Holy Hill Cross
Our Loving Mother
Sculpted by C. Edmund Sullivan
REDEMPTORIS MATER
Mother of the Redeemer
John Paul II
(emphasis by Holy Hill Cross)
Encyclical Letter of John Paul II on the Blessed
Virgin Mary
in the Life of the
1.
The Mother of the
Redeemer has a precise place in the plan of salvation, for "when the time
had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might
receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, `Abba!
Father!'" (Gal. 4:4-6)
With these words of the Apostle Paul, which the Second Vatican Council takes up at the beginning of its treatment of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[1] I too wish to begin my reflection on the role of Mary in the mystery of Christ and on her active and exemplary presence in the life of the Church. For they are words which celebrate together the love of the Father, the mission of the Son, the gift of the Spirit, the role of the woman from whom the Redeemer was born, and our own divine filiation, in the mystery of the "fullness of time.
" [2]
This "fullness" indicates the
moment fixed from all eternity when the Father sent
his Son "that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal
life" (Jn.
2.
Strengthened by the presence of Christ (cf.
Mt. 28:20), the Church journeys
through time towards the consummation of the ages and goes to meet the Lord who
comes. But on this journey-- and I wish to make this point straight-away she
proceeds along the path
already trodden by the Virgin Mary, who
"advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and loyally persevered in her union
with her Son unto the cross."[4] I take these very rich
and evocative words from the Constitution Lumen Gentium, which in its
concluding part offers a clear summary of the Church's doctrine on the Mother
of Christ, whom she venerates as her beloved Mother and as her model in faith,
hope and charity.
Shortly
after the Council, my great predecessor Paul VI decided to speak further of the
Blessed Virgin. In the Encyclical Epistle "Christi Matri" and
subsequently in the Apostolic Exhortations "Signum Magnum" and
"Marialis Cultus"[5] he expounded the foundations and criteria
of the special veneration which the Mother of Christ receives in the Church, as
well as the various forms of Marian devotion--liturgical, popular and
private--which respond to the spirit of faith.
3.
The circumstance which now moves me to take up this subject once more is the
prospect of the year 2000, now drawing near, in which the Bimillennial Jubilee
of the birth of Jesus Christ at the same time directs our gaze towards his
Mother. In recent years, various opinions
have been voiced suggesting that it would be fitting to precede that
anniversary by a similar Jubilee in celebration of the birth of Mary.
In
fact, even though it is not possible to establish an exact chronological point
for identifying the date of Mary's birth, the Church has constantly been aware that Mary appeared on the
horizon of salvation history before Christ.[6] It is a
fact that when "the fullness of time" was definitively drawing
near--the saving advent of Emmanuel--she who was from eternity destined to be
his Mother already existed on earth. The
fact that she "preceded" the coming of Christ is reflected every year
in the liturgy of Advent. Therefore, if to that ancient historical
expectation of the Savior we compare these years which are bringing us closer
to the end of the second Millennium after Christ and to the beginning of the
third, it becomes fully comprehensible that in this present period we wish to turn in a special way to her, the one who in the "night" of
the Advent expectation began to shine like a true "Morning Star"
(Stella Matutina). For just as this star, together with the "dawn,"
precedes the rising of the sun, so Mary from the time of her Immaculate Conception preceded the
coming of the Savior, the rising of the "Sun of Justice" in the
history of the human race.[7]
Her presence in the midst of Israel--a
presence so discreet as to pass almost unnoticed by the eyes of her
contemporaries--shone very clearly
before the Eternal One, who had associated this hidden "daughter of
Sion" (cf. Zeph. 3:14; Zech. 2:10)
with the plan of salvation embracing the whole history of humanity. With
good reason, then, at the end of this Millennium, we Christians who know that the providential plan of the Most Holy Trinity
is the central reality of Revelation and of faith feel the need to emphasize
the unique presence of the Mother of Christ in history, especially during
these last years leading up to the year 2000.
4.
