Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God
When an embryo is being formed in the mother’s womb, a mysterious phenomenon called fetal microchimerism takes place, whereby some cells detach from the baby and settle in the mother’s body. This is the presence of cells that are genetically different from those specific to a given organism – in this case, the mother’s. So even before birth, the child, being “flesh of her flesh” gives back to the mother, and only to the mother, this “gift” that will serve as her protection: the best cells of its “flesh”, which she will carry with her in her organs, especially in her heart and brain, even after giving birth. In this way, something of the child becomes part of the mother and remains with her until the end of her life. Perhaps this is where the great bond between mother and child originates.
A mystery in the humanity of the Son of God
And how did this mystery come about during the gestation of the Child Jesus in Mary’s virginal womb? She is truly the Mother of Jesus, and Jesus is truly God! Therefore, Mary is the Mother of God!
The conception of the Divine Word and His birth go beyond a mere biological phenomenon, since it is the work of the Holy Spirit and of Mary (cf. Lk 1:35), without the collaboration of a man. He is one Divine Person with two distinct natures, divine and human, which do not blend.
However, since Jesus was “born of woman, born under the law” (Gal 4:4), similar to us in everything except sin (cf. Heb 4:15), some of His cells were detached from His tiny body and implanted in His Mother’s body, as happens with every developing baby. That is why Mary, even physically, has something of the Son of God and He, in His human nature, has everything of Mary: “As Mary’s flesh was real, so was the flesh of Christ, who received it from Her,”1 teaches St. Augustine.
This is why Augustine2 himself says that Mary is the forma dei – the mould of God – to which St. Louis Grignion de Montfort adds that She is the “mould proper to form and shape other ‘gods’,”3 who are the saints, images of her Divine Son, Jesus.
Paths proposed at the beginning of the year
On the first day of the year, there is so much superstition, so much nonsense… The Church, however, invokes God’s blessing on her children, saying: “The Lord bless you and keep you” (Nm 6:24) and “The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you” (Nm 6:25).
Two paths are proposed to us on this day: the face of God, for those who have faith; or the absence and eclipse of God, for those who allow themselves to be carried away by superstition. In this life we can contemplate the face of the Lord, because the “earth has yielded its increase” (Ps 66:7), the blessed fruit of the Virgin Mary (cf. Lk 1:42), who was circumcised on the eighth day and given a name: “Jesus” (Lk 2:21).
He is the Blessing of the Father, who came to save us and raise us to the dignity of sons (cf. Gal 4:6). This is the great blessing of the New Year: to allow ourselves to be formed by Mary, the mould of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit. ◊
Notes
1 ST. AUGUSTINE. Sermo 362, c.13.
2 ST. AUGUSTINE. Sermo 208, apud GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE, OP, Réginald. La Madre del Salvador y nuestra vida interior. 3.ed. Buenos Aires: Desclée de Brouwer, 1954, p.279.
3 ST. LOUIS-MARIE GRIGNION DE MONTFORT. Traité de la vraie dévotion à la Sainte Vierge, n.219.
