Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

It is fitting that on the Octave of Christmas we should celebrate the motherhood of Mary. The Octave feasts always tease out the implications of the mystery that has been celebrated, for example, the Octave of Easter speaks of the Divine Mercy and the Octave of the Assumption the Queenship of Mary. If Jesus is the Son of God and MAry is his mother then she is the Mother of God. This simultaneously asserts both the divine and human natures of Christ. It is this mystery into which we are born in baptism: "So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God." (Gal. 4: 7) Through this process of adoption we can claim Mary as our mother, too. The Second vatican Council states: "Predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence which determined the incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin was in this earth the virgin Mother of the Redeemer, and above all others and in a singular way the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought forth and nourished Christ. she presented Him to the Father in the temple, and was united with Him by compassion as He died on the Cross. In this singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace." (LG 61) In a sense today's feast is a celebration of our own nativity in baptism.