“As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man.” (Proverbs 27:17).
The Joe Catholic blog is intended to provide Catholics and non-Catholics with resources to assist them in answering God's call to holiness. Our goal is to help people learn their faith, so they can live their faith and share their faith.
I chose this unique picture of St. John Bosco because it relates to a prophecy he had in a dream which may have recently come true in the pontificates of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
St. John Bosco, also known as Don Bosco, was born August 16, 1815. Shortly thereafter his mother dedicated him to Our Lady. His father died when he was 2 years old and John began working to help the family at a very young age. As a young man he was very athletic. He performed a one-boy circus act for the boys in his village. When he concluded his feats of magic and agility, he would recount the homily he had heard at that day's mass. Eventually, he entered studies to become a priest. He spent the bulk of his priestly life serving troubled youth. He possessed extraordinary trust in God providing for his ministry. He established a home, with vocational training, for boys. Eventually he would also form an order known as the Salesians.
St. John Bosco serves us as a great role model for many reasons. First, he was not afraid to use his unusual talents (magic and acrobatics) for the glory and service of our Lord. Additionally, he was a man of prayer. In particular, he called on the intercessory prayers of Our Lady and St. Francis de Sales. Constantly in need of raising money for his projects, he counted on God to provide in all his needs.
St. John Bosco is known as the patron for students and young people. He was also known for his prophetic dreams and his gift for reading souls during confession.
Today's Gospel is one we are all quite familiar with - The Parable of the Sower. Mark's depiction is similar to the same account in the 13th Chapter of Matthew which has been called the parabolic discourse because it contains seven different parables. We are about one third of the way through the Year of Faith. We should consider how we are being sowers of the New Evangelization.
Parables of Work Blessed Pope John Paul II explains how Jesus often uses parables related to everyday, ordinary work to explain the kingdom of God and the mission of the Church:
In His parables on the Kingdom of God, Jesus Christ constantly refers to human work: that of the shepherd (e.g. John 10:1-6), the farmer (cf. Mark 12:1-12), the doctor (cf. Luke 4:32), the sower (cf. Mark 4:1-9), the householder (cf. Matthew 13:52), the servant (cf. Matthew 24:25; Luke 12:42-48), the steward (cf. Luke 16:1-8), the fisherman (cf. Matthew 13:47-50), the merchant (cf. Matthew 13:45-46), the laborer (cf. Matthew 20:1-16). He also speaks of the various forms of women's work (cf. Matthew 13:33; Luke 15:8-9). He compares the apostolate to the manual work of harvesters (cf. Matthew 9:37; John 4:35-38) or fishermen (cf. Matthew 4:19). He refers to the work of scholars too (cf. Matthew 13: 52)" (John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, 26).
CCC Commentary
According to the commentary in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (RSV), the parable demonstrates how Christ's message "elicits diverse responses. The condition of the soil in each scenario determines one's reaction to Jesus (CCC 29)." On the flip side of this, the responsive heart "yields an abundant harvest." (CCC 2707)
Learn, Live & Share This seems to me to be consistent with our focus on Learn, Live and Share. What I mean is that most of us follow this pattern. First encounter Christ through some type of conversion experience. If we are properly disposed, this in turn leads us to seek out spiritual formation. As we are formed in the faith, we are moved to bear fruit, to evangelize. This parallels the experience outlined in Pope Paul VI's encyclical, Ecclesiam Suam: awareness, renewal and dialogue.
Role of the Laity
There are significant implications that can be drawn from this about our role as the laity. The Second Vatican Council explained the laity's role in the mission of the Church to evangelize. The Council was more specific in its discussion of the lay apostolate: "On all Christians therefore is laid the pre-eminent responsibility of working to make the divine message of salvation known and accepted by all people throughout the world"(Apostolicam Actuositatem, 3).
Our Call to Apostolate
God is counting on us to do our part in bringing others to Christ. This is at the heart of the Church's mission. Practically speaking, it's our mission too. We might have a friend or family member who has fallen away from the Church and is scared to come back. Or maybe they have never stepped foot in a Catholic Church. Perhaps all they need is a kind gesture, an invitation. They need to know that Christ is waiting for them. We don't have to thump them over the head with a Bible or Catechism; we merely need to be their friends and, like St. John the Baptist and St. Andrew, point the way. We can't let our own insecurities get in the way. The fact is our inadequacies don't matter as long as we put our trust in the Holy Spirit. He will do the rest of the work.
Bear Fruit As we reflect on today's Gospel, we should consider what we are doing to bear fruit. Furthermore, we should also contemplate the ways we can make ourselves more available to God's Word.
I'll close with a thought from St. Josemaria Escriva:"the sower went out to sow, to scatter the seed at all the crossroads of this earth. What a blessed task we have. We have the job of making sure that in all the circumstances of time and place the word of God takes root, springs up and bears fruit." (The Forge, 970)
Today's Gospel reading is taken from Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21. Luke's gospel narrative is unique in a few ways. First, he was not one of Christ's twelve apostles, but instead was a later disciple of St. Paul. His gospel is often referred to as the Marian Gospel because of the rich Marian narratives it contains. Biblical theologians believe Luke gathered these stories directly from Mary, the Mother of Christ. For example, this evidence is seen in the annunciation and visitation accounts in Luke 1:26-39 and Luke 1:39-57. Incidentally, these two scenes are the source for the prayer of the Hail Mary.
Here is a video presentation of the passage. I have also included commentary from the Navarre Bible Study Bible to illustrate the depth and richness of these commentaries. They include passages from the Church Fathers, other saints, the documents of Vatican II and the writings of popes. These commentaries are available through an email subscription and Google group membership at Daily Word.
Commentary:
1-4. St. Luke is the only evangelist to give his book a preface or prologue. What
is usually described as the "prologue" to St. John is really a summary of what
the Gospel contains. St. Luke's prologue, which is very short and very elegantly
written, describes why he has written the book--to provide an orderly, documen-
ted account of the life of Christ, starting at the beginning.
These verses help us realize that Jesus Christ's message of salvation, the Gospel, was preached before it came to be written down: cf. the quotation from Vatican II's "Dei Verbum", 19 (p. 21 above). God, then, wanted us to have written
Gospels as a permanent, divine testimony providing a firm basis for our faith. "He
does not tell Theophilus new things, things he did not previously know; he under-
takes to tell him the truth concerning the things in which he has already been in-
structed. This he does so that you can know everything you have been told about
the Lord and His doings" (St. Bede, "In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
2. The "eyewitnesses" the evangelist refers to would have been the Blessed Virgin, the Apostles, the holy women and others who shared Jesus' life during His
time on earth.
3. "It seemed good to me": "When he says 'it seemed good to me' this does not
exclude God's action, because it is God who prepares men's will [...] . He dedi-
cates his Gospel to Theophilus, that is, to one whom God loves. But if you love
God, it has also been written for you; and if it has been written for you, then ac-
cept this present from the evangelist, keep this token of friendship very close to
your heart" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.").
16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God comman-
ded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together to be instructed
in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting they all recited the "Shema",
a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and the "eighteen blessings". Then a
passage was read from the Book of the Law--the Pentateuch--and another from
the Prophets. The president invited one of those present who was well versed in
the Scriptures to address the gathering. Sometimes someone would volunteer
and request the honor of being allowed to give this address--as must have hap-
pened on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to instruct the
people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5, 14, 42, 44;
14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly blessing, recited
by the president or by a priest if there was one present, to which the people
answered "Amen" (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).
18-21. Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet announces
the coming of the Lord, who will free His people of their afflictions. In Christ this
prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has
sent to His people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit
for the mission the Father has entrusted to Him. "These phrases, according to
Luke (verses 18-19), are His first messianic declaration. They are followed by the
actions and words known through the Gospel. By these actions and words Christ
makes the Father present among men" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 3).
The promises proclaimed in verses 18 and 19 are the blessings God will send
His people through the Messiah. According to Old Testament tradition and
Jesus' own preaching (cf. note on Matthew 5:3), "the poor" refers not so much to
a particular social condition as to a very religious attitude of indigence and humi-
lity towards God, which is to be found in those who, instead of relying on their
possessions and merits, trust in God's goodness and mercy. Thus, preaching
good news to the poor means bringing them the "good news" that God has taken
pity on them. Similarly, the Redemption, the release, which the text mentions, is
to be understood mainly in a spiritual, transcendental sense: Christ has come to
free us from the blindness and oppression of sin, which, in the last analysis, is
slavery imposed on us by the devil. "Captivity can be felt", St. John Chrysostom
teaches in a commentary on Psalm 126, "when it proceeds from physical ene-
mies, but the spiritual captivity referred to here is worse; sin exerts a more severe
tyranny, evil takes control and blinds those who lend it obedience; from this spiri-
tual prison Jesus Christ rescued us" ("Catena Aurea"). However, this passage is
also in line with Jesus' special concern for those most in need. "Similarly, the
Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human misery
and she recognizes in those who are poor and who suffer the image of her poor
and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need and in them
she strives to serve Christ" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 8).
