Virgin Mary the Mother of God –Image Courtesy: Mary Mother of God.blogspot.com
(Franciscan Media) Mary’s divine Motherhood broadens the Christmas spotlight–Mary has an important role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Mary consents to God’s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38) Elizabeth proclaims:
“Most blessed are you among Women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!“
How does this happen to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:42-43) Mary’s role as Mother of God, places her in a unique position in God’s redemptive plan.
Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that “God sent forth His Son, born of Woman, under the Law.” (Galatians 4:4) Paul’s further statement that “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying out ‘Abba Father!‘(Galatians 4:6) Helps us to realize that Mary is the Mother of all Brothers and Sisters of Jesus.
Some theologians also insist that Mary’s Motherhood of Jesus is an important element in God’s creative plan. God ‘first’ thought in creating was Jesus–Jesus the incarnate of the word is the one who could give God’s perfect love and worship on behalf of all creation. As Jesus was ‘first’ in God’s mind, Mary was ‘second’ insofar as she was chosen from ‘all eternity’ to be His Mother.
The precise title ‘Mother of God’ goes back at least to the 3rd or 4th century. In the Greek form ‘Theotokos’ (God’s bearer) it became the touchstone of the Church’s teaching of the Incarnation.
The ‘Council of Ephesus’ in 431 insisted that the Holy Fathers, were correct in calling the Holy Virgin ‘Theotokos’ at the end of this particular session, crowds of people marched through the street shouting: “Praised be the Theotokos.”
The tradition reaches to our own day, in its chapter of Mary’s role in the Church. Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls Mary ‘Mother of God’ 12 times.
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