chapter 8: mary, mother of the church and our mother the church: sacrament of salvation

Chapter 8: Mary, Mother of the

Church and Our Mother

THE CHURCH: Sacrament of Salvation

Anticipatory Set Opening Prayer: The Annunciation (Lk 1:26–38). Free write for a few minutes on the aspect of this story that surprised or confused you the most. Share responses.

1. Mary, the Mother of God

BASIC QUESTIONSWhy is the Blessed Virgin Mary unique?What does it mean to say that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of God?

KEY IDEASThe Blessed Virgin Mary has a singular place in salvation history because of the unique graces given to her as Mother of God.Due to her free consent to God’s will, the Blessed Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God because her Son is divine: the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.


MARY IN GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION When did God choose the woman, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be the mother of her Son? From all eternity. When did God’s plan of salvation begin to unfold? Immediately after Adam and Eve’s Original Sin. When do we get our first glimpse of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Scriptures? In the Protoevangelium, or “First Gospel” (Gn 3:15), God foretold to the serpent that he will “put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.” The woman and her seed refer to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Son, Jesus. How does the story of salvation end the way it began? Just as the story of salvation history began with three characters—Adam, Eve, and the serpent—it ends with Christ, the New Adam; the Blessed Virgin Mary, the New Eve; and Satan, who is defeated by the Cross.


Guided Exercise

Complete the following table to understand the Blessed Virgin Mary as “the woman” of salvation history.


Sidebar: CHURCH DOGMAS ABOUT MARY What is a dogma? It is a solemn definition of one of the Church’s doctrines. Extension: “Solemn” in this context means “formal,” or “in due legal form.” What is the basis of the Church’s dogmas about the Blessed Virgin Mary? They are the result of the Church’s continued reflections on the Deposit of Faith in regard to the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the privileges given to her by Christ, her Son. What are the four Marian dogmas? The Blessed Virgin Mary’s divine Motherhood, her Perpetual Virginity, her Immaculate Conception, and her bodily Assumption into Heaven.


MOTHER OF GOD How did the Blessed Virgin Mary show her consent to becoming the Mother of Christ? She said to the Archangel Gabriel, “Let it be [done] to me according to your word.” By what title did people call the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Gospels? The Mother of Jesus. Where did the custom of calling the Blessed Virgin Mary the “Mother of God” begin? In the early centuries of the Eastern Churches.


Why did God give the Blessed Virgin Mary the unique grace of being preserved from Original Sin? He gave her this grace so that she could faithfully respond to what he was going to ask of her, to be the Mother of his Son.

What does the ancient title Theotokos mean? It is Greek for “Bearer of God.” How does St. Elizabeth’s greeting, which is recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel, imply that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of God? St. Elizabeth calls her cousin “the mother of my Lord.”


How is the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Motherhood different from every other mother’s? She conceived her Son not by a physical marriage act but by the consent that she gave to God. How did Christ correct a woman who praised his Mother’s biological Motherhood? Rather than praising her biological motherhood, he praised her obedience to the will of God, saying, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”


Guided Exercise Work with a partner to identify what the Blessed Virgin Mary’s divine Motherhood means based on the paragraph beginning, “We can call Mary” (p. 272).


How is Christ’ seeming rebuke actually the highest compliment he could give? Of all people it is Christ’s Mother who hears the Word of God and keeps it most perfectly. How can any person share in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s title Theotokos? All who hear the Word of God and keep it become themselves “Bearers of God.” According to the Catechism, no. 969, why is the Blessed Virgin Mary invoked under such titles as Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix? Just as she brought grace into the world by saying yes to God, a consent she sustained even at the foot of the Cross, she continues to bring grace to the world through her intercession in Heaven.


Guided Exercise Think/Pair/Write/Share: How is receiving the Eucharist like the Annunciation?


Sidebar: FIAT: THE “YES” OF MARY What promise did God make through the prophet Ezekiel about the Messianic era? God will give people hearts that will obey him, and their hearts will not be hardened against God but “natural.” Therefore, he will be their God and they his people. How is this promise realized in the Blessed Virgin Mary? At the Annunciation, she was able to respond with the obedience of faith to God’s eternal plan for human salvation through the Incarnation of the Word. How did the Annunciation herald a new relationship between God and human beings according to Pope Bl. John Paul II? Christ, as divine Bridegroom, joins humanity to himself and calls everyone to be his Church, as the universal People of the New Covenant. What two qualities do the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church share? Both are Virgin and Mother.


Closure Write a paragraph summarizing the doctrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.


