| Documents |
II. Mary and Jesus Christ / 2. Mother of Jesus
Christ |
| Lumen Gentium,
1964 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ
[Canon of the Roman Mass] 52
- acknowledged and honored as being truly the
Mother of God and of the redeemer 53
- and the duties of the redeemed towards the
Mother of God, who is mother of Christ 54
- the role of the Mother of the Savior in the
plan of salvation55
- most holy Mother of God who was involved in
the mysteries of Christ 66
- Mother of Our Lord and Saviour [honor given]
69
- gift and role of her divine motherhood, by
which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer
63
Mother as birth giver
- when the Son of God has taken human nature
from her 55
- Mother of Jesus [predestined, enriched for
her role] 56
- Mother of Jesus [in heaven...image of
Church] 68
- Mother of the Redeemer 55
- gracious mother of the divine Redeemer
[predestined mother, generous associate and humble handmaid]
61
- conceived, brought forth, and nourished
Christ 61
- gave birth on earth to the very Son of the
Father [through her faith and obedience] 63
- the Son whom she brought forth is he whom
God placed as the first born among many brethren (Rom 8:29)
63
- [Mother of Life] "gave Life to the world"
53
- [Mother of Life] "Mother of Jesus who gave
to the world the Life that renews all things"
56
- enduring with her only
begotten Son 58
Mother as educator
|
| Mysterium Fidei,
1965 |
- quoting Ambrose,
regarding the miraculous nature of the Eucharist, uses as example
of miracles described in Scripture, including "Christ's birth of
the Virgin Mary" is mentioned. 51
- the oath demanded of
Berengarius is quoted in full. ...the Eucharist we receive is
"after the consecration, there is present the true body of Christ
which was born of the Virgin... 52
|
| Christi Matri
Rosarii, 1968 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- to pray the Mother of God
(title) 13
- acceptable to the Mother
of God (title) 15
- Mother of God (title)
19
- the Virgin Mother of God
(title) 20
- most high Mother of God
(title) 22
Mother as birth giver
- Mother of Christ 1
- for she is the mother of Our Saviour
14
Mother as educator
|
| Signum Magnum,
1967 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- the revered Mother of God
(title) 1
- Council of Ephesus in the
year 431 hailed Mary as Theotokos, that is, as the "Mother
of God." 2
- the Virgin Mother of God
(title) 4, 5
- "God's most holy Mother,
who took part in the mystery of Christ," [LG 66]
5
- [venerate] Mary as the
Mother of God's Son 35
Mother as birth
giver
- "Mother of God and of the
Redeemer," [LG 53] 5
- she is the mother of
Jesus Christ and His closest associate in "the new economy...when
the Son of God takes on human nature from her in order to free
men from sin by the mysteries of His flesh"; [LG 55]
8
Mother as
educator
- No human mother can limit
her task solely to the procreation of new human beings; she must
also undertake the task of nourishing them and educating them. So
it is with the Blessed Virgin Mary. 9
|
| Creed, Paul VI,
1968 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- We believe that the
Blessed Mother of God... [see ftn 20] 15
Mother as birth
giver
- ...He was incarnate of
the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was made
man: equal therefore to the Father according to His divinity, and
inferior to the Father according to His humanity, (11: Symbolum
Quicumque, DS 76) and Himself one, not by some impossible
confusion of His natures, but by the unity of His person (12:
Ibid.). 11
- We believe that Mary is
the Mother, who remained ever a Virgin, of the Incarnate Word,
our God and Savior Jesus Christ [cf. Conc. Ephes., DS
251-252] 14
Mother as
educator
|
| Recurrens Mensis
October, 1969 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
Mother as birth
giver
- It is the humble Virgin
of Nazareth who became Mother of "the Prince of Peace," (Is 9:5)
of Him who was born under the sign of peace, [Lk 2:14) and who
proclaimed to the whole world: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called sons of God." (Mt 5:9)
7
Mother as
educator
|
| General
Catechetical Directory, 1971 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
Mother as birth
giver
- the mystery of Christ the
Incarnate Word, who was born of the Virgin Mary [hierarchy of
truths] 43
- being his [the Lord's]
Ever-Virgin Mother 68
- the Church...venerates in
a most special way Christ's Mother 68
- Mother of Jesus
78
Mother as
educator
|
| Basic Teaching for
Catholic Education (USA), 1973 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- Included in the title of
the article: MARY, MOTHER OF GOD [title]
- special veneration due to
Mary - Mother of Christ
Mother as birth
giver
- The "ever virgin
mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God," [Footnoted: 106
First Eucharist Prayer of the Mass
Mother as educator
|
| Behold Your
Mother (USA), 1973 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- the holy Child to be born
of Mary will be not only the promised Messiah, but God made
man.24
- "If we are to confess
that Emmanuel is truly God, we must also confess that the Holy
Virgin is Theotokos (Mother of God); for she bore according to
the flesh the Word of God made flesh."[Cyril of Alexandria]
64
- At Ephesus, in 431 A.D.,
the divine motherhood was defined in defense of the divinity of
the Son of Mary. The title, "Mother of God" became a permanent
part of the creeds and liturgies of the entire
Church.106
- Christ is at the center
of our faith; but He did not come among men without the
Theotokos. Nor is He in glory now without His Mother,
Theotokos still. 109
Mother as birth
giver
- Because of her divine maternity, Mary stands
in a unique relationship with her Savior and her Son.
