In our last Marian Monday post, we began an exploration of the term “Theotokos,” meaning God-bearer, or Mother of God. We read the words of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, who proclaimed that Mary was Theotokos—both the Mother of Jesus, and the Mother of God. As you may recall, at that time, there was a schism within the Church, with some insisting that Mary was the Mother of Jesus (that is, the mother of His human nature), but not the Mother of God (that is, the mother of His Divine nature). Saint Cyril wrote: “Mary, Mother of God, we salute you. Precious vessel, worthy of the whole world’s reverence, you are an ever-shining light, the crown of virginity, the symbol of orthodoxy, an indestructible temple, the place that held him whom no place can contain, mother and virgin. Because of you the holy gospels could say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Saint Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, described Jesus, as "having taken in truth and not in appearance a body from the Theotokos, Mary."
St. Basil stated: "I believe in one God the Father Almighty; God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost; I adore and worship one God, the Three. I confess to the economy of the Son in the flesh and that the holy Mary, who gave birth to Him according to the flesh, was Mother of God (Theotokos)."
“If anyone does not believe that Holy Mary is the Theotokos, he is severed from the Godhead. If anyone should assert that He passed through the Virgin as through a channel, and was not at once divinely and humanly formed in her (divinely, because without the intervention of a man; humanly, because in accordance with the laws of gestation), he is in like manner godless. If any assert that the Manhood was formed and afterward was clothed with the Godhead, he too is to be condemned....If any introduce the notion of two Sons, one of God the Father, the other of the Mother, and discredits the Unity and the Identity, may he lose his part in the adoption promised to those who believe aright. For God and Man are two natures, as also soul and body are, but there are, not two Sons or two Gods.”
"The glorious and holy Mary, ever a virgin, is in a real and true sense Mother of God." (Pope John II)
"If the son of the Blessed Virgin Mary is God, certainly she who bore Him should rightly and deservedly be called Mother of God. if the person of Jesus Christ is one and divine, surely Mary is not only mother of Christ, but should be called Deipara, Theotokos." (Pope Paul IV, 1931).
In our next post, we will look at why denying that Mary is the Mother of God, is denying the Divinity of Jesus Christ. That is why calling Mary the "Mother of Jesus" and refusing to call her "Mother of God" is to diminish Jesus as well as Mary, for it is a denial that Jesus is truly or fully God.
Thank you for this great blog and the work and inspiration you put into it. It helps many of us find greater strength.
May God Bless you
Thank you for this blog and the work you put into it.
It helps many of us find strength in our faith, as it grows and builds inside our hearts and minds.
May God Bless you.
lively blog with very interesting reading and images. A labour of love. God bless you.
I came upon this blog by chance while seeking strength and encouragement from our Blessed Mother Mary as I prepare for trial for full custody of my 2 boys.
thank you for your posts. i am rediscovering, so to speak, our Catholic faith, and its beautiful tradition of praying the Holy Rosary...i pray you will be given inspiration and strength to keep this blog going, for you never know how many lives this blog touches...
God bless you
please everyone who believes that the rosary can save people, please pray and offer your prayers for my son who is destroying his life and his family. I have been praying very hard, but although I'm sure that God is listening, so far my prayers have not been aswered, at least not in the way that I'm hoping for. Maybe if everyong prays God can enlighten my son.
I just say thankyou Lord for this blog.
Thank you for sharing such beautiful images of the Blessed Mary. I am inspired by your blog to pray the rosary on a regular basis.
Mary said
Thank you for this blog I was reading through it, I feel like I got an inner feeling to say the rosary daily, I feel more attached to the Mother Mary.
thank you for this blog i was reading through it,i feel very well through pray to my rosary Mary
i just say may almight god be with us always
Thank you. Ad majorem Dei Glorian.