Homework Assignment Reading:The Immaculate Conception through The Perpetual Virginity of Mary, including the sidebar, “Did Jesus Have Brothers and Sisters?”Questions:Study Questions 1–3.Practical Exercise 1.Workbook Questions 1–8.


Alternative Assessment Write a brief meditation on the Annunciation that could be used to help someone pray the First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.


Opening Prayer: The Blessed Virgin Mary’s great prayer, the Magnificat (Lk 1:46–55). Free write on what the Blessed Virgin Mary’s spontaneous prayer reveals about how she sees herself in God’s plan. Share responses.

2. Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Assumption, and Perpetual Virginity

BASIC QUESTIONSWhat is the Immaculate Conception? What is the Assumption?What is the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary?

KEY IDEASThe Immaculate Conception is the defined doctrine that from the moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary—by a singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ—was preserved from all stain of Original Sin.The Assumption is the dogma that recognizes the Blessed Virgin Mary’s singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection by which she was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory when the course of her earthly life was finished.The Perpetual Virginity is the dogma which recognizes the Blessed Virgin Mary’s virginity before, during, and after the conception and Birth of Christ.


THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION How has the Church always understood the Archangel Gabriel’s words, “full of grace”? The Church has always understood it as an insight into the Blessed Virgin Mary’s nature, namely, that Christ preserved her from the effects of Original Sin from the first instant of her existence. What does “Immaculate Conception” mean? The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from all stain of Original Sin from the moment of her conception. Extension: It does not refer to her Virgin Birth. How is the grace that the Blessed Virgin Mary received at her Immaculate Conception different from the grace we receive at Baptism? Our Baptism makes us children of God and gives us grace; however, it does not remove the effects of Original Sin. The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved even from this and given the fullness of salvation that Christ offers to everyone.


Why was the Blessed Virgin Mary able to remain sinless throughout her entire life and to give her consent to God’s will at all times? She was “wholly borne by grace.” What is the parallel between Adam and Christ, and Eve and the Blessed Virgin Mary? Sin entered the world through the disobedience of a man and a woman, so too would sin be destroyed by the obedience of a man and woman: Christ and his Mother. Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the New Eve and Christ the New Adam.


Guided Exercise Think/Pair/Share: In what sense is the Blessed Virgin Mary the wife of her Son?


Sidebar: THE WOMAN OF THE PROTOEVANGELIUM

What is signified by Christ’s address of his Mother as “woman”? Far from conveying disrespect, he hailed her as the New Eve, whose obedience helps to restore what the first Eve lost through her disobedience.


THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY How does the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception support the idea that the Blessed Virgin Mary could not die? She was preserved from all stain of—including the effects of—Original Sin from the moment of her conception and, in addition, she never committed an actual sin. Thus, she is free from the punishments of Original Sin, including death. What happened to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the end of her life? Her body was not subject to physical decay, but she was assumed body and soul into Heaven. How does the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Assumption relate to Christ’s Resurrection and the anticipated resurrection of other Christians? The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection, and she received in advance what we await: a resurrected, glorified body.


What do Christians in the Eastern Churches call the Assumption? The Dormition, or “falling asleep.” How does the Feast of the Assumption relate to the idea that we are pilgrims and she is a pioneer? We are pilgrims because we are on a journey to Heaven and await a bodily resurrection. She is a pioneer because, like Christ, she has already gone ahead to Heaven with a resurrected body.


THE PERPETUAL VIRGINITY OF MARY What is the Virgin Birth? It refers to the doctrine that Christ was conceived and born of a virgin, the Blessed Virgin Mary. What is the doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary? She remained a virgin for her entire life: before, during, and after the Birth of Christ.


Guided Exercise Work with a partner to come up with a bullet-point list of reasons why it is fitting that the Blessed Virgin Mary should remain a virgin for the rest of her life.


Sidebar: St. Joseph What status does St. Joseph have in the Church? He is honored as one of the greatest of all saints. Why was St. Joseph entrusted with the care of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary? Because of his complete obedience to the will of God. How does St. Joseph’s protection extend beyond that of the Holy Family? St. Joseph is honored as the patron of the universal Church, protector of the entire Family of God. He watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, that is, the Church.


Guided Exercise

Complete the following graphic to explain important roles of St. Joseph in the Church.


Sidebar: DID JESUS HAVE BROTHERS AND SISTERS? When the New Testament mentions Christ’s brothers and sisters, to whom is it referring? They are close relations of Christ according to an Old Testament expression. Extension: Hebrew and Aramaic did not have a word for “cousin,” so they would use a word such as “brother” to designate any member of one’s close relatives, clan, or tribe.


Closure Summarize the three Marian doctrines studied in this lesson in two sentences each.


