Mary, Mother of the Church

By -

I was out in front of the house the other day checking out the flowers and I thought there was some dirt on our Mary statue.  When I looked closer I realized it was just that old serpent at her feet.

Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, a feast held every year the day after Pentecost.

If you didn’t realize this, don’t be alarmed.  Pope Francis, in 2018 decreed it be put on our Roman Calendar to highlight the special role of Mary. 

Think about it; it makes total sense.  Mary brought Jesus into physical being by his natural birth.  On Pentecost, we celebrate what is known as the “birthday of the church.”  The two are closely connected.

“The Vatican prelates in the decree recalled that ‘as a caring guide to the emerging Church Mary had already begun her mission in the Upper Room, praying with the Apostles while awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit.’”

The decree quotes St. Augustine,

“Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church.”

It also quotes St. Leo the Great:

“the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body, thus indicating that Mary is at once Mother of Christ, the Son of God, and mother of the members of his Mystical Body, which is the Church.”

We could call today Mother’s Day since all Christians are able to look to Mary with honor.  While some may debate the degree of honor she should be given or if she was immaculately conceived (she was), the bottom line is, she gave birth to the savior of the world, and at the foot of the cross, Jesus gave her to us as our Mother. (John 19:27)

According to the following article, the reality is, if you believe that Jesus is God and Mary gave birth to him, then that makes her the Mother of God!

Please go to What the Early Church Believed: Mary is the Mother of God.

I think it always helps to go back as close as we can to the time of Christ and see what they were thinking and what they understood.  This article on the early church provides the mindset of some of the early church Fathers.

If you didn’t have any birthday cake yesterday for Pentecost, go ahead and enjoy it today as we celebrate our Mother!

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
janetcassidy.blubrry.net

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

By -
Image
This is the image most often associated with the writings of the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit. She promoted devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. During my preparation for the retreat I am giving at the end of the month in Pantasaph, North Wales, I began reading a book by the late John Haffert (once the lay leader of the Blue Army of Fatima). His theory in the book, which speaks of God's "last effort" to convert the world before the coming chastisement, is that we are now living in the third or fourth "day" of the Fatima week. At this time, according to Haffert, we should be promoting devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. I also consulted another book by Dr. Courtnay Bartholomew (whom I have been privileged to meet) which also speaks of the importance of this devotion, linking it with the writings and visions of the mystic Berthe Petit, and the importance of the full title of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. These things will feature in
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more