Episode Details

It's the Feast of XX Sunday after Pentecost, 2nd Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: the meditation: "The Existence of Guardian Angels", today's news from the Church: "La Reja: 14 Commitments, 2 taking of the Habit and first Vows", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org

Sources Used Today:

• "The Existence of Guardian Angels" — From the Assumption to Advent
  • https://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption
  
  
• "La Reja: 14 Commitments, 2 taking of the Habit and first Vows" (FSSPX.news)
  • https://fsspx.news/en/news/la-reja-14-engagements-2-taking-habit-and-first-vows-61515
  
  
• The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
  • https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop
  
  

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One of the most extraordinary titles given to the Blessed Virgin Mary is also one of the oldest: Mother of God.

And believe it or not, there was a time when Christians argued fiercely over whether Mary could properly be called that.

The story takes us back to the fifth century, when a bishop named Nestorius became Patriarch of Constantinople. Nestorius objected to calling Mary Theotokos, a Greek word meaning "God-bearer" or "Mother of God." He preferred the title "Mother of Christ," fearing that the other title confused Christ's humanity with His divinity.

That might sound like a minor disagreement over words.

It wasn't.

The real question was who Jesus Christ actually is. Was He one divine Person, truly God and truly man, or could His humanity and divinity somehow be treated as belonging to separate subjects?

Saint Cyril of Alexandria strongly defended the title Mother of God, explaining that Mary did not give Christ His divine nature, but she truly gave birth to the Person who is God the Son.

In 431, bishops gathered at the Council of Ephesus to settle the controversy.

The council upheld Mary's title as Theotokos and condemned Nestorius's teaching.

According to ancient accounts, when the people of Ephesus learned the council's decision, they celebrated with enormous enthusiasm. Crowds accompanied the bishops through the streets carrying torches, rejoicing that the Church had defended both the divinity of Christ and the dignity of His Mother.

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