Mary the Mother of God
1. The near-infinite greatness of Mary flows from the fact that she is
the Mother of God. The Eternal Word of the Father, consubstantial with
Him in nature and equal to Him in majesty, willed to become man in order
to set us free from the slavery of sin and to regain Heaven for us. He
became man in the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary. He took a human body
and soul and was born of her as the
God-Man. For this reason there is attributed to His Divine Person the
title of Son of Mary and to Mary the title of Mother of God.
There is a relationship between Mary and each of the three Divine
Persons, for she is the daughter of God the Father, the spouse of the
Holy Spirit by whose power the Word became incarnate in her, and the
mother of the Word made man. She is, moreover, in the words of Dante,
the “termine fisso di eterno consiglio.” (Paradiso, 33:1-3) In other
words, she is the centre of the eternal plan which God established for
the redemption of the human race. It was God's eternal design to reunite
creation to the Uncreated by means of Mary. She became the mother of
the Eternal Word, in whom the divine and human natures were indissolubly
united. He redeemed us by His infinite merits, but in this work of
redemption He employed the co-operation of His holy Mother. All the
graces, privileges and virtues of Mary flow from this great mystery of
her divine Motherhood. As befitted the future Mother of God, she was
conceived free from the stain of original sin and full of grace. Her
mortal life was a continuous ascent towards the highest peak of
sanctity. When she died, she was assumed body and soul into Heaven,
where she was crowned in glory as Queen of Angels and Queen of Saints.
When we consider the sublime nobility of Our Lady, we should be moved
to love and venerate her. This love and veneration does not subtract in
the slightest from God's glory, because she is the Mother of God. In
fact, it is of great advantage to us to imitate her and to call on her
to intercede for us.
2. St. Matthew (Cf. Mt. 12:46-50) and St.
Mark (Cf. Mark 3:31-35) relate how Jesus was preaching one day in
Galilee, surrounded by his Apostles and by a large crowd, when a man
approached and said: “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are standing
outside, seeking thee.” “Who is my mother,” He answered, “and who are my
brethren?” Then He extended His hand towards His disciples and said:
“Behold my mother and my brethren! For whoever does the will of my
Father in Heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.” These words
were directed at us, not at Our Lady. Not only was she the immaculate
Mother of Jesus Christ, but she performed lovingly on all occasions the
will of the heavenly Father. She did His will in poverty and obscurity,
in exile, and on Mount Calvary. Therefore she was God's mother in the
spiritual as well as in the physical sense of the word, in so far as she
was constantly united to Him by a bond of love and of conformity with
His desires.
Christ's words indicate that Mary's perfect and
continuous acceptance of God's will was even more pleasing to God than
the dignity of the divine Motherhood. We cannot equal her in dignity,
but we can imitate her in this other respect. Jesus will look on us as
His brothers and as worthy sons of Mary if we carry out His will in all
things. It is not always easy to do this. It is not easy when we are
strongly tempted to commit sins of pride, anger or impurity. It is not
easy when we are overcome by sorrow or by sickness, when we are let down
or misunderstood by others, when we are in want, and when we feel that
we are collapsing beneath the weight of our cross. At times like these
we should pray for Mary's spirit of complete acceptance of the will of
God.
3. Most Holy Mary, not only were you raised to the dignity
of Mother of God, but you carried out His holy will heroically on all
occasions. Obtain for me from your divine Son, Jesus, the grace to
co-operate always and at all costs with His designs for me, both in life
and in death. Amen.
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