Motherhood of Mary Titles From the Litany of Loreto III

1. Titles Reflecting Mary’s Motherhood

The Litany of Loreto (or Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary) includes several titles that specifically reflect Mary’s motherhood, emphasizing her role as the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and, by extension, her spiritual motherhood of the Church and all humanity. Below is a list of those titles explicitly tied to her motherhood, followed by a brief expansion of their meaning based on Catholic theology and tradition:

1. Mother of Christ
2. Mother of the Church
3. Mother of Divine Grace
4. Mother Most Pure
5. Mother Most Chaste
6. Mother Inviolate
7. Mother Undefiled
8. Mother Most Amiable
9. Mother Most Admirable
10. Mother of Good Counsel
11. Mother of Our Creator
12. Mother of Our Savior
13. Mother of Mercy (PF)
14. Mother of Hope (PF)

1. Expansion of Each Title

Mother of Christ

Highlights Mary’s role as the physical mother of Jesus, the anointed one (Christ). Her “yes” at the Annunciation (Luke 1:38) enabled the Incarnation, making her the vessel through which God entered human history.

Mother of the Church

Added by Pope Paul VI in 1980, this title reflects Mary’s spiritual motherhood over all Christians. At the Crucifixion, Jesus entrusted her to John (John 19:26-27), symbolizing her care for the Church, the Body of Christ.

-The Church is in great need of prayer for her purification, liberation, and exaltation.

Personal, individual care. Not abstract. Mary is my mother, mother of my children.

Mother of Divine Grace

Mary is seen as the channel of God’s grace, bearing Christ, the source of all grace. Her role in the divine plan positions her as a mediator distributing grace to humanity.

Mother of the Church, confusion, perpetual virgin, Church cannot teach untrue. Mother and Virgin. Maternal quality, unique God bearer, Virginty integrity of natural body.

Jesus’ mother and brothers, inadequate reading. Cousins.

Mary gave a miraculous birth. Preserved her bodily integrity. Light through the window.

Rev Woman moaning at birth of male Child.

Moment to spiritual mother to all, at the Cross, to John, this motherhood of the Church was one of intense suffering, unlike the birth at Christmas. These children put her Son to death. Earned the title of motherhood through suffering.

St. Brigid Sorrowful Rosary of Mary.

JC suffered viscerally while still being God. Reconcile perfect being with suffering. Balance is hard to fathom.

Ex/ Whitest cloth, speck shows more spectacularly. Because she is full of grace, suffering more profoundly felt.

Get beyond pious nicety, understand their depth.