January 1 is the Solemnity of Mary the mother of God..

Mary, the Mother of God

Roman Catholics and Eastern-rite Catholics have always treasured the practice of praying to Our Blessed Mother and to the other saints in heaven. In fact for almost 1500 years, until the start of the Protestant Reformation, the important role played by Our Blessed Mother in our salvation history was accepted throughout Christendom, as was the spiritual value of praying to her and to the other saints.

The Second Vatican Council spoke of honouring Mary, the mother of God, with 'special reverence'. This special reverence, or 'veneration' as it is often called, which Catholics direct to Mary, is sometimes mistaken by our Protestant brethren for the adoration which is to be reserved for God alone. The Catholic Church, however, is quite clear on the distinction between honouring Mary and worshipping God, and while encouraging devotion to our Blessed Mother, the Church has always recognized Mary's oneness "with all human beings in their need for salvation", and has never regarded her as some sort of divine or even semi-divine being.

Nevertheless, the Church teaches us that from the moment of her own conception, Mary, who bore the Saviour of the world, was preserved from the stain of Original Sin. This teaching is known as the doctrine of the 'Immaculate Conception'. The Church also teaches us, in the doctrine known as the 'Assumption', that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was taken up body and soul into heaven.

Sometimes our Protestant brothers and sisters question our practice of praying to Mary and to the other saints, but their objections to this practice are hard to understand. In our everyday lives, in the natural world, do we not act as St. Paul did, and sometimes ask our friends and those around us to pray to God on our behalf? If such prayers have merit, and they do, think of what worth we may attach to prayers offered on our behalf by Mary and the saints who now dwell in God's presence in the glory of heaven. So it is with confidence that Catholics the world over pray to the saints, and repeatedly petition Our Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven, to "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."

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