By Fr David N Cooper For The Guardian

The vocation of parenthood is always held in high regard. At the same time, motherhood carries with it a special favoring, a sanctity if you will. We often hear children reflecting on the special bond between themselves and their mothers. Most of the time nurturing and protective adjectives are used to describe this relationship.

Mothers are special, heroic beings. No doubt on Mother's Day every year we focus on the gift of motherhood. We shower all mothers with acts of appreciation and gratitude. Mothers are so treasured that even long after their children would have become adults and progress in life — with or without their mother's assistance — their mothers are applauded and recognized "for raising a good child!"

Mary, the mother of Jesus, likewise is held in high esteem because of the child she bore: Jesus Christ! She is revered and honored as "The Mother of all Mothers" because of her participation in the salvation story.

The Gospel of Luke accounts for it in this way:

28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you ...

30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.

31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

33 And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. (Luke 1:28,30-33).

Sit with the story for bit. Mary is foretold by a messenger of God that her first child will be God's Son through the power of the Holy Spirit. This designation sets Mary above and apart from all mothers. She is holy. She is favored. She is blessed.

Of all the titles we have for Mary, the one that stands out as the most prominent is that of theotokos or "God-bearer." Mary therefore is the Mother of God. Because of this fact the church raises her up as a model of obedience to the will of God in her life at such a young age. The month of May is set aside to honor Mary as Mother of God.

Some other titles reserved for Mary are: Mother of the Church, Queen of Heaven, Mystical Rose, Blessed Virgin and Star of the Sea. There are five dogmas of Mary. A dogma is a doctrine or group of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith, which is set forth in an authoritative manner by a church, considered to be absolutely true. They are: The Mother of God, Ever Virgin, The Immaculate Conception, The Assumption, The Mother of the Church, Mediator and Advocate.

We have briefly surveyed the profound significance of Mary as mother of God and mother of us all. Now the heart of the matter is this. The bond between mother and children is inseparable. By extension then, at the heart of it all is the sanctification and appreciation of life in all its phase — from the womb to the tomb. We honor parenthood and indeed motherhood at best when we respect human life.

The dignity of human life is upheld, promoted and protected by catholic social teaching. I conclude by citing two critical pillars of this teaching. William J. Byron a Jesuit Scholar wrote in the America Magazine for October 31, 1998 the following: Imago Dei, Latin for "Image of God," this concept denotes the theological doctrine that human beings are made in the likeness and image of God, usually referring to the human intellect, the capacity for moral decision-making, and the ability to rule over creation as "created co-creators" and stewards of the gifts of God. In Catholic theology, this doctrine is the foundation for other foundational principles and concepts.

The Principle of Human Dignity: "Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family."

This is the bedrock principle of Catholic social teaching. Every person — regardless of race, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, employment or economic status, health, intelligence, achievement or any other differentiating characteristic — is worthy of respect. It is not what you do or what you have that gives you a claim on respect; it is simply being human that establishes your dignity. Given that dignity, the human person is, in the Catholic view, never a means, always an end.

The body of Catholic social teaching opens with the human person, but it does not close there. Individuals have dignity; individualism has no place in Catholic social thought. The principle of human dignity gives the human person a claim on membership in a community, the human family.

If we respect motherhood or our own mothers as we do by showing off every Mother's Day, then we ought to respect all human beings who come from Mothers and are by extension part of the very being we hold so dearly. May this Mother's Day be a new beginning for all people everywhere to recommit to celebrating life and family all for the glory of God.

Happy Mother's Day to All!