11. The Life of Mary
Blessed Virgin Mary “most perfectly embodies the obedience of
faith.
Mary welcomed the message and promise brought to her by the
angel Gabriel, believing that ‘with God nothing will be impossible’
Throughout her life and when Jesus her son died on the cross,
Mary’s faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the
fulfillment of God’s word
12. The Church venerates (honour or revere) Mary because she is the
beautiful summary of the faith
She is the Mother of God and united with Christ in a way that no
other human could be
This closeness and intimacy continues in heaven
14. Where do we find Jesus?
Through His Mother
When we ask Mary for help or
assistance, we can trust that
she presents our prayers to
her Son.
Jesus loves His mother and was
obedient to her throughout His
life. We believe that Jesus will
listen to His mother in the
same way in heaven.
15. Wedding Feast at Cana
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of
Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.2Jesus
and his disciples had also been invited to the
wedding.3When the wine gave out, the mother of
Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’4And Jesus
said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and
to me? My hour has not yet come.’5
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells
you.’6Now standing there were six stone water-jars
for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding
twenty or thirty gallons.7Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the
jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the
brim.8He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and
take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it.9When
the steward tasted the water that had become wine,
and did not know where it came from (though the
servants who had drawn the water knew), the
steward called the bridegroom10and said to him,
‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the
inferior wine after the guests have become drunk.
But you have kept the good wine until now.’
16. Mary our Mother
• On the cross, Jesus said to
the disciple John “Behold
your mother”
• Then he said to Mary
“behold your son”
• In this statement Jesus
gave His mother to the
Church (represented by
John)
17. “All generations will call me Blessed”
• Throughout the centuries, we continue to honour Mary (NOT
worship)
• This is seen as the Church as many Marian shrines throughout the
world, feast days, hymns, and prayers
29. The term “hypostatic”
comes from the Greek word
‘upostasis and means
“substantial nature, essence,
actual being, reality.” Heb.
1:3 states that Christ is “an
exact representation of his
(= God’s) real being.”
30.
31. Christ was God and He was man, both at the same
time. At no time in His earthly sojourn and since has
He ever ceased to be God and man at the same time.
He was not man who became God (the error of
paganism). He was God who became man at the
point of His incarnation (John 1:14). He was not man
indwelt by God which is the experience of every
believer. He was the God-man. Neither was Christ
partly God and partly man. He was completely God
and completely man without division or separation.
(Heb. 5:5-9; Col. 1:27)
32. Christ possesses the essence of both deity and
humanity to the fullest extent. He is no less God for
being man and no less man for being God. This
statement of fact does not remove the element of
faith in embracing the fact. We cannot understand
the hypostatic union any more than we can fathom
the mystery of the Trinity. (Col. 2:1-3)
33. The Nature of the Union
Two natures exist in one person. Consequently at
times there seems to be a contradiction until the
attribute being manifested is described in terms of
which nature is affected. Christ could be weak in
body yet omnipotent in power (Matthew 28:18). He
could increase in knowledge (Luke 2:52) and yet
omniscient (John 2:24,25). He could be physically
present and spiritually omnipresent.
34. The difference between the humanity and deity of
Christ poses difficulties impossible for us to
reconcile, yet He possesses the two natures in a
dynamic tension that we cannot understand. Some
attributes are purely human such as thirst (John
19:28) and others are purely divine such as His
eternal preexistence. Christ maintains the ability to
be both human and divine at the same time without
impinging upon either.
35. The Eternality of the Union
Before the incarnation the essence of Christ was
spirit (John 4:24). In the incarnation divine Spirit
was joined to humanity (Galatians 4:4). We think of
the body of man as perishing and therefore anything
but eternal. Our thinking is incorrect. Christ gave up
His Spirit to vacate the body on the cross (Matt.
27:50) yet in His resurrection possessed a glorified
yet physical body. (Luke 24:36-43)
36. The Purpose of the Union
While we may struggle to compass the mystery of
the hypostatic union, we are very capable of
appreciating the value of it. The incarnation
produced a sympathetic intercessor for every
believer. (Heb. 2:14-17; 4:14-16) Paul’s reference to
the mediatorial ministry of Christ was in terms of the
humanity of Christ. (1 Tim. 2:5)
37. Our Lord’s eternal priesthood is based upon his
humanity (Heb. 7:11-16) His kingship upon the
throne of David is based upon His humanity. (Luke
1:31-33) Worship is afforded to Christ because of His
deity. Eternal life given to every believer is the
byproduct of His deity. (Gal. 2:20; 1 John 5:11)
38.
39. Pagnilayan…
• Sa anong paraan pinatunayan ni Hesus na Sya ay Diyos?
• Para sa iyo, ano ang mas madaling maunawaan? Ang kanyang
pagiging tao o ang kanya pagka-Diyos? Bakit?
• Bakit mahalagang si Hesus ay nagkatawang tao?
• Nabago ba ang iyong pananaw sa pakikipag-relasyon sa Diyos
ng kaalamang Karamay mo sya sa lahat ng iyong mga sakit,
hirap at kasayahan?
• Ipinapakita mo ba sa iyong pamumuhay na si Kristo ang iyong
Panginoon? Bakit?
