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Is The Virgin Mary Mother Of God?
Author : Arthur Policarpio
How can the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, a mere human being, be the Mother of God?
Many of our non-Catholic brethren question the dogma of the Divine Motherhood of the Virgin Mary by inadvertently reechoing the Nestorian heresy which was condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431.
Nestorius claimed that in Christ Incarnate, there are two distinct persons - one divine and the other human. With this premise, Nestorius concluded that Mary was mother only of the human person of Jesus. Thus, according to Nestorius, the Virgin Mary cannot be considered "Mother of God".
The Council of Ephesus, presided by Saint Cyril of Alexandria and attended by around 150 bishops, condemned this teaching of Nestorious. In particular, the Council maintained that Jesus is not two persons, one human and one divine, as Nestorius claimed; rather, that Jesus is one person with two natures - divine and human. This union of Christ ' s two natures into one person is called the hypostatic union - one cannot be without the other.
We cannot separate the human nature of Jesus from His Divine nature. The Virgin Mary, therefore, is rightfully the Mother of God, since she is the mother of the entire person of Jesus - who is both human and divine at the same time.
Is the Virgin Mary Above God?
Some say that the Virgin Mary cannot be the Mother of God because it is inconceivable for a mortal human like the Virgin Mary to be "above" God. How can the Creator "come from ' ' the Virgin Mary, a mere mortal? Motherhood, somehow, gives a certain degree or perception of superiority on the part of the mother over her child, for the reason that the child has to rely on the mother for its conception. Therefore, how can Jesus "rely" on the Virgin Mary for His conception and birth?
The answer lies in the word "Immanuel". Jesus wanted to be truly "one with us ' ' and the only way for Him to do that was to become human himself by being born of a Mother. In other words, the Divine Motherhood of the Virgin Mary was an essential element of God ' s plan to come into the world and restore the intimate relationship between God and Man, by becoming human through the Person of Jesus.
The Virgin Mary ' s Motherhood does not mean that she is "superior" to Jesus. Because Jesus is both God and Man (hypostatic union of the two natures), Jesus still retained His Divinity, and therefore superiority over the Virgin Mary, even if He had to rely on a human vessel in Mary to come into the world.
Is the Way to Jesus through Mary?
Jesus could have chosen other ways of coming into the world. He could have come in all His glory, bearing with all His Divine Power and coming down from the clouds.
But the undeniable fact is that our mighty Lord chose to go to our world through the vessel that is the Virgin Mary.
Jesus chose to have a Mother. He chose to stay in the Virgin ' s womb for nine months. He chose to endure the biting cold upon His birth, and the loving warmth of the Mother ' s embrace.
And perhaps herein lies the best answer to the question on whether Mary is truly Mother of God. Mary is Mother of God because God wanted it to be so! Dare we question this Divine decision?
Author's Resource Box
Arthur Policarpio specializes in articles on the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic Faith. He is the managing director of the Totus Tuus, Maria Foundation, and is the managing editor of a Catholic website focused on the Virgin Mary.
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