The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
January 1 – Feast of Mary, Mother of God
Beloved in the Lord, let us lift our minds to the glorious Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, in whom the mercy of the Most High has wrought a wonder beyond all human understanding. In the beginning, the Creator fashioned man and woman in His image, to be fruitful, holy, and obedient, living in harmony with His will. In that first paradise, marriage and the lusts of the flesh were not yet needed, for man and woman were to bear fruit in virtue, in obedience, and in communion with God. The Fall brought corruption; the desires of the flesh entered, and marriage was permitted as a concession to human weakness (Genesis 3:16).
But behold the Virgin Mary, the New Eve, who, in humility and obedience, restores what was lost. She bears the New Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, yet remains ever-virgin. Her fruitfulness is not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, producing the salvation of the world and the spiritual children of the faithful. As the Apostle teaches, “The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and spirit” (1 Corinthians 7:34). Thus, the fruitfulness intended in Eden, which the first Adam and Eve forfeited, is renewed in Christ and His Virgin Mother.
The saints follow her example. Saint Ambrose declares, “Virginity is fruitful, not in the flesh, but in spirit, producing children to God” (De Virginibus 2.2). Chrysostom exhorts, “Those who remain virgins do not lack fruit; they bear the fruit of the soul, the children of virtue.” Gregory of Nyssa calls this life “a likeness of paradise, living in harmony with the divine will, untouched by disordered desire” (On Virginity 1). By chastity and continence, they bear spiritual children, fulfilling the Creator’s design for true fruitfulness.
Irenaeus affirms: “As the first man and woman were made in the image of God, so the New Adam and the New Eve renew this image; through Christ and His Virgin Mother, humanity is restored” (Against Heresies 3.22.4). Where marriage in the flesh was introduced after the Fall, the New Adam and New Eve restore the fruitfulness of Eden, virginal and spiritual, giving life to souls in Christ and restoring man and woman to their original dignity.
Therefore, beloved, let us follow the New Adam in the New Eve. Let us imitate the Virgin Mary, embracing chastity and holiness, and bearing spiritual children in prayer, virtue, and love. In this way, we enter once more into the harmony of paradise, living the life intended by God from the beginning, and preparing for the eternal inheritance promised in Christ our Lord.