The Second Vatican Council prepares us for this by presenting in its teaching
the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and of the Church. If it is true, as
the Council itself proclaims,[8] that "only
in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on
light," then this principle
must be applied in a very particular way to that exceptional "daughter of
the human race," that extraordinary "woman" who became the
Mother of Christ. Only
in the mystery of Christ is her mystery fully made clear. Thus has the Church sought to interpret it
from the very beginning: the
mystery of
the Incarnation has enabled her to penetrate and to make
ever clearer the
mystery of the Mother of the Incarnate Word. The Council of Ephesus (431) was of decisive importance in clarifying
this, for during that Council, to the great joy of Christians, the
truth of the divine motherhood of Mary was solemnly confirmed as a truth of the Church's faith. Mary is the Mother of God (=Theotokos), (Greek: Eastern Rite Catholic term for Mary as “God-bearer.”-ed)
since by the power of the
Holy Spirit she conceived in her virginal womb and brought into the world Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who is of one being with the Father.[9]
"The Son of God...born of the Virgin Mary...has truly been made one of
us,"[10] has been made man. Thus, through
the mystery of Christ, on the horizon of the Church's faith there shines in its
fullness the mystery of his Mother. In turn, the dogma of the divine motherhood
of Mary was for the Council of
5.
The Second Vatican Council, by presenting Mary in the mystery of Christ, also
finds the path to a deeper understanding of the mystery of the Church. Mary, as the Mother of Christ, is in a
particular way united with the Church, "which the Lord established as his
own body." [11] It is significant that the conciliar text places this
truth about the Church as the Body of Christ (according to the teaching of the
Pauline Letters) in close proximity to the truth that the Son of God
"through the power of the Holy Spirit was born of the Virgin Mary."
The reality of
the Incarnation finds a sort of extension in the mystery of the Church--the
Body of Christ. And one cannot think of the reality of the Incarnation without
referring to Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word.
In
these reflections, however, I wish to consider primarily that "pilgrimage
of faith" in which "the Blessed Virgin advanced," faithfully preserving
her union with Christ.[12] In this way the "twofold bond" which
unites the Mother of God with Christ and with the Church takes on historical
significance. Nor is it just a question of the Virgin Mother's life-story, of
her personal journey of faith and "the better part" which is hers in
the mystery of salvation; it is also a question of the history of the whole
People of God, of all those who take part in the same "pilgrimage of
faith."
The
Council expresses this when it states in another passage that Mary "has gone before," becoming
"a model of the Church in the matter of faith, charity and perfect union
with Christ."[13] This "going before" as a figure
or model is in reference to the intimate mystery of the Church, as she actuates
and accomplishes her own saving mission by uniting in herself--as Mary did--the
qualities of mother and virgin. She is a virgin who "keeps whole and pure
the fidelity she has pledged to her Spouse" and "becomes herself a
mother," for "she brings forth to a new and immortal life children
who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God." [14]
6.
All this is accomplished in a great historical process, comparable "to a
journey." The pilgrimage of faith indicates the interior history, that is,
the story of souls. But it is also the story of all human beings, subject here
on earth to transitoriness, and part of the historical dimension. In the
following reflections we wish to concentrate first of all on the present, which
in itself is not yet history, but which nevertheless is constantly forming it,
also in the sense of the history of salvation. Here there opens up a broad
prospect, within which the Blessed Virgin Mary continues to "go
before" the People of God. Her exceptional pilgrimage of faith represents
a constant point of reference for the Church, for individuals and for
communities, for peoples and nations and, in a sense, for all humanity. It is
indeed difficult to encompass and measure its range.
The Council emphasizes that the Mother of
God is already the eschatological fulfillment of the Church: "In the most holy Virgin the Church has
already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle (cf.
Eph. 5:27);" and at the same time
the Council says that "the followers of Christ still strive to increase in
holiness by conquering sin, and so they raise their eyes to Mary, who shines
forth to the whole community of the elect as a model of the virtues."[15]
The pilgrimage of faith no longer belongs to the Mother of the Son of God:
glorified at the side of her Son in heaven,
Mary has already crossed the threshold between faith and that vision which is
"face to face" (l Cor.
