Theotokos - Mary as Mother of God

Dearly Beloved,

As we begin the New Calendar Year 2014, I wish you many blessings and graces. May the New Calendar year be filled with peace and joy in Christ Jesus, the Newborn King.  

Also, Happy Theotokos. Theotokos is the Greek word meaning God-Bearer. Theotokos is translated to English word meaning Mother of God.

The Blessed Mother is the only unique person in the entire world that is given this title "Theotokos".  God has set her apart from all of humanity.  God does not bestow upon her, but infuses in her the fullness of grace which is also called Sanctifying Grace.  Through the Theotokos, a Savior is born.  

Through Blessed Mother, God changes the human identity and status.  So as St. Paul says in our second reading that we can become children of God, and become an heir through God.

The Theotokos, the Blessed Mother is always about her son.  She is called Mother of God because Christ is God.  It is called Communication of Idioms.  The two natures is united in Christ in the mystery of the Incarnation.  

Because God chooses her and preserves her from the stain of original sin, she gives birth to the Savior.  Because Christ exists at the very beginning, it is he that chose to enter the world by choosing her to be his mother.  We don't choose our mother, but Blessed Mother was chosen by God so that the new covenant is established.  

Her yes to the Angel Gabriel changed the course of human history. "Be it done to me according to your word."  By saying Yes to God, a savior is born.  The prophecy is fulfilled.  "He shall be called the Emmanuel which means God is with us.” 

So that the face of God is visible in Christ Jesus. “If you have seen me, then you have seen the Father, because the Father and I are one.”

In the first reading from Numbers, God said to Moses to tell the priests to Bless the people. God wants his people to be blessed. God tells the priests to say: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord lets his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace. So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites and I will bless them.”

Isn't it wonderful that God wants to bless the people. “So shall they invoke my name and I will bless them.”

And God blesses the people in the most wonderful way by sending his only begotten Son, Christ Jesus. The face of Christ is God's face shining upon the human race. It is God's kindness bestowed upon humanity in the Incarnation. Christ is the prince of peace. And the blessing is received because of the divine and holy name. "So shall they invoke my name and I will bless them."

The passage from the Gospel of St. Luke is about the divine name after the circumcision, a sign of the Old Covenant.  It is by this name that salvation is secured, and that we have the fullness of God's blessings.

The Blessed Mother ponders the mystery of God's blessings. "And Mary kept all these things reflecting them in her heart."

She kept all these things in her heart, pondering about these events that have taken place, ruminating over the life giving blessings from God through her child, God's only begotten son.  

Here, the Blessed Mother is humble and contemplative, a woman of prayer, dwelling upon the great mystery of God's blessings through her son, and God's only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

It certainly is through Blessed Mother that the fullness of God's blessings is made possible. So that all who behold the Face of Christ receive the fulness of blessings. All who invoke the Holy and Divine Name may be blessed. All who encounters her child may be blessed with God's kindness, love and grace.

God wants to bless humanity.  God does so through the Priests, sons of Aaron in the first reading.  God wants to bless and allow them to become heirs.  And finally, God wants to bless the people through the Blessed Mother, the Mother of God.  

Christ also wants to bless the Church with his mother by entrusting her to the Church on the Holy Cross.  He said to the Beloved Disciple: "Woman, behold your son."  And turning to the beloved disciple, he said: "Son, behold your Mother.  

God wants to bless you. Receive God's blessings in this new calendar year, 2014.  May it be a wonderful year for the Church to be blessed by God and to be a blessing in the world.  

"The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord lets his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace."