Happy, New Year! And Merry Christmas, Day 8!
Some people are asking me if it will be a good year. Well, I know that it is my optometrist’s favorite year. And really, as to whether or not it will be a good year, I don’t know, I don’t have 2020 foresight.
So we are celebrating the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. I’m going to reflect on it from a theological, historical, and pastoral perspective.
The title of Our Lady as Mother of God was defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The Council fathers did two things; they affirmed the teachings of Nicea about the humanity and divinity of Christ; and rejected the Nestorian heresy which held that Mary was not Mother of God, but merely Mother of Christ. “No,” the Council said, “Jesus Christ is truly human and truly divine. Therefore, Mary is rightly called Theotokos, the God-bearer.” In the West, this gets rendered the Mother of God.
Ever since the term has been used extensively in the Sacred Liturgy and in prayerful devotion in the Church. The scriptural half of the Hail Mary is complemented by the dogmatic part where we say, “…Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
Historically in the West, it was in 1750 when King Joseph Manuel of Portugal petitioned the Holy Father to grant the celebration of a feast of the
‘Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The Holy Father granted the petition on the 22nd of January 1751. Originally, it was assigned to the first Sunday in May, the month of Our Lady.
In 1969, with the Revision of the Liturgical Calendar, the Feast was moved to the 8th Day of the Octave of Christmas, January 1st in order to emphasize Mary’s role as mother in the Incarnation.
Here’s a fun fact. The feast is celebrated with an octave in the Church of St. Augustine in Rome. This is due mainly to the presence of the the miraculous statue of the Madonna del Parto by Jacopo Sansovino. For centuries, people of Rome and its environs have invoked the intercession of the Madonna before this statue asking for safe deliveries and healthy babies. Even today, the statue is laden with thanksgiving offerings and always surrounded by offerings of flowers and candles, and often photographs of smiling infants and toddlers. It’s really something to see.
But if you really want to know what it is all about, you can’t do better than reading the landmark encyclical that Pope St. Paul VI wrote in 1974. It’s called Marialis Cultus, “FOR THE RIGHT ORDERING AND DEVELOPMENT OF DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.”
The Blessed Virgin’s role as Mother leads the People of God to turn with filial confidence to her who is ever ready to listen with a mother’s affection and efficacious assistance. Thus the People of God have learned to call on her as the Consoler of the afflicted, the Health of the sick, and the Refuge of sinners, that they may find comfort in tribulation, relief in sickness and liberating strength in guilt. For she, who is free from sin, leads her children to combat sin with energy and resoluteness. This liberation from sin and evil (cf. Mt. 6:13)-it must be repeated-is the necessary premise for any renewal of Christian living.
The world is a harsh place. Modern society is not at all sympathetic to people of faith, especially Christians and even less so Catholics like you and me.
How very good it is, therefore in such times to have the aid of the Blessed Virgin Mary in our pilgrimage of faith on this earth. As Pope St. Paul tells us, it is not just in the interior struggle against sin that she comes to our aid, but also in the public square in confronting a culture which values neither faith nor life itself. In the midst of confusing and hostile times, she stands as exemplar and advocate, a pillar of strength to weary hearts and courage in an antagonistic age.
Therefore, in such times let us turn to the Mother of God, our Blessed Mother. Like her, let us ponder these sacred things in our hearts and act with a courage born of faith – keeping in mind that the last words of Our Lady ever recorded in Scripture:
“Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)