WHY DO WE HONOR MARY AS THE “MOTHER OF GOD?”

We honor Mary primarily because God honored her by choosing her to become the mother of Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, when He took on human flesh and became man as stated in the Bible. The angel said to Mary: “You are going to be the mother of a Son and you will call Him Jesus, and He will be called the Son of the Most High.“ After the angel had appeared to her and told her that she was to be the mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth. At Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth said, “Why this great thing should happen to me that my Lord’s mother comes to visit me?” [Lk. 1:43]. Hence, the Council of Ephesus affirmed in AD 431 that Mary was truly the Mother of God (Theotokos), and in AD 451, the Council of Chalcedon affirmed the Divine Motherhood of Mary as a dogma, an official doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church. Celebrating the feast of Mary, the Mother of God is a very appropriate way to begin a new year. This celebration reminds us that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, is also our Heavenly Mother. Let us strive to be pure and holy like our Heavenly Mother and seek our heavenly Mother’s prayers to have a better physical life and spiritual life in the New Year. Let us make the New Year meaningful by having a) something to dream, b) something to do, and c) Someone to love. Happy New Year! Father Maria Joseph Kodiganti