Today, January 1, is not only the start of a new year, but is also the great Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. We give great thanks and praise for giving us a Mother so worthy, so loving, so filled with grace, that we can fly to her for our needs, confident that she will hear them and intercede on our behalf with her Son, our Lord.
Recently, I came across a person who said that they believed
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was actually God. I commend this person for having
faith in the “Theotokos,” the God-Bearer, as the Eastern Church calls her.
However, it is important to understand who Mary really is and how her “Yes” is
correctly viewed. Mary is not God but rather is a willing cooperator in God’s
plan—for her and for all believers.
Mary in the Gospels
The Gospel of Matthew first mentions Mary in Chapter 1,
Verse 16 in the genealogy: “Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of
her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.” Matthew and Mark’s Gospels briefly
mention Mary, since that wasn’t a focus of their writings, and both acknowledge
that Mary is the mother of Jesus.
It is in the Gospel of Luke that we really “meet” Mary—in
this book we come to know her as she is approached by the Angel Gabriel who
appeared to her, greeted her with “Hail, favored one” and gave her the good
news: if she was willing, the Son of God would be her child (Luke 1:26ff).
The greeting in the Magnificat is worth diving into:
the Greek word here is χαριτόω
(G5487), transliterated as “charitoō”—like charitable. Mary’s act of
giving of herself is a true blessing. The Angel is saying “Mary, you are the
favored one of God, the first among many.” Knowing the Psalms as she would,
Mary’s mind may have thought about Psalm 18, verse 24: “the LORD has
rewarded me according to my righteousness.”
Indeed, we truly understand Mary as she expresses her
“YES”—the Fiat—to conform herself to God’s will: “I am the handmaid of
the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Here again,
you wonder if she immediately thought of Psalm 18 again: “For it is you who
light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness” (verse 28).
John’s Gospel is instructive as well: in the Wedding Feast
at Cana, Mary tells the waiters to “do whatever He tells you” (2:5), an
admonition we must all heed. For Mary knows the true power of Jesus and wants
all to believe in His majesty and miracles. On the Cross, Jesus instructs John
to “Behold, your mother” (19:27), and John from thereon takes care of Mary.
Likewise, Jesus has given Mary to us, as a spiritual mother and avenue through
which we can be joined to Christ.
The Church’s Teaching on Mary
The Acts of the Apostles also discuss Mary, but here it is
important to understand how the Church tradition and doctrine views her. The Catechism
of the Catholic Church provides excellent historical instruction on Mary. In
431, the Council of Ephesus reaffirmed that Jesus Christ was in fact of the
same substance of God, thus fully human and fully divine (CCC 466). They also
proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God, a holy body from which emerged the
Son of God. In this context, their reference to “holy body” is fully human, but
not divine.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary was invited to join
herself to the cause of human salvation by bearing the Son of the Father. Mary
then, knowing the faith so well (she was taught marvelously by her parents,
Anne and Joaquim), was free to cooperate with this Divine request to bring
forth the child (CCC 487-488).
The Church teaches that what we know and believe about Mary
is directly related to our faith and belief in Jesus Christ; they compliment
each other (CCC 487). Thus, to know Jesus is to appreciate Mary’s role and her fiat—her
YES to God. It was at that moment that God’s plan was able to be accomplished;
she was indeed “full of grace.”
Sinless and Holy, but Not God
In the Eastern tradition, Mary also holds the title of Panagia,
the “All-Holy.” The Church teaches that, as the vessel from which the Messiah
emerges, she must be wholly without blemish. Thus, while she was preserved from
sin through the grace of God, she is still a human being (CCC 492-493).
She was predestined and chosen by God for this role; He needed
a woman who was willing to go through the agony of the Crucifixion and support
Jesus in His ministry. While sinless (such would be required to bear the Son of
God), she was still a human being—and thus enabled her son Jesus to be both
human and divine. Her role is a place of preeminence, but not God. She points
the way to the Trinity, not herself.
