Mary Mother of God

A prayer recited at Compline or the Night Prayer of the Divine Office is:

We fly to your patronage,
O Holy Mother of God;
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
But deliver us always from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin

In 1917 an ancient, Egyption was discovered using this prayer. This was a surprise as many didn't realize how old the prayer was. Because the prayer uses the term "Mother of God" it was assumed that it could be from just after 431 because that's when the Council of Ephesus declared that Mary was the Mother of God or Theotokos. But scientific tests showed the papyrus dated form no later than the 3rd century. Further research showed that Alexandrian Christians were already calling Mary the Mother of God in the third century.

This is an example of how the people of God experienced Mary and grew from her before the Church officially recognized that dogma. The same was true with calling Mary the Immaculate Conception, which was a widespread practise before the Church officially recognized the term. As a Church we grow through our experiences.