Mary, Mother of God

January 1, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Mother of God

Who is Mary?

Mary was a Jewish girl, born of a human mother and a human father, but chosen by God to be the earthly mother of the "Son of God". In Islam the Virgin Mary ("Maryam" in Arabic) is the mother of Jesus (Arabic Isa) who is considered one of the most important prophets of Islam. According to the Qur'an, Isa was born miraculously without a human biological father by the will of Allah (God).

Why is she "so special"?

The creature God chose to become the mother of His Divine Son would have to be "special"; in fact she would have to be "the most perfect" of all of God's creations, even more perfect than the Angels in Heaven.

What does the Bible say about Mary's "being special"?

In all the Holy Scripture, she alone is honored by the statement "all generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1:48).

Why do Catholics Pray to Mary?

All things that Christ said and did were well planned to give us example and teaching. Performing His first miracle at the request of Mary was no accident (John 2:1-12). Here Christ showed respect for His Mother and that He has an ear for what she requests. When we pray to Mary, or any of the saints, we do one thing and one thing only; we ask them to pray for us. Mary, nor any of the saints, have any power or authority on their own. So we ask them to pray to Christ, for us in exactly the same way we ask a minister or priest to pray for us.

Why should Mary care?

If Mary is the most perfect of all of God's creatures, then this perfection MUST include a perfect love. The most perfect human love is the love of a mother for her child. A human perfection of love IS that every human is loved AS HER OWN CHILD. In essence what Christ did was to share His Mother with us in His love and in her love. This is one reason why we call her "Mary, our Mother". With her in Heaven, we know that we have one who loves us as her own children - so we feel that in reality Christ gave us two mothers; our natural mother and His own mother.

We also honor her with the title, "Mary, our Mother" in much the same way as the Jews honor Abraham by calling him, "Abraham, our Father".

What is the position of Mary in our salvation?

Mary's whole purpose is to lead us to Christ, our Savior. Her constant message to us is summarized in her last words in Scripture, "whatever Jesus tell you to do - DO IT" (John 2:5).

In order to be saved, is it necessary to pray to her or the saints?

NO! NO! This is not necessary. We can be saved ONLY through Jesus Christ. Mary's whole being is dedicated to "bring us to Christ" and "for us to live Christ".

What about her apparitions such as at Fatima?

In the Old Testament, God frequently sent a prophet to warn the Jews of their doom if they continued to sin against Him. If God warned the Jews before punishment, it stands to reason that He would warn us if punishment is due, only now in addition to sending the Angel Gabriel, He also sends His most Blessed Mother. That is what Fatima is all about. God performing a miracle witnessed by over 50,000 people at Fatima to prove that the message was from Him. And the message? Basically the same as to the Jews; i.e., a warning of chastisement if we did not repent and return to Christ, that there would be another War during the reign of Pope Pius XI - and that was World War II. Then, if we still did not repent, and return to Christ, God would allow Russia to chastise the world.

How do we know that at Fatima it was not the devil impersonating Mary?

Mary's message was: "Repent, and return to Christ and His teaching." No matter what good is done, some people will call it the work of Satan, just as they accused Christ of being the devil. Christ's answer then certainly applies to this situation now (Matt. 12:22-37).

Death of Virgin Mary

Finally when she was 59 years old, Mary died A.D. 48. She had enough time to say goodbye to all the apostles before she died. The grieving apostles took her body to a tomb near the one that Jesus was laid in. They covered her with a white shroud and laid her to rest in the tomb. But Mary's body didn't stay there. Jesus came to her and took her body and soul into heaven to be with Him. On Bulbul Dag (Nightingale mountain) there is the House of the Virgin where it's believed that she passed last years of her life and died. Virgin Mary came to Ephesus together with St. John and taken up to Panaghia Kapulu mountain to survive the Roman persecutions. The House was destroyed by many earthquakes and not discovered until 1951 thanks to a German Nun, Catherine Emmerich who saw its location in her visions. Pope Benedict XVI visited Virgin Mary's House at Ephesus near Selcuk, Turkey, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006.