Doctrines teach Catholics about Mary

In the year 431, the Church made it a dogma that she was the mother of God.

Mary's divine motherhood is just one of the Church's doctrines regarding this person we know so little about. The Evangelist asked two theologians to explain what the Church believes about Mary -- and why.

MOTHER OF GOD

Calling Mary the mother of God, he explained, keeps Jesus from being divided into His human and divine natures. Therefore, Mary was not just the mother of Jesus' human body, but the mother of all of Him.

Mary's divine motherhood "is the central mystery of our faith," said Rev. Frederick Jelly, OPE, professor of theology at Mt. St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland. "It affirms the central truth about Mary: that what God was inviting her to do through Gabriel was asking her to be the mother of His Son. If we don't believe this, we don't believe in Jesus Christ...[that] Jesus was the second person of the Trinity, conceived and born in Mary."

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

"She was uniquely redeemed by her Son from even infection by original sin," said Father Jelly. God "wanted her to be a worthy mother to His Son."

A common misconception about this doctrine is that it means Mary was conceived without her parents' having had sex. In "Mary in an Adult Church," Father Knight explained that "the Immaculate Conception of Mary has nothing whatsoever to do with sexuality, and `conceived without sin' does not mean in any way `conceived without there being any sin in the act by which she was conceived.' The Immaculate Conception simply states that from the moment of her own conception in her mother's womb, Mary's being was never under the domination of original sin."

Again, Father Knight believes that this doctrine is more about Jesus than Mary. Mary's being without sin was necessary, he said, so that Jesus, being conceived in her, would never for a moment be under the power of sin.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception also states that Mary remained free of sin for her entire life. This, said Father Jelly, enabled Mary to be "a totally undivided personality, completely uninhibited in her love of God and neighbor." He noted: "Mary alone was conceived a saint."

Under this doctrine, the entire United States is dedicated to Mary, as is the Albany Diocese (hence the name of its cathedral).

VIRGIN BIRTH

"This is not to celebrate the value of virginity over marriage," Father Knight clarified. "It's not [that] sexual relations were unworthy, only to show that there's no earthly father."

EVER-VIRGIN

"God doesn't just use us," Father Knight explained. "He calls us to be something. When He uses us, our being changes. He chose Mary not just to give birth to Jesus; He chose her to be the mother of God. As long as she's the mother of God, she's a virgin -- she's the mother of God forever."

Some have argued that New Testament passages referring to Jesus' "brothers and sisters" mean that Mary could not have been a perpetual virgin. Explanations have ranged from the "brothers and sisters" actually being cousins to Joseph's having children from a previous marriage (see page 4).

However, Father Jelly believes that Jesus' "brothers and sisters" were actually cousins who were brought up with Him. He cited some evidence that Joseph had a sister widowed at a young age, who may have come with her children to live with Joseph and Mary.

"The call to give birth to the Savior made Mary different forever," noted Father Knight. "As such, she could never be the mother of ordinary human beings in the ordinary way."

ASSUMPTION

Since it was declared in 1950 as the world was devastated with the effects of World War II, "this is the great doctrine of our day," said Father Knight. "It's a sign of the power of Christ to restore the human body. Mary had to be the prototype."

Both theologians stated that the Assumption is a celebration of the dignity of human flesh. Just as "it would not be fitting" for the mother of God not to be reunited with her Son "in total personhood," said Father Jelly, it is not fitting for us to treat the human body as a sex object or to inflict violence upon it.

Father Knight wrote: "This doctrine is God's affirmation of the value of the body. In preserving the body of Mary from the corruption of the grave, God showed that the human body is not for Him just the wrapper of the soul -- something necessary during the time of one's earthly service, but which is just stripped off and thrown away when the soul is taken to heaven. The body is not just something we `use.' It is us.

"And when Mary's work on earth was done, God didn't take her beautiful soul to heaven and leave her body to disintegrate in the grave. As a sign of the body's value to Him he took her, body and soul, into heaven....The Assumption proclaims that God is not just interested in getting us out of the world and into heaven, but that He wants our human existence on this earth to be respected, enhanced and fulfilled."

(10-01-98)

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