Editor's Notes
Docetism, (from Greek dokein, “to seem”), Christian heresy and one of the earliest Christian sectarian doctrines, affirming that Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one. Though its incipient forms are alluded to in the New Testament, such as in the Letters of John (e.g., 1 John 4:1–3; 2 John 7), Docetism became more fully developed as an important doctrinal position of Gnosticism, a religious dualist system of belief arising in the 2nd century AD which held that matter was evil and the spirit good and claimed that salvation was attained only through esoteric knowledge, or gnosis. The heresy developed from speculations about the imperfection or essential impurity of matter. More thoroughgoing Docetists asserted that Christ was born without any participation of matter and that all the acts and sufferings of his life, including the Crucifixion, were mere appearances. They consequently denied Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. Milder Docetists attributed to Christ an ethereal and heavenly body but disagreed on the degree to which it shared the real actions and sufferings of Christ. Docetism was attacked by all opponents of Gnosticism, especially by Bishop Ignatius of Antioch in the 2nd century.
Adoptionism, also called dynamic monarchianism,[1] is an early Christian nontrinitarian theological doctrine,[1] which holds that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God at his baptism, his resurrection, or his ascension. How common adoptionist views were among early Christians is debated, but it appears to have been most popular in the first, second, and third centuries. Some scholars see adoptionism as the belief of the earliest followers of Jesus, based on the epistles of Paul and other early literature. However, adoptionist views sharply declined in prominence in the fourth and fifth centuries, as Church leaders condemned it as a heresy.
Arianism
It was the first Christological heresy to seriously threaten the Church. It denied the Divinity of Christ. Arius, while at the Catechetical School in Alexandria in the year 319 A.D., proposed a problem: If the Son of God is begotten of God the Father, then the Father existed before the Son. Since the Father existed before the Son, the Son is unlike the Father. The Son is not co-eternal with the Father. According to Arius, the Son was created by the Father and not Divine as the Father. Arius' main error was that he imposed time on the eternal (timeless) nature of God. As a father begets a son, he gives his nature to his son. For humans, the father exists before the son, since humans live in time. Begetting for humans is an act embedded in time and matter. This is part of human nature. But for God, the Father gives His spiritual, divine, timeless nature to His only-begotten Son (Heb. 1), so "before" and "after" are meaningless. Even though the Son is begotten of the Father, this does not imply that the Father existed before the Son. Also the Son of God is begotten and not created. (Even a human father only begets his children and does not create them.) Unfortunately Arius failed to understand this fundamental point and thus refused to accept the Divinity of Christ. Arius took his debate from the academic circles to the streets. He quickly gained a large following. After being excommunicated in Alexandria, he fled to Caesarea where Bishop Eusebius helped him spread his errors. In 325, the Council of Nicaea was called to deal with the Arian crisis. The Council excommunicated Arius and declared that the Son is "of the same substance" (homoousion) as the Father. This became part of the Nicene Creed. But the Arians continued to gain power and political influence. They remained a serious threat to the Church for another half century. St. Athanasius was the great defender of the Faith against this heresy.
It was a heresy that attacked Mary's title as "Mother of God" but it was also a subtle attack against the Incarnation of Christ. With a better understanding of the Incarnation - that Jesus is truly God and man, the faithful in the fifth-century became aware of other consequences. If Jesus is truly God and Mary was His mother, then Mary must be the "Theotokos", God-bearer, or in more western terms, Mother of God. St. Ephrem the Syrian wrote hymns praising Mary with langauge rivialing St. Alphonsus Liguori. Around 428-429 A.D., the newly-consecrated Bishop of Constantinople, Nestorius, had enough of this. From the pulpit, he attacked the title "Theotokos" and claimed that even though Mary is the Mother of Christ, she cannot be the Mother of God. Shortly afterwards, the Bishop of Alexandria, Cyril, wrote a letter to Nestorius in order to correct his error. After receiving his reply, Cyril wrote a letter to Pope Celestine and forwarded Nestorius' response. Cyril submitted both his writings and Nestorius' response for papal judgement. After examining the documents, Pope Celestine condemned Nestorius' teaching and ordered him to recant in ten days. The pope also authorized Cyril to receive the recantation or else condemn and depose Nestorius from his See. Nestorius refused to recant and published a clearer condemnation against the title "Theotokos." He wrote: "A mother cannot bear a Son older than herself." "If Mary is called Mother of God, she is made a Goddess." "The man Jesus... is the temple, the vesture of the Word... God did not die." and so on. Nestorius refused to submit to Cyril and requested a General Council to discuss this issue. A General Council was called and organized. It openned on 22 June 429, but Nestorius refused to personally attend. The Council condemned Nestorius and his followers. The Council's decrees and definitions were approved by Pope Sixtus III since Pope Celestine had already died. Nestorius fled to Persia and gained a large, powerful following. Only centuries later, the Muslims finally destroyed his sect. Nestorius claimed that Christ's human nature was only the temple of the Godhead, but he also differentiated between the acts of Christ's human nature (e.g. Christ dying on the Cross) and acts of Christ's Divine nature (e.g. God did not die.). The main problem with Nestorius is that free acts originate from persons and not from natures. What Nestorius called "natures" should have been called "persons." His error was to divide Christ into two persons - human and divine. Christ is only one Person and Mary is the mother of that Person. Mothers give birth to persons and not natures.