18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion describe very
graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into the world -- to redeem
men from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the devil and from eternal death. It
is true that in the course of His public ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked ma-
ny cures, cast out devils, etc. But He did not cure all the sick people in the world,
nor did He eliminate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered
the world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated with
the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so much to release
the people concerned from suffering, as to demonstrate that He had a God-given
mission to bring everyone to eternal salvation.
The Church carries on this mission of Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). These simple
and sublime words, which conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, point out "the ob-
ligation to preach the truths of faith, the need for sacramental life, the promise of
Christ's continual assistance to His Church. You cannot be faithful to our Lord if
you neglect these supernatural demands--to receive instruction in Christian faith
and morality and to frequent the sacraments. It is with this mandate that Christ
founded His Church [...] . And the Church can bring salvation to souls only if she
remains faithful to Christ in her constitution and teaching, both dogmatic and mo-
ral.
"Let us reject, therefore, the suggestion that the Church, ignoring the Sermon
on the Mount, seeks a purely human happiness on earth, since we know that her
only task is to bring men to eternal glory in Heaven. Let us reject any purely na-
turalistic view that fails to value the supernatural role of divine grace. Let us reject
materialistic opinions that exclude spiritual values from human life. Let us equally
reject any secularizing theory which attempts to equate the aims of the Church
with those of earthly states, distorting its essence, institutions and activities into
something similar to those of temporal society" (St. J. Escriva, "In Love with the
Church", 23 and 31).
18. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three persons
of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me
(the Son); cf. Origen, "Homily 32". The Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ's soul from the
very moment of the Incarnation and descended visibly upon Him in the form of a
dove when He was baptized by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).
"Because He has anointed Me": this is a reference to the anointing Jesus re-
ceived at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through the grace of the hypo-
static union. "This anointing of Jesus Christ was not an anointing of the body as in
the case of the ancient kings, priests and prophets; rather it was entirely spiritual
and divine, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him substantially" ("St.
Pius X Catechism", 77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all graces derives. To show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit
Himself--not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit, like the saints.
19. "The acceptable year": this is a reference to the jubilee year of the Jews,
which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring every fifty years,
symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which the Messiah would usher
in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of the New Law extending to the end of
the world, is "the acceptable year", the time of mercy and redemption, which will
be obtained definitively in Heaven.
The Catholic Church's custom of the "Holy Year" is also designed to proclaim
and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and of the full form it will
take in the future life.
20-22. Christ's words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He
preached and explained the Scriptures: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in
your hearing." Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies
in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:
44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the
New -- as the risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to
understand the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy
Spirit perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church and patron of writers and journalists (presumably this includes us bloggers). He did NOT form the religious order known as the Salesians. Instead, St. John Bosco formed the group in honor of St. Francis de Sales.
De Sales is best known of for his spiritual classic, Introduction to the Devout Life. His teachings stand as an early example of what the Second Vatican Council would call the universal call to holiness (Lumen gentium, 5). For the most part, the laity in the 16th Century saw holiness as the role of the priests and those in religious orders. St. Francis de Sales dispelled this notion in the preface to his classic work:
But my object is to teach those who are living in towns, at court, in their own households, and whose calling obliges them to a social life, so far as externals are concerned. Such persons are apt to reject all attempt to lead a devout life under the plea of impossibility[.] (vi)
St. Francis de Sales was instrumental in addressing the Calvinist movement in Europe. In addition to Introduction to the Devout Life, de Sales wrote other treatises. In particular, he wrote the Treatise on the Love of God, in which he wrote, "The measure of love is to love without measure." According to the Lives of the Saints, this was "a precept which he had consistently taught and lived" and it echoes the words of Christ: "all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)
If you would like to learn more about St. Francis de Sales check out last year's post which contains additional reading resources and an EWTN video.