5
- she brought forth on earth the Father's
Son...whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren...
(LG 63) 5
- We honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus Christ,
the Incarnate Word of God. 8
- the new dispensation is established. "All
this occurred when the Son of God took a human nature from her,
that He might in the mysteries of His flesh free man from sin."
[Paul VI, 21 Nov 1964, pp. 137-138] 15
- In the strength of her faith, Mary consents
to the merciful Father's invitation, and in the power of the
Spirit becomes the Mother of Jesus, Son of God in human flesh.
33
- Mother of Jesus [by consenting] (LG 56)
55
- She conceived, brought forth, and nourished
Christ. (LG 61) 80
- "the ever-virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our
Lord and God" (Eucharistic Prayer I) 89
- Mother of Jesus 105, 106
Mother as educator
|
| Marialis Cultus,
1974 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- - January 1:
[liturgical celebration of, one of four marian solemnities in
revised liturgy] 5, 6
[new theme] In the
mystery of Mary's motherhood they confess that she is the
Mother of the Head and of the members-the holy Mother of God
and therefore the provident Mother of the Church
11
- March 25: of the
Virgin, who becomes Mother of God. 6
- Mother of the Son of
God, and therefore beloved daughter of the Father and Temple
of the Holy Spirit (LG 53) 56
- In the other revised
liturgical books also expressions of love and suppliant
veneration addressed to the Theotokos are not lacking.
14
- postconciliar renewal
has, as was previously desired by the liturgical movement,
properly considered the Blessed Virgin in the mystery of
Christ, and, in harmony with tradition, has recognized the
singular place that belongs to her in Christian worship as
the holy Mother of God and the.15
Mother as birth
giver
- Christmas: brought the
Savior into the world (Eucharistic Prayer I) 5
- March 25: of the Word,
who becomes "Son of Mary" (Mk. 6:3) 6
- she who "believing
and obeying ... brought forth on earth the Father's Son. ..."
(LG 63) 19
Mother as
educator
|
|
|
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
Mother of the Eternal Son
- the pure abode of the Redeemer of mankind
- the mother of hope and grace
Mother as birth giver
Mother as educator
|
| Sharing the Light
of Faith (USA), 1979 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- Included in title of the
article:
MARY, MOTHER OF
GOD
[title] 106
- While it is neither possible nor desirable
to establish a rigid order to dictate a uniform method for the
exposition of content, certain norms or criteria guide all sound
catechesis.... In practice this means recognizing a certain
hierarchy of truths: ... 47
Mother as birth giver
- the mystery of Christ the incarnate Word,
who was born of the Virgin Mary 47
- [belief in Mary as] virgin mother
78
- In taking on human flesh through the
ever-virgin Mary 87
- The "ever-virgin mother of Jesus Christ
our Lord and God," [Footnoted: 45 Roman Ritual, First
Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass.] 106
- special love and veneration due her as
mother of Christ 106
Mother as educator
|
| Redemptor Hominis,
1979 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- We can say that the
mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the
Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her fiat. From then on,
under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the
heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work
of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced
and continues to embrace with inexhaustible
love.
- For that reason her heart
must also have the inexhaustibility of a mother.Final
paragraph.