Homework Assignment

Reading:Mary, Mother of the Church through Conclusion.Questions:Study Questions 4–9.Practical Exercises 2–3.Workbook Questions 9–16.


Alternative Assessment

Complete the following table to clarify the relationship between two Marian and two Christological doctrines.


Anticipatory Set Opening Prayer: The Litany of Loreto (p. 287). Then, write for two minutes on the meaning of one of the titles. Briefly share results.

3. Mary, the Mother, Helper, and Queen of Christians

BASIC QUESTIONSHow is the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of the Church?How is the Blessed Virgin Mary the Help of Christians?Why is the Blessed Virgin Mary called Queen of Heaven?

KEY IDEASThe Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the Church because she is the Mother of Christ, whose Body is the Church, and because Christ made all his disciples her children when he gave her to St. John at the foot of the Cross.As a good Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary is always concerned for her children and intercedes for them.As the Mother of the King, the Blessed Virgin Mary is Queen of Heaven, an archetype of the Church perfected.


MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH How was Church’s existence dependent on the Blessed Virgin Mary? It was through Mary’s “yes” to the Father that the Church came into being. How is the Blessed Virgin Mary our Mother in the order of grace? As the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord, she conceived, gave birth to, and nourished Christ, presented him to the Father in the Temple, and was united with him by compassion as he died on the Cross. Thus she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the work of the Savior in giving back supernatural life to souls. How do Christ’s words on the Cross to his Mother and St. John relate to the Protoevangelium? The promise of the “First Gospel” is that the “seed of the woman… will crush the head of the serpent.” Christ addresses his Mother as “woman” at the very moment at which he crushed the head of the serpent by overcoming sin and death. This is the “hour” had not yet come when he referred to his Mother as “woman” at Cana.


How does the Church understand Christ’s words on the Cross to his Mother and St. John? Christ indicated that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of St. John and the Mother of all who would be united in his Mystical Body, the Church. Why is the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of the Church as the Body of Christ? She is the Mother of Christ, whose Mystical Body is the Church. Therefore, Mary is the Mother of the Church, too. What is the Blessed Virgin Mary’s new form of Motherhood? Hers is a supernatural, virginal Motherhood that is accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is true both of her Motherhood of Christ and of the members of his Church. How is the Church herself a Mother? The Church gives supernatural life to her children through the Sacraments.


Guided Exercise Based on the passage from St. John Chrysostom (material before footnote 31, p. 281), free write on how Christ gave birth to the Church in an analogous way to how Adam gave birth to Eve.


Sidebar: “BEHOLD, YOUR MOTHER” What “labor pain” did the Blessed Virgin Mary experience in giving birth to the Church? At the foot of her Son’s Cross, she experienced deep spiritual agony, fulfilling St. Simeon’s prophecy, “A sword will pierce through your soul also.”


MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS Why is the Blessed Virgin Mary always concerned for all Christians? Because we are members of the Church and she is the Mother of the Church, we are her children. And because she is perfect, she will never lose patience with her children or reject us no matter what. How can we foster a close relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary? We can do this through prayer: for example, the Memorare, the Hail Holy Queen, or the Hole Rosary. Why should Christians pray through the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession? She is always in Christ’s presence, seeing God face-to-face.


QUEEN OF HEAVEN How does the Book of Revelation describe the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth? She is depicted as “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars [whose son] is to rule all the nations.” Extension: The mother of a king is called a queen mother. Why is the Blessed Virgin Mary not a type but an archetype of the Church? A type is a foreshadowing of something, whereas an archetype is a perfect model. She does not foreshadow what the entire Church will become, but she is already an example of what the Church will be. If the Church is not simply an organization, what is it? She is a Mother who unites her children as one Family of God.


CONCLUSION What level of honor does the Church give to the Blessed Virgin Mary? She is honored in an altogether different way than the worship offered to God; her honor is a greater form than is offered to the angels and other saints.

Extension: The precise Greek terms the Church uses are latria for the adoration of God, dulia for the honor given to the angels and saints, and hyperdulia, or extreme honor, given to the Blessed Virgin Mary.


Guided Exercise Think/Pair/Write/Share: Based on the Conclusion, in what two ways can we imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary?


Closure Write a two-sentence summary of each of the three titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary presented in this lesson.


Homework Assignment Questions:Study Questions 10–13.Practical Exercise 4.Workbook Questions 17–23.


Alternative Assessment Free write for a few minutes on the concept in this lesson—in order to understand it better—you found most difficult to understand.


The End

chapter 8: mary, mother of the church and our mother the church: sacrament of salvation

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