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ" (Paul VI, CPG # 15).

I. The life of man - to know and love God
II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis
III. The Aim and Intended Readership of the Catechism
IV. Structure of this Catechism
V. Practical Directions for Using this Catechism
VI. Necessary Adaptations
Man's Capacity For God
Ii. Ways Of Coming To Know God
Iii. The Knowledge Of God According To The Church
Iv. How Can We Speak About God?
The Revelation Of God
II. The Stages Of Revelation
III. Christ Jesus -- Mediator And Fullness Of All Revelation25
The Transmission Of Divine Revelation
I. The Apostolic Tradition
II. The Relationship Between Tradition And Sacred Scripture
III. The Interpretation Of The Heritage Of Faith
Sacred Scripture
II. Inspiration And Truth Of Sacred Scripture
III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter Of Scripture
IV. The Canon Of Scripture
V. Sacred Scripture In The Life Of The Church
II. I Know Whom I Have Believed16
III. The Characteristics Of Faith
I. Lord, Look Upon The Faith Of Your Church
II. The Language Of Faith
III. Only One Faith
I Believe In God The Father Almighty, Creator Of Heaven And Earth
Paragraph 2. The Father
Paragraph 3. The Almighty
Paragraph 4. The Creator
Paragraph 5. Heaven And Earth
Paragraph 6. Man
Paragraph 7. The Fall
III. The Only Son Of God
He Was Conceived By The Power Of The Holy Spirit, And Was Born Of The Virgin Mary
Paragraph 2. Conceived By The Power Of The Holy Spirit And Born Of The Virgin Mary
Paragraph 3. The Mysteries Of Christ's Life
Jesus Christ Suffered Under Pontius Pilate, Was Crucified, Died And Was Buried
Paragraph 1. Jesus And Israel
Paragraph 2. Jesus Died Crucified
Paragraph 3. Jesus Christ Was Buried
HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. On The Third Day He Rose Again
Paragraph 1. Christ Descended Into Hell
Paragraph 2. On The Third Day He Rose From The Dead
He Ascended Into Heaven And Is Seated At The Right Hand Of The Father
From Thence He Will Come Agaln To Judge The Living And The Dead
II. To Judge The Living And The Dead
I. The Joint Mission Of The Son And The Spirit
II. The Name, Titles, And Symbols Of The Holy Spirit
III. God's Spirit And Word In The Time Of The Promises
IV. The Spirit Of Christ In The Fullness Of Time
V. The Spirit And The Church In The Last Days
I Believe In The Holy Catholic Church
Paragraph 1. The Church In God's Plan
Paragraph 2. The Church - People Of God, Body Of Christ, Temple Of The Holy Spirit
Paragraph 3. The Church Is One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic
Paragraph 4. Christ's Faithful - Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life
Paragraph 5. The Communion Of Saints
Paragraph 6. Mary - Mother Of Christ, Mother Of The Church
I Believe In The Forgiveness Of Sins
I. One Baptism For The Forgiveness Of Sins
II. The Power Of The Keys
I Believe In The Resurrection Of The Body
I. Christ's Resurrection And Ours
II. Dying In Christ Jesus
I Believe In Life Everlasting
I. The Particular Judgment
III. The Final Purification, Or Purgatory
V. The Last Judgment
VI. Hope Of The New Heaven And The New Earth
The Liturgy - Work Of The Holy Trinity
II. Christ's Work In The Liturgy
III. The Holy Spirit And The Church In The Liturgy
The Paschal Mystery In The Church's Sacraments
I. The Sacraments Of Christ
II. The Sacraments Of The Church
III. The Sacraments Of Faith
IV. The Sacraments Of Salvation
V. The Sacraments Of Eternal Life
Celebrating The Church's Liturgy
II. How Is The Liturgy Celebrated?
III. When Is The Liturgy Celebrated?
IV. Where Is The Liturgy Celebrated?
Liturgical Diversity And The Unity Of The Mystery
The Sacrament Of Baptism
I. What Is This Sacrament Called?
II. Baptism In The Economy Of Salvation
III. How Is The Sacrament Of Baptism Celebrated?
IV. Who Can Receive Baptism?
V. Who Can Baptize?
VI. The Necessity Of Baptism
VII. The Grace Of Baptism
The Sacrament Of Confirmation
I. Confirmation In The Economy Of Salvation
II. The Signs And The Rite Of Confirmation
III. The Effects Of Confirmation
IV. Who Can Receive This Sacrament?
V. The Minister Of Confirmation
The Sacrament Of The Eucharist
I. The Eucharist - Source And Summit Of Ecclesial Life
II. What Is This Sacrament Called?
III. The Eucharist In The Economy Of Salvation
IV. The Liturgical Celebration Of The Eucharist
V. The Sacramental Sacrifice Thanksgiving, Memorial, Presence
VI. The Paschal Banquet
VII. The Eucharist - Pledge Of The Glory To Come
The Sacrament Of Penance And Reconciliation
II. Why A Sacrament Of Reconciliation After Baptism?
III. The Conversion Of The Baptized
IV. Interior Penance
V. The Many Forms Of Penance In Christian Life
VI. The Sacrament Of Penance And Reconciliation
VII. The Acts Of The Penitent
VIII. The Minister Of This Sacrament
IX. The Effects Of This Sacrament
X. Indulgences
XI. The Celebration Of The Sacrament Of Penance
The Anointing Of The Sick
I. Its Foundations In The Economy Of Salvation
II. Who Receives And Who Administers This Sacrament?
III. How Is This Sacrament Celebrated?
IV. The Effects Of The Celebration Of This Sacrament
V. Viaticum, The Last Sacrament Of The Christian
I. Why Is This Sacrament Called Orders?
II. The Sacrament Of Holy Orders In The Economy Of Salvation
III. The Three Degrees Of The Sacrament Of Holy Orders
IV. The Celebration Of This Sacrament
V. Who Can Confer This Sacrament?
VI. Who Can Receive This Sacrament?
VII. The Effects Of The Sacrament Of Holy Orders
The Sacrament Of Matrimony
I. Marriage In God's Plan
II. The Celebration Of Marriage
III. Matrimonial Consent
IV. The Effects Of The Sacrament Of Matrimony
V. The Goods And Requirements Of Conjugal Love
VI. The Domestic Church
Other Liturgical Celebrations
Christian Funerals
I. The Christian's Last Passover
II. The Celebration Of Funerals
Man: The Image Of God
Our Vocation To Beatitude
II. The Desire For Happiness
III. Christian Beatitude
Man's Freedom
I. Freedom And Responsibility
II. Human Freedom In The Economy Of Salvation
The Morality Of Human Acts
I. The Sources Of Morality
II. Good Acts And Evil Acts
The Morality Of The Passions
I. Passions
II. Passions And Moral Life
Moral Conscience
I. The Judgment Of Conscience
II. The Formation Of Conscience
III. To Choose In Accord With Conscience
IV. Erroneous Judgment
The Virtues
I. The Human Virtues
II. The Theological Virtues
III. The Gifts And Fruits Of The Holy Spirit
II. The Definition Of Sin
III. The Different Kinds Of Sins
IV. The Gravity Of Sin: Mortal And Venial Sin
V. The Proliferation Of Sin
The Person And Society
II. Conversion And Society
Participation In Social Life
II. The Common Good
III. Responsibility And Participation
Social Justice
I. Respect For The Human Person
II. Equality And Differences Among Men
III. Human Solidarity
The Moral Law
I. The Natural Moral Law
II. The Old Law
III. The New Law Or The Law Of The Gospel
Grace And Justification
IV. Christian Holiness
The Church, Mother And Teacher
I. Moral Life And The Magisterium Of The Church
II. The Precepts Of The Church
III. Moral Life And Missionary Witness
The First Commandment
I. You Shall Worship The Lord Your God And Him Only Shall You Serve
II. Him Only Shall You Serve
III. You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me
IV. You Shall Not Make For Yourself A Graven Image . . .
The Second Commandment
I. The Name Of The Lord Is Holy
II. Taking The Name Of The Lord In Vain
III. The Christian Name
The Third Commandment
I. The Sabbath Day
II. The Lord's Day
I. The Family In God's Plan
II. The Family And Society
III. The Duties Of Family Members
IV. The Family And The Kingdom
V. The Authorities In Civil Society
The Fifth Commandment
I. Respect For Human Life
II. Respect For The Dignity Of Persons
III. Safeguarding Peace
The Sixth Commandment
I. Male And Female He Created Them . . .
II. The Vocation To Chastity
III. The Love Of Husband And Wife
IV. Offenses Against The Dignity Of Marriage
The Seventh Commandment
I. The Universal Destination And The Private Ownership Of Goods
II. Respect For Persons And Their Goods
III. The Social Doctrine Of The Church
IV. Economic Activity And Social Justice
V. Justice And Solidarity Among Nations
VI. Love For The Poor
The Eighth Commandment
I. Living In The Truth
II. To Bear Witness To The Truth
III. Offenses Against Truth
IV. Respect For The Truth
V. The Use Of The Social Communications Media
VI. Truth, Beauty, And Sacred Art
The Ninth Commandment
I. Purification Of The Heart
II. The Battle For Purity
The Tenth Commandment
I. The Disorder Of Covetous Desires
II. The Desires Of The Spirit
III. Poverty Of Heart
IV. I Want To See God
In The Old Testament
In The Fullness Of Time
In The Age Of The Church
I. Blessing And Adoration
II. Prayer Of Petition
III. Prayer Of Intercession
IV. Prayer Of Thanksgiving
V. Prayer Of Praise
At The Wellsprings Of Prayer
The Way Of Prayer
Guides For Prayer
Expressions Of Prayer
II. Meditation
III. Contemplative Prayer
The Battle Of Prayer
I. Objections To Prayer
II. Humble Vigilance Of Heart
III. Filial Trust
IV. Perservering In Love
The Prayer Of The Hour Of Jesus
article 1 the summary of the whole gospel
article 2 our father who art in heaven
article 3 the seven petitions
article 4 the final doxolgy

