MARY MOTHER OF GOD
Solemnities are the highest rank of liturgical celebration. By celebrating a solemnity dedicated to Mary’s motherhood, the Church highlights the significance of her part in the life of Jesus.
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel, God with us. Isaiah 7:14
It is fitting to honor Mary, as Mother of God, following the birth of Jesus. We not only honor Mary, but we are also honoring our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human.
Every year on January 1 the Holy Father marks the World Day of Peace, inviting all people to reflect on the important work of building peace.
On 1 January 2025 the theme of World Day of Peace is “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace As Pope Francis proclaimed: At the dawn of this New Year given to us by our heavenly Father, a year of Jubilee, I offer heartfelt good wishes of peace to every man and woman, especially those who feel downtrodden, burdened by their past mistakes, oppressed by the judgment of others and incapable of perceiving even a glimmer of hope for their own lives.
The “jubilee” recalls an ancient Jewish practice, when, every forty-ninth year, the sound of a ram’s horn proclaimed a year of forgiveness and freedom for the entire people Lev 25:10.
The blowing of the horn reminded the entire people, rich and poor alike, that no one comes into this world doomed to oppression: all of us are brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same Father, born to live in freedom, in accordance with the Lord’s will.
Christmas honors Jesus as the “Prince of Peace,” the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God honors Mary as the “Queen of Peace” Some may wonder why we refer to Mary as Queen..
From the moment Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive and bear a great son, the Lord Giver of life, who will inherit the throne of his father David. Mary becomes future Queen. Luke 1:26
First century Jews would have known, under the reign of David the kingdom was ruled by both a King and a Queen. Unlike modern-day kingdoms, however, the queen of Israel was not the king’s wife but his mother. (the king often had many wives but only one mother) In the Hebrew tradition, Mary is Queen Mother.
From antiquity, Mary has been called “Theotokos“, or “God-Bearer” (Mother of God). The term was used as part of the popular piety of the early first millennium church.
This is seen dramatically in Mary’s visitation to her cousin, Elizabeth.. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. LUKE 1:41-42
BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN LUKE 1:42-43
Mary is the Mother of God because she carried Jesus in her womb and contributed the genetic material for His human nature. If Mary is the mother of Jesus, and if Jesus is God, then Mary is the Mother of God.
In the 4th and 5th centuries there was much debate about Jesus’ divine nature. At the center of this debate was the particular title of Mary Mother of God. Referring to Mary this way was popular in Christian devotion, but the patriarch of Constantinople from 428-431, Nestorius, objected on theological grounds.
Nestorius suggested that Mary was only the mother of Jesus’ human nature, but not his divine nature. Nestorius’ ideas were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, and again at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451.
The Council’s insistence on the use of the title Mary Mother of God reflected an effort to preserve the teaching of the Church that Jesus was both Divine and human, that the two natures were united in His One Person. Women give birth to PERSONS.
This wonderful title, Mary, the Mother of God, “Theotokos“, reveals a profound truth not only about Mary, but about each one of us. We too are invited to become “God-bearers
THEOTOKOS–GOD-BEARER