New Beginnings: Mother of God and Each of Us

Friday, Jan. 19, 2024

Donna Masek

Special to the Intermountain Catholic

As motherhood represents the beginning of new life, it is fitting that Holy Mother Church has liturgically designated Jan. 1 each year to celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Through her extraordinary love of God, she said “Yes” to becoming the mother of him whom she was to virginally conceive, giving him her own body and showering him with her maternal instincts and charity.

The understanding of Mary as Mother of God can be found in an ancient prayer, the “Sub Tuum Praesidium,” dating to 325 AD. It was one that St. Maximilian Kolbe often prayed: “We fly to thy patronage, O Holy Mother of God. Despise not our prayer and necessities, but in thy clemency hear and answer me, O glorious and blessed Virgin Mary.”

At the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Council fathers formally declared that “the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God.” In Greek, she is known as Theotokos, or God-bearer.

The primary advocate of proclaiming this new dogma in the Church was St. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444). His love and devotion to Our Lady and her relationship with the Most Holy Trinity is exemplified in the lyrics of a hymn he wrote: “Through you, the Trinity is glorified. Through you, the Cross is venerated throughout the world. Through you, angels and archangels rejoice. Through you, the demons are driven away. Through you, the fallen creature is raised to heaven. Through you, churches are founded in the whole world. Through you, people are led to conversion.” (Behold Your Mother! Discovering the Blessed Virgin Mary, Militia of the Immaculata https://militiaoftheimmaculata.com/behold-your-mother-brochure/ )

The Solemnity of Mary originally was celebrated on Jan. 1, but through the centuries the date of the feast was moved. In 1974, Pope Paul VI reinstated it into the liturgical calendar on Jan. 1, the last day of the Christmas Octave. “This celebration, assigned to Jan. 1 in conformity with the ancient liturgy of the City of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation,” he wrote in his encyclical Marialis Cultus.

We are blessed to be able to recognize and accept this holy mother as our own spiritual mother, as well. Before giving his life for us, Our Lord gave us one more gift, that of his own holy mother, to be with us and encourage us all, just as she did him during his earthly life: “‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27) 

St. Maximilian Kolbe continues to encourage us to do this through a total consecration to God, through the intercession of this holy virgin and mother. In doing so, we can become her instruments of peace and reconciliation. We can echo in our own souls her fiat to accept God’s holy will, “and thus extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.” (Consecration Prayer of St. Maximilian Kolbe)