Mother as birth
giver
Mother as
educator
|
| Catechesi
Tradendae, 1979 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- What kind of catechesis
would it be that failed to give their full place to man's
creation and sin; to God's plan of redemption and its long,
loving preparation and realization; to the incarnation of the
Son of God; to Mary, the Immaculate One, the Mother of God,
ever Virgin, raised body and soul to the glory of heaven, and to
her role in the mystery of salvation; Subtitle: "Integrity of
Content" 30
Mother as birth
giver
Mother as
educator
- By a unique vocation, she
saw her Son Jesus "increase in wisdom and in stature, and in
favor." (cf. Lk 2:52) As He sat on her lap and later as He
listened to her throughout the hidden life at Nazareth, this
son, who was "the only Son from the Father," "full of grace and
truth,: was formed by her in human knowledge of the
Scriptures and of the history of God's plan for His people,
and in adoration of the Father. (cf. Jn 1:14; Heb 10:5;
S. Th., III, Q. 12, a. 2: a. 3, ad 3.)
73
|
| Dives in
Misericordia, 1980 |
- The above titles [see:
holiness] which we attribute to the Mother of God speak of her
principally, however, as the Mother of the crucified and risen
One 9
Mother as Theotokos
(title) Mother of God
Mother as birth
giver
Mother as
educator
|
| Ephesus, 1550th
Anniversary, 1981 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- also the truth concerning the Blessed
Virgin, called to the unique and unrepeatable dignity of being
the Mother of God, the Theotokos, as was so clearly shown
principally by the Letter of St. Cyril to Nestorius and by the
splendid Formula Unionis of 433. It was a whole hymn raised by
those ancient Fathers to the incarnation of the only begotten Son
of God, in the full truth of the two natures in the one person;
it was a hymn to the work of salvation, accomplished in the world
through the working of the Holy Spirit; and all of this could not
fail to redound to the honor of the Mother of God, the first
cooperator with the power of the Almighty, which overshadowed her
at the moment of the Annunciation in the luminous coming of the
Holy Spirit. And this is how our brothers and sisters of Ephesus
understood it, when, on the evening of June 22, the first day of
the Council, celebrated in the Cathedral of the "Mother of God,"
they acclaimed the Virgin Mary with this title...3
- While we recall the joy and exultation that
the profession of faith in the divine motherhood of the Virgin
Mary (Theotokos) aroused 1550 years ago at Ephesus, we understand
that the profession of faith also glorified the particular work
of the Holy Spirit, the work composed of both the human
conception and birth of the Son of God by the power of the Holy
Spirit and, again by the power of the Holy Spirit, the holy
motherhood of the Virgin Mary. 8
- This motherhood is not only the source and
foundation of all her exceptional holiness and her very special
participation in the whole plan of salvation; it also establishes
a permanent maternal link with the Church, as a result of the
fact that she was chosen by the holy Trinity as the Mother of
Christ, who is "the Head of the body, the Church" (Col 1:18).
8
Mother as birth giver
- [Creed] et incarnatus est de Spiritu
Sancto ex maria Virgine, et homo factus est: by the power of
the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was
made man. The Council of Ephesus thus had a value that was above
all Christological, for it defined the two natures in Jesus
Christ, the divine and the human, in order to state exactly the
authentic doctrine of the Church already expressed by the Council
of Nicaea in 325, but which had been imperiled by the spread of
certain formulas used in the Nestorian teaching. In close
connection with these affirmations, the Council of Ephesus also
had a soteriological significance, for it illustrated the fact
that as the well-known axiom has it "what is not assumed is not
saved."3
Mother as educator
|
| Dominum et
Vivificantem, 1986 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- "By the power of the Holy
Spirit" there became man he whom the Church, in the words of the
same Creed, professes to be the son, of the same substance as the
Father: "God from God, Light from Light, true God from
true God, begotten, not made.: He was made man by becoming
incarnate from the Virgin Mary." this is what happened when "the
fullness of time had come." 49
Mother as birth
giver
- Mary the Mother of Jesus
30
- For the "fullness of
time" is matched by a particular fullness of the
self-communication of the Triune God in the Holy Spirit. "By the
power of the Holy Spirit" the mystery of the
"hypostatic union" is brought about - that is, the
union of the divine nature and the human nature, of the divinity
and the humanity in the one Person of the Word-Son. When at the
moment of the Annunciation Mary utters her fiat: "Be it
done unto me according to your word," (Lk 1:38) she conceives in
a virginal way a man, the Son of Man, who is the Son of
God. ... The Incarnation of God the Son signifies the taking
up into unity with God not only of human nature, but in this
human nature, in a sense, of everything that is "flesh;" the
whole of humanity, the entire visible and material world. The
Incarnation, then, also has a cosmic significance, a cosmic
dimension. 50
|
| Redemptoris Mater,
1987 |
Mother of Jesus Christ
- Mary the Mother of Jesus
30
- For the "fullness of
time" is matched by a particular fullness of the
self-communication of the Triune God in the Holy Spirit. "By the
power of the Holy Spirit" the mystery of the "hypostatic union"
is brought about - that is, the union of the divine nature and
the human nature, of the divinity and the humanity in the one
Person of the Word-Son. When at the moment of the Annunciation
Mary utters her fiat: "Be it done unto me according to
your word," (Lk 1:38) she conceives in a virginal way a
man, the Son of Man, who is the Son of God. ... The
Incarnation of God the Son signifies the taking up into unity
with God not only of human nature, but in this human nature,
in a sense, of everything that is "flesh;" the whole of
humanity, the entire visible and material world. The Incarnation,
then, also has a cosmic significance, a cosmic dimension.
