Amid ideological noise, religious oversimplifications, and endless debates on social media, there is a short phrase\u2014almost hidden in the liturgy\u2014that contains one of the deepest truths of Christianity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBegotten, not made.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We recite it in the Creed without thinking much about it\u2026 yet everything is at stake in it: the identity of Jesus Christ, the truth of the Trinity, and yes, also the unique role of the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article aims to help you discover why this statement is not an abstract formula, but a living key to understanding the faith, defending it clearly, and living it deeply in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This expression did not arise by chance. It was solemnly formulated at the Council of Nicaea (year 325), in response to one of the most dangerous heresies in history: Arianism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arius, a priest from Alexandria, claimed that the Son of God was not eternal, but rather a highly perfect creature, created by God before time. In other words: Jesus Christ would not truly be God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Church responded with clarity and courage. In the Creed, it proclaimed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n With this, the Fathers of the Church affirmed something decisive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 Jesus Christ is not a creature. He is eternal God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The word \u201cbegotten\u201d may sound biological or temporal, but in God it does not work that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In theological language, it means that the Son proceeds from the Father from all eternity<\/strong>, not in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here we encounter one of the most sublime statements of the Gospel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.\u201d The Son (the Word) does not begin to exist<\/strong>, but is eternally generated by the Father<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is an eternal relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is why the Son is not inferior to the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 He is consubstantial (of the same nature).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If Christ were created:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But because He is true God<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything in our faith is at stake here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we enter a very current issue, especially in dialogue with some Protestants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMary cannot be the Mother of God because she did not create God. God already existed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This objection may sound logical\u2026 but it rests on a deep misunderstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Church, especially at the Council of Ephesus (431), defined that Mary is truly Theotokos<\/strong>, that is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 Mother of God<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because Jesus Christ is one single divine Person (the eternal Son)<\/strong> with two natures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary does not generate the divinity (which is eternal), but she truly gives birth to the Person of the Son in His human nature<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that Person\u2026 is God<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 She is not mother of \u201ca part\u201d of Christ And that Person is divine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A human mother does not create the soul of her child (God creates it), yet she is still the mother of the whole person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 Mary does not \u201ccreate\u201d Christ\u2019s divinity Therefore:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To deny that Mary is Mother of God breaks the unity of Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Correct\u2026 in His eternal divine nature<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in the Incarnation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.\u201d God assumes a real human nature<\/strong>, and in that nature He is born of Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 That is why Mary is the Mother of God made man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This separates Christ into two persons, which is a heresy (Nestorianism).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ is not:<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 one single divine Person with two natures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, Mary is the mother of that one Person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It affirms the reality, even if it does not use the exact expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaims:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?\u201d \u201cLord\u201d (Kyrios) is a divine title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 Elizabeth recognizes that Mary is the mother of the Lord\u2026 that is, of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a culture that relativizes truth, reduces Christ to a moral teacher, and trivializes faith, recovering the meaning of \u201cbegotten, not made\u201d is urgent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because it reminds us that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 He is the living, eternal God, incarnate out of love<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And Mary is not a decorative figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 She is the gateway through which God enters history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This truth is not merely theoretical. It has very concrete consequences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If He is God, you can trust Him completely, even in uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not optional or exaggerated\u2014it is deeply Christological.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To love Mary is to acknowledge the reality of the Incarnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not everything in God is fully understood, but everything in Him is true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In conversations with other Christians, the goal is not to win arguments, but to illuminate with truth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBegotten, not made\u201d is not an ancient formula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a living proclamation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udc49 Christ is God So every time you pray the Creed, do it with awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because you are proclaiming something that changed history\u2026 and can transform your life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n God did not remain distant. Amid ideological noise, religious oversimplifications, and endless debates on social media, there is a short phrase\u2014almost hidden in the liturgy\u2014that contains one of the deepest truths of Christianity: \u201cBegotten, not made.\u201d We recite it in the Creed without thinking much about it\u2026 yet everything is at stake in it: the identity of Jesus Christ, the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43,37],"tags":[1903],"class_list":["post-5958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-catechism-of-the-catholic-church","category-doctrine-and-faith","tag-begotten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5960,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5958\/revisions\/5960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicus.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\n1. Where does \u201cbegotten, not made\u201d come from? A battle for truth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n2. What does \u201cbegotten\u201d mean? A key to understanding the Trinity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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(John 1:1)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nEssential difference: created vs. begotten<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n3. Why does this change everything?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n4. Mary and the modern scandal: Mother of God or not?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n5. The key: Mary is not mother of a nature\u2026 but of a Person<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83d\udc49 She is not mother only of His humanity
\ud83d\udc49 She is mother of the whole Person<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n6. A simple example to understand it<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc49 But she does give birth to the divine Person made flesh<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n7. Clear apologetic response (to Protestant objections)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Objection 1: \u201cGod cannot have a mother\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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(John 1:14)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nObjection 2: \u201cMary is only mother of Christ\u2019s humanity\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nObjection 3: \u201cThe Bible does not say \u2018Mother of God\u2019\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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(Luke 1:43)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n8. Contemporary relevance: more important than ever<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n9. Practical applications for your spiritual life<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Absolute trust in Christ<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Filial love for Mary<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Humility before the mystery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Defending the faith with charity and clarity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n10. Conclusion: a phrase that holds everything together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc49 Christ is eternal
\ud83d\udc49 Christ became man
\ud83d\udc49 And He was born of Mary<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God became near.
God allowed Himself to be begotten in time\u2026 to save you.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"