My Catholic Life!

A journey of personal conversion!

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

Madonna del Popolo (Barocci) from Wikipedia

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church—Memorial

Celebrated the Monday after Pentecost

Liturgical Color: White Version: Full – Short

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Quote: Indeed, the Mother standing beneath the cross (cf. Jn 19:25), accepted her Son’s testament of love and welcomed all people in the person of the beloved disciple as sons and daughters to be reborn unto life eternal. She thus became the tender Mother of the Church which Christ begot on the cross handing on the Spirit. Christ, in turn, in the beloved disciple, chose all disciples as ministers of his love towards his Mother, entrusting her to them so that they might welcome her with filial affection. ~From the Decree of the Congregation of Divine Worship adding the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church to the General Roman Calendar

Reflection: Little is said about the most glorious Mother of God in the Scriptures. In many ways, she lived a quiet and hidden life. Since her Assumption into Heaven, the Church has prayerfully pondered her life and role in the mystery of salvation. Little by little, saint after saint and pope after pope have shed greater light upon her singularly unique and glorious role in the Father’s eternal plan. As the Church’s understanding of the Blessed Mother has deepened, new titles and new dogmas have been proclaimed about Mary. In 2018, a new liturgical memorial honored her with the title “Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

To understand the Blessed Virgin Mary’s role as Mother of the Church, we need to begin with Scripture. As Jesus hung on the Cross, John’s Gospel records that the mother of Jesus and two other women stood before Him, alongside John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. From the Cross, Jesus entrusted His mother to John’s care. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26–27).

In 1895, in his encyclical on the rosary, Pope Leo XIII wrote about that Gospel passage:

Now in John, as the Church has constantly taught, Christ designated the whole human race, and in the first rank are they who are joined with Him by faith…She was, in very truth, the Mother of the Church, the Teacher and Queen of the Apostles, to whom, besides, she confided no small part of the divine mysteries which she kept in her heart” ( Adiutricem #6).

In 1964, Pope Saint Paul VI promulgated the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church). After presenting a complete picture of the mystery of the Church, the final chapter of that constitution presents “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and the Church.” That chapter highlights her singularly unique and maternal role within the Church. Lumen Gentium did not go so far as to ascribe the title “Mother of the Church” to the Blessed Mother, but it did go into great detail about her maternal role within the Church. Four years later, in a motu proprio letter, Pope Paul VI referenced Lumen Gentium and took it a step further by bestowing upon the Mother of God the title “Mother of the Church.”

…we believe that the Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ’s members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed ( Solemni Hac Liturg ia #15).

Since that time, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have continually referred to the Mother of God as the Mother of the Church. What does the title “Mother of the Church” mean? On September 17, 1997, Pope John Paul II defined it this way in a Wednesday catechesis:

The title “Mother of the Church” thus reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ, but also of the faithful. She who is recognized as mother of salvation, life and grace, mother of the saved and mother of the living, is rightly proclaimed Mother of the Church. (#5).

On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis announced that a new memorial would be added to the General Roman Calendar and celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday, entitled “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

In the decree instituting this memorial, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, said:

This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.

It is significant that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, was entrusted to the Church in the person of Saint John the Apostle at the foot of the Cross. From the Cross, the Church was conceived by the outpouring of grace that flowed from Jesus’ Sacred Heart. At Pentecost, our Blessed Mother was present as the Church was born.

Today, the Mother of the Church reigns in Heaven next to her Son; from there, she continues to nurture the Church as a loving mother. She not only intercedes for us but also mediates her Son’s saving grace, making her the ongoing instrument of grace and mother of all.

Because our understanding of the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary has continually unfolded over the centuries, it is fair to say that we do not yet fully understand her glorious role in the Father’s plan of salvation. Some have proposed that she be given the dogmatic titles “Mediatrix of All Grace” and “Co-Redemptrix.” Regardless of what comes next in our ever deepening understanding of the role of the Blessed Mother, we can be certain that those who one day gaze upon the essence of God Himself as he reveals all truth will immediately become aware of the most profound mysteries of Mary’s hidden life.

As we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, know that she is your spiritual mother insofar as you are a member of Christ’s Body, the Church. By giving birth to the Head, she gives birth to the members. As members of that Body, it is essential that we seek spiritual nourishment from the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is our mother and queen. From her, we are born into God’s grace. She is the chosen instrument and mediatrix of grace. Rely upon her motherly intercession and mediation, and entrust yourself more fully to her care.

Saints and Feasts of the Liturgical Year Volumes One–Four

(Short Version)

The most glorious Mother of God largely lived a quiet and hidden life, and there are but a few stories about her in the Scriptures. Since her Assumption into Heaven, the Church has prayerfully pondered her life and role in the mystery of salvation. Little by little, saint after saint and pope after pope have shed greater light upon her unique and glorious role in the Father’s eternal plan. As our understanding of the Blessed Mother has deepened, the Church has proclaimed new titles and new dogmas about Mary. In 2018, a new liturgical memorial honored her with the title “Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

To understand the Blessed Virgin Mary’s role as Mother of the Church, we begin with Scripture. As Jesus hung on the Cross, His mother and two other women stood before Him, alongside John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. From the Cross, Jesus entrusted His mother to John’s care. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26–27).

Beginning with Pope Leo XIII in 1895, many of our popes have referred to Mary as the “Mother of the Church,” with each one adding to our understanding of Mary in that role. On September 17, 1997, Pope John Paul II defined “Mother of the Church” in this way in a Wednesday catechesis:

On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis announced a new memorial on the General Roman Calendar, celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost: “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, was entrusted to the Church in the person of Saint John the Apostle at the foot of the Cross. From the Cross, the Church was conceived by the outpouring of grace that flowed from Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Our Blessed Mother was present at Pentecost as the Church was born.

Today, the Mother of the Church reigns in Heaven next to her Son; from there, she nurtures the Church as a loving mother. She intercedes for us and mediates her Son’s saving grace, making her the ongoing instrument of grace and mother of all.

Most glorious Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you I entrust myself, just as Jesus entrusted John to your care. Receive me as your spiritual child, and nurture me with your Son’s divine grace. May my “Yes” echo yours as I surrender fully to God’s plan. Mother Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

On February 11, 2018, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments inscribed a new obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church , into the General Roman Calendar. This memorial is celebrated every year on the Monday after Pentecost .

