| St. Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ (August 15th) The honor paid to the Blessed Virgin goes back to the earliest days of the Church. Her many titles all express theological points or roles associated with her in tradition: Theotokos (“God-Bearer”), Mother of God, Mother of Christians, Queen of Heaven, Mother of Priests, and Mother of the Church are but a few examples.
The only truly reliable information we have about the Blessed Virgin Mary comes from Scripture. She appears throughout the Gospels, which cast her in a singularly important light not only in Jesus’ infancy and coming of age, but also in often accompanying His adult ministry.
It was Blessed Mary who instigated Jesus’ first miracle (changing water into wine at the wedding in Galilee), when even Jesus Himself did not know that that occasion would be the time for such a sign. In perhaps the most moving moment in all of the New Testament, she stands at the foot of the Cross and as Jesus is dying, He commends her to “the beloved disciple” (John) and tells John to look on Mary as his own mother. The Holy Mother also had a special place in the company of Jesus’ disciples after the Resurrection. In the book of Acts she is with the Apostles when the Holy Spirit descended on them at Pentecost.
An ancient tradition says that Holy Mary then went to live in Ephesus (Turkey). Since we know that the beloved disciple John lived in Ephesus until his death, it is entirely plausible that she had joined him. A house still there is said to have been where she lived out her days. We know nothing of her later life. What we do believe is that of the entire human race, the “Blessed Virgin Mary” has the place of highest honor in the eternal life of God.
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