August 5--St. Mary Major, Basilica

 

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore licensed under (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Catholic Church honors four church buildings in the liturgical calendar due to their roles as ancient churches in Rome: St. John Lateran, the mother church of the Catholic Church; St. Peter’s, which is above the burial site of St. Peter; St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, which is above the burial site of St. Paul; and St. Mary Major, to honor Mary as the Mother of God. These four churches were the original major basilicas of the Catholic Church. “Basilica” is a title given to a church by the pope to have special privileges due to its history or importance. The reason St. Mary Major has a feast is because it was built immediately after the Council of Ephesus in 431, which declared that Mary was not just the mother of Jesus, or the mother of the Messiah, but the Mother of God. It is the oldest church in the West dedicated to the honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We can see that the understanding of Mary’s role in the Church goes back centuries, even to before the dedication of St. Mary Major. Mary’s role as Mother of God is foundational for God’s divine plan of salvation. We celebrate Mary, the Mother of God; the Annunciation, Mary’s fiat to being the Mother of God; the Immaculate Conception, God’s gift of freedom from Original Sin from the time of her existence; the Assumption of Mary body and soul into Heaven; the Most Holy Name of Mary; the Birth of Mary; the Queenship of Mary; Our Lady of Sorrows; Our Lady of the Rosary; Our Lady of Guadalupe; Our Lady of Lourdes; Our Lady of Fatima; and more! Why? Because she is the Mother of God! She is our Mother! She intercedes for us! She loves us! Thank God for Mary!