EKPOMA REVIEW

The; doctrine; of; Mary; as; Mother; of; God; was; the; first; to; be declared in (431 A.D. at the Council of Ephesus) as the keyMarian dogma so far officially defined by the Church. The other Marian; dogmas; that; have; been; solemnly; defined; are:; the Perpetual Virginity of Mary in 649 A.D., Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854 A.D. and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; in; 1950; A.D The; magisterial; declaration; of; the; divine motherhood of Mary providentially took place in the Council of Ephesus in that same city where Mary was said to have lived the latter; part; of; her; life under; the; watchful; care; of; St John the Evangelist to whom the Lord at the last moment of his earthly life entrusted her (cf. Jn. 19:26-27). The beloved disciple of the Lord stood faithfully to the very end just like the Virgin Mary herself and before the Lord breathed his last, he bequeathed his precious Mother to the members of his Church through John the son of Zebedee; in; that; symbolic; and ;real; gesture:; “behold; your Mother”.... “behold your son”. In this simultaneously dual filial and maternal entrustment which manifests the last testament of the Lord, Mary assumes her holistic role as Mother, not only of her incarnate Son, Jesus Christ the head of the Church but also of the mystical body; of; Christ; the; Church The; liturgical; postCommunion; prayer; on; the; feast; of; Mary,; Mother; of; God, celebrated on the first day of the year in the Universal Church declares affirmatively: “Father, as we proclaim the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Christ and the mother of the Church, may our communion with her Son bring us to salvation”.1

Open Full Text (PDF)