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Human Mother: Of all the saints saved by the Redeemer, Mary, His mother, is the most revered. Both Catholic and Orthodox traditions are at one in their devotion to Mary: God chose her to be the first point of contact between historical man and his salvation, which is Christ Jesus. It is in recognition of the peculiar unity between son and mother that she is so esteemed. Because she is the mother of Christ, who is God, Mary was conceived free of original sin ( a doctrine called the Immaculate Conception); and after her life on earth she was taken up, body and soul, into heaven (a doctrine known as the Assumption). Traditionally she is thought of as mother of all Christians, who are incorporated into Christ through His human mother nature, and thus she is accorded the title "Mother of the Church."
Influence of parents. Of all the human mother relations influencing a child's development, the personality of the mother is of central importance (84, 1957). Her attitudes toward pregnancy, toward her husband and other members of the family, toward her career and social life, toward her role as a mother, and, most of all, her attitude toward the child and his need for understanding, affection, acceptance, approval, and control, are vital.
It does not seem unreason-le that the process with human mother infants would similar. The child who is too fearful to inter-: with the environment will be overly depen-it, whereas the child who is given all the rmth and protection he needs will be eager to ve mother and explore the world. In general, earch with children has indicated that depen-icy is greatest in those children who are re-ted by their mothers. Thus, dependency be-vior is not a consequence of the availability of ; mother, as might be expected from a simple irning point of view, but is rather a consequence of being insecure and anxious as the result of inadequate maternal attention. |
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