The faith of our fathers - Carmel Apologetics

"Be198 THE FAITH OF OUB, FATHERS.Apostles, as being destined to be the bearers ofthe word of life, how much more sanctified mustMary have been, who was to bear the Lord and1If John was so holy, because"Authorof life."he was chosen as the pioneer to prepare the way ofthe Lord, how much more holy was she who usheredHim into the world. If holiness became John smother, surely a greater holiness became the motherof John s Master. If God said to His priests ofold :ye clean, you that carry the vessels ofthe Lord;"nay, if the vessels themselves used in2the divine service, and churches are set apart byspecial consecration, we cannot conceive Mary tohave been ever profaned by sin who was the chosenvessel of election, even the Mother of God.When we call the Blessed Virgin the Mother ofGod, we assert our belief in two things: 1st. Thather Son, Jesus Christ, is true man, else she were nota mother. 2d. That He is true God, else she werenot the Mother of God. In other words, we affirmthat the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, theWord of God, who in His divine nature is fromall .eternity begotten of the Father, consubstantialwith Him, was in the fulness of time again begotten,to Himby being born of the Virgin, thus takingself, from her maternal womb, a human nature ofthe same substance with hers.But itmay be said the Blessed Virginis not the:1Acts iii. 15.2 Isaiah lii. 11.