| 5205 43rd Place Hyattsville, Md 20781 |
| Church: (301) 927-6684 |
| School: (301) 277-4568 |
| Child Care Center: (301) 699-1314 |
Inside St. Jerome Church
Mary - Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church, Model the Lay Apostolate
Feast of the Assumption: August 15
Feast of the Nativity of Mary: September 8
Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the mystery of the Church. "The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer.... She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' . . . since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head." "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."
Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion.
After her Son's Ascension, Mary "aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers." In her association with the apostles and several women, "we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation."