Today marks the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. It also marks the annual March for Life in Washington D.C. and across the United States. I don't have a lot to add to the commentary offered up by better advocates than me. I've listed a few resources on the subject to help you better understand Church teaching and how to communicate to your family and friends, both Catholic and non-Catholic.
BOOKS
Recall Abortion, Janet Morana which will be released in a couple of days. Morana is the Executive Director of Priests for Life, co-founder of Silent No More and co-hosts Catholic View for Women on EWTN. This is what the notes from the publisher say:
Abortion Harms Women. Bad products are recalled every day: the Ford Pinto, faulty tires, dangerous prescription pills, contaminated lettuce. If a product is found to pose even a modest risk to those who use it, you can bet it will soon be pulled from the market . . .
Unless that product is abortion.
Every abortion kills an unborn child. But more, abortion harms women - risking the health and well-being of those who all too often are conned and coerced into making this terrible choice. If it were any other product, abortion would have been removed from the market long ago.
In RECALL ABORTION, author Janet Morana exposes the myriad ways abortion exploits women, and calls for a national recall of this deadly procedure. She documents the way abortion risks and degrades women's health. And she exposes the false promises and lies by which it is pushed and sold.
Morana also investigates abortion's debilitating after-effects, and gives a voice to those women who have chosen abortion and have regretted it. These testimonies (so often silenced by the abortion industry) are a powerful and sometimes heartbreaking glimpse into the real suffering abortion causes, including deep depression and lasting physical and emotional scars.
Abortion does not empower women. It is not health care. It harms women severely.
Abortion is the single most divisive public issue of our time, as slavery was for the nineteenth century, or as prohibition was for the 1920's. Intelligent, committed pro-lifers will not be satisfied in principle with anything less than the legal prohibition, or abolition, of all abortion (though most pro-lifers are pragmatic enough to accept partial abolitions as incremental steps toward that goal). And intelligent, committed pro-choicers understand this and resist, also in principle, any of these incremental steps. Pro-lifers find it intolerable that the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society and our species are legally slaughtered. Pro-choicers find it intolerable that women be forced by law to bear unwanted children against their will. Neither side can or will budge, in principle. [NOTE: For an extended preview go to the Inside Scoop.]
Priests for Life - A comprehensive website with media and articles for pro-life activism.
Rachel's Vineyard - Ministry designed to aid families heal from the suffering from the aftermath of abortion. Provides retreats and resources.
Silent No More - Campaign to bring true awareness to the issue of abortion through real life testimonies of people who participated in abortions.
VATICAN DOCUMENTS
Humanae vitae - Pope Paul VI's encyclical which prophesied the culture of death.
Gaudium et spes - Vatican II document on the Church in the modern world. It goes into great detail in explaining and outlining the dignity of man and how it must be respected and preserved.
One of the things I have learned in my work with the men of Joe Catholic is that many of them like to cook. In fact, some of them are the primary cooks in their homes. I happened to be listening to Teresa Tomeo's radio show this morning and heard her interviewing Father Leo Patalinghug who hosts a show on EWTN called Savoring Our Faith and a website called Grace Before Meals.
Father Leo describes the mission of this "movement" of meals as follows:
Grace Before Meals is a movement to bring families back to the dinner table- away from work, school, TV, games, and the many other things we get caught up in- to share a delicious meal together, communicate and love one another and be nourished- body, mind, and soul. How? With easy lessons, tasty recipes and reasons to come together and share in the love that only a family or friend can provide.
This inspired me last night. Stacey had to work and I had the day off so I volunteered to cook dinner. Stacey had placed some tilapia in the fridge to defrost. I wasn't in the mood to grill up the fillets. Instead, I made some fish tacos. Stacey joined me in the kitchen, chopping up the lettuce and avocado wedges. We had a good time working together and talking. Fr. Leo's recipes and videos would be a great resource to think of some ideas for cooking together with your wife or your entire family.
Here's an example of one of his recipes in action:
Today, many of us are home from work as the nation honors the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. I'd like to share two videos that encapsulate two ways we can think about his life and legacy.
The first is reflection by Father Robert Barron on why Dr. King is still relevant today.
The second is a speech given by Dr. King's niece and pro-life activist, Alveda King courtesy of Priests for Life.
