“The Virgin and Child” (The Madonna of the Book) by Sandro Boticelli
I often find making time to get to Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation rather difficult. I keep pretty busy, and squeezing in an extra hour to hour-and-a-half activity can prove rather difficult, especially around the busy holiday season. I always find the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, happening tomorrow, the most difficult feast day to make time for. My family spends New Year’s together hunting, so we often have to drive way out of the way to go to Mass. On top of that, like everyone else, we stay up until around midnight eating sugary foods and drinking, so we often don’t feel like waking up early the next day. With all of this in mind, why does the Church want us to go to Mass on one of our precious days off, and why do we have an “obligation”?
The Church asks us to go to Mass tomorrow to commemorate the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. This Solemnity, like the others we celebrate throughout the year, marks an important moment in the life of the Church. We celebrate not only the special bond between mother and child, but also between God and mankind. When we meditate on the meaning behind days such as these, we grow in our appreciation of what God has done for us. In this case, Mary’s title as the “Mother of God” reveals to us the importance of her role in salvation.
The title “Mother of God” or “Theotokos” (literally ‘God-Bearer’ in Greek) became central to Christian doctrine at the 431 AD Council of Ephesus. The Council fathers at the time defended the Church against the heresy of Nestorianism: a heretical claim that divided Jesus into two persons: human and divine. The Nestorians called Mary the “Christotokos” (literally ‘Christ-bearer’), saying that she was only the mother of the human Jesus, but not the divine. The title of Theotokos emphasizes that Jesus took on our human nature – including our human body – when he became man. To this day the Church recognizes the single person of Christ, fully human, and fully divine.
The Church asks us to celebrate Holy Days of Obligation by going to Mass because we are members of the Body of Christ. We celebrate holidays or important moments with our family. We naturally feel sad when we can’t return home for the holidays, or if we miss the celebration of an important moment in our family or friends’ lives. We can think of Holy Days of Obligation as similar times within the life of our truest family, the Body of Christ. And how do we often celebrate important days? With food! Thus, the Church calls us to sit at the table of our Father and join the heavenly feast.
Tomorrow, remember to thank God for inviting you to His celebration. And don’t forget to thank Mary for her yes!
A Fresco depicting the anathematization of Nestorius at the Third Ecumenical Council by Dionisius.
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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