Latin liturgical texts were also promulgated the same day, and on January 13, 2022, the Congregation confirmed the English translation of those texts. (An approval and confirmation process is still required for a Spanish translation.)

The proper texts in English for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church are provided below:

Roman Missal

A full Mass formulary – including Collect, Prayer over the Offerings, Preface, Prayer after Communion, and Entrance and Communion Antiphons – is already included within the Roman Missal . White vestments are worn.

From the Votive Masses: 10. Blessed Virgin Mary, B. Our Lady, Mother of the Church.

Lectionary for Mass

A set of proper (i.e., mandatory) readings are assigned for this memorial. Since the precise verses and acclamation are not found together in any one place in the Lectionary for Mass , the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship has prepared PDF resources of the readings in English and in Spanish to facilitate their use.

572A – The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (Memorial)

The readings for this memorial are proper.

First Reading – Genesis 3:9-15, 20 Mother of all the living.

or: Acts 1:12-14 They were continually in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7 R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!

Gospel Acclamation O joyful Virgin, who gave birth to the Lord; O blessed Mother of the Church, who nurture in us the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ!

Gospel – John 19:25-34 Behold your Son. Behold your mother.

Liturgy of the Hours

The title of Mother of the Church has been bestowed on the Blessed Virgin Mary because she gave birth to Christ, the Head of the Church, and became Mother of the redeemed before her Son gave up his spirit on the Cross. Pope Saint Paul VI solemnly confirmed the same title in an address given to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964 and established that "by this sweetest of names the whole Christian people should henceforth give still greater honor to the Mother of God."

From the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, except for the following:

Office of Readings

Second Reading From the Address of Pope Saint Paul VI, at the conclusion of the third session of the most holy Second Vatican Council (November 21, 1964: AAS 56 [1964], 1015-1016)

Mary, Mother of the Church

Taking into consideration the close ties by which Mary and the Church are bound together, to the glory of the Blessed Virgin and for our consolation, We declare Mary Most Holy to be Mother of the Church, that is, of the whole Christian people, faithful and Pastors alike, who invoke her as their most loving Mother; and We establish that by this sweetest of names the whole Christian people should henceforth give still greater honor to the Mother of God and offer her their supplications.

Venerable Brothers, this concerns a title by no means new to Christian piety; indeed the Christian faithful and the universal Church choose to invoke Mary principally by the name of Mother. In truth, this name belongs to the genuine nature of devotion to Mary, since it rests firmly on that very dignity with which Mary is endowed as the Mother of the Incarnate Word of God.

Just as the Divine Motherhood is the basis both for Mary's unique relationship with Christ and for her presence in the work of human salvation accomplished by Christ Jesus, so likewise, it is principally from the Divine Motherhood that the relationships which exist between Mary and the Church flow. Mary is indeed the Mother of Christ who, at the moment he assumed human nature in her virginal womb, joined to himself, as Head, his Mystical Body, which is the Church. Mary, therefore, as Mother of Christ, must also be regarded as Mother of all the faithful and Pastors alike, that is to say, of the Church.

Herein lies the reason why we, though unworthy and weak, yet in a spirit of trust and with ardent filial love, raise our eyes to her. She who once gave us Jesus, the fount of heavenly grace, cannot fail to offer her maternal help to the Church, especially at this time in which the Spouse of Christ strives with greater zeal to fulfil her salvific mission

These closest of bonds between our heavenly Mother and the human race urge Us, moreover, to foster and further strengthen this confidence. Even though she has been enriched with superabundant and wondrous gifts from God so as to be made worthy to be Mother of the Incarnate Word, nevertheless, Mary is very near to us. Like us, she is a child of Adam and so too our sister on account of our common human nature; she was preserved from the stain of original sin by reason of the future merits of Christ, but she added to these gifts received from on high the example of her own perfect faith and so merited the proclamation in the Gospel: "Blessed are you who have believed."

In this mortal life she embodied the perfect form of a disciple of Christ, she was the mirror of all virtues, and in her manner of life exemplified fully those beatitudes proclaimed by Christ Jesus. Consequently, the universal Church, while she lives out the many facets of her life and in her active zeal, draws from the Virgin Mother of God the peerless example of how to imitate Christ perfectly.

Responsory Cf. Luke 1:35

The Holy Spirit came down upon Mary: — the Power of the Most High overshadowed her.

Once more it filled her, sharing in the Passion of her Son as the Mother of the redeemed: — the Power of the Most High overshadowed her.

Prayer, as at Morning Prayer.

Morning Prayer

Canticle of Zechariah

Ant. The disciples devoted themselves with one accord to prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Evening Prayer

Canticle of Mary

Ant . The Lord said to his mother: Woman, behold your son. And to the disciple: Behold your mother.

The English translation of Liturgical Texts for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church © 2020 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Mother Mary’s Importance in the Catholic Faith

The month of May is the perfect time to celebrate our devotion to Mother Mary. During May, in line with Mother’s Day, we commemorate the Blessed Virgin Mary’s extraordinary role as a mother to both Jesus Christ and the whole Catholic Church.

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” - Luke 1:26-34

Why is Mary Important in the Catholic Faith?

Mary is a central figure in the Catholic Faith and her life illustrates how our Almighty Father works in our lives. Mary came from a simple background and yet she was called by God to fulfill a very extraordinary role; that of becoming the mother of Jesus Christ.

This role was no easy feat. During Mary’s time, women did not have equal standing as men in society. Second, when Jesus was born, King Herod ordered infants everywhere to be slaughtered so Mary had to flee to Egypt to escape the massacre and save her child.

Despite the hardships she had to go through, Mary became an instrument of faith and stayed committed in her role of bringing to life God’s promised son.

In our Catholic Faith, we are taught the three core values of Mary. These were embodied by the Holy Mother in the way she lived her life. As her children, we, too, should aspire to embrace these values in our own lives and in the way we treat others.

1. The Value of Humility

Humility is one of the most fundamental values we should have as Christians. We can only receive Christ when we are humble and meek. Mary teaches us that pride and selfishness is something that we must avoid. She had an extraordinary role as the Mother of God and yet she remained humble in her ways and continued to serve the Lord with devotion.

We live in a world that is self-obsessed and this makes us be self-centered in our decisions. We do things that make us happy even if it hurts others.

Being humble is not always easy. The Marian value of humility teaches us to put others first. When we are humble, we let go of our selfish, human ways and become in tune with the ways and will of God.

2. The Value of Simplicity

Mary lived her life in the simplest way. Despite having found favor in the Lord, she accepted what was given to her with grace and humility. Our world puts a premium on material wealth. We become blinded by material pursuits, the latest gadgets, fancy cars and expensive vacations. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying these gifts per se, it is important to remember that being obsessed with these things can distract us from God. It makes us believe that true happiness can be found in the physical world rather than in the spiritual.

Being simple encourages us to trust more in God and to use His divine standards as our yardstick for life rather than our own shallow and superficial standards.

We are reminded that this world is not our permanent abode and that eternity is waiting for us at the end of our earthly journey.

Finally, when we live simply, we become closer to the people who are needy because we understand their plight. We learn to have God’s heart for those people in need.

By living simply, we realize that there is more to life than pursuing meaningless ambitions.

3. The Value of Charity

Charity is at the heart of everything that Mary did. Being a mother involves being charitable and deeply generous in one’s actions. It is an act of sacrifice. In our Catholic Religion, “love” and “charity” are often frequently interchanged and with good reason since the value of charity is a kind of love. Charity is a theological virtue that lets us love God above all things.

Practicing all other Catholic virtues is animated and inspired by charity and it is the value that binds everything together in perfect harmony.

By being charitable, we exhibit other fruits of the spirit like joy, peace and mercy. We receive more when we give. It is an act of sacrifice that nourishes our soul.

How do we celebrate our love for Mother Mary?

In our Catholic Faith, devotion to the Blessed Virgin is called the Marian Devotion. We practice several traditions and events during the month of May to express the love we have for our Holy Mother. This is a wonderful time to give thanks to Mary for the grace and bounty that we received after Lent.

