May 31 is the Feast of the Visitation, the day on which the Blessed Virgin Mary, having been told at the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel that she had been chosen to bear the Son of God, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who herself was pregnant with John the Baptist.
The scene is beautiful: As Mary greets her cousin, the baby leaps in Elizabeth's womb, and Elizabeth cries out in the words that make up the second sentence of the Hail Mary: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!" Mary, overflowing with joy herself, responds with the Magnificat, a wondrous canticle (a biblical hymn) extolling the greatness of God and thanking Him for the favor He has shown her.
The Magnificat became part of the official evening prayer of the Catholic Church, and even if, as laymen, we do not celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours, we can still incorporate it into our own evening prayers. What better way to remind ourselves on this feast--and every day--of the joy of the Blessed Virgin in bearing our Savior.
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Whenever we refer to the Announciation and the subsequent Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth – and if one is sincerely honest in what the Bible records about these two events – it has never stopped surprising me why the Protestants have always refused to accept the “Mother of God” Title for Our Lady. They have no problem accepting we are saved by the Blood of Christ. They cannot advance any valid argument to refute that The Holy Spirit – overshadowing Holy Mary – imparted the Soul and Diving of Jesus. BUT IT WAS THE HOLY MARY whose body gave us the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus that was to be sacrificed to reconcile us to God and re-open Heaven for mankind. To still reject the Title “Mother of God’ being rightly her’s makes no sense whatsoever
Hello Mary42,
If the title “Mother of God” is used, it must be understood, that it can only mean that Mary is the Mother of the Son of God, who, as to His Divine Nature, is God, as His Father is, but He is not The Father, but is the Only Begotten Son of God, The Father, who brought Him forth through Mary’s body, by His Holy Spirit working the miracle within her womb.
It must not be understood that Mary is the Mother of God, The Father, she is not, she is the vessle whom God, The Father used, to bring forth His Only Begotten Son. She is the Handmaiden of God, The Father and submitted to His Divne will.
God, The Father is un-begotten…But The Son of God The Father, is Begotten, both of God, His Father, through the Power of The Father’s Holy Spirit, and Mary, who was the means by which The Word of God, was made flesh/Human.
I have no wish to enter into an argument about the Holy Trinity. But let me kindly refer you to the first Paragraph of St. John’s Gospel. The Holy Trinity Doctrine is well documented in the Teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We cannot ignore Jesus’ own words. “I and the Father are One”. The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are Equal and Eternal. This is Our Faith, This is our life as Catholics. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity is True God and True Man Equal and One with the Father and the Holy Spirit and Eternal