50
Mother as Theotokos
(title) Mother of God
- Ephesus (431) ... the
truth of the divine motherhood of Mary was solemnly confirmed as
a truth of the Church's faith. Mary is the Mother of God (=
Theotokos), since by the power of the Holy Spirit she
conceived in her virginal womb and brought into the world Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who is of one being with the Father. ...
the dogma of the divine motherhood ... a seal upon the dogma of
the Incarnation, in which the Word truly assumes human nature
into the unity of his person, without cancelling out that nature.
4
- one cannot think of the
reality of the Incarnation without referring to Mary, the Mother
of the Incarnate Word. 5
- Mary is "full of grace,"
because it is precisely in her that the Incarnation of the Word,
the hypostatic union of the Son of God with human nature, is
accomplished and fulfilled. As the Council says, Mary is "the
Mother of the Son of God. (LG 53) 9 [See
also39]
- For knowledge of the
mystery of Christ leads us to bless his Mother, in the form of
special veneration for the Theotokos.But this veneration
always includes a blessing of her faith ...
27
Mother as birth
giver
- [Luke] Mary is present as
the mother who conceives Jesus in her womb, gives him birth and
nurses him: the nursing mother referred to by the woman in the
crowd. Thanks to this motherhood, Jesus, the Son of the
Most High (cf. Lk. 1:32), is a true son of man. He is
"flesh," like every other man: he is "the Word (who) became
flesh" (cf. Jn. 1: 14). He is of the flesh and blood of Mary!
(Cf. Augustine) 20
- [Cana] Mother of Jesus at
the beginning of his public life 21
"... the Son of God took a
human nature from her, that he might in the mysteries of his flesh
free man from sin." (LG 55) 24
[See also
28]
Mother as
educator
|
| Letter to
Priests for Holy Thursday, 1988 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- Dear Brothers: who more
than we have an absolute need of a deep and unshakable faith-we,
who by virtue of the apostolic succession begun in the Upper Room
celebrate the sacrament of Christ's sacrifice? We must therefore
constantly deepen our spiritual bond with the Mother of God who
on the pilgrimage of faith "goes before" the whole People of God.
2
- If John at the foot of
the cross somehow represents every man and woman for whom the
motherhood of the Mother of God is spiritually extended, how much
more does this concern each of us, who are sacramentally called
to the priestly ministry of the Eucharist in the Church! 3
- The Second Vatican
Council proclaims: "Through the gift and role of her divine
motherhood, by which the Blessed Virgin is united with her
Son,...she is also intimately united with the Church. As St.
Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a 'type' of the Church in
the matter of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. [cf.
LG 63] 4
Mother as birth
giverb>
Mother as
educator
|
| The VM in
Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988
|
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
Mother as birth
giver
- She is the mother, who,
accepting with faith the message of the Angel, conceived the Son
of God in his human nature in her virginal womb through the
action of the Holy Spirit and without the intervention of man;
she brought him to birth, she fed him, tended him and educated
him (cf. LG 57,61) 7
Mother as
educator
- and educated him (cf. LG
57,61) 7
|
| To
All Consecrated Persons, Marian Year, 1988
|
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
Mother as birth
giver
- God came into the world
and was born of her as the "Son of Man" in order to fulfil [sic]
the eternal will of the Father who so loved the world (cf Jn
3:16) 22
Mother as
educator
|
| Mulieris
Dignitatem, 1988 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- The Son, the Word, one in
substance with the Father, becomes man, born of a woman, at "the
fullness of time." 3
- not just a matter here of
God's words revealed through the Prophets; rather ... "the Word
is truly made flesh" (cf. Jn 1:14). Hence Mary attains
a union with God that exceeds all the expectations of the
human spirit. 3
- The Virgin of Nazareth
truly becomes the Mother of God. Council of Ephesus (431)
4
- At ... Annunciation, by
responding with her fiat, Mary conceived a man who was the
Son of God, of one substance with the Father. Therefore she is
truly the Mother of God, because motherhood concerns the whole
person, not just the body, nor even just human "nature." In
this way the name Theotokos - Mother of God - became the
name proper to the union with God granted to the Virgin Mary.
