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Views from the Choir Loft

Mother of God

Fr. David Friel · July 3, 2012

How many times a day do you use the phrase, “Mother of God”? If you pray the rosary, you use it over fifty times. If you pray the Hail Mary or Hail, Holy Queen, you use it at least once. If you attend daily Mass, you hear it used in each of the four main Eucharistic Prayers. Some people, sadly, use it as an exclamation. We probably use the phrase without giving it much thought.

But, in the fifth century, a lot of thought went into that phrase. In fact, a great controversy arose over whether or not “Mother of God” (Θεοτόκος) was an appropriate title for Mary. A fellow named Nestorius went around teaching that the title was inappropriate, since Mary could only be the mother of the human part of Jesus.

Thanks to the clear teaching of the Doctor of the Church commemorated every June 27th, Nestorius was refuted. Cyril of Alexandria, a very strong bishop, made it clear that Jesus does have two natures: one human, one divine. So He is fully God and fully man. But He is only one Person: a Divine Person. Mary, he taught, can only be said to be Mother of the whole Christ, so she is, therefore, the “Mother of God.” That teaching was defined formally at the Council of Ephesus in 431.

Thanks to the clarity and strength of St. Cyril, we can lay claim to that title of Mary we love so much, because she is not just the Mother of the human Jesus, but the very “Mother of God.” Pray for us, O most holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In my opinion, there should be reached the aim that all priests could continue to use the old Missal.”

— ‘Cardinal Ratzinger, Letter to Wolfgang Waldstein (14 December 1976)’

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