In the 5th century AD, there was a faction in the church that was trying to explain the mystery of the Incarnation in a way that made Jesus two persons (one human and one divine) united into one instead of simply being one person, fully human and fully divine, the Word becoming flesh as presented in John's Gospel. The third ecumenical council was convened in 431 AD to discuss the issue and it proclaimed that Mary became the Mother of God by the human conception of the eternal Word of God (who was with God in beginning as John says) in her womb. The emphasis here is that Jesus born of Mary is in fact, God, become man. Her new title was designed to be a safeguard of her son's divinity. And so Mary has been called the Mother of God ever since.
So how has Mary helped me follow Jesus, her son?
Well, first of all, she has been called his first disciple because she offered her life up to God and to her future son, Jesus, in becoming his mother. Her life was no longer her own. And so I have been able to meditate on her life and imitate her life. The life of the one who said to God's angelic messenger, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
More later.
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