7.
"Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph.
1:3). These words of the Letter to the
Ephesians reveal the eternal design of God the Father, his plan of man's
salvation in Christ. It is a universal plan, which concerns all men and
women created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen. 1:26). Just as all are
included in the creative work of God "in the beginning," so all are
eternally included in the divine plan of salvation, which is to be completely
revealed, in the "fullness of time," with the final coming of Christ.
In fact, the God who is the "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"--these
are the next words of the same Letter--"chose us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He
destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the
purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he freely
bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches
of his grace" (Eph. 1:4-7).
The divine plan of salvation--which
was fully revealed to us with the coming of Christ--is eternal. And according
to the teaching contained in the Letter just quoted and in other Pauline
Letters (cf. Col. 1:12-14; Rom.
8. Mary is definitively introduced into the mystery of Christ
through this event: the Annunciation by the angel. This takes place at
If we wish to meditate together with Mary
on these words, and especially on the expression "full of grace," we can find a significant echo in the very
passage from the Letter to the Ephesians quoted above. (Eph.
1:3) And if after the announcement of
the heavenly messenger the Virgin of
The double greeting is due to the fact that
in the soul of this "daughter of Sion" there is manifested, in a
sense, all
the "glory of grace," that
grace which "the Father...has given us in
his beloved Son." For the messenger greets Mary as
"full of grace"; he calls her thus as if it were her real name. He does not call her by her proper earthly
name: Miryam (= Mary), but by this new name: "full of grace."
What does this name mean'? Why does the archangel address the Virgin of
Nazareth in this way?
In the language of the Bible
"grace" means a special gift, which according to the New Testament
has its source precisely in the Trinitarian life of God himself, God who is
love (cf. I Jn. 4:8). The fruit of this love is "the election" of which the Letter to the Ephesians
speaks. On
the part of God, this election is the eternal desire to save man through a
sharing in his own life (cf. 2 Pt. 1:4) in Christ:
it is salvation through a sharing in supernatural life. The effect of this
eternal gift, of this grace of man's election by God, is like a seed of
holiness, or a spring which rises in the soul as a gift from God himself, who
through grace gives life and holiness to those who are chosen. In this way
there is fulfilled, that is to say there comes about, that "blessing" of man "with
every spiritual blessing,"
that "being his adopted sons and daughters...in Christ," in him who
is eternally the "beloved Son" of the Father.
When
we read that the
messenger addresses Mary as "full of grace," (Lk1:28-ed.) the Gospel context,
which mingles revelations and ancient promises, enables us to understand that
among all the "spiritual blessings in Christ" this is a special
"blessing." In the mystery of
Christ she is present even "before the creation of the world," (in the mind of the Father–ed.) as the one whom the Father "has chosen" as Mother
of his Son in the Incarnation. And, what is more, together with the Father, the Son has chosen
her, entrusting her eternally to the Spirit of holiness.
In an entirely special and exceptional
way Mary is united to Christ, and similarly she is eternally loved in this
"beloved Son," this Son who is of one being with the Father, in
whom is concentrated all the "glory of grace." At the same time, she
is and remains perfectly open to this "gift from above" (cf. Jas.
9. If the greeting and the name "full of
grace" say all this, in the context of the angel's announcement they refer
first of all to the election of Mary as Mother of the Son of God.
But at the same time the "fullness of grace" indicates
all the supernatural munificence from which Mary benefits by being chosen and
destined to be the Mother of Christ. If this election is fundamental for the accomplishment of
God's salvific designs for humanity, and if the eternal choice in Christ and
the vocation to the dignity of adopted children is the destiny of everyone,
then the election of
Mary is wholly exceptional and unique. Hence
also the singularity and uniqueness of her place in the mystery of Christ.
The
divine messenger says to her: "Do
not be afraid, Mary, for you
have found favor with God. And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his
name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High"
(Lk.
