MARY, OUR MOTHER

SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY,
THE MOTHER OF GOD

Today is a very special Feast Day, honoring Mary as the Mother of God. Yes, Mary is not only the Mother of Jesus, but the Mother of God! And because of this sublime Truth, Our Lady deserves our attention, our respect, and our love. Unfortunately, many people, Catholics and non-Catholics don't pay any attention to Mother Mary. They don't respect her divine Motherhood and sadly, they don't love her.

Everyone knows that there is no closer union that that of a mother and child. From conception through birth, childhood and beyond, they are inseparable. Well this was true of Jesus and Mary. Before Our Lord began His public ministry, Mother Mary was there with her Son, grooming Him, so to say, for that day when He would manifest Himself at His baptism by St. John the Baptist and begin His proclamation of the Father's Kingdom and His call to repentance.

In the Gospels, we hear that Our Lady was responsible for Jesus' first public miracle at Cana, and she accompanied Him to Capernaum. People know her as the Mother of Jesus. She follows Jesus for those three years of public ministry, right up to the crucifixion, where she stands beneath the Cross, with St. John and the holy women. From that Cross, Jesus entrusts His Mother to St. John, who represents all of us, accepts her as his Mother. And then, after the resurrection, after Jesus appeared to his Mother first and then the Apostles and disciples, Our Lady is found in the Upper Room awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them!

But the relationship of Jesus and Mary is far superior than the natural closeness of a mother and child. Jesus had no human father, His Conception was due to the overshadowing, the power of the Holy Spirit, the Incarnation. Jesus receives His body and blood from Mary, but He is the Son of the Eternal Father, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. "The Word became Flesh," as Scripture says. The early Church Fathers solemnly defined Mary as truly Mother of God because Jesus is God. They called her "Theotokos" = "Mother of God."

Yes, as I said earlier, we have people today who deny this Truth, this Dogma of our Faith. They try to steal Jesus and Mary's identities. We call it blasphemous, heresy. Jesus is called, at best, a prophet; Mary is ignored and even insulted. But the Church has withstood these attacks and has increased its devotions like the Rosary and Litanies.

Without a doubt, next to the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary is our favorite. We say it in the Rosary each day, over fifty times. In the first part of the Hail Mary we are quoting Scripture: "Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28); "Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus!" (Luke 1:42). The Father's of the Church added "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death", asking Our Lady to intercede for us with her divine Son Jesus. Isn't that what a good mother does for her children? In this New Year of 2008, let us resolve to pray the Rosary every day, especially in reparation for the blasphemies and offenses committed against Jesus and Mary, the Mother of God!
Roman Deacon