4
- With her fiat,
Mary becomes the authentic subject of that union with God
which was realized in the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word,
who is of one substance with the Father.
4
- The biblical exemplar of
the "woman" finds its culmination in the motherhood of the
Mother of God. 19
Mother as birth
giver
- [see Annunciation]
3
- He spoke as the Son,
joined to the Father by the eternal mystery of divine generation,
and he did so while being at the same time the truly human Son of
his Virgin Mother. 8 [See also
25]
- Each and every time that
motherhood is repeated in human history, it is always
related to the Covenant which God established with the
human race through the motherhood of the Mother of God.
19
- Does not Jesus bear
witness to this reality when he answers the exclamation of that
woman in the crowd who blessed him for Mary's motherhood:
"Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you
sucked!"? Jesus replies: "Blessed rather are those who hear the
word of God and keep it" (Lk 11:27-28). Jesus confirms the
meaning of motherhood in reference to the body, but at the same
time he indicates an even deeper meaning, which is connected with
the order of the spirit: it is a sign of the Covenant with God
who "is spirit" (Jn 4:24). This is true above all for the
motherhood of the Mother of God. 19
Mother as
educator
|
| Redemptoris
Custos, St. Joseph, 1989 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- Mary is the Lord's humble
servant, prepared from eternity for the task of being the Mother
of God. Joseph is the one whom God chose to be the "overseer of
the Lord's birth," [Origen] the one who has the responsibility to
look after the Son of God's "ordained" entry into the world, in
accordance with divine dispositions and human laws. 8
Mother as birth
giver
- "...she will bear a son,
and you [Joseph] shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins" (Mt 1:21).
- The Son of Mary is
also Joseph's Son by virtue of the marriage bond that unites
them: "By reason of their faithful marriage both of them
deserve to be called Christ's parents, not only his mother, but
also his father, who was a parent in the same way that he was the
mother's spouse: in mind, not in the flesh." [Augustine]
7
Mother as
educator
|
| Veritatis
Splendor, 1993 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
Mother as birth
giver
- Until the time of his
birth, she sheltered in her womb the Son of God who became man
120
Mother as
educator
- She raised him and
enabled him to grow 120
|
| Tertio Millennio
Adveniente, 1994 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- two thousand years ago
the Son of God was made man by the power of the Holy Spirit and
was born of the Immaculate virgin Mary.
26
Mother as birth
giver
- And she gave birth to her
first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes ... (2:7)
2
- Born of Mary the Virgin
he truly became one of us and, sin apart, was like us in every
way. (GS 22) 4
- [For year one, Jesus
Christ, one of the Christological themes:]
a deeper understanding of the
mystery of the Incarnation and of Jesus's birth from the Virgin
Mary40
who will be as it were
"indirectly" present in the whole preparatory phase, will be
contemplated in the first year especially in the mystery of her
divine Motherhood. It was in her womb that the Word became flesh!
The affirmation of the central place of Christ cannot therefore be
separated from the recognition of the role played by his Most Holy
Mother. 43
Mother as
educator
|
| Evangelium Vitae,
1995 |
Mother as Theotokos
- But the Church cannot forget that her
mission was made possible by the motherhood of Mary, who
conceived and bore the One who is "God from god", "true God from
true god". Mary is truly the Mother of God, the Theotokos,
in whose motherhood the vocation to motherhood bestowed by God on
every woman is raised to its highest level. 103
Mother as Birthgiver
- Mary's consent at the Annunciation and her
motherhood stand at the very beginning of the mystery of life
which Christ came to bestow on humanity (cf. Jn 10:10)
102
- Through her acceptance and loving care for
the life of the Incarnate Word, human life has been rescued from
condemnation to final and eternal death. 102
- She is in fact the mother of the Life by
which everyone lives 102
Mother as Educator
|
Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 1994
Fidei Depositum, 1992 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
Mother of God (Mater Dei,
Theotokos): 466, 467, 469, 495, 509, 529, 975, 1138
[BB]
461
Taking up St. John's
expression,"The Word became flesh," (Jn 1:14) the Church calls
"Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in
order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul,
the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation:
... but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And
being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:5-8)
466
For this reason the Council of
Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by
the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God,
not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the
beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the
holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united
to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word
is said to be born according to the flesh."(Ephesus: DS
251)
467
... He was begotten from the
Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for
us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin
Mary, the Mother of God....
