Mary, the Mother of God

Saint Anne Church and Dominican Academy - January 1, 1992

It seems fitting that after celebrating the birth of Jesus, we should today celebrate his mother, who was so intimately a part of the Christmas mystery.

St. Paul alludes to this mystery when he writes: "When the-fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman.” That's all he says, but it says it all. The greatness of Mary is that she was the "Mother of Jesus." And because Jesus was God, she was truly the Mother of God.

The motherhood of Mary is the reason for her other privileges: God wanted her to be a fitting mother for his divine Son. Among these privileges:

1. Her immaculate conception. Preserved from original sin and from all sin.
2. God made her "full of grace, endowed her with a unique holiness.
3. Finally, Mary conceived and gave birth to the Savior while remaining a virgin. The virginity of Mary speaks of the miraculous action of the Holy Spirit by whose divine action Mary conceived Jesus. Mary conceived the Savior of the world while remaining a virgin, and she remained a virgin after. She had no other children.

The Catholic Church has always believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary. Protestants don't. At any rate, we might ask: why all this fuss about the perpetual virginity of Mary? Because it is an important statement of her unique vocation to be the Mother of the Messiah. Her whole vocation, her whole life revolved around Jesus, from his conception to his death on the cross.

The vocation of Mary is inseparable from that of Jesus. Without Mary, there would be no Savior. Why? Because in God's plan for our salvation, the Savior had to be a part of our human race, he was called to save. He had to take upon himself our sinful human nature, to destroy sin and to lift us up to his divine nature, make us children of God. As the Christmas liturgy proclaims: The Savior took our human nature and gave us a sharing in his divine nature.

For the Savior to be a part of our human race, he needed a mother. That mother, chosen by God, was a little Jewish girl named Mary. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus, no Savior, no salvation. That makes Mary mighty important to everyone of us.

On the other hand, if Jesus needed Mary to become our Savior, Mary is nothing without Jesus. He is the reason for all her greatness and privileges. God wanted for his Son a worthy mother, a holy mother, a mother totally dedicated to his mission.

A mother has two essential functions: she gives life to a child, then she must bring him up, nurture him, educate him. She forms his character and personality.

So it was with Mary. Because Jesus was fully human, he needed a mother, not only to give him life, but also to teach him everything. Mary taught Jesus to talk, to walk, to eat, to know God and pray. She taught him good manners, and the virtues that prepared him for his future mission.

A child always reflects much of the virtues of his parents, especially of his mother. The love, the kindness and the compassion Jesus later manifested to all, especially the poor, the sick, the afflicted, he undoubtedly learned from Mary, and Joseph too.

Would we have had the kind of Jesus we know if he had not had the kind of Mother Mary was?

Today we honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus. God was first to honor her more than anyone else in making her the Mother of his divine Son. Because of this great honor God bestowed upon her as a favor, Mary proclaimed in her Magnificat: "He who is mighty has done great things in me. Holy is his name." And she adds prophetically: "All will call me blessed." (Lk 1:48)

We today, children of God, children of Mary too, because we were joined with Christ to form one body with him, we offer our esteem and our love to Mary, Mother of Jesus, and our spiritual mother. Amen.

Sermons on Mary Index