We offer beautiful garlands and vibrant flowers as a way to praise Mary as the Queen of Heavens and the Earth. We also respect and honor her through religiously praying the rosary.

In the Philippines for example, there is the popular “Flores de Mayo” which is celebrated every third week of May. During this festive event, towns across the Philippines parade the image of the Blessed Virgin adorned by fresh and beautiful flowers. For many Catholic devotees, this is an opportune time to offer their intentions and prayers and they do this during the parade.

Mother Mary is a beautiful example of how God can transform us from ordinary people to extraordinary ones. Aside from being an important symbol in the Catholic Faith, Mary is a significant influence in our personal journey as Catholics. Take a look at these beautiful Mary inspired gifts.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Statue 4"

Pearls of Mary — 5 Decade Rosary

Miraculous Mary Auto Rosary and Prayer Card

Miraculous Auto Rosary & Prayer Card

How has Mother Mary touched your life?

How do you express your love and devotion to our Holy Mother?

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The memorare prayer: a powerful catholic devotion to the blessed virgin mary, building a faith tribe: nurturing authentic catholic friendships , digital discipleship: navigating faith in the age of social media , the baptism of the lord: a renewal of faith, elizabeth ann seton: a pioneer of catholic education, 2024 new year faith resolutions for the modern catholic millennial, understanding the true meaning of christmas in the catholic faith, how did st. peter canisius use education to defend and spread the catholic faith.

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Newness of Life: A Reflection on the Nativity of the Mary

3 Sep 2015 | God In All Things , Prayer | 2

“We have been buried with Christ by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” – Romans 6:4 (NRSV)

Sts Anne and Mary – St Ignatius Chapel, Cleveland OH

As the life of Christ began with Mary, so too the life of the Christian begins with Mary. The feast of the Nativity of Mary, Mother of God, is on September 8, nine months after she was conceived by her parents, whom tradition names Joachim and Anna. This feast originated in the Christian East, where it is celebrated as the first major feast of the Church year, which begins September 1 in the Byzantine Rite. In many countries, this feast also falls near the beginning of academic and fiscal calendars. In the Latin Rite, too, December 8 and January 1 are Marian feasts, situated near the beginnings of Advent and the civil year respectively. This feast gives us the opportunity to reflect on the childhood of Mary, and the new beginning that God brought about in her and with her. Therefore I would like to make three invitations that will help us make better use of this opportunity.

Begin something new. It need not be explicitly “religious”. New classes, new people, new projects, new hobbies ALL provide opportunities to grow in virtue and go in knowledge of God’s presence. Writing about the ordinariness of Mary’s birth, modern Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann writes:

Is there anything remarkable, anything especially unique about the normal birth of a child, a birth like any other? The Church began to commemorate the event with a special feast … because, on the contrary, the very fact that it is routine discloses something fresh and radiant about everything we call routine and ordinary, it gives new depth to the unremarkable details of human life… (Homily for the Nativity of the Theotokos)

Whatever undertaking you endeavor, however, ask God for the grace of childlike innocence when approaching it. I know when I start something new, the bad spirit constantly tempts me to “adult” cynicism. “I’ll never be consistent in this new endeavor,” the bad spirit says. The grace most necessary in this moment, I believe, is that grace of innocent trust for which Our Lady is especially known. And this grace is a sharing in that newness of life which our Baptism promises.

Imitate your mother. The saying goes, “like mother, like child,” and personally, by praying in the above manner, I’ve found that slowly – VERY slowly – the life of Mary has been more and more formed in my spiritual life.

I define the life of Mary as this: Mary believed the word of the Lord, and treasured it in her heart. For me, this believing and treasuring of the words of the Lord mean first of all believing and treasuring the Scriptures. But in daily life it also means believing and treasuring the words of Christ present in my conscience. By meditating upon Mary, I become more aware of the dozens of times each day I come to a choice, in which I can follow the path of greater love of God and others or greater love of self. The more I ponder Mary, the more I recognize that voice inside me urging me to make the choice of selfless love not as merely some psychological function, but as the word of the Lord. The more I invoke Mary in those situations, the more I say to that voice, “Be it done to me according to your word.”

So dear reader, our mother’s birthday is coming up. How will you celebrate? How will you walk in newness of life?

About The Author

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June 28, 2021

Todd, I am starting something new, a fb page about Mary – Maryeveryday. My plan is to launch the page on Tuesday with the feast of the Nativity of Mary and I would like to share this beautiful article as my first post.

Today was my first meeting with my WOW group and I volunteered to be a small faith group leader.

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

The Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, reminds us how Jesus Himself, through an act of entrusting, willed that the divine maternity be extended to all men and women, that is, to the Church herself. In 2018, Pope Francis established the Monday after the Solemnity of Pentecost, the day on which the Church was born, as the date for this memorial. The title is not a new one. In 1980, Saint John Paul II, invited the faithful to venerate Mary as Mother of the Church. Even before that, on 21 November 1964, Saint Paul VI, on the conclusion of the third Session of the Second Vatican Council declared Mary as the “Mother of the Church”. And in 1975, the Holy See proposed a votive Mass in honour of the Mother of the Church, without it becoming a memorial on the liturgical calendar. Besides these recent dates, we cannot forget how much the title of Mary, Mother of the Church, was already present in the thought of Saint Augustine and Saint Leo the Great, of Popes Benedict XV and Leo XIII, up until Pope Francis when, on 11 February 2018, the 160 th anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin at Lourdes, he made this an obligatory memorial.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (Jn. 19:25-27)

Mary “stands” under the cross

Mary “stands” under the cross. “Stands” – this indicates presence, continuity, the strength of being there. Unlike the disciples, Mary never left her Son Jesus along the way of the Cross. It is here that Jesus entrusted the “disciple whom he loved” to His Mother (and vice versa). Mary faced this moment with great dignity. She did not take flight in the face of life’s events, but remained “standing”.

Another “let it be done to me”

Mary was invited by her Son to say “let it be done to me” once again. It is a new, a more convinced and mature “yes”. Her “standing by the cross” matures her experience of faith and of motherhood, making her capable of going beyond. From the beginning, Mary’s heart had been riddled with questions: “she pondered what sort of greeting this could be” (Lk. 1:29). Even in front of Simeon questions arose: “this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk. 2:34-35). Mary and Joseph “were amazed at what was said about him” (Lk. 2:33). Mary did not say, “let it be done to me” once and for all. Her consent grew, it matured through what happened in her life, including her Son’s “Cross”, by which she “stood”. It is here, in this fidelity Mary achieved, that she received her new mission, a sort of “supplement” to her motherhood that culminated in her becoming “Mother of the Church”. She is Mother because she regenerates us in grace, provided that we learn to grow to “the full stature of Christ” (see Eph. 4:7-13).

The Christian life anchored in the mystery of the Cross

This memorial “will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed , explains the decree establishing this memorial. As Mary knew how to “stand” by the Cross, without evading or fleeing the difficulty of understanding and of suffering, so too Mary, as Mother, knows how to “stand” by each of those whom her Son has made her children. This leads us to know how to invoke her as “Mother of the Church”:

Mother, help our faith! Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call. Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise. Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature. Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. Remind us that those who believe are never alone. Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!

(Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter, Lumen Fidei )

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The Evidence for Mary as Mother of God

Mary Mother of God, Year A:

In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on the second reading for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, which is Galatians 4:4-7, and show how it provides biblical evidence for the belief that Mary is the Mother of God. We also go outside the readings for this feast and look at the key biblical passage that the Church has looked to throughout history for biblical support of Mary’s divine motherhood: Luke 1:43.

This is the Sunday Catholic Word, a production of Catholic Answers. The only podcast to look at the Sunday Mass readings from an apologetics perspective.

Karlo Broussard:

Hey, hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the Sunday Catholic Word, a podcast where we reflect on the upcoming Sunday Mass readings and pick out the details that are relevant for explaining and defending the faith. In other words, what’s the Liturgy of the Word got to do with apologetics? This is the podcast to answer that question.

