Fr. JC Maximilian

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Mary’s divine motherhood is the very basis of all her other privileges. It seems so simple and obvious for us to call Mary the Mother of God, but that was not always the case. What is the significance of this solemnity, and why do we celebrate it on the last day of the Octave of Christmas?

The question that our Blessed Lord asked His Apostles, “Who do you say that I am?,” was and was not settled with St. Peter’s answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Of course St. Peter’s response is absolutely correct, but is one in which the Church continues to explore the fullest meaning of. In the early Church there was often much controversy over just who Jesus was and is. There were those who over-emphasized His Divinity while denying His humanity. For them Jesus was just God, masquerading in a human being outfit, but not really one of us. For others they over-emphasized Jesus’ humanity while denying His Divinity. Some even thought that Jesus was neither Divine nor human, but rather something in between. The Council of Ephesus, in the year 431 officially settled the matter when the Church affirmed that Jesus is a Divine Person with two natures, human and divine. They approached this affirmation is a very surprising way – that proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary the “Theotokos” or “God-Bearer.”

See one of the controversies attached to the controversy over who Jesus is was whether Mary could be called the Mother of God. Some argued that Mary was only the mother of the human Jesus, not the Divine Christ. That sounds rather strange to us today, and we are not alone. St. Cyril of Alexandria, who attended the Council of Ephesus, wrote in a letter, “I am exceedingly astounded that there could be anyone who has any doubt as to whether the Blessed Virgin should be called the Mother of God. If Our Lord Jesus Christ is God, why should the Blessed Virgin, who gave him birth, not be called the Mother of God? That is the faith that Our Lord’s disciples transmitted to us, even though they did not use this exact expression” (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Letter 1, 27:30). Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Mother of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater) described the dogma of the divine motherhood of Mary as a seal upon the dogma of the Incarnation, in which the Divine Word truly assumes human nature into the unity of His Divine Person.

That the Blessed Virgin Mary was central to affirming a truth about Jesus really should not be surprising. Mary is always leading people to her Son. Her last recorded words in the Gospels, spoken at the wedding at Cana to the waiters she had brought to Jesus when they ran out of wine, were “do whatever He tells you.”

“Through His Incarnation, Christ has united Himself in a certain way to the human condition and to every person in particular. Because of her divine maternity, Mary is also intimately caught up in her Son’s union with the whole of humanity. She is our spiritual mother in the order of grace. Like any true mother, Mary carries in her heart the situation of each of her children” (Sacerdos: Homilies, Cycle C, December-January, “Mary, Mother of God,” p. 21). Mary, in leading us to her Son Jesus, points us to the way of living the life of supernatural virtue. We learn from Mary how to believe in God’s word, to hope in His promise, and how to love God completely. This is what true devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary consists of – not merely pious feelings and gestures, rather in imitating her virtues, particularly her faith, hope, charity, humility, and obedience.

So as we continue to marvel at and ponder the significance of the Birth of Jesus in our lives, let us pray that beautiful antiphon of the Blessed Virgin Mary that is so fitting for this season, the Alma Redemptoris Mater:

Loving Mother of the Redeemer
Gate of Heaven, Star of the Sea.
Assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.
V. You gave birth without loss of your virginity:
R. Intercede for us, O holy Mother of God.