Dela Cruz Danielle Marie C.

The first of the four dogmas of the
church is the Divine Motherhood

of Mary, the bible first used the
expression Mother of God but Mary
is clearly identified as the mother of
Jesus and the mother of the Son of
God. (cf. Mt. 2:13, 20; Lk. 1:31;
2:34; Acts 1:14 and Lk. 1:35; Gal.
4:4) Elizabeth proclaims that Mary
is “the mother of my Lord” even before Christ was born. (Lk. 1:43; cf. Catechism, no.
495) Mary is identified as the mother of our Lord and Savior, throughout the New
Testament. Saint Paul wrote in Galatians 4 verse 4, the fullness of time that “God sent
forth his Son, born of woman”.
The second person of the Blessed Trinity, the Divine Word of God (cf. Jn. 1:1),
became flesh and dwelt among us; this teaches us that Christ is Emmanuel and God is
truly with us. (cf. Mt. 1:23) Based on these biblical teachings, that 1) Mary is the Mother
of God; and 2) Jesus is truly God, then we must conclude that Mary is the mother of
God.
Objections against the divine motherhood of Mary: some have held that Christ
was the true God, but not a true man. Therefore, since Christ did not receive a human
nature from Mary, she could not be called His mother. The second objection is that
Christ is truly a man, but not God. Therefore, Mary is truly the mother of Christ, but in no
sense the mother of God. The third error, called Nestorianism, is what occasioned the
Church’s definition at the Council of Ephesus. According to this view, there are two
persons in Christ being it as one divine and one human; but Mary gave birth only to a
human person. She could rightly be called the Mother of Christ (Christotokos) or even
the Receiver of God (Theodokos), but not the Mother of God (Theotokos).
Second dogma, the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, according to Luke chapter 1,
Mary had taken a vow of virginity prior to the Annunciation. The dialogue between Mary
and Gabriel focuses on announcing the Incarnation. In Gabriel's message: 1) Mary will
conceive in her womb, bear a son and will name Him Jesus; 2) He will be great and
called the Son of the Most High; 2) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father
David; and 3) He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom having no end.
Mary raises her hand and asks Gabriel "How shall this happen, since I do not know
man?” In the same chapter, Zechariah asked the same question in doubt and reasoned
"For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years". Gabriel's response to him was
a rebuke, a reminder of who the archangel was and finally a punishment
The church fathers have stated that Mary asked this question out of concern, no
doubt that prompted her. Her question in return to her previous vow, why God was
asking her to break it. Gabriel answered "The Holy Spirit will come upon you", it is a
confirmation of her status of virginity and reminding her that God hadn't forgotten. This
signifies the conversation between Mary and Gariel announcing the virgin birth; this left
the church with incarnation and Marian dogma (of perpetual virginity).
Some object and say this dogma is a Catholic invention. Those who hold
Scripture alone as the final authority for our faith reject it. Second, Scripture never
explicitly states that Mary was a perpetual virgin. The entire case for Mary’s perpetual
virginity is one of implication. Third objection is that several times in the Gospels, Christ
is said to have brothers. And Jesus is called the “firstborn” son of Mary. This proves that
Mary had other children with Christ being the first.
SUMMARY
According to Catechism no. 509, summarizing that Mary is truly the Mother of
God, since she is the mother of the eternal son of God made man, who is God himself.
The title Mother of God points to the truth of the Incarnation, that Jesus Christ is true
God and true man. The church teaching concerning Mary's divine maternity is rooted in
the scripture and tradition, and was dogmatically defined at the Council of Ephesus in
431. The Church celebrates this as the mystery of our Catholic faith on January 1. The
most cited prayer, the Hail Mary, explicitly invokes “Holy Mary, Mother of God.” Catholics
call Mary the “Blessed Mother,” which points to our participation in the divine life as
adopted children of God
Perpetual virginity of Mary was defined as a dogma of the church at the Lateran
Council in 649 A.D. In the dialogue between Gabriel and Mary, she asked in concern
that she had previously taken vows of virginity before God. The church teaches us that
Mary is “Aeiparthenos” which means that she was a virgin before, during, and after the
birth of Christ. Protoevangelium supports the perpetual virginity of Mary, according to
Genesis 3 verse 15 - “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel”. Mary
because of enmity that God has put between her and sins, she is immune from
committing sins which include lust and sins of flesh. The Nicene Creed also declares
the virginity of Mary. It is also called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, because it
was defined at the Councils of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and Constantinople (381 A.D.).
These privileges of Mary (Immaculate Conception and her assumption) do not separate
Mary so much from us. They are a privilege of abundance and perfection. Mary's grace
is shared everywhere. Their privilege is the privilege of abundance. We are called to
share with them. Mary was not blinded or confused by pride or false selfishness. Mary is
more perfect and "human" than us, and she can truly understand human trial and error.
REFERENCES
Catholic Answers (n.d.). What the Early Church Believed: The Perpetual Virginity of
Mary. Retrieved from: https://www.catholic.com/tract/mary-ever-virgin
The Four Marian Dogmas (2016). Retrieved from:
https://ictfinals.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/the-four-marian-dogmas/
Faith Facts: The First Marian Dogma, Mother of God. Catholics United for the Faith.
Retrieved from:
https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/1548/documents/2015/5/MayFaithFact_Motherof
God.pdf
Greg Witherow (n.d). The Perpetual Virginity of Mary. Retrieved from:
http://www.holytrinityparish.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The-Perpetual-Virginity-of-
Mary.pdf

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The first of the four dogmas of the

church is the Divine Motherhood

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