I’m Karlo Broussard, staff apologist and speaker for Catholic Answers, and the host for this podcast. In this episode, we’re going to do some biblical apologetics that’s relevant for this upcoming Sunday’s feast day, Mary, Mother of God. Now, our focus won’t be on the Gospel itself, but rather on the second reading from Galatians 4:4-7. And also, we’re going to go outside the readings for this feast and look at the key biblical passage that the churches looked to throughout history for biblical support of Mary’s divine motherhood, and that is Luke 1:43.

Obviously the feast day gives us an opportunity to do this, but let’s start with the second reading for the Liturgy of the Word for Mary, Mother of God. And that comes from Galatians 4:4-7. Here’s what Paul writes, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent a Son born of a woman born under the law, to ransom those under the law so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the Spirit of the Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a child. And if a child, then also an heir through God.”

The key here is that God’s Son is said to be, “born of a woman.” Now there are two things to unpack here. First, assuming that we accept early Conciliar Christology, like that of the Council of Nicaea, God’s Son, the Word, is divine and thus is properly called God.

Second, any woman who gives birth to a person is a mother to the person to whom she gives birth. So those are the two things we need to unpack here. Now with these two things in place, we can reason as follows. Premise one, any woman who gives birth to a person is a mother to the person to whom she gives birth. Premise two, Mary gave birth to God’s Son. Conclusion one, therefore Mary is the Mother of God’s Son.

Premise three, God’s Son is divine, and thus is properly called God. Conclusion two. Therefore, Mary is the Mother of God.

Now with the argument laid out like this, it becomes clear if the person wants to deny Mary as the Mother of God, such a person would have to deny either premise one, in which case a mother is someone who does not give birth to a person. Absurd.

Premise two, in which case Mary didn’t give birth to God’s Son, contrary to scripture. Or premise three, in which case God’s Son is not divine. And so these are things we can’t deny. Common sense tells us that we can’t deny premise one. The very definition of a biological mother is someone who gives birth to a person. That’s clear. No Christian can deny premise two without denying an essential truth of the Bible, a truth that Paul makes explicit in this text. “God sent His Son, born of a woman.”

And finally with regard to premise three, no Christian can deny the divinity of God’s Son, the Word. Remember John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” At the heart of Christianity is the claim that Jesus is God. Not only that He’s His Son, but that He’s His Son by nature. Implying that He is equal to the Father in the very divine essence and the divine essay, the very existence or infinite reality that God is. So in conclusion here at Galatians 4:4-7 provides a biblical basis for belief that Mary is indeed the Mother of God. Hence, the reason why it’s the second reading for this great feast day, Mary, Mother of God.

Now, let’s turn to the classic text that’s used to support Mary, Mother of God, and that is Luke 1:43. Obviously we’re going outside the boundaries of the Liturgy of the Word for this feast day, but I think this feast day provides for us an opportunity to reflect upon Luke 1:43 because it is essential to our conversations with our Protestant brothers and sisters concerning Mary’s divine motherhood, being Mother of God. Now, it’s important to note at the outset here that the catechism of the Catholic church actually appeals to Luke 1:43 as biblical support for the dogma of Mary, Mother of God in paragraphs 448, 495 and 2677.

There, Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit exclaims to Mary who just arrived in her presence, “Why is this granted me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Since Elizabeth was a good Jew, and Jews normally use the word Lord in the place of the Tetragrammaton, God’s name Yahweh, Elizabeth is calling Mary the Mother of God. Therefore, it would seem that we have a possible biblical foundation for the dogma of Mary, Mother of God. Hence, the reason why the catechism and Christians throughout the tradition have always appealed to Luke 1:43 as biblical support for Mary, Mother of God.

But, there’s a counter here. There are actually many comebacks that a minority within the Protestant community have to the belief Mary is the Mother of God. But there’s really only one counter-argument made to this passage in Luke 1:43 for a scriptural justification of Mary as the Mother of God. It targets the assumption that Lord is intended by Elizabeth to refer to Almighty God. Because if you noticed in the common argument that we present as Catholics appealing to Luke 1:43, we’re assuming that when Mary says, “Whom am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me,” that she’s using the title Lord as a divine title in reference to Almighty God.

But some Protestants challenge that assumption. So for example, Protestant Bible scholar Walter L. Liefeld argues that we shouldn’t interpret this as a reference to Mary, Mother of God. His alternative interpretation as it is for others is that Elizabeth was referring to Jesus as her Messiah. Here’s what he writes. By the way, this is coming from his chapter on Luke in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Matthew, Mark, Luke, volume eight, page 834. He writes this, “Nowhere in the New Testament is Mary called Mother of God. Deity is not confined to the person of Jesus. We may say Jesus is God, but not all of God is Jesus. She was however, the mother of Jesus, the Messiah and Lord.” And the evidence he gives here is the fact that Luke frequently uses Lord as a title, 95 out of 166 occurrences in the synoptics.

Not everyone is charged with a divine meaning, and Liefeld argues Jesus is called Lord elsewhere in Luke and birth narrative in a non divine way in Luke 2:11. “For to you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.” So how do we respond to this counter-argument that Lord is being used here most likely in a non divine way, which would undercut the Catholic argument here and appealing to Luke 1:43 for Mary, Mother of God? Well, immediately in responding to the subjection just very briefly, notice Liefeld appeals to Luke 2:11, and says that Lord is being used there in a non divine way. Well, it’s actually not clear whether it’s being used in a divine or a non divine way. There’s nothing in the text that suggests either interpretation. Liefeld simply asserts its non divine use here without argumentation. Given the ambiguity, we can dismiss this text as evidence for Liefeld’s interpretation or conclusion.

Now the second response is that it’s not the word itself, but how it’s being used, namely the parallels that Luke is drawing with the Ark of the Covenant. There’s no doubt that the Greek word translated Lord [foreign language 00:09:02] can be used and is used in a non divine way in the New Testament. Just one example, 1 Corinthians 8:5 there. And even by Luke in Luke 12:36, 37, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, some have said that it’s being used in a non divine way and it’s reasonable to conclude that.

However, it’s not the word by itself that indicates that Mary is the Mother of God. It’s how Luke sees Elizabeth using it. There are several details in the text that indicate that Luke is drawing a parallel between Mary and the Old Testament, Ark of the Covenant. This has been pointed out by many apologists. It’s very well articulated I might say, by my colleague and good friend Tim Staples in his book, Behold Your Mother, check it out. He gives a litany of all the parallels. I’m just going to share a few with you to give you a sample. So take Elizabeth’s words themselves. They almost perfectly mirror David’s words in 2 Samuel 6:9, when he says, in the presence of the Ark, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” Almost verbatim.

Other parallels include John the Baptist leaping for joy in the presence of Mary in Luke 1:44. And David “making merry” before the Ark in 2 Samuel 6:5. According to Luke 1:39, Mary remains with Elizabeth for three months, very similar to how the Ark remain in the house of Obed-edom for the same amount of time according to 2 Samuel 6:11. There’s clear parallels being drawn here between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant, since Luke is paralleling Elizabeth’s mother of my Lord cry with David’s the Ark of the Lord cry, it stands to reason that Luke intends for us to take Elizabeth’s cry as a reference to Almighty God. Lord, in the phrase Ark of the Lord, was not a reference to the Messiah, the Ark was the Ark of Almighty God. Therefore, we have good reason to interpret Luke 1:43 as a reference to Mary being the Mother of God, contrary to Liefeld’s claim.

Now, someone might object here. “Well, if you’re going to take some parallels with the Ark of the Covenant, well then you need to take all of them. Otherwise, you’re just cherry-picking and being arbitrary in your selection.” Protestant apologist James White poses this challenge at the use of Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant for support of Mary’s sinlessness. Often we as apologist, we appeal to Mary and the Ark of the Covenant to support Mary’s sinlessness. And Mr. White poses a challenge to that, to the appeal to the parallels for Mary’s sinlessness. But since it’s directed at Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant, the counter-argument can be utilized for whatever inferences a Catholic might make from Mary being the new Ark of the Covenant, such as Mary, Mother of God, in this case in Luke 1:43.

