MARYMOTHER OF JESUS,MOTHER OF GOD

Part IIb: Mary’s Motherhood“Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43)

The First Dogma of Mary

Mary is truly the Mother of God. (De fide; it must be believed to be Catholic and to remain a Catholic.)

The Apostles’ Creed (c. 700 AD)I believe . . . in Jesus Christ . . . conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.

The Nicene Creed (c. 325 AD)For us men and our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

As the Mother of the Son of God, Mary is the Mother of God. Council of Ephesus 43I AD (D 113)Reading from the second letter of St. Cyril of Alexandria to Nestorius. “If anyone does not confess that the Emmanuel (Christ) in truth is God and that on this account the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God - since according to the flesh she brought forth the Word of God made flesh - let him be anathema.”

The subsequent General Councils repeated and confirmed this doctrine.

The Council of Chalcedon 451 AD (D 148)“The same Christ only begotten Son, our Lord, . . . Indeed born of the Father before all ages according to His divinity, but in the latest days thesame born of the virgin Mary, Mother of God according to the humanity.”

The Council of Constantinople II 553 AD (D 218)“If anyone says that the holy glorious ever-virgin Mary is falsely but not truly the Mother of God or (is the Mother of God) . . . let such a one be anathema.”

The Council of Constantinople III 680-681 (D 290)“Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . begotten of the Father according to the Godhead, in the last days. However, the same for us and for our salvation of the HolySpirit and of the Virgin Mary properly and truly the mother of God according to humanity.”

The dogma of Mary's motherhood of God contains two truths: I Mary is truly a mother, that is, she contributed everything to the formation of the human nature of Christ, that every other mother contributes to the formation of the fruit of her body;  II Mary is truly the Mother of God, that is, she conceived and bore the Second Person of the Divinity, not indeed according to the Divine Nature, but according to the assumed human nature.

Scripture and Tradition Scripture implicitly affirms Mary's Divine motherhood by attesting, on the one hand, the true Divinity of Christ, and on the other hand, Mary's true motherhood.

John 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

Matthew 1: 18Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.

Matthew 2: 11, 13, 20. . . on entering the house they (the Wise men) saw the child with Mary his mother. . . “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, . . . Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.”

Matthew 12: 46While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his

brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.

Matthew 13: 55Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

Luke 1: 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Mary’s true motherhood is clearly foretold by the Prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 7: 14 Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

In similar words the angel transmits to Mary the message:

Luke 1: 31 Behold you shall conceive in your womb, and shall bring forth a

Son and thou shall call his name Jesus.

The motherhood of God is included in the words of St. Luke.

Luke 1:35And the angel said to her 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.”

In the words of St. Paul.

Galatians 4: 4God sent His Son born of a woman.

The woman who bore the Son of God is the Progenitress of God, or the Mother of God.

The Fathers also teach Mary's true motherhood of God, not explicitly, but implicitly. St. Ignatius of Antioch (50–98/117)“For our God Jesus Christ was carried in Mary's womb according to God's resolve of salvation”;

From the seed of David, it is true but by the Holy Spirit.

St. Irenaeus (115/125-290s/300s)“This Christ, who as Logos of the Father was with the Father ... was born of a virgin.” (Epid. 53)

The title “Theotokos" became current after the third century. It is attested to by Origen, St. Alexander of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Athanasius, St. Epiphanius, by the Cappadocians and others, as well as by Arius and Apollinaris of Laodicea.

St. Gregory Nazianzus (c. 382) “If anyone does not recognize the Holy Mary as the Mother of God, he is separated from the Divinity.” (Ep. 101, 4)

Hippolytus of Rome 217 AD“[T]o all generations they [the prophets] have pictured forth the grandest subjects for contemplation and for action. Thus, too, they preached of the advent of God in the flesh to the world, his advent by the spotless and God-bearing (theotokos) Mary in the way of birth and growth, and the manner of his life and conversa tion with men, and his manifestation by baptism, and the new birth that was to be to all men, and the regeneration by the laver [of baptism].” (Discourse on the End of the World I)

Gregory the Wonderworker 262 AD“For Luke, in the inspired Gospel narratives, delivers a testimony not to Joseph only, but also to Mary, the Mother of God, and gives this account with reference to the very family and house of David.”

