Mary, the Mother of God

Sacred Hearts Convent - January 1, 1987

It seems fitting that after celebrating the birth of Jesus our Savior, at Christmas, we should on the eighth day remember his Mother, who was so intimately a part of the Christmas mystery.

In the second reading of today, Paul writes that "God sent his Son, born of a woman." These simple words tell us something very important about God's plan for our salvation.

The fact is, he might have chosen some other way to achieve the incarnation. After all, if he could and did dispense with a human father, why could he not have bypassed the need for a human mother as well? Could he not, for example, have created himself a human being in whom his Son would become incarnate?

But in God’s plan for our salvation, the Savior had to be a member of our race, a descendant from our first ancestor, so as to lift up that human race from sin and restore it to its original holiness. And to be a part of this human race, he needed a mother, that would make him a son of Adam and Eve. Only thus in God’s plan would our sinful race be saved.

We think of the possibility that people exactly like us exist on some other planet, although it does not appear likely. But being like us would not make them a part of our race. And it’s our human race that had sinned and needed to be redeemed by God.

The Son of God having taken a human nature from a woman, that not only conferred a unique dignity to his mother, Mary, but also to all women, to all mothers after her.

Modern woman has acquired a new sense of dignity and worth. But God was way ahead of us. His closest collaborator in the incarnation was a woman. Moreover, Mary's exalted role gave our religion and our Western cultures, respect for womanhood, which actually did much to upgrade and better the status of women. Anyone who needs to be convinced of this need only to study the news reports of recent years about women's place in Saudi Arabia and the Iran of Ayatollah Khoumeni. Christianity's veneration of Mary did make a difference.

Particularly in the Middle Ages, when knighthood flourished. The honor paid to the Virgin Mary spilled over to all other women. If today's Western woman is more free and equal than her sisters in the non-Christian world, she owes much of that to the Woman who bore God's Son long ago.

A second blessing issuing from the motherhood of Mary is the high esteem for motherhood in the Christian tradition. Parenting is a divine prerogative. God is the author of life. No one is more intimately associated with God in this work than a mother. Not only during the nine months of pregnancy and when she gives birth to a child, but for many more years when she fashions the soul of this child, forming in him the qualities and virtues befitting a child of God. With God she prepares her child for life everlasting.

In our day, with the movement for Women's Liberation, many have been tempted to liberate woman from being a woman and a mother. And she is losing her identity. Many women want to be free from family responsibilities, which they regard as servitude. They want to live their life, doing their thing, what they like.

A few weeks ago, one of my nieces decided to separate from her husband, just because she didn't like housework and bringing up children, and preferred working with old people! She has a wonderful husband who was shattered when she told him to leave.

Her mother tried to talk a little bit of sense into her: Why did you get married and have children? You have a responsibility to them; they need you. You can't leave them to do your thing!

What was her response? Mother, you don't understand. You are of another generation. The young generation of today don't see things like that.

With this kind of selfish attitude families and society are breaking down: Ten years ago, about 30% of marriages ended in divorce. Today, they say it's about 50%. A proof, by the way, that people do not find happiness in their selfish pursuits! Another niece of mine, is twice married and divorced and pursuing a career, making money.

And the children of such broken homes are those who suffer most. They have little to look forward to in life. They are psychologically, emotionally and spiritually crippled before they become adults. Their sense of values is warped. They are ill-equipped to marry and assume family responsibilities when their time comes.

We live in a society that has lost its sense of purpose and direction. A confused society, a mentally and emotionally disturbed society. People seek comfort in alcohol and drugs, and many end up taking their lives. They have lost basic human values and ideals and common sense.

Let us pray today, for a return to these basic values. Let us pray, at this Mass, for our families, and a return to Christianity and sanity. Let us pray that women may appreciate their real greatness and dignity, as exemplified in Mary, the mother of our Savior.

Sermons on Mary Index