Here’s how White argues. He argues that if we draw parallels between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant, then we’ll be pushed to affirm absurdity. So here’s a quote from his book, The Roman Catholic Controversy, page 205. He writes this, “Must Mary have been stolen by God’s enemies for a time so that she could be brought back to the people of God with great rejoicing?” Referencing 2 Samuel 6:14-15. The point being, “Hey, the Ark was stolen by God’s enemies for a time. If you’re going to make all these parallels between the Ark and Mary, then you’re going to have to say that Mary was stolen by God’s enemies for a period of time.” He goes on to write this, “Who was Mary’s Uzzah?” Referencing 2 Samuel 6:3-8.

Remember the guy named Uzzah touched the Ark, he dropped dead. Anybody touching Mary ain’t dropping dead? No. Hence, the absurdity, the implication being… He goes on in reference to Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid. Madrid draws a further parallel. He’s referring to a work that Madrid had whenever he wrote and articulating these parallels. So he’s critiquing Madrid. Madrid draws a further parallel between the three months the Ark was with Obed-edom, and the three months Mary was with Elizabeth. What then is the parallel with David’s action of sacrificing a bull and a fattened calf when those who were carrying the Ark had taken six steps? Referencing 2 Samuel 6:13.

White charges that the use of Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant is violating the rules of scriptural interpretation, since he perceives it as picking and choosing “those aspects of Mary’s life, a Catholic wishes to parallel in the Ark, and those which he does not.” You get the gist of the argument, right?

So how do we respond to this? Well, our response as I point out in my book, Meeting the Protestant Response – How to Answer Common Comebacks to Catholic Arguments. In this comeback, there’s a hidden premise, and the premise is false. The hidden premise is this, some parallels require all parallels. But why is this false? Why do I think it’s false? Well, the New Testament authors themselves don’t honor the principle contained in this hidden premise. Consider the first two verses of Hosea 11. “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt, I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols.” Notice how Matthew takes the phrase, “Out of Egypt, I called my son,” in the first statement as a prefigurement of baby Jesus’s return from the flight to Egypt in Matthew 2:15.

Yet Matthew did not intend the latter part of the passage to refer to Jesus. Jesus didn’t go away from God, sacrificed through the Baals and burnt incense to their images. And there are numerous examples of this in the New Testament’s use of the Old. Whenever prophetic foreshadowing is in play, some elements foreshadow, and some don’t. There are continuities and discontinuities. That’s just the nature of prophetic foreshadowing. And the New Testament authors often pick and chose some, and did not pick and choose others. So if the New Testament authors employ this type of hermeneutic when relating the Old Testament to the New, and the New to the Old, well then it’s legitimate for us Catholics to do the same, to draw some parallels between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant and not to draw other parallels.

By the way, one final thought, it is not us who are drawing the parallels to the Ark of the Covenant. It is Luke who is clearly drawing the parallels, and it is Luke inspired by the Holy Spirit who is picking and choosing some parallels, and not picking and choosing other parallels. So my friends when dealing with Christians who deny Mary as the Mother of God, we have Galatians 4:4-7 and Luke 1:43 to share with them as biblical evidence for the dogma.

Well, that does it, my friends, for this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word. Thank you so much for subscribing to the podcast. And please be sure to tell your friends about it and invite them to subscribe as well. I hope that you have a great feast of Mary, Mother of God. God bless you.

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When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. R ESPONSORIAL P SALM Ps 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7 Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas Dei! R. (3) Glorious things are said of you, O city of God. His foundation upon the holy mountains the L ORD loves: The gates of Zion, more than any dwelling of Jacob. R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God! And of Zion they shall say: "One and all were born in her; And he who has established her is the Most High L ORD ." R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God. They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled: "This man was born there." And all shall sing, in their festive dance: "My home is within you." R. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God. A LLELUIA O felix Virgo quae Dominum genuisti; o beata Mater Ecclesia:, quae in nobis foves Spiritum Filii tui Iesu Christi! O joyful Virgin, who gave birth to the Lord; O blessed Mother of the Church, who nurture in us the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ! G OSPEL John 19:25-34 S tanding by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst." There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

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September 10 · 17 Comments

How Does Mary Help us as our Spiritual Mother?

living our faith · Rosary

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Mary is our spiritual mother.

Mary is my mother. She is your mother, too. Before Jesus died on the cross, He saw Mary and one of His disciples before Him. He said to Mary, “Woman, behold your son.” To His his disciple He said, “Behold, your mother.” (from John 19: 26 and 27) He assigned this disciple (John) to watch over and protect Mary. The Catholic Church also looks at this event as Jesus giving Mary to all believers as our Mother. She is also the Mother of the Church.

Image of a black and white drawing of the infant Jesus held lovingly by His Mother Mary.

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How can Mary be our mother?

The Blessed Virgin Mary is our mother because of Jesus. She accepted God’s invitation to be the Mother of the Messiah. She gave birth to Jesus and raised Him with St. Joseph. Mary is the Mother of Jesus, and because of this, she is also the Mother of the Catholic Church and Mother of all the faithful. She sets a great example for us of unwavering faith and trust in God. Mary comes to our aid to help us; she is a mother who wants to see all of us love God and listen to her Son. She helps us to do this in any way she can. Mary is a Mediatrix of graces, meaning that she dispenses graces to us that God gives to her for this purpose. Mary is the person closest to God. No other human was as close to Jesus as she was, as she is.

Mary is the Mother of Jesus.

At the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that she was chosen by God to be the Mother of the Messiah. Mary said yes this role. “May it be done to me according to your word.” (from Luke 1:38) She accepted God’s invitation to be the mother of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Her faith and trust in God are a great example to us.

To prepare her for this role, by the grace of God, Mary was born without sin. We call this her Immaculate Conception. No other person has been born without original sin.

Mary is an example of faith for us-of steady, unwavering faith and of faithful service. Out of all the women in the history of the entire world, she was chosen to be the mother of our Savior. That says a lot about her right there! She should have our respect from this alone.

The love and care Jesus shows to Mary is an example of how we can show her love and respect as well. For example, she has appeared many times on earth (sometimes with Jesus and Joseph, like at Fatima) to give a message to us. If Jesus did not hold her in high esteem, He would not allow her to come to earth to talk with us. Whenever she does talk with those on earth, it is to send a message to repent, to turn away from sin, and to love God more.

Image of stone statues of the Holy family: the child Jesus holding his hand up in blessing is standing in front of His parents Mary and Joseph.

Mary comes to our aid to help us.

We can ask Mary for prayers just as we ask family and friends to pray for us. Mary loves Jesus. She wants everyone to know and love Him, too. Mary comes to our aid as our mother to help us and to point the way to her Son. Remember what she told the servers at the wedding feast at Cana? “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5)

Think of the times she has appeared on earth. She has told people to turn away from sin, to pray the Rosary , to pray for sinners, and to pray for peace. She has told us that her Son is very much offended by the sins of people. She asks us to pray and repent. God allowed her to come to deliver these messages to us. He did not have to do that. But, God loves us and He loves His Mother, so He allows her to help us.

Image of a statue of Mary the Mother of God, her hands clasped in prayer, crowned as Queen of Heaven and earth with a ring of stars around her head.

Mary is a Mediatrix of graces.

Mediatrix means mediator. Mary is the Queen of Heaven and earth, crowned by Her son as the Queen mother. (This was a common practice of the Jews in Old Testament times. The queen mother would help her son rule, not the king’s wife.)

Mary has nothing without God. He allows her to pass out His graces to us. This shows how important she is to God. We call her the Mediatrix of graces because she has the authority from God to give out God’s grace to us. We only need to ask her for them.

Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God by Scott Hahn is a great resource to use to learn more about the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Mary is the person closest to God.

As His loving, faithful Mother, Jesus loves Mary immensely and He trusts her to carry out only what He asks. You may have heard the saying that no one can love Mary more than Jesus already does. Jesus sets the example for us. He loves Mary as His Mother. We can love Mary as our Mother, too.

No other person has been as close to Jesus as Mary has. She carried Him for nine months, gave birth to Him in a stable, nursed Him, fled to safety with Him, raised Him, and was with Him in His final hours. He lived with Mary His Mother for 30 years until He began His public ministry. As God, Jesus could have picked any woman to be His mother. He chose Mary of Nazareth.

