Why do we call Mary, Mother?

Tomorrow we celebrate Mother's Day in the United States. In the Catholic Church, Mary is often called the Mother of Church. In addition to all the titles she holds, why this one?

To understand why Catholics refer to Mary as the Mother of the Church we must first recall that the Church teaches that she is theotokos, The Mother of God. The logical answer is that since Mary is the Mother of Christ and the Church is the Body of Christ, therefore she is the Mother of the Church.

Blessed John Paul II, in a General Audience of Wednesday, answered the question this way:

The title "Mother of the Church" thus reflects the deep conviction of the Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only the mother of the person of Christ, but also of the faithful. She who is recognized as mother of salvation, life and grace, mother of the saved and mother of the living, is rightly proclaimed Mother of the Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (964) teaches:

Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:

"Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: 'Woman, behold your son.'"

According to St. Augustine:

[Mary] is clearly Mother of the members of Christ...for she has cooperated with love in the birth of the faithful in the Church, who are members of its Head.

Mary's intercession on behalf of the wedding party at Cana (John 2) is viewed as a demonstration of her role as "advocate" for the Church (See Lumen Gentium, 62). Her relationship to the Church is further derived from Christ's declaration from the Cross: "Woman, behold your son" (John 19:26) Finally, we see in Acts 1:14 that Mary is present with the early Christian community.

As we prepare to celebrate Mother's Day, let's not forget to be thankful for our spiritual mother, Mary.

For further reading:
Mother of the Church, Blessed John Paul II
Mary, Mother of the Church, Father Matthew R. Mauriello