The
Annunciation, therefore, is the revelation of the mystery of the Incarnation at
the very beginning of its fulfillment on earth. God's
salvific giving of himself and his life, in some way to all creation but
directly to man, reaches one of its high points in the mystery of the
Incarnation. This is indeed a
10.
The Letter to the Ephesians, (Eph1:3-14-ed.)
speaking of the "glory of grace" that "God, the Father...has
bestowed on us in his beloved Son," adds: "In
him we have redemption through his blood" (Eph. 1:7). According to the
belief formulated in solemn documents of the Church, this "glory of grace" is manifested in the Mother of God
through the fact that she has been "redeemed in a more sublime
manner."[24] By
virtue of the richness of the grace of the beloved Son, by reason of the
redemptive merits of him who willed to become her Son,
Mary was preserved from
the inheritance of original sin.[25] In this way, from the first moment of her
conception--which is to say of her existence--she belonged to Christ, sharing
in the salvific and sanctifying grace and in that love which has its beginning
in the "Beloved," the
Son of the Eternal Father, who through the Incarnation became her own Son.
Consequently, through the
power of the Holy Spirit, in the order of grace, (Cf.1Cor15:23-ed.) which is a participation in the divine nature (Cf.2Pet1:4-ed.) Mary
receives life from him to whom she herself, in the order of earthly generation,
gave life as a mother.
The liturgy does not hesitate to call her "mother of her
Creator" [26] and to hail her with the words which Dante Alighieri places
on the lips of St. Bernard: "daughter of your Son."[27] And since
Mary receives this "new life" with a fullness corresponding to the
Son's love for the Mother, and thus corresponding to the dignity of the divine
motherhood, the angel at the Annunciation calls her "full of grace."
11.
In the salvific design of the Most Holy Trinity, the mystery of the Incarnation
constitutes the superabundant fulfillment of the promise made by God to man after
original sin, after that first sin whose effects oppress the whole earthly
history of man (cf. Gen. 3:15). And
so, there comes into the world a Son, "the seed of the
woman" who
will crush the evil of sin in its very origins: "he will crush the head of
the serpent."
As we see from
the words of the Protogospel, the victory of the woman's Son will not take
place without a hard struggle, a struggle that is to extend through the whole
of human history. The
"enmity," foretold at the beginning, is confirmed in the Apocalypse
(the book of the final events of the Church and the world), in which there
recurs the sign of the "woman," this time "clothed with the
sun" (Rev. 12:1).
Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, is
placed at the very center of that enmity, that struggle
which accompanies the history of humanity on earth and the history of salvation
itself. In this central place, she who belongs to the "weak and poor of
the Lord" bears in herself, like no other member of the human race, that
"glory of grace" which the Father "has bestowed on us in his
beloved Son," and this grace determines the extraordinary greatness and
beauty of her whole being. Mary
thus remains
before God, and
also before the whole of humanity, as the unchangeable and inviolable sign of
God's election,
spoken of in Paul's letter: "in Christ...he chose us...before the
foundation of the world,...he destined us...to be his sons" (Eph.
1:4, 5). This election is more powerful than any experience of evil and
sin, than all that
"enmity" which marks the history of man. In this history Mary remains a sign of sure hope.
12.
Immediately after the narration of the Annunciation, the Evangelist Luke guides
us in the footsteps of the Virgin of Nazareth towards "a city of
Moved
by charity, therefore, Mary goes to the house of her kinswoman. When Mary
enters,
While
every word of
13.
As the Council teaches, "'The obedience of faith' (Rom.
Indeed, at the Annunciation Mary entrusted
herself to God completely, with the "full submission of intellect and
will," manifesting "the obedience of faith" to him who spoke to
her through his messenger.[31] She responded, therefore, with all her
human and feminine "I," and this response of faith included both
perfect cooperation with "the grace of God that precedes and assists"
and perfect openness to the action of the Holy Spirit, who "constantly
brings faith to completion by his gifts."[32]
The word of the living God, announced to
Mary by the angel, referred to her: "And behold, you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son" (Lk.
