Mary was an ordinary young Jewish woman who, 2000 years ago, lived in the small town of Nazareth. She was visited by an angel who told her that she was to bear a child would be called the Son of God. Mary, a virgin, knew this would be a miracle. However, she accepted God's plan in an open and trusting way.
When she accepted the call to become the mother of Jesus she showed the kind of deep faith, which is a model for us. She loved him during his life and her love for him took her to the foot of the cross when he died. She was his first believer and loved him more than anyone else. In this sense she was the first Christian - that's why we can call her the mother of the Church.
Mary has a special place for Catholics. We don't worship Mary we worship God. But we honour her because she is the mother of the Son of God.
We sometimes pray to Jesus through her, believing that her intercession with her son will make our prayer more acceptable. Mary is a window through which we can see Jesus, her son.