“It is our duty to present to God, like sacrifices, all the fes tivals and hymnal celebrations; and first of all, [the feast of] the Annunciation to the holy Mother of God, to wit, the salutation made to her by the angel, ‘Hail, full of grace!’” (Four Homilies 1)

Peter of Alexandria 305, 324 AD “They came to the church of the most blessed Mother of God, and ever-virgin Mary, which, as we began to say, he had constructed in the western quarter, in a suburb, for a cemetery of the martyrs.” (The Genuine Acts of Peter of Alexandria)“We acknowledge the resurrection of the dead, of which Jesus Christ our Lord became the firstling; he bore a body not in appearance but in truth derived from Mary the Mother of God.” (Letter to All Non-Egyptian Bishops, 12) Methodius 305 AD “While the old man [Simeon] was thus exul tant, and rejoicing with exceeding great and holy joy, that which had before been spoken of in a figure by the prophet Isaiah, the holy Mother of God now manifestly fulfilled.” (Oration on Simeon and Anna, 7) “Hail to you forever, you virgin Mother of God, our un ceasing joy, for unto you do I again return .... Hail, you fount of the Son's love for man .... Wherefore, we pray you, the most excellent among women, who boast in the confidence of your maternal honors, that you would unceasingly keep us in remembrance. O holy Mother of God, remember us, I say, who make our boast in you, and who in august hymns celebrate your memory, which will ever live, and never fade away.” 

Cyril of Jerusalem (315-389)“The Father bears witness from Heaven to his Son. The Holy Spirit bears witness, coming down bodily in the form of a dove. The archangel Gabriel bears witness, bringing the good tidings to Mary. The Virgin Mother of God bears witness.”

Ephraim the Syrian (306-373)“Though still a virgin she carried a child in her womb, and the handmaid and work of his wisdom became the Mother of God.”

Athanasius (296-373)“The Word begotten of the Father from on high, inexpressibly, inexplicably, incomprehensibly, and eternally, is he that is born in time here below of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.”

Epiphanius of Salamis (310/320-408)“Being perfect at the side of the Fa ther and incarnate among us, not in appearance but in truth, he [the Son] reshaped man to perfection in himself from Mary the Mother of God through the Holy Spirit.”

Ambrose of Milan (340-397)“The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose?”

Gregory of Nazianzus (325-389)“If anyone does not agree that holy Mary is Mother of God, he is at odds with the Godhead.” Jerome (340/342-420)“As to how a virgin became the Mother of God, he [Rufinus] has full knowledge; as to how he himself was born, he knows nothing.”

Mary's Fullness of Grace and Her Dignity Deriving from Her Motherhood of God

Mary's Objective Dignity

As the mother of God, Mary transcends in dignity all created persons, angels and men, because the dignity of a creature is the greater the nearer it is to God. And of all created things after the human nature of Christ, whichis hypostatically united with the Person of the Logos, Mary is nearest to the Triune God. As a true mother she is related by blood to the Son of God according to His human nature. Through the Son she is associated intimately also with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Church honors her on account of her position as Mother of God, and on account of her high endowment with grace deriving from her position as daughter of the Heavenly Father and Spouse of the Holy Spirit. In a certain sense Mary's dignity is infinite, since she is the mother of an Infinite Divine Person.

St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274) “The humanity of Christ, from the fact that it is united to the Godhead; and created happiness from the fact that it is the fruition of God; and the Blessed Virgin from the fact that she is the mother of God; have all a certain infinite dignity from the infinite good, which is God. And on this account there cannot be anything better than these; just as there cannot be anything better than God.” Summa Theologica I 25, 6 ad 4.

In order to express the sublime dignity of the Mother of God, the Church, following the Fathers, applies many Old Testament literary passages in an accommodated sense for Mary.

a) the Psalms, which depict the glory of the magnificence of the tent of the Covenant, of the Temple and of the City of Sion (86, 3; 45, 5; 131, 13);

b) the Wisdom Books which refer to the Divine Wisdom and transferred to Mary “Sedes Sapientiae” (Proverbs. 8, 22 et seq.; Ecclus II, 23 et seq.);

c) the Song of Songs, in which the bride is glorified (for example, 4, 7), and transferred to Mary the “Bride of the Holy Spirit.” The Fathers call Mary, on account of her sublime dignity, Lady and Queen.

