| Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God | |
|---|---|
 TheBlessed Virgin Mary, Μήτηρ Θεοῦ (Mētēr Theou, "Mother of God"), ispoetically called Πλατυτέρα τῶν οὐρανῶν (Platytéra tōn Ouranōn, "More spacious than the heavens") because she bore in her womb the Creator of the universe. | |
| Also called |
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| Observed by | |
| Type | Christian |
| Significance | Motherhood ofMary |
| Observances | Church services |
| Date |
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| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Feast of the Circumcision of Christ |
TheSolemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is afeast day of theBlessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood ofJesus Christ, whom she hadcircumcised on the eighth day afterhis birth in accordance withLeviticalLaw. Christians see him as theLord andSon of God.[1]
It is celebrated by theRoman Rite of theCatholic Church on 1 January, theOctave (8th) day ofChristmas. Thissolemnity is aHoly Day of Obligation in areas that have not abrogated it. Christians ofByzantine,[2]West Syriac, andEast Syriac Rites celebrate Mary as theMother of God on 26 December (also known as the Synaxis of the Theotokos),[3] while theCoptic Church (anOriental Orthodox church) does so on 16 January.
TheEastern Orthodox Church,[4][5]Traditional Catholics,Anglican Communion and theLutheran Church observe theFeast of the Circumcision of Christ on 1 January.[6]
In the Traditional Catholic calendar andWestern Rite Vicariate of theAntiochian Orthodox Church is a feast of theMotherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 11 October.[7]
The feast is a celebration of Mary being the mother ofJesus. TheEnglish title "Mother of God" is a literal translation of theLatin titleMater Dei, which in turn is a rendering of theGreek title Θεοτόκος (Theotokos), meaning "Bearer of God" dogmatically adopted by theFirst Council of Ephesus (431) as an assertion of thedivinity of Christ.[8]
TheSecond Vatican Council stated: “Clearly from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honoured under the title of Mother of God,”[9] and at an early stage the Church in Rome celebrated on 1 January a feast that it called the anniversary (Natale) of theMother of God.[3] When this was overshadowed by the feasts of theAnnunciation and theAssumption, adopted fromConstantinople at the start of the 7th century, 1 January began to be celebrated simply as the octave day of Christmas, the “eighth day” on which, according toLuke 2:21, the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus.[10]
In the 13th or 14th century, 1 January began to be celebrated in Rome, as already in Spain and Gaul, as the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity, while still oriented towards Mary and Christmas,[10] with many prayers,antiphons andresponsories glorifying the maternity of Mary.[3]Pope John XXIII'sGeneral Roman Calendar of 1960 removed mention of the circumcision and called 1 January simply the “Octave of the Nativity”.[11]
The feast of theMaternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was first granted, on the petition of KingJoseph I of Portugal, to the dioceses of Portugal and to Brasil and Algeria, 22 January 1751, together with the feast of the Purity of Mary, and was assigned to the first Sunday in May. In the following year, both feasts were extended to the province of Venice, in 1778 to the kingdom of Naples, and 1807 to Tuscany. In theRoman Breviary the Feast of the Maternity was commemorated on the second Sunday, and the Feast of the Purity on the third, Sunday in October. AtMesagne inApulia it was kept 20 February in commemoration of an earthquake in 1743. This particular feast was not included in the universal calendar of the church, and adopted only in some dioceses.[12] By 1914, the feast was established inPortugal for celebration on 11 October and extended to the entire Church byPope Pius XI in 1931.[13][14]
In Rome, in theBasilica of Saint Augustine, the Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated with an octave, in honour of the miraculous statue of the Madonna del Parto byJacopo Sansovino. For centuries, the people of Rome and its environs have invoked the intercession of the Madonna before this statue asking for safe deliveries and healthy babies. The statue is laden with thanksgivingex-votos and always surrounded by offerings of flowers and candles, and often photographs of smiling infants and toddlers, "visual evidence of faith in holy intercession".[15]
This feast was also the titular feast of theTrinitarians.[12] In 1198,John of Matha founded the Order of the Most Holy Trinity with the mission of ransoming captive Christians. To this end, he placed the order's fundraising efforts under the patronage of Mary. In gratitude for her assistance, he then honored Mary with the title of “Our Lady of Good Remedy” (Nuestra Señora de los Remedios).[16] This feast day is now celebrated on 8 October.[17]
The1969 revision of the liturgical year and the calendar in theRoman Rite states: “1 January, the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and also the commemoration of the conferral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.”[18][19] It deleted the 11 October feast, even for Portugal, stating: “The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on 1 January in the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.”[20] The 11 October feast is still celebrated byTraditionalist Catholic groups who use theGeneral Roman Calendar of 1960.[21]
In hisApostolic LetterMarialis Cultus,Pope Paul VI explained: "This celebration, placed on January 1 ...is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the 'holy Mother...through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of life.' It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration of the newbornPrince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels (cf.Lk. 2:14), and for imploring from God, through theQueen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace."[22]
The Anglican and Lutheran churches retain the medieval association of the octave with the circumcision and the giving of the holy Name.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
