Mary Major

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Mary Major, one of the four major basilicas in Rome.  No, we do not celebrate the feast of a basilica, but rather the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, for whom the basilica was named.

The church was built in the fifth century by Pope Sixtus III.  During this period in Church History, there was a heresy claiming that Jesus was not wholly man and wholly God.  The people could not decide whether He was solely Divine and appeared like us, or if He threw off His divinity to be solely Human.  As a result, many people were confused as to whether Mary was the mother of Jesus the Man, or Jesus the God.  We know that Jesus has two equal and inseparable Natures.  He is both Human and Divine.

To clear up the misunderstanding, the Basilica of St. Mary Major was built honoring Mary with the title of the Mother of God.  We celebrate the dedication of St. Mary Major to celebrate the gift God gave us of the Blessed Mother and we also recognize the importance of this major basilica, a church that has stood for over a thousand years to reflect the majesty of God. 

Pictures: Picthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore