Mary, Mother of God

"How can Mary be the 'Mother of God'? God has no mother."

3 Scripture passages2 objections answered2 Church Father quotes

The Short Answer

Catholics call Mary 'Mother of God' (Theotokos) because she is the mother of Jesus, who is God. This title protects the truth that Jesus is fully God and fully man, one divine Person with two natures. Denying Mary is Mother of God means denying Christ's divinity.

Quick Overview

Here's the key: mothers give birth to persons, not natures. Your mom isn't just 'mother of your body'—she's YOUR mother, the whole person. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is one Person—a divine Person. So Mary is truly the Mother of God, not because God started existing when she gave birth, but because the Person she bore is God.

Biblical Evidence

What the Scriptures say

Luke 1:43

"And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

Why This Matters

Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, calls Mary 'the mother of my Lord.' 'Lord' (Kyrios) is the divine title used for God throughout Luke.

Galatians 4:4

"God sent his Son, made of a woman."

Why This Matters

God's Son—not a human who became divine—was 'made of a woman.' Mary gave birth to the eternal Son of God.

Isaiah 7:14

"Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel."

Why This Matters

The virgin's son is 'Emmanuel'—'God with us.' The child Mary bears is God Himself dwelling among us.

What the Church Teaches

Official Catholic doctrine

Mary is truly 'Mother of God' (Theotokos) since she is mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself (CCC 509). This title doesn't mean Mary is older than God or the source of divinity; it means she gave birth to a divine Person.

Common Objections

Questions answered

Early Church Fathers

What the first Christians believed

Council of Ephesus

431 AD

"If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is truly God, and therefore that the holy Virgin is Theotokos (Mother of God), let him be anathema."

— Council of Ephesus, Canon 1

St. Cyril of Alexandria

c. 430 AD

"If our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how could the holy Virgin who gave Him birth not be Theotokos?"

— Letter to Nestorius

Prayers for Dead

Mary's Virginity

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