Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly ‘Mother of God’ ( Theotokos)” (CCC §495). “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 Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Nevertheless, because she is Jesus’ mother, and Jesus is not only human but also divine, she is the mother of the one who is God: the mother of God. Mary herself is not divine, and as a human creature, she is not eternal, so she could not possibly be the generative source of Jesus’ status as God. ![]() As already mentioned, from all eternity, the person who Jesus is, is God the Son, the Eternal Word. It is important to clarify that, by this title of Mother of God, we do not mean that Mary is, in any way, the origin of Jesus’ divinity. Mary is truly the Mother of God ( Theotokos), because she is truly the mother of Jesus, who is God. In a way, then, she is the new Eve, through whom we are given access to the life lost by the disobedience of the first Eve. ![]() In this way, her obedience is a reversal of the disobedience of our first parents. This great miracle occurred through Mary’s perfect acceptance of God’s plan: “Mary said, ‘here am I, the servant of the Lord let it be with me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38). Mary is, then, both Virgin and Mother, which fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 that the virgin should be with child. Daughter Zion, 47-48.Īs the Catechism expresses it: “The Holy Spirit, ‘the Lord, the giver of Life,’ is sent to sanctify the womb of the Virgin Mary and divinely fecundate it, causing her to conceive the eternal Son of the Father in a humanity drawn from her own” (CCC §485). What was promised in Isaiah 54:1 has become for Luke a concrete reality in the mystery of Mary. Such a birth can only happen to the ‘barren’ woman. What begins here has the quality of a new creation, owing to God’s own totally specific interventions. Jesus’ conception and birth signify a new involvement in history that exceeds the uniqueness of belonging to every single human being. As Joseph Ratzinger wrote regarding Mary’s virginal motherhood: At the same time, given the fact that the person who is Jesus is God the Son from all eternity, it was fitting that his conception be miraculous: he was not conceived by the normal means but through a divine act. It was important that Jesus really be fully human, connected in lineage back to our first parents and thus born of a woman. In the case of Mary’s motherhood, it is precisely who her son is that rendered the virginal conception most fitting. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says: “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ” (§487). ![]() In view of the concurrence of the month of Mary and Mother’s day, I would like to offer some reflections on the motherhood of Mary.įirst, it is important to note that Mariology (theology about Mary) is always connected to Christology (theology about Jesus Christ). Fittingly, May is also the month of Mary. ![]() Mother’s Day is celebrated every year in the month of May. Home › Articles › Institute Fellows › The Motherhood of Mary
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