Mary is the model of the Church, insofar as she is Mother and Virgin

In 431, the Council of Ephesus declared that the Virgin Mary is Theotokos (Mother of God). The Council of Chalcedon in 451 professed that Christ is one and the same, the only Son and Lord, in two natures, without confusion or mutation, without division or separation between these two natures. It made the Marian doctrine of the Council of Ephesus a dogma, affirming that the Son, "whose divinity was begotten by the Father before the ages, is begotten in the last days by Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, in his humanity."

Fifteen centuries later, the Second Vatican Council, in the most important of its documents (Lumen Gentium, chapter 8: Mary the Virgin in the Mystery of Christ and the Church) spoke of Mary's motherhood, reiterating the doctrine of the early councils, but broadening the perspective:

“Mary played a role in the mystery of Christ throughout her life; she was increasingly united to Christ the Savior, by a conscious and free union. Her motherhood is her highest dignity but also her greatest service.”

The Council's general intention was to define the role of the Church, and in this framework Mary is the image of the Church who is also Mother and Virgin: the Church gives birth to Christ in souls, and the maternity of the Church is also played out in spiritual virginity, through the Holy Spirit.

Thus, the mystery of Mary, Mother of God, is linked to the mysteries of

- Mary and the Holy Spirit,

- Mary and the Church,

- Mary our Mother in the order of grace.

Françoise Breynaert

Marian Encyclopedia