Mary uttered this fiat in faith. In faith
she entrusted herself to God without reserve and "devoted herself totally
as the handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her Son."[34]
And--as the Fathers of the Church
teach--she
conceived this Son in her mind before she conceived him in her womb: precisely
in faith! [35] Rightly therefore does
14.
Mary's faith can also be compared to that of Abraham, whom
However,
15.
When at the Annunciation Mary hears of
the Son whose Mother she is to become and to whom "she will give the name
Jesus" (= Savior), she also
learns that "the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David," and that "he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever and
of his kingdom there will be no end" (Lk. 1:32-33). The hope of the whole of
Although through faith she may have
perceived in that instant that she was the mother of the
"Messiah-King," nevertheless she replied: "Behold, I am the
handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Lk.
1:38). From the first moment, Mary professed above all, the
"obedience of faith;" abandoning
herself to the meaning which was given to the words of the Annunciation by him
from whom they proceeded: God himself.
16.
Later, a little further along this way of the "obedience of faith,"
Mary hears other words: those uttered by Simeon in the
A
just and God-fearing man, called Simeon,
appears at this beginning of Mary's "journey" of faith. His
words, suggested by the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk.
17.
When the Holy Family returns to
During the years of Jesus' hidden life in
the house at
The Mother of that Son, therefore,
mindful of what has been told her at the
Annunciation and in subsequent events, bears within herself the radical "newness" of faith:
the beginning of the New Covenant. This is the beginning of the Gospel, the joyful Good News.
However, it is not difficult to see in that beginning a particular heaviness of
heart, linked with a sort of "night of faith"--to use the words of
St. John of the Cross--a kind of "veil" through which one has to draw
near to the Invisible One and to live in intimacy with the mystery.[36] And
this is the way that Mary, for many years, lived in intimacy with the mystery
of her Son, and went forward in her "pilgrimage of faith," while
Jesus "increased in wisdom...and in favor with God and man" (Lk.
2:52). God's predilection for him was manifested ever more clearly to people's
eyes. The first human
creature thus permitted to discover Christ was Mary, who lived with Joseph in
the same house at
However,
when he had been found in the
18.
This blessing reaches its
full meaning when
Mary stands
beneath the Cross of her Son
(cf. Jn.
And
now, standing at the
foot of the Cross, Mary is the witness, humanly speaking, of
the complete negation of these words. On that wood of the Cross her Son hangs in agony as one condemned.
"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows...he was despised,
and we esteemed him not": as one destroyed (cf. Is. 53:3-5). How great, how heroic then is the obedience of
faith shown by Mary in the face of God's "unsearchable judgments"!
How completely she "abandons herself to God" without reserve,
"offering the full assent of the intellect and the will"[39]
to him whose "ways
are inscrutable" (cf. Rom.
Through
this faith Mary is perfectly united with Christ in his self-emptying. For "Christ Jesus, who, though he
was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness
of men": precisely on Golgotha
"humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a
cross" (cf. Phil. 2:5-8). At
the foot of the Cross Mary shares through faith in the shocking mystery of this
self-emptying. This is perhaps the deepest "kenosis" of faith in
human history. Through faith the Mother shares in the
death of her Son, in his redeeming death; but in contrast with the faith of the disciples who fled, hers was
far more enlightened. On
19.
Yes, truly "blessed
is she who believed"! These words, spoken
by
In
the expression "Blessed
is she who believed," we can therefore
rightly find a kind of "key" which unlocks for us the innermost
reality of Mary, whom the angel hailed as "full of grace."
If as "full of grace" she has been eternally present in the mystery
of Christ, through faith she became a
sharer in that mystery in every extension of her earthly journey. She
"advanced in her pilgrimage of faith" and at the same time, in a
discreet yet direct and effective way, she
made present to humanity the mystery of Christ. And she still continues to
do so. Through the
mystery of Christ, she too is present within mankind. Thus through the mystery
of the Son the mystery of the Mother is also made clear.
20.