452
The name Jesus means "God
saves." The child born of the Virgin Mary is called Jesus, "for he
will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21): "there is no
other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved
(Acts 4:12).
456
With the Nicene Creed, we
answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down
from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of
the Virgin Mary, and was made man."
469
The Church thus confesses that
Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of
God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our
brother: ... The liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings:
"O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who deigned
for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and
ever-virgin Mary ... " (Troparion "O monogenes")
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 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" (Theotokos).(Ephesus: DS 251)
509
Mary is truly "Mother of God
since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is
God himself.
Mother as birth
giver
The Apostles' Creed: He
was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin
Mary.
The Nicene
Creed
: by the power of the Holy
Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
437 ...From the
beginning he was "the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into
the world," conceived as "holy" in Mary's virginal womb. ...(Jn
10:36, cf. Lk 1:35)
470 ...The Son of
God...worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted
with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the
Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all
things except sin. (GS 22 §2)
Mother as
educator
2599 The Son of God who
became Son of the Virgin learned to pray in his human heart. He
learns to pray from his mother, who kept all the great things the
Almighty had done and treasured them in her heart. ... (cf. Lk 1:49;
2:19; 2:51) |
| Novo Millennio
Ineunte, 2001 |
Mother
as Theotokos (title) Mother of God
- Yes, Jesus is true God
and true man! Like the Apostle Thomas, the Church is constantly
invited by Christ to touch his wounds, to recognize, that is, the
fullness of his humanity taken from Mary, given up to death,
transfigured by the Resurrection: "Put your finger here, and see
my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side" (Jn
20:27). 21
|
| Ecclesia in
Oceania, 2001 |
- In Jesus Christ, whom she
nurtured in her womb, there is born a new world where justice and
mercy meet, a world of freedom and peace.
53
|
| Rosarium Virginis
Mariae, 2003 |
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of
God
- It can be said that the
Rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final
chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter
which discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the
mystery of Christ and the Church. 2
- ...the Rosary clearly
belongs to the kind of veneration of the Mother of God described
by the Council: a devotion directed to the Christological center
of the Christian faith, in such a way that "when the Mother is
honored, the Son ... is duly known, loved and glorified."(LG 66)
4
- From Mary's uniquely
privileged relationship with Christ, which makes her the Mother
of God, Theotokos, derives the forcefulness of the appeal we make
to her in the second half of the prayer [Hail Mary], as we
entrust to her maternal intercession our lives and the hour of
our death. 33
Mother as birth
giver
- In a unique way the face
of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was
formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an
even greater spiritual closeness.... When at last she gave birth
to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the
face of her Son, as she "wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and
laid him in a manger" (Lk2:7). 10
- When in the Rosary we
plead with Mary, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35),
she intercedes for us before the Father who filled her with grace
and before the Son born of her womb, praying with us and for us.
16
|
| Ecclesia de
Eucharistia, 2003 |
Mother
as Theotokos (title) Mother of God
- The eschatological
tension kindled by the Eucharist expresses and reinforces our
communion with the Church in heaven. It is not by chance that the
Eastern Anaphoras and the Latin Eucharistic Prayers honour Mary,
the ever-Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God, the
angels, the holy apostles, the glorious martyrs and all the
saints. This is an aspect of the Eucharist which merits greater
attention: in celebrating the sacrifice of the Lamb, we are
united to the heavenly "liturgy' and become part of that great
multitude which cries out: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits
upon the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev 7:10). 19
- In a certain sense Mary
lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the
Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb
for the Incarnation of God's Word. The Eucharist, while
commemorating the passion and resurrection, is also in continuity
with the incarnation. 55
- At the Annunciation Mary
conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and
blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree
happens sacramentally in every believer who receives, under the
signs of bread and wine, the Lord's body and blood. ... In
continuity with the Virgin's faith, in the Eucharistic mystery we
are asked to believe that the same Jesus Christ, Son of God and
Son of Mary, becomes present in his full humanity and divinity
under the signs of bread and wine.55
Mother as birth
giver
- Ave, verum corpus natum
de Maria Virgine! 59
|