Mother's Day
On Mother’s Day it seems appropriate to look at the title Mother of God (the
following is from the Modern Catholic Dictionary). Mother of God is “the
title of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the physical parent of Jesus, who is
God. Although first defined against Nestorius at the Council of Ephesus
(431), the concept goes back to subapostolic times. The basis in Scripture
is the twofold theme of the Gospels, that Jesus was true God and that Mary
was truly the mother of Jesus. St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. 107) wrote to
the Ephesians: “Our God Jesus Christ was carried in Mary’s womb, according
to God’s plan of salvation.” The title Theotokos (Mother of God)
became current after the third century. It was used by Origen (c. 185-c.
254), and St. Gregory Nazianzen, writing about 382, said: “If anyone does
not recognize the holy Mary as Mother of God he is separated from the
Divinity….Mary transcends in dignity all created persons and stands next to
her divine Son in holiness. Ancient writers stressed the relation between
Mary’s divine maternity and her fullness of grace, which they found asserted
in the angelic greeting “Hail, full of grace.” Her vocation to become
Mother of God, they reasoned, demanded a special richness of divine
friendship.” |