I used to take today's Gospel reading for granted as just another story about Jesus' power to heal the sick until I heard a reflection online or on Catholic radio. The priest who was speaking pointed out that it was the faith and craziness of the paralytic's friends that moved Christ to heal the man.
Here's my take on it. The paralytic man had four close friends who had been following Jesus. They knew in their hearts (and perhaps their minds) that He was the Messiah, that he could fix their friend. They cared so much for their friend that they ripped off the roof of the dwelling so they lowered him down and in front of Jesus. I want you to really picture that – four guys climbing a ladder with a make shift stretcher and then tearing up the top of the house to get their friend in to see Jesus. That is indeed radical evangelization.
What are we doing to bring our friends and family to one that can not only heal the body, but the soul?
How can you get radical in bringing your friends and family to Christ?
Imagine if they were putting Catholics on trial for what they believe. This is not a too far fetched idea in some countries. Some might argue in light of the HHS mandate that we aren't that far from such a scene here in the US.
Here's a creative video that portrays that very notion, with a twist. When you finish watching the video, ask yourself "What would the judge decide in my case?"
Two of our Acolytes next to Father Mathew and our two Deacons
Altar Boy
If you are like me, you served as an altar boy when you were young. I actually served all the way through my high school years. I remember enjoying to put on the cassock and the surplice (these are the black and white garments that look like the priest's); it made me feel "priestly." In fact, while I never formally discerned for the priesthood, serving as an altar boy gave me pause to think about the priesthood as a vocation (of course I didn't know at the time that was what I was doing). I remember thinking that serving on the altar was serious stuff.
Fathers & Sons
I have very strong opinions about the need to get more young men and boys active as altar servers. I believe this is the training ground for future priests. The purpose of this post is not to criticize the relatively recent move to permit girls as altar servers. Instead, I am simply saying that it is an opportunity to give young men a glimpse into the possibility of the priesthood as a vocation. Countless priests have said their vocations began on the altar, serving as altar boys. I believe fathers have a responsibility of encouraging their boys to serve in this capacity. Two things we can focus on : 1) they will be serving God and their community and 2) they will belong to a special team. Boys like belonging to teams.
Altar Server Training
Perhaps one of the things that needs to happen in altar server programs is a careful focus on the formation of the altar servers. They need to know what and why they are doing what they are doing. Can you imagine how truly awestruck they will be when they really comprehend that they are on the altar when the bread and wine transform into the Body and Blood of Christ?
The following video from Kolbe1019 is a must see for altar servers and I dare say for anyone who serves on or near the altar.
Notre Dame wasn't the only Catholic team on prime time television last night. (Ok, no jokes about them not showing up.) The team from Catholics Come Home had a prime time commercial spot during the second half of the game. Catholics Come Home is an apostolate of the new evangelization. They put together media resources (video and online) to help parishes and other Catholic groups (and individuals) bring home Catholics who have left the Church.
The ad ran earlier in the bowl season too. If you didn't catch it, here it is.
It goes without saying that Baptism is a big deal and it should be treated as such. A few years ago I read an article on Catholic Culture that talked about the practice of celebrating Baptismal days like birthdays because they are our re-birth days. We now celebrate the anniversary of our re-birthdays. I recommend you do the same with your family. Treat your family member to their favorite meal, make them a cake and reflect on the readings from that day. You can also use it as an opportunity to review the Church teaching on Baptism. I assure you that doing all of this will enrich your lives. In preparing for a talk I was going to give to RCIA a few years ago, I discovered I was baptized on the traditional Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th. Now this feast day has even more personal meaning to me.
Take some time out in the next few days to discover the dates of your Baptism and those of your family. Mark the date on your calendar and plan on celebrating. If you don't remember the date, I have a few recommendations. First, if you received your marriage certificate from you parish, they would have had to confirm your previous sacraments. Additionally, you can contact the parish or diocese in which you were baptized. I was surprised that my old parish where I was confirmed had my records. This was fortunate since the church I was baptized in no longer exists. Even if that is the case, the diocese will have a record of the Baptism.
I am pleased to announced that Joe Catholic has joined the Catholic Dads Online network. Please take some time to visit their site and the new Catholic Dads' Blog Roll I have put on our site in the lower right column. I am working on few posts that will hopefully be published on their site.
Cool and exciting things are going to take place in 2013! Stay tuned...
