Saint of the Day January 1, 2003
Mary, Mother of God
Mary’s divine motherhood broadens the Christmas
spotlight. Mary has an important role to play in the
Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity. She consents to God’s invitation conveyed by
the angel (Luke 1:26–38). Elizabeth proclaims: “Most
blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit
of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42–43,
emphasis added). Mary’s role as mother of God places
her in a unique position in God’s redemptive plan.
Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that “God sent his
Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians
4:4). Paul’s further statement that “God sent the
spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out ‘Abba,
Father!’“ helps us realize that Mary is mother to all
the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Some theologians also insist that Mary’s motherhood of
Jesus is an important element in God’s creative plan.
God’s “first” thought in creating was Jesus. Jesus,
the incarnate Word, is the one who could give God
perfect love and worship on behalf of all creation. As
Jesus was “first” in God’s mind, Mary was “second”
insofar as she was chosen from all eternity to be his
mother.
The precise title “Mother of God” goes back at least
to the third or fourth century. In the Greek form
Theotokos (God-bearer), it became the touchstone of
the Church’s teaching about the Incarnation. The
Council of Ephesus in 431 insisted that the holy
Fathers were right in calling the holy virgin
Theotokos. At the end of this particular session,
crowds of people marched through the street shouting:
“Praised be the Theotokos!” The tradition reaches to
our own day. In its chapter on Mary’s role in the
Church, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church calls Mary “Mother of God” 12 times.
love + prayers,
Joseachayan / Jeddah
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