Holy Virgin of Virgins

One of the well known and most revered titles of Our Lady is the Virgin. She is the Virgin Mother - a true paradox and a logical impossibility that prompted the teenage peasant girl from Palestine to ask, "How can this be, since I know not man?". At Annunciation, the angel replied "The Holy Spirit will come upon you". Her fiancé, Joseph, had the same doubt and was thinking about secretly leaving her. But an angel told him in a dream, "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit". So today people all over the world lovingly call Mary - the Virgin Mother. And every time she is called the Virgin, people are praising God for the magnificent gift He bestowed upon humanity - His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 

Causing Scandal

Saint Martin of Tours was born in the fourth century to pagan parents in Sabaria, comprising parts of modern day Yugoslavia and Hungary. His father was an officer in the Roman army. His family moved to Pavia in Italy when he was still a child. And there the boy first learned of Christianity, felt drawn to it, and became a catechumen. Afraid of the reaction from his parents and also of the largely pagan community, Martin kept his love of Christ hidden. Following his dad's footsteps, young Martin joined the Roman army at the age of fifteen. He was stationed in Gaul during a winter season. One day while riding into the city, he noticed a beggar near the city gates. The poor man was shivering with cold and had turned almost blue. Martin had no money to give him, but had a very heavy woolen cloak to keep himself warm. So he divided the cloak in two pieces, gave one half to the beggar, and barely wrapped himself with the other half. This kind act by the young man immediately caused a big scandal among his peers and the town folks. They realized Martin was a Christian.

Holy Mother of God

Christians believe that God is the creator of all, and that He has no beginning or end. So, in that sense, calling Mary the Mother of God is confusing. We can understand this salutation better by looking the Greek word for Mother of God, Theotokos. Literally speaking Theotokos means "God-bearer". So, Mother of God is not intended to be understood as referring to Mary as the Mother of God from eternity, but she is the Mother of God Incarnate. Mary carried Jesus in her womb and attributed towards His genetic makeup. That makes Mary, without any doubt, the mother of Jesus. Since Jesus is God Himself, calling Mary as the Mother of God should also make sense. Unfortunately though, many of the Protestant Christian denominations refuse to accept Mary as the Mother of God. And this has nothing to do with Mary, but everything has to do with the nature of Jesus.