Retreat Resolutions
This is the time of year when most people make New Year's resolutions. How many of us seriously sit down and contemplate making spiritual resolutions? I had the fortune of attending a silent retreat at the Featherock Conference Center before Christmas and one of the things we were encouraged to do was make sound resolutions in improving our prayer lives. This of course presupposes that we had one. If you don't, begin.
I Don't Know How to Pray
I am reminded of the advice given by St. Josemaria to a young man who said he didn't know how to pray. He said, “You don't know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said, ‘Lord, I don't know how to pray!’ You can be sure you've already begun.” (The Way, 90).
Prayer Advice from a Saint
More advice on praying from St. Josemaria:
There are countless ways of praying, as I have already told you. We children of God don’t need a method, an artificial system, to talk with our Father. Love is inventive, full of initiative. If we truly love, we will discover our own intimate paths to lead us to a continuous conversation with Our Lord… (Friends of God, 255)
Finally, I would like to share a video from the folks over at Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction. Dan Burke has recently published a book on prayer entitled Navigating the Interior Life. I have not personally read it, but it is getting great reviews and the work he and Father John Bartunek do over there is great.
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This teaching is one of the four Marian Doctrines of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church confirms the teaching by instructing, "that Mary is truly 'Mother of God' (Theotokos)." (CCC 495)
In 431, the Council of Ephesus confirmed Mary as Mother of God, Theotokos. This was proclaimed to answer a heresy denying Jesus’ dual nature as both human and divine. The Council declared:
"We confess, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and a body, begotten before all ages from the Father in his Godhead, the same in the last days, for us and for our salvation, born of Mary the Virgin according to his humanity, one and the same consubstantial with the Father in Godhead and consubstantial with us in humanity, for a union of two natures took place. Therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of the unconfused union, we confess the holy Virgin to be the Mother of God because God the Word took flesh and became man and from his very conception united to himself the temple he took from her" (Formula of Union [A.D. 431]).
Pope John Paul II explained the doctrine within the context of Vatican II and then expanded the Church's understanding of the doctrine in his 1987 encyclical, Redemptoris Mater:
4. The Second Vatican Council prepares us for this by presenting in its teaching the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and of the Church. If it is true, as the Council itself proclaims,8 that "only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light," then this principle must be applied in a very particular way to that exceptional "daughter of the human race," that extraordinary "woman" who became the Mother of Christ. Only in the mystery of Christ is her mystery fully made clear. Thus has the Church sought to interpret it from the very beginning: the mystery of the Incarnation has enabled her to penetrate and to make ever clearer the mystery of the Mother of the Incarnate Word. The Council of Ephesus (431) was of decisive importance in clarifying this, for during that Council, to the great joy of Christians, the truth of the divine motherhood of Mary was solemnly confirmed as a truth of the Church's faith. Mary is the Mother of God (= Theotókos), since by the power of the Holy Spirit she conceived in her virginal womb and brought into the world Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is of one being with the Father.9 "The Son of God...born of the Virgin Mary...has truly been made one of us,"10has been made man. Thus, through the mystery of Christ, on the horizon of the Church's faith there shines in its fullness the mystery of his Mother. In turn, the dogma of the divine motherhood of Mary was for the Council of Ephesus and is for the Church like a seal upon the dogma of the Incarnation, in which the Word truly assumes human nature into the unity of his person, without canceling out that nature.
5. The Second Vatican Council, by presenting Mary in the mystery of Christ, also finds the path to a deeper understanding of the mystery of the Church. Mary, as the Mother of Christ, is in a particular way united with the Church, "which the Lord established as his own body."11 It is significant that the conciliar text places this truth about the Church as the Body of Christ (according to the teaching of the Pauline Letters) in close proximity to the truth that the Son of God "through the power of the Holy Spirit was born of the Virgin Mary." The reality of the Incarnation finds a sort of extension in the mystery of the Church-the Body of Christ. And one cannot think of the reality of the Incarnation without referring to Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word.
Mary is our Holy Mother too. Although He was on the verge of death, Christ called out to John from the cross, "Behold your mother!" (John 19:27). Furthermore, since Mary is the mother of Christ, who is head of the Church, she is also Mother of the Church.
I will conclude with this simple, logical syllogism: Jesus is God. Mary is the mother of Jesus. Therefore, Mary is the mother of God.
