Today we celebrate the beautiful
solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In
reality, this solemnity allows us to reflect upon the essential reality of our
Catholic Faith: Jesus, the Christ, is one person with two distinct natures:
divine and human. This union of the two
natures in the one person of Jesus is called the hypostatic union.
Thus, the Church, at the Council of
Ephesus (431 AD) defined Mary as the Theotokos,
the Mother of God.
“Called in the Gospels ‘mother of
Jesus,’ Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even
before the birth of her son, as ‘the mother of my Lord.’ In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by
the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none
other than the Father’s eternal Son, the second person of the Holy
Trinity. Hence, the Church confesses
that Mary is truly ‘Mother of God’ (Theotokos)”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 495).
A long period of tumultuous theological
controversies surrounded the question of Jesus’ divine and human natures, and
how the role of Mary was to be understood.
People like Arius and Nestorius were infamous proponents of heterodox
Christological teachings.
By studying the history of the first
four Ecumenical
Councils
of the Catholic Church (Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon) we can
better understand the significance of today’s celebration.
Aside from the theological and
historical significances, I would like us to enter the mystery of the Theotokos by looking at this mystery
through the eyes of Saint Joseph.
What did he see as he pondered all that
was happening to Mary?
During this past Advent, a priest friend
of mine brought my attention to a fascinating reflection on the Gospel of
Matthew in the Ignatius
Catholic Study Bible.
Why did Joseph want to divorce
Mary? The answer to this question, in
my view, gives us a glimpse as to how Joseph considered Mary, the Theotokos.
But, before we can consider the question
of the divorce, we need to understand what it means in the Sacred Scriptures
that Joseph and Mary were betrothed.
A betrothal in the ancient Jewish world
was not the same as our contemporary understanding of an engagement.
Betrothal was a period of time, usually
up to one year, before the actual covenant of marriage took place. Although a couple would not live together,
they were considered to be married.
Thus, a betrothal could only be ended by divorce or death.
“This
is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His
mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she
was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honour and
wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally” (Matthew 1: 18-19).
So, let us go back to the question as to
why Joseph decided to end his marriage with Mary.
There are two theories proposed by the
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.
First, there is the suspicion
theory. “This view holds that Joseph
suspected Mary of adultery when he discovered she was pregnant. The troubling news led him to seek a divorce in
accordance with Deuteronomy 24: 1-4, although he wished to do this secretly to
avoid subjecting Mary to the rigorous law of Deuteronomy 22: 23-24, which
mandates capital punishment for adulterers” (page 18).
Second, there is the reverence
theory. “This view holds that Joseph,
already informed of the divine miracle within Mary, considered himself unworthy
to be part of God’s work in this unusual situation. His resolve to separate from Mary is thus
viewed as a reverent and discretionary measure to keep secret the mystery
within her” (page 18).
My dear friends, when I discussed this
with my priest friend over lunch, “the reverence theory” certainly had what we
might call the “wow effect.” We had
never thought of “the reverence theory” and it makes perfect sense. How beautiful!
“Joseph
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has
conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is
the one who is to save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:
20-21).
Reverence and awe: like Saint Joseph,
this is how we are to treat the Christmas mystery and all of the mysteries of
our Catholic Faith.
Do we treat Mary with reverence and awe?
Let us ask Saint Joseph to show us how to do this. How do we pray the Rosary? How do we cherish and celebrate her feast
days? Do we please her and honor her by
the way we live our lives?
Do we treat Jesus with reverence and
awe? Let us ask Saint Joseph to show us
how to do this. How do we receive Holy
Communion?
“Domine, non sum
dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima
mea. Lord, I am not worthy that you
should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”
(Roman Missal, Third Edition).
In an age where the banal and the crass
are the order of the day, let us turn to Saint Joseph and ask him to teach us
how to treat the things of God with a renewed sense of mystery, reverence and
awe.