There are many titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary, though arguably the greatest of all is what Elizabeth proclaims when Mary visited her: “Most Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me ” (Lk 1:42-43). She is identified by her kinswoman as Mother of God (Gk. Θεοτόκος). The title, Mother of God, seems to have first been used in liturgical and devotional practices by Christians in Egypt. It appears in the ancient Marian prayer Sub Tuum Praesidium which dates back to the third century. In the title Theotokos or God-bearer, you discover not only the glories of the Virgin Mary, but that title reveals who Jesus truly is: An eternal and divine person who acquired a human nature in order to redeem the world.
The theological roots of the Marian title Mother of the Church (Lat. Mater Ecclesiae) go back to the early Church. The Fathers of the Church often spoke of Mary as the New Eve. Just as Eve was “the mother of all the living” (Gen. 3:20), so, the Blessed Virgin Mary was proclaimed to be the Mother of all those living in Christ. In Revelation 12:17, St. John says that this Woman’s offspring are “those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.”
Acknowledging Mary as Mater Ecclesiae became significantly more current in the 20th and 21st centuries. Ultimately, in 2018, Pope Francis added a feast day for Mary, Mother of the Church to be observed on the Monday following Pentecost, which was not an accidental selection. The day prior, Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the Apostles. So, in honoring Mary as the Mother of the Church, we acknowledge the fact that Mary is the Mother of God or Theotokos and, as such, she is intrinsically linked to the Church as her mother. Then, in one of the articles of Saint Pope Paul’s little-known Credo of the People of God, this title is attested to as a description in regard to the Blessed Virgin Mary. “The Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ’s members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed” (Solemni Hac Liturgia, n. 15). Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ!
Collect for Mary Mother of God
O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as He hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Collect for the Visitation of the BVM
Almighty and ever-living God, who, while the Blessed Virgin Mary was carrying your Son in her womb, inspired her to visit Elizabeth, grant us, we pray, that, faithful to the promptings of the Spirit, we may magnify your greatness with the Virgin at all times. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Nature and dignity 