Pope Piux IX, writing the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis
Deus in 1854, teaches us that Mary was truly special:
in preference to any other
creature, he showed her so much love that he delighted in her alone with a very
singular benevolence. For this reason he wonderfully filled her, more than all
the angels and all the saints, with the abundance of all the celestial gifts,
taken from the treasure of her divinity. Thus she, always absolutely free from
every stain of sin, completely beautiful and perfect, possesses such a fullness
of innocence and holiness, than which, after God, no greater can be conceived.
Various Titles of Mary
Over the millennia, Mary has many titles: Queen of Heaven, Mother
of the Church, Mother of the Living, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of
Victory, Our Lady of Hope, Our Lady of Gudalupe, and dozens more. However
wonderful these are for devotion, they are merely a starting point to understanding
the entire context of her role in bringing forth Jesus Christ and following
him. Indeed, she is the first, best, and most devout follower of Jesus.
In early November 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of
the Faith issued “Mater
Populi fidelis”, a Doctrinal Note on Some Marian Titles Regarding Mary’s
Cooperation in the Work of Salvation. The Note explained that some confusion
remains over several specific titles and should be treated with caution. It
reinforces that Marian devotion is important and her Motherhood is truly a
treasure of the Church; it further “aims to deepen the proper foundations of
Marian devotion by specifying Mary’s place in her relationship with believers
in light of the Mystery of Christ as the sole Mediator and Redeemer.”
The Note provides an excellent source and explanation of
Mary’s role in Salvation History, as a true cooperator in God’s plan. It also
has the approval of Pope Leo XIV. “[T]he
faithful People of God do not distance themselves from Christ or the
Gospel when they draw near to Mary,” but rather can see the love of our Creator
in her face and through her tender caress—giving us strength, endurance, and
fortitude that only faith in Jesus Christ provides.
To Jesus Through Mary
What does this all mean for us, as everyday Christians? Marian
devotion is a wonderful way to express our worship in the Divine Majesty of her
son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as it is sometimes easier to approach a friend,
or colleague who is “tight” with the boss, so too we can talk with Mary about
our own concerns, fears, or prayers.
Some useful resources to get started include:
·
The
God Minute’s Marian Saturday series on YouTube
·
Saying the Rosary – if you need help getting
started, try these guided
sessions
·
Visit a Marian shrine or church named in honor
of Mary
·
View these webpages that discuss Mary: Popular
Marian Devotions (Catholic News Agency), Devotion to Mary (Marians of the
Immaculate Conception), and Marian
Devotions Questions (EWTN)
·
Read the Marian
Devotions Booklet from the Archdiocese of Portland
·
Find and read The Reed of God by
Caryll Houselander, a 1944 classic on the humanity of Mary
·
Read St. Louis de Montfort’s timeless spiritual
volume, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, (True Devotion to the Blessed
Virgin), sometimes called “True Consecration”
Let us pray that Mary
will recognize us as faithful followers of her son and enable us to be open to
the will of His Lordship.
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and forever.
Amen.
Saint Bonaventure's Prayer to the Virgin Mary
by the overwhelming grief you experienced
when you witnessed the martyrdom,
the crucifixion, and the death of your divine Son,
look upon me with eyes of compassion,
and awaken in my heart a tender
commiseration for those sufferings,
as well as a sincere detestation
of my sins, in order that,
being disengaged from all undue affection
for the passing joys of this earth,
I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem,
and that henceforward all my thoughts
and all my actions may be directed
towards this one most desirable object:
Honor, glory, and love to our divine Lord Jesus,
and to the holy and immaculate Mother of God. Amen.
Top Photo: Author. From a Church in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Bottom Photo: Gentile da Fabriano (Italian, about 1370 - 1427) Coronation of the Virgin, about 1420 Tempera and gold leaf on panel, 93 × 64.1 cm (36 5/8 × 25 1/4 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 77.PB.92
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