Fr Antonio Pineda
appy New Year! As we start 2023, let our hearts be full of hope and anticipation for the unfolding year. The first day of the year is also the day when we honour the Virgin Mary with the title Mother of God. At the Council of Ephesus in 431, it was clarified that Jesus Christ was truly God and truly man. It followed that Mary should be called Mother of God. Elizabeth had called her “the mother of my Lord”. And St Paul wrote that “God sent his Son, born of a woman”. And so today, we honour Mary not only as the earthly mother of Jesus of Nazareth but as the God-bearer, the immaculate Virgin who gave the Son of God flesh and blood. This feast tells us that Mary is not just Jesus’ biological mother; she is his spiritual mother as well.
In calling Mary the “Mother of God,” we especially acknowledge one fact of human life. A mother is not just the source of one’s flesh, she is not just the mother of the body of her children, she is the mother of that person and not just a body. Being a mother is not just something biological, it is something sacred and holy and is part of the divine order of God’s creation.
Think of all the spiritual lessons that Mary taught Jesus. It was from her that he first heard the words “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Just imagine the child Jesus drinking in these words and turning them into his own prayer: “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10; 26:42; see John 8:29). Or think of how Mary taught him humility as well as openness to the Holy Spirit and unbending trust in his heavenly Father. Just imagine how many other ways this holy, loving, and prayerful woman helped to guide his early life!
Not all of us have mothers, spiritual or otherwise, to guide us in our faith. But we all have Mary, the perfect spiritual mother. Through her prayers of intercession, she continues to care for us. Through her example in Scripture and her messages in places like Lourdes and Fatima, she continues to teach us how to reflect on the word of God. And through her motherly love, she is always ready to embrace us and draw us closer to her Son. Truly, she is blessed among women—and we are blessed to have her!