I know I said that I wasn't going to send out another Weekly Thought until next week, but something struck me as so profound in my breviary this morning that I just had to share it with you.
The day that I am writing this is the first of January: the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Today's Second Reading in the Office of Readings is from a letter by St. Athanasius (296-373), to which I want to draw your attention to the following quote:
Gabriel used careful and prudent language when he announced his [Jesus'] birth. He did not speak of "what will be born in you" to avoid the impression that a body would be introduced into her womb from outside; he spoke of "what will be born from you." so that we might know by faith that her child originated within her and from her.
Jesus in entirely Mary's child, just as all children are entirely children of their mothers. Mary's maternal relationship with Jesus is no different from any other relationship between a mother and her child. Jesus came from Mary. All children come from an egg of their mother, and Jesus in no different.
What is different about the conception of Jesus is that Jesus is God. For this reason, we can truly say that Mary is the mother of God.
Mary's maternal relationship with Jesus is no different from any maternal relationship; however, aside from maternity, Mary's relationship with Jesus is different form all other mother-son relationship because in this case the Son created the mother. The title Mother of God takes nothing away from this fact but only emphasises the Divine Nature of Jesus.
