Source: http://www.catholic.org
The Mother, of God, Mother of Jesus, wife of St. Joseph, and
the greatest of all Christian saints. The Virgin Mother “was,
after her Son, exalted by divine grace above all angels and
men”. Mary is venerated with a special cult, called
by St. Thomas Aquinas, hyperdulia, as the highest of God’s
creatures.
The principal events of her life are celebrated as liturgical
feasts of the universal Church. Mary’s life and role
in the history of salvation is prefigured in the Old Testament,
while the events of her life are recorded in the New Testament.
Traditionally, she was declared the daughter of Sts. Joachim
and Anne.
Born in Jerusalem, Mary was presented in the Temple and took
a vow of virginity. Living in Nazareth, Mary was visited by
the archangel Gabriel, who announced to her that she would
become the Mother of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. She became
betrothed to St. Joseph and went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth,
who was bearing St. John the Baptist. Acknowledged by Elizabeth
as the Mother of God, Mary intoned the Magnificat.
When Emperor Augustus declared a census throughout the vast
Roman Empire, Mary and St. Joseph went to Bethlehem, his city
of lineage, as he belonged to the House of David. There Mary
gave birth to Jesus and was visited by the Three Kings. Mary
and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, where St. Simeon
rejoiced and Mary received word of sorrows to come later.
Warned to flee, St. Joseph and Mary went to Egypt to escape
the wrath of King Herod. They remained in Egypt until King
Herod died and then returned to Nazareth.
Nothing is known of Mary’s life during the next years
except for a visit to the Temple of Jerusalem, at which time
Mary and Joseph sought the young Jesus, who was in the Temple
with the learned elders. The first recorded miracle of Jesus
was performed at a wedding in Cana, and Mary was instrumental
in calling Christ’s attention to the need. Mary was
present at the Crucifixion in Jerusalem, and there she was
given into John’s care. She was also with the disciples
in the days before the Pentecost, and it is believed that
she was present at the resurrection and Ascension. No scriptural
reference concerns Mary’s last years on earth.
According to tradition, she went to Ephesus, where she experienced
her “dormition.” Another tradition states that
she remained in Jerusalem. The belief that Mary’s body
was assumed into heaven is one of the oldest traditions of
the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII declared this belief Catholic
dogma in 1950. The feast of the Assumption is celebrated on
August 15.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception - that Mary, as the
Mother of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, was free
of original sin at the moment of her conception was proclaimed
by Pope Pius IX in 1854 . The feast of the Immaculate Conception
is celebrated on December 8.
The birthday of Mary is an old feast in the Church, celebrated
on September 8 since the seventh century. Other feasts that
commemorate events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary
are listed in the Appendices.
Pope Pius XII dedicated the entire human race to Mary in
1944. The Church has long taught that Mary is truly the Mother
of God . St. Paul observed that “God sent His Son, born
of a woman," expressing the union of the human and the
divine in Christ. As Christ possesses two natures, human and
divine, Mary was the Mother of God in his human nature. This
special role of Mary in salvation history is clearly depicted
in the Gospel in which she is seen constantly at her son’s
side during his soteriological mission. Because of this role
exemplified by her acceptance of Christ into her womb, her
offering of him to God at the Temple, her urging him to perform
his first miracle, and her standing at the foot of the Cross
at Calvary Mary was joined fully in the sacrifice by Christ
of himself. Pope Benedict XV wrote in 1918: “To such
an extent did Mary suffer and almost die with her suffering
and dying Son; to such extent did she surrender her maternal
rights over her Son for man’s salvation, and immolated
him - insofar as she could in order to appease the justice
of God, that we might rightly say she redeemed the human race
together with Christ” .
Mary is entitled to the title of Queen because, as Pope Pius
XII expressed it in a 1946 radio speech, “Jesus is King
throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest:
through him, with him, and subordinate to him, Mary is Queen
by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and
by singular election.” Mary possesses a unique relationship
with all three Persons of the Trinity, thereby giving her
a claim to the title of Queenship. She was chosen by God the
Father to be the Mother of his Son; God the Holy Spirit chose
her to be his virginal spouse for the Incarnation of the Son;
and God the Son chose her to be his mother, the means of incarnating
into the world for the purposes of the redemption of humanity.
This Queen is also our Mother. While she is not our Mother
in the physical sense, she is called a spiritual mother, for
she conceives, gives birth, and nurtures the spiritual lives
of grace for each person. As Mediatrix of All Graces, she
is ever present at the side of each person, giving nourishment
and hope, from the moment of spiritual birth at Baptism to
the moment of death. The confidence that each person should
have in Mary was expressed by Pope Pius IX in the encyclical
Ubipriinum : “The foundation of all our confidence.
. . is found in the Blessed Virgin Mary. For God has committed
to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone
may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace,
and all salvation. For this is his will, that we obtain everything
through Mary.”
* Includes commentary by the Early Church Fathers
All with imprimatur.\
Source of above links: http://www.catholic.com/library/mary_saints.asp
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