Friday, November 11, 2011

95. “...Born of the Virgin Mary”: Why is Mary truly the Mother of God?


95. “...Born of the Virgin Mary”: Why is Mary truly the Mother of God?

(Comp 95) Mary is truly the Mother of God because she is the Mother of Jesus (John 2:1, John 19:25). The One who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and became truly her Son is actually the eternal Son of God the Father. He is God himself.

“In Brief”

(CCC 509) Mary is truly "Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.

To deepen and explain

(CCC 495) Called in the Gospels "the mother of Jesus", Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my Lord"(Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.). 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. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theo-tokos) (Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251).

On reflection

(CCC 487) 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.


(Next question:
What does the “Immaculate Conception” mean?)

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