Mary, Mother of the church!

 Mother of the Church (in Latin Mater Ecclesiae) is a title officially given to Mary by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1964, at the close of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Blessed Pope Paul VI formally declared Mary as the “Mother of the Church”. The title was first used in the 4th century by Saint Ambrose of Milan.

 

“There is no Church without Pentecost. And there is no Pentecost without the Virgin Mary.” — Pope Benedict XVI

 

Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost. The term Pentecost comes from the Greek word Pentēkostē which means "fiftieth". It is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. In the Christian tradition, this feast officially ends the Easter season and also represents the birth of the early church.

 

In the New Testament, Pentecost is the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the apostles of Jesus Christ. But much before this, Pentecost existed as a Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot. The apostles, along with Mary, had assembled together in the Upper Room. They were celebrating this Jewish harvest festival when the Holy Spirit descended on them. As we are aware, it sounded like a very strong wind, and it looked like tongues of fire. The Holy Spirit descended on all of them. The apostles then found themselves speaking in foreign languages, inspired by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4)

 

Along with them, at Pentecost even Mary received the Holy Spirit. It was the same Holy Spirit that had overshadowed her at the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel had said to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called the Son of God" (Lk 1:35).

Mary had been chosen to be the Mother of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Our Blessed Mother Mary, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, became Theotokos, the Mother of God. At Pentecost, Holy Spirit again came upon her, giving birth to the early church, and the church became the body of Christ in history.

 

Back in the fourth century, Saint Ambrose of Milan proposed Mary as Mother of the Church due to her faith in bringing forth Christ our Lord. Since then Mary was understood by many early theologians as both the mother of the Head of the Church, Jesus, and also the symbol of the Church par excellence.

 

Mary is called the Mother of the Church, because she's the Mother of Christ, and the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. It is one of the most recently-awarded titles for her, only being proclaimed officially by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

 

In 2018, Pope Francis decided to create the new memorial of Mary, Mater Ecclesiae, on Pentecost Monday. On March 3, 2018, Pope Francis announced that the Church will celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, on the Monday after Pentecost. This year it is being celebrated today.

 

This new memorial of Mary continues to foster devotion to Our Lady, especially in her role as our mother. In addition, it will remind us that from the beginning of the Church at Pentecost, Christ’s followers have turned to Mary to guide them back to Her Son.

 

The eighth chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium (Vatican II), is titled “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and the Church.” The Council Fathers taught that Mary’s role in the plan of salvation is connected to both Christ and the Church.