HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

(1) MARY, you are the Mother of God because you are the Mother of Jesus Christ, the true Son of God. You could not be the Mother of His divine nature, which has existed before all time and from all eternity, but you brought forth Jesus after He had assumed human nature in you.

The Archangel Gabriel recognized this dignity of Divine Motherhood when he said, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; and therefore the Holy One to be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1,35). And Elizabeth exclaimed, "And bow have I deserved that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1,43)

Since God was pleased to choose you as His Mother because of your humility, help me to be truly humble of heart, that like you, I may be pleasing to God and may deserve to be exalted in heaven. Banish all pride and vanity from my heart and let me ever seek the glory of God in all things.

(2) MARY, to understand how great you really are as Mother of God, I would have to understand the greatness of God Himself. Your dignity surpasses that of all saints, for they are only God's servants, while you are His Mother. No, angel or saint could ever say to Jesus, "You are my Son." Your dignity on that account is nearly infinite, since you are so closely united with the infinite Good. God could not create a greater Mother than His own. Conscious of this dignity, you exclaimed, "Henceforth all generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1,49).

Sweet Mother of God, I admire your dignity, which was the greatest ever bestowed upon a human being. Each day of my life I wish to thank God for the graces and privileges He has bestowed upon you to make you what you are.

(3) MARY, because you are the Mother of God, I can pray to you with full confidence. Jesus would hardly refuse you any request that was in keeping with God's will, for if He grants the request of the Saints, who are only His servants, how can He refuse His own Mother whom He loves so tenderly? I am sure Jesus is pleased to have you ask Him for anything, since He wants to be generous to us for your sake. Is not this in some measure a reward for the human nature you have given him?

Mother of God, since God was pleased to choose you as His Mother, and since He was very generous to you in making you worthy of this dignity, I confidently hope that He will be generous to me if you pray for me. I entrust my salvation to your care. Never let me fail to invoke your intercession in all my needs, for Jesus will refuse you nothing because we both can call you "Mother."

O God, You willed that Your Word should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the message of an angel; grant us, Your humble servants, that we who truly believe her to be the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with You. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. (Feast of the Annunciation, March 25)