St. John Damascene (676-751/787)“Verily she is in the proper and true sense the Mother of God and The Lady ; she rules over all Creation as she is both maid and the Mother of the Creator.” (De fide orth. IV 14)

In order to express the sublime dignity of the Mother of God, the Church, following the Fathers, applies many Old Testament literary passages in an accommodated sense for Mary: Passages from the Psalms Psalms which depict the glory of the magnificence of the tent of the

Covenant, of the Temple and of the City of Sion:

Psalms 87:3Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!

Psalms 46:5Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the

Most High.

Psalms 132:13Yes, the LORD has chosen Zion, desired it for a dwelling;

Passage from the Wisdom Books

These refer to the Divine Wisdom and transferred to Mary “Seat of Wisdom”

Proverbs 8: 22 ffThe LORD begot me, the first-born of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago; From of old I was poured forth, at thefirst, before the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains or springs of water; Before themountains were settled into place, before the hills, I was brought forth; While as yet the earth and the fields were not made, nor the first clods of the world. When he established the heavens I was here, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep; When he made firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth; When he set for the sea its limit, so that the waters should not transgress his command; Then was I besidehim as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, Playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and Ifound delight in the sons of men.

The Song of Songs

The bride is glorified, and transferred to Mary the “Bride of the Holy Spirit.”

Song of Songs 4: 7You are all-beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish in you.

The Fathers call Mary, on account of her sublime dignity, Lady and Queen. St. John Damascene (676-751/787)“Verily she is in the proper and true sense the Mother of God and The Lady;she rules over all Creation as she is both maid and the Mother of the Creator”. (De fide orth. IV 14).

Mary's Plenitude of Grace Mary is full of Grace Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis (1943)“Her most holy soul, more than the souls of all others of God's creatures, was filled with the Divine Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Luke 1: 28 Hail, full of grace (kecharitomene) the Lord is with thee.

According to the context, Mary's special endowment with grace is an accompaniment of her vocation to be the Mother of the Messiah or the Mother of God. This vocation demands a specially rich measure of Sanctifying Grace.

The Fathers stress the connection between Mary's fullness of grace and her dignity as Mother of God.

St. Augustine (354-430)“Whence, then, do we know with what excess of grace she was endowed, in order to conquer sin in every regard, who merited to conceive and to bear Him of whom it is certain that He had no sin?” (De natura et gratia, 36, 42)

St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274)“The nearer a thing is to a principle, the more it receives from the operation of that principle. But of all creatures Mary His Mother stands nearest to Christ, who is the source of Grace, as God authoritatively, as maninstrumentally. Consequently she duly received from Him a supreme measure of Grace. But above all Mary's vocation to be the Mother of God demands for her the richest endowment with Grace.” (S. Th III 27, 5)

Limits to Mary's Fullness of Grace The measure of grace of the Mother of God falls as much short of Christ's fullness of grace as the dignity of the Mother of God falls short of the Hypostatic Union. On the other hand the fullness of grace of the Mother of God as much transcends the fullness of grace of even the highest angels and saints as the dignity of the Mother of God surpasses the supernatural excellences of the angels and the saints. But all possible supernatural excellences cannot be summarily derived from Mary's fullness of grace. There are no grounds for ascribing to the Mother of God all the gifts of grace possessed by Adam and Eve in the state of primitive innocence or the possession of the Beatific Vision during her earthly life, or the gifts of self-consciousness and the use of reason from the first moment of her creation or a unique knowledge of the mysteries of Faith or an extraordinary knowledge of profane things or even the infused knowledge of the angels. She did not possess the Beatific Vision.

Luke 1: 45 Blessed are you who has believed.

On the other hand, it is consonant with the dignity of the Mother of God that to her are attributed a high degree of supernatural knowledge of Faith, and, after her conception of Christ, a special grace of mystical contemplation. Cf. S. Th III 27, 5 ad 3.

While Christ’s fullness of grace was perfect from the beginning, the Mother of God increased in grace and holiness up to her death. Cf. S. Th III 27, 5 ad 2.

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