Jesus’ love for Mary and His trust in her is not a love and trust He keeps to Himself. When He was on the cross, He introduced her to us as our mother. We can accept her as our mother, too. We can learn more about her and ask her to pray for us. We know her Son listens to her! We can ask her to pray for us to love Jesus even more and follow Him with open and sincere hearts. As our Mother, she will help us.

Why Catholics Call Mary Their Mother

Here is a short video by Fr. Mike Schmitz about why we as Catholics call Mary our Mother. He does a great job of explaining this!

Mary is our spiritual Mother.

As our spiritual Mother, Mary is always ready to help us. She sets the example of love and faithfulness to God. She intercedes for us in prayer and she bestows graces on us from God that God allows Her to.

Not only did she tell the servers at the wedding feast to “Do what he tells you,” but she reminds us, too, to follow her advice. She knows her Son; she knows Who He is and what He did for us. She was there. Who better to help us as our spiritual Mother?

Image of a black and white drawing of the infant Jesus held lovingly by His Mother Mary. Words above the image read: How Does Mary Help us as our Spiritual Mother?

Reader Interactions

June 13 at 2:17 pm

Mother Mary helps us with our human condition as sinners because she is human helping us with our spiritual position in Christ as saved souls under His Lordship Our God

June 14 at 3:18 pm

Thank you. Mary is an amazing Mother to us. She wants all of us to be in Heaven with Jesus.

July 5 at 9:08 am

God bless you thank you

May 24 at 6:50 pm

yes I believe that Mary is our spiritual mother. if she is the mother of the church and we are the church in unity with Jesus as head of the body of course she is our mother … Rev 12: 17 says that the dragon declare war against the woman and the rest of her children. All who keep the commandments and believe in Jesus Christ

May 25 at 9:49 am

Yes. Mary is our spiritual Mother.

June 10 at 10:21 am

I believe I heard Mary call me by my name. Why would she do that? I am a born again believer . But I never was Catholic. I am a servant, careing for peaple every day. I’m also a sinner saved by grace.

June 11 at 11:58 am

Hi Wendy, Thank you for sharign this. Mary could have called you by name. You could find a good priest to talk to about your experience. It might be helpful to speak with someone one on one. Mary is the mother of Christ, our Savior. She loves all of us and wants all people to love her Son so much. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is something she said to the head waiter at the wededing feast in Cana, “Do what He tells you.” John 2: 5. Mary wants us to do what Jesus tells us to do, to follow Him while we are on earth and untimately be with Him in Heaven.

October 31 at 9:07 pm

What is significant and special about the decisions that Mary made that lead to her becoming the mother of Jesus?

November 2 at 8:14 am

That is a good question. When the Angel Gabriel was sent by God to announce to Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, her response was, yes. She said, “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me as you say.” (Luke 1:38a)

Mary’s response (called her fiat) was an immediate acceptance of and consent to God’s will for her life: “May it be done to me.” Her yes was total and complete; she held nothing of herself back from God even though she did not know all that yer yes would entail, she said yes. She completely and faithfully trusted in God.

She sets the example for all of us.

November 2 at 7:40 pm

Thankyou so much. God bless you.

November 4 at 7:22 am

You are very welcome. Thank you. God bless you, too!

October 20 at 11:01 pm

any thoughts or insights how blessed Mary as intercessor of our faith in Jesus our Lord? Thank You

October 21 at 7:56 am

Mary is the Mother of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus, when He was on the cross, gave her to us (the Church) as our mother. All that Mary does points us to Him. Just as we ask a friend to pray for us, we can ask Mary to pray for us, too. I found two great websites that explain a lot about Mary: https://www.motherofallpeoples.com/post/mary-s-power-of-intercession https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/mary

September 23 at 11:39 pm

Thank you I would like to know more about how to pray the rosary and why we pray the rosary. Please can you help me understand where is the rosary prayer comes from. Thank you Jasbir I want to pray for the conception for my daughters to become pregnant. Two of my daughter. Please teach me how to pray.

September 26 at 6:57 am

The Rosary is such a beautiful prayer. Here are some resources on the website that may be helpful to you: https://blessedcatholicmom.com/the-rosary/ https://blessedcatholicmom.com/why-pray-the-rosary/ https://blessedcatholicmom.com/benefits-of-praying-the-rosary/

January 29 at 4:04 am

I pray the rosary, not as often as I would like but I do pray it. But I never knew that I was missing an understanding of what “Blessed is the fruit of thy woumb Jesus” means. Please explain the meaning of that phrase? I understand all of it except for that phrase

January 29 at 12:22 pm

How wonderful that you pray the Rosary. It is such a beautiful prayer. “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus” means that Jesus is the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb. It is a partial quote from the Bible, Luke chapter 1. When Mary was pregnant with Jesus she visited her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”

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“Continue, therefore, to live in Christ Jesus the Lord, in the spirit in which you received him. Be rooted in him and built up in him, growing ever stronger in faith, as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.” Colossians 2: 6-7

I am just a regular person wanting to live my life for god and to follow him. i am not a trained counselor or theologian. my reflections here and elsewhere on my blog are my personal reflections about the catholic faith and about my own faith life. i hope they inspire you to dive deeper into learning more about our faith and to developing a deeper relationship with our lord., disclosure: this website does contain affiliate links. if you purchase an item after clicking on a link, blessed catholic mom will receive a small commission at no cost to you. as an amazon associate, i earn from qualifying purchases. blessed catholic mom is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. , privacy overview.

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Ordinary Time: June 6th

Memorial of the blessed virgin mary, mother of the church.

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June 06, 2022 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church: O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

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Christi Matri (On Prayers To Mary For Peace) | Pope Saint Paul VI
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O happy Virgin, you gave birth to the Lord; O blessed mother of the Church, you warm our hearts with the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ.

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The fascinating history of the feast of Mary’s assumption on Aug. 15

On Aug. 15, Catholics around the world mark the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, commemorating the end of her earthly life and assumption into heaven. The day is a Holy Day of Obligation since it does not fall on a Monday.

But while the feast day is a relatively new one, the history of the holiday — and the mystery behind it — has its roots in the earliest centuries of Christian belief.

The Catholic Church teaches that when Mary’s earthly life ended, God assumed her, body and soul, into heaven.

The dogma of the Assumption of Mary — also called the “Dormition of Mary” in the Eastern Churches — has its roots in the early centuries of the Church.

While a site outside of Jerusalem was recognized as the tomb of Mary, the earliest Christians maintained that “no one was there,” theologian and EWTN News Vice President and Editorial Director Dr. Matthew Bunson explained.

According to St. John of Damascus, the Roman emperor Marcian requested the body of Mary, Mother of God at the Council of Chalcedon, in 451.

St. Juvenal, who was bishop of Jerusalem, told the emperor “that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven,” the saint recorded.

By the eighth century, around the time of Pope Adrian, the Church began to change its terminology, renaming the feast day of the Memorial of Mary to the Assumption of Mary, Bunson noted.

The belief in the assumption of Mary was a widely-held tradition and a frequent meditation in the writings of saints throughout the centuries. However, it was not defined officially until the past century.

In 1950, Pope Pius XII made an infallible, ex-cathedra statement in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus deus officially defining the dogma of the Assumption.

“By the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory,” the pope wrote.

The decree was seen as the formalizing of long-held Christian teaching.

“We have throughout the history of the Church an almost universal attestation of this,” Bunson said of the Assumption.

“We have this thread that runs throughout the whole of the history of the Church in support of the dogma. That’s significant because it supports the tradition of the Church, but it also supports a coming to a deeper understanding of the teachings of the Church of how we rely upon the reflections of some of the greatest minds of our Church.”

What’s also notable about the dogma, he added, is that it “uses the passive tense,” emphasizing that Mary did not ascend into heaven on her own power, as Christ did, but was raised into heaven by God’s grace.

Today, the solemnity of the Assumption is marked as a major feast day and a public holiday in many countries. In most countries, including the United States, it is a holy day of obligation.

Bunson explained that on major feast days, it’s fitting to mark the significance of the feast as especially vital by emphasizing the necessity of celebrating the Eucharist that day.

