Blessed Virgin Mary
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior...
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
Luke 1: 46-48
Blessed Virgin Mary
"As the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary has a unique position among the saints, indeed, among all creatures. She is exalted, yet still one of us.
Redeemed by reason of the merits of her Son and united to Him by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God, by which account she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth. At the same time, however, because she belongs to the offspring of Adam she is one with all those who are to be saved. (Lumen Gentium, no. 53)
Mary embraces God's will and freely chooses to cooperate with God's grace, thereby fulfilling a crucial role in God's plan of salvation.
Throughout the centuries, the Church has turned to the Blessed Virgin in order to come closer to Christ. Many forms of piety toward the Mother of God developed that help bring us closer to her Son. In these devotions to Mary, "while the Mother is honored, the Son, through whom all things have their being and in whom it has pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, is rightly known, loved and glorified and . . . all His commands are observed."
The Church honors her as the Mother of God, looks to her as a model of perfect discipleship, and asks for her prayers to God on our behalf."
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
And the angel said to her [Mary] in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."
Why do we call the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God?
The Blessed Virgin Mary is honored as the Mother of God because she conceived and gave birth to Christ, who is the incarnation of God the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
God sent forth his Son, born of a woman.
Galatians 4:4
Since the first centuries of Christianity, the Church customarily has regarded the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the Mother of God for a simple, logical reason;
By the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Since the divine Person, God the Son, assumed, or took on, human nature, she is the Mother of God in the fullest since: "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" (CCC 487). The Church solemnly defined this belief at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus AD 431.
But how can a mere mortal be the Mother of the eternal God who has always existed? Consider how we speak of human motherhood. Our own mothers supply our human nature, our physical bodies; yet, it is God who supplies our spirit and soul. We do not distinguish between the two: a mother gives birth not only to our nature, but to our entire person.
In regard to Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary supplied his humanity and is thus the Mother of Jesus. But Christ has both a human nature and a divine nature. Nevertheless, she gave birth to the one Person who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man. She is rightly called the Mother of God even though she herself is not the source of his divinity. (Cf. CCC 496)
This doctrine is taught implicitly in Scripture, especially in those passages where the Blessed Virgin Mary is called the"Mother of Jesus", or the"Mother of Christ"—perhaps most strikingly when Saint Elizabeth greets her with the following words: "Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43, emphasis added). Her identity as the Mother of God is intimately linked to Christ's own identity as fully man and fully God, the Son of God. (Cf. CCC 509)
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Luke 1: 38
May is the Month of Mary
For centuries, the Catholic Church has set aside the entire month of May to honor Mary, Mother of God. Not just a day in May, but the entire month.
In medieval times, similar customs abounded, all centering around the practice of expelling winter, as May 1st was considered the start of new growth. During the medieval times, the tradition of Tricesimum,or “Thirty-Day Devotion to Mary,” came into being. Also called, “Lady Month,” the event was held from August 15-September 14 and is still observed in some areas.
The idea of a month specifically dedicated to Mary can be traced back to baroque times. Although it wasn’t always held during May, Mary Month included thirty daily spiritual exercises honoring Mary. It was in this era that Mary’s Month and May were combined, making May the Month of Mary with special devotions organized on each day throughout the month. This custom became especially widespread during the nineteenth century and remains in practice until today.
The month of May is a special time for Catholics to pay homage to our Blessed Mother Mary. We pay homage to her. Contrary to misconceptions, we do not worship her. As Catholics, we honor Mary.
Ways We Can Honor Mary:
- Pray the Rosary
- Say the Hail Mary Prayer throughout the day
- Create a Prayer Corner, placing some representation of our Blessed Mother whether that be a photo, small statue, or Rosary beads.
- Create an outdoor space, flowers in honor of Mary
Anything you do, make it appealing and a real tribute to her beauty and virtue.
Why Should We Do This?
Not only because it is a long-standing tradition in the Church. Not only because there are special graces connected to it...
Do it because Mary is the Mother of Christ – your mother, everyone’s mother – and because she cares for all of us day-in-and-day-out without fail, interceding for us in even the tiniest matters.
For that, she deserves an entire month in her honor.
And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed..."
Luke 1:46-48
The Hail Mary Prayer
The Hail Mary prayer came literally from heaven, as it was first pronounced for human ears by the Archangel Gabriel when he appeared to Our Lady to receive her consent to be the mother of our Savior. DISCOVER MORE about The Annunciation of the Lord.
Along with the Lord’s Prayer, with which it is usually prayed, it comes not as a mere human composition but as a prayer composed by God for our help and instruction.
