1. Mary, Our Holy Mother: Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
Catholic Digital Resources presents . . .
Mary, Our Holy Mother: Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
Why do we say Mary is the Church’s Most Perfect Member?
© 2008 Terry Modica, Catholic Digital Resources – catholicdr.com
(c) 2008 Catholic Digital Resources catholicdr.com

2. Mary, Our Holy Mother
In examining why we say Mary is the Church’s most perfect member, we will cover:
Why Mary is called “The Mother of God”
Why Mary is called “The Mother of the Church”
Why Mary is called “The Virgin"
Why Mary is called “The Second Eve"
Why Mary is called "The Immaculate Conception"
Why we believe Mary was “assumed” directly to heaven without experiencing death

3. The Salvation Story starts with our first mother, Eve.
Mary, Our Holy Mother
The Salvation Story starts with our first mother, Eve.
Q: Why is Eve called “our first mother”?
Eve was the first sinner of humankind.
Death entered the world.
God set forth a plan to rescue us from this.
Read: Genesis 3:13-15
The serpent is the devil, whose eventual defeat is implied in the contrast between head and heel.
1 John 3:8
From among the descendants of Eve, God chose Mary as the perfect mother for the Redeemer.

4. Mary is called the "Mother of the Church" because…
Mary, Our Holy Mother
Mary is called the "Mother of the Church" because…
We who believe in Jesus for salvation are adopted into the family of Christ.
God the Father sent Jesus the Son into the world to start the Christian (Christ’s) Church.
Read Luke 1:26-38
Mary is the mother of Jesus
Mary is therefore the Mother of the Church …
and she is therefore your own personal mother by your adoption into the family of God.
Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and his role in creating and sustaining the Church.

5. Mary is called the "Virgin Mary" because…
Mary, Our Holy Mother
Mary is called the "Virgin Mary" because…
She was a virgin when her Son was conceived.
She was still a virgin when she gave birth to him.
She remained a virgin throughout her life.
How can this be true? Doesn't the Bible mention the brothers and sisters of Jesus?

6. Mary is called the "Virgin Mary" because…
Mary, Our Holy Mother
Mary is called the "Virgin Mary" because…
Read Matthew 13:55
The Church has always understood this passage as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. Why?
Matt. 28:1 James and Joseph, "brothers of Jesus," are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew calls "the other Mary."
They are "kinsmen" (close relations) of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.
Matt. 27:56 If you look for every reference of James in the Gospels, you'll see that Mary the mother of Jesus is not his mother.
Matt. 27:55 Mary the mother of Jesus was at the foot of the cross; she was not with these other ladies who were watching from a distance.

7. Mary is called the "Virgin Mary"
Mary, Our Holy Mother
Mary is called the "Virgin Mary"
Q: Why wouldn't she want to have marital relations with her husband, Joseph, after the birth of Jesus?
Her true Spouse was the Holy Spirit.
At the "Annunciation", Mary was invited to conceive Jesus in whom the "whole fullness of deity" would dwell "bodily." (Colossians 2:9)
She asked: "How can this be, since I have had no marital relations with a man?"
The answer: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you."
She gave her whole being to her vocation (Mother of Christ and of Christianity) by uniting herself to the Holy Spirit.
Her marital vow: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

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9. Why do we believe in the Assumption of Mary? Q: What is grace?
Mary, Our Holy Mother
Why do we believe in the Assumption of Mary?
God gifted Mary with the fullness of grace.
Q: What is grace?
Grace is the gift of God’s presence and power.
With this gift, Mary could recognize and avoid all personal sin throughout her life.
She chose to cooperate with this grace.
She freely chose to say no to sin.
This is why the angel Gabriel said to her, "Hail Mary, full of grace!“
Luke 1:26-38 ("favored one" = God’s "grace“)
Her personal prayer all her life was: "Let it be done to me according to Your word."

10. Why do we believe in the Assumption of Mary?
Mary, Our Holy Mother
Why do we believe in the Assumption of Mary?
Catechism para Because she never sinned, "the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death."
Does the Bible prove that Mary never sinned?
Not everything in our faith is spelled out in scripture…
but everything is proven by scripture and based on scripture.
Revelation 12:1-6 The "woman" is Mary, Mother of the Church.
The evil one has no power over this woman.
The only reason why this could be so is that Mary did not sin.

11. Why do we believe in the Assumption of Mary?
Mary, Our Holy Mother
Why do we believe in the Assumption of Mary?
The Church has understood and taught these beliefs about Mary since the beginning of Christianity.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary became an official proclamation by Pope Pius IX in 1854
Not because it was a new invention of the faith …
but because the world's influence was eroding it and an official proclamation was made to stop misunderstandings and heresies.
Similarly, in 1950, Pope Pius XII announced the belief about the Assumption of Mary.

12. Mary, Our Holy Mother
Devotion to Mary
Pope Paul VI wrote in Guidelines for Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (1974):
“The ultimate purpose of devotion to the Blessed Virgin is to glorify God and lead Christians to commit themselves to a life which conforms absolutely to his will.”
Sit back, relax … you are about to experience a little of what “devotion to Mary” is like. The next slide contains a Multi-Media Meditation called “Ave Maria”. (not included in this preview)