“What is more fitting than on the Assumption of the Blessed Mother to, once again, focus on her Son, on the Eucharist?” he asked.

This article was previously published on CNA on Aug. 15, 2021, and was updated Aug. 14, 2023.

Featured image: Assumption of the Virgin Mary, fresco painting in San Petronio Basilica in Bologna, Italy. | (Zvonimir Atletic / Shutterstock)

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How is Mary the greatest role model for Christian mothers?
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the greatest of all mothers. Motherhood has always been a sacred and noble vocation, but Mary raised it to even greater stature when she became the Mother … Continue reading ... (Lk 2:41). For Mary, regular church attendance was automatic. Mothers who follow Mary's example go to Mass each week, and they take ...
A Reflection on Mary, Mother of the Church
Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us! May 28, 2021 | Blogs, Carmelite Musings, Faith, Reflections, Scripture and Liturgy, template-updated. Related Posts. God's Timing is Perfect Timing. The Transfiguration is one of the most evocative passages in Scripture. Jesus, who was born in a humble stable and lived the greater part of His life in ...
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. by Shemaiah Gonzalez. Printer Friendly. The first time Mary became part of my faith, I was a sleep-deprived new mother. I hadn't grown up Catholic and converted just a year before my son joined our family. As I nursed him in a darkened room, in the middle of the night, I realized that Mary had fed ...
Mary, Mother of the Church: A New Celebration
The Catechism ofthe Catholic Church states: "The Virgin Mary … is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer …. She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' … since she by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head." "Mary ...
Mary
Aug. 7, 2024, 1:52 AM ET (Newsweek) Catholic Church Rules on Supernatural Claim: 'Not the Virgin Mary'. Mary (flourished beginning of the Christian era) was the mother of Jesus, venerated in the Christian church since the apostolic age and a favourite subject in Western art, music, and literature. Mary is known from biblical references, which ...
PDF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: Mother of God and Mother of the Church
A. Mother of God. This is the oldest solemnly defined doctrine concerning Mary, confirmed by the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. It is stated and taught in Sacred Scripture by St. Elizabeth, cousin of Our Lady, when Mary visits her directly after her vision of the Archangel Gabriel.
(PDF) The Virgin Mary and the Church: The Marian Exemplarity of
In 1964, Blessed Pope Paul VI formally declared Mary as the "Mother of the Church." Mary, the Mother of the Church finds its roots in the Scripture and ancient Catholic traditions. In my attempt to describe this current Marian feast, I will briefly present the exegesis of John 19:25-27 as the biblical foundation.
Mary Mother of the Church
The Fathers of the Church, holy and studious bishops of the first centuries, often spoke of Mary as the New Eve. Just as the Woman Eve was "the mother of all the living" (Gen. 3:20), the Woman Mary was mother of all those living in Christ. In Revelation 12:17, St. John says that this Woman's offspring are "those who keep the ...
Mary, the Mother of God and Our Spiritual Mother
On Wednesday, 29 April 1998, the Holy Father, in his catechesis on Jesus Christ the Son, shifted his gaze to Mary, since "we cannot separate the Son from the Mother.". 1. In directing our gaze to Christ, the Jubilee also invites us to turn our eyes towards Mary. We cannot separate the Son from the Mother, because "being born of Mary ...
Paragraph 6. MARY
500 "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church." 501. I. MARY'S MOTHERHOOD WITH REGARD TO THE CHURCH. ... Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ" (Paul VI, CPG # 15). Catechism . Prologue. I. The life of man - to know and love God; II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
As the Church's understanding of the Blessed Mother has deepened, new titles and new dogmas have been proclaimed about Mary. In 2018, a new liturgical memorial honored her with the title "Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church." To understand the Blessed Virgin Mary's role as Mother of the Church, we need to begin with Scripture.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
572A - The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (Memorial) The readings for this memorial are proper. First Reading - Genesis 3:9-15, 20. Mother of all the living. or: Acts 1:12-14. They were continually in prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7.
Why St. Paul VI affirmed Mary's title as Mother of the Church
Why St. Paul VI affirmed Mary's title as Mother of the Church. At the end of the Second Vatican Council, St. Paul VI solemnly proclaimed Mary as Mother of the Church, affirming this ancient title.
Mary The Mother Of God Theology Religion Essay
3.2 Mary's divine motherhood. Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth. of her son, as "the mother of my lord.". In fact, the one whom she conceived as man by the Holy. Spirit, who truly became her son according to the flesh, was none other than the father's eternal.
PDF Mary, The Mother of God Where It All Begins
Mary's title, the Mother of God, Theotokos - "God bearer," was formally defined at the third ecumenical council at Ephesus in the year 431. The issue at the council was the Nestorian heresy. It taught that Jesus Christ was merely a human person who was joined to the divine Person of God's Son.
Mother Mary's Importance in the Catholic Faith
During May, in line with Mother's Day, we commemorate the Blessed Virgin Mary's extraordinary role as a mother to both Jesus Christ and the whole Catholic Church. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the ...
Pope institutes new celebration of Mary, Mother of Church
Pope Francis has decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, be inserted into the Roman Calendar. The liturgical celebration, B. Mariæ Virginis, Ecclesiæ Matris, will be celebrated annually as a Memorial on the day after Pentecost. In a decree released on Saturday by the Congregation ...
Mother of the Church
Mother of the Church (Latin: Mater Ecclesiae) is a title given to Mary in the Catholic Church, as officially declared by Pope Paul VI in 1964. The title first appeared in the 4th century writings of Saint Ambrose of Milan, as rediscovered by Hugo Rahner. [1] It was also used by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 [2] and then by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. [3] Pope John Paul II placed it in the Catechism of ...
Newness of Life: A Reflection on the Nativity of the Mary
As the life of Christ began with Mary, so too the life of the Christian begins with Mary. The feast of the Nativity of Mary, Mother of God, is on September 8, nine months after she was conceived by her parents, whom tradition names Joachim and Anna. This feast originated in the Christian East, where it is celebrated as the first major feast of ...
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Liturgical Feasts 20 May. The Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, reminds us how Jesus Himself, through an act of entrusting, willed that the divine maternity be extended to all men and women, that is, to the Church herself. In 2018, Pope Francis established the Monday after the Solemnity of Pentecost, the day on which ...
Mary The Virgin Mother Religion Essay
Mary was the virgin mother of our savior Jesus Christ. She was born in. One night the angel Gabriel came to Mary while she was at her cousin. Elizabeth's house. The angel said to Mary "Hail favored one! The Lord is with you". Mary was frightened at the appearance of the angel. The angel said "Do not be scared, Mary, cause you have found ...
The Evidence for Mary as Mother of God
The Evidence for Mary as Mother of God. Karlo Broussard • 12/30/2022. Download. Mary Mother of God, Year A: In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on the second reading for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, which is Galatians 4:4-7, and show how it provides biblical evidence for the belief that Mary is the Mother of God.
Mary, Mother of the Church
O blessed Mother of the Church, who nurture in us the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ! GOSPEL John 19:25-34 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
How Does Mary Help us as our Spiritual Mother?
Mary is our Spiritual Mother. Mary is my mother. She is your mother, too. Before Jesus died on the cross, He saw Mary and one of His disciples before Him. He said to Mary, "Woman, behold your son.". To His his disciple He said, "Behold, your mother." (from John 19: 26 and 27) He assigned this disciple (John) to watch over and protect Mary.
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Mary, Mother of the Church St. Paul VI, at the conclusion of the Third Session of the Second Vatican Council in 1964, declared the Blessed Virgin Mary as "Mother of the Church," that is to say ...
The fascinating history of the feast of Mary's assumption on Aug. 15
On Aug. 15, Catholics around the world mark the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, commemorating the end of her earthly life and assumption into heaven. The day is a Holy Day of Obligation since it does not fall on a Monday. But while the feast day is a relatively new one, the history of the holiday — and the mystery behind it — has its roots in the earliest centuries of Christian belief.

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Newness of Life: A Reflection on the Nativity of the Mary

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The fascinating history of the feast of Mary’s assumption on Aug. 15

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How do we celebrate our love for Mother Mary?