Blessed Mother Mary

Queen of Peace, Mother of Mercy, Immaculate Conception, Star of the Sea, Queen of Heaven, there are so many titles we use when we speak of Mary.  These five titles, and hundreds of others, each describe one aspect of the Mother of God, but none of them capture the wonder of this woman. 

As May is traditionally devoted to Mary, it is fitting that our first 3-minute catechesis of the month be devoted to her. 

Catholic beliefs about the Blessed Virgin Mary include her immaculate conception, her freedom from personal sin, her perpetual virginity, the fact that she is the mother of God, her assumption into heaven, and her role as intercessor. 

Most Protestants, and some Catholics, have a problem when it comes to understanding the relationship of Mary to Jesus.  They ask, “How can this woman be the Mother of God?”  It is hard to comprehend that Jesus is the only child in the history of mankind that existed before his mother. 

Innumerable Fathers and Doctors of the Church, saints and scholars have undertaken serious studies of Mary over the centuries.  The Bishops of the Second Vatican Council thought Mary so important to the very nature of the Church they devoted an entire chapter to her in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church.   Even the Augustinian monk and founder of the Reformation, Martin Luther, maintained a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin. 

The richness of Marian devotion may be glimpsed in Mary’s unparalleled relationship with the Holy Trinity.  She is the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit.  As the Catechism says, “By [Mary’s] complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity.”  In and of herself, she is the true model of the Church – the model of how we should live our faith.  The lesson we learn from Mary is in her willingness to accept the will of God, no matter the consequence. 

Mary isn’t the mother of just another man, nor is Mary only Jesus’ mother; she is our mother too.  In a special way, every day is Mother’s Day when we turn to Mary and deepen our love for Christ.  Mary, who held baby Jesus in the manger and who prayed for him at the foot of the cross, shows us the way to her Son.