Mary the Morning Star

 Q: Why do Catholics call Mary the “Morning Star”? There are only two people in the Bible given this name: Jesus, the true Morning Star, and Satan, the false “morning star.”

A: Jesus and Mary are both correctly called the Morning Star, but in difference senses. Mary is called so only in relation to Christ, who is described in this theology as the dawn. The morning star precedes the dawn and is a harbinger of it. It is a symbol of hope that morning is coming. Thus Mary is the Morning Star in that by accepting, in faith, that these things “shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord” (Luke 1:35), she came before Christ as a herald, being the first bearer of the Good News both to Elizabeth and to us. Christ, however, is the Morning Star in that He is His own prophet, telling us of His glorious second coming. He Himself is the sign that death was defeated by His death and resurrection, that sin will be wiped from the world, and that every tear shall be dried (cf. Rev. 22:16).