The Gospel of Luke records the moment when "a woman in the crowd raised
her voice" and said to Jesus: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and
the breasts that you sucked!" (Lk. 11:27) These words were an expression
of praise of Mary as Jesus' mother according to the flesh. Probably the Mother
of Jesus was not personally known to this woman; in fact, when Jesus began his
messianic activity Mary did not accompany him but continued to remain at
Through
these words, there flashed out in the midst of the crowd, at least for an
instant, the gospel of Jesus' infancy. This is the gospel in which Mary is
present as the mother who conceives Jesus in her womb, gives him birth and
nurses him: the nursing mother referred to by the woman in the crowd. Thanks to
this motherhood, Jesus, the Son of the
Most High (cf. Lk.
But
to the blessing uttered by that woman upon her who was his mother according to
the flesh, Jesus replies in a significant way: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep
it" (Lk.
This
same shift into the sphere of spiritual values is seen even more clearly in
another response of Jesus reported by all the Synoptics. When Jesus is told
that "his mother and brothers are standing outside and wish to see
him," he replies: "My
mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it" (cf.
Lk.
These statements seem to fit in with the
reply which the twelve-year-old Jesus gave to Mary and Joseph when he was found
after three days in the
Now,
when Jesus left
Is
Jesus thereby distancing himself from his mother according to the flesh? Does
he perhaps wish to leave her in the hidden obscurity which she herself has
chosen? If this seems to be the case from the tone of those words, one must
nevertheless note that the new and different motherhood which Jesus speaks of to his disciples refers precisely to Mary in a very special
way. Is not Mary the
first of "those who hear the word of God and do it"?
And therefore does not
the blessing uttered by Jesus in response to the woman in the crowd refer
primarily to her? Without any doubt, Mary is worthy of blessing by the very
fact that she became the mother of Jesus according to the flesh ("Blessed
is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked"), but also and
especially because already at the
Annunciation she accepted the word of God, because she believed it, because she
was obedient to God, and because she "kept" the word and "pondered it in her heart"
(cf. Lk. 1:38, 45; 2:19, 51) and
by means of her whole life accomplished it. Thus we can
say that the blessing proclaimed by Jesus is not in opposition, despite
appearances, to the blessing uttered by the unknown woman, but rather coincides
with that blessing in the person of this Virgin Mother, who called herself only
"the handmaid of the
Lord" (Lk. 1:38). If it is true that "all
generations will call her blessed" (cf. Lk.
If
through faith Mary became the bearer of the Son given to her by the Father
through the power of the Holy Spirit, while preserving her virginity intact, in
that same faith she discovered and accepted the other dimension of motherhood
revealed by Jesus during his messianic mission. One can say that this dimension
of motherhood belonged to Mary from the beginning; that is to say from the
moment of the conception and birth of her Son. From that time she was "the
one who believed." But as the
messianic mission of her Son grew clearer to her eyes and spirit, she herself
as a mother became ever more open to that new dimension of motherhood which was
to constitute her "part" beside her Son. Had she not said from
the very beginning: "Behold,
I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word"
(Lk.
21.
From this point of view, particularly eloquent is the passage in the Gospel of
John which presents Mary at the wedding feast of
Mary
is present at
What
deep understanding existed between Jesus and his mother? How can we probe the
mystery of their intimate spiritual union? But the fact speaks for itself. It is certain that that event already
quite clearly outlines the new dimension, the new meaning of Mary's motherhood.
Her motherhood has a significance which is not exclusively contained in the
words of Jesus and in the various episodes reported by the Synoptics (Lk. 11:27-28
and Lk. 8:19-21; Mt. 12:46-50; Mk. 3:31-35). In these texts Jesus means above
all to contrast the motherhood resulting from the fact of birth with what this "motherhood"
(and
also "brotherhood")
is to be in the dimension of the
Another
essential element of Mary's maternal task is found in her words to the servants: "Do whatever he tells you."
The Mother of Christ presents herself as
the spokeswoman of her Son's will, pointing out those things which must be done
so that the salvific power of the Messiah may be manifested. At
22.
We can therefore say that in this passage of John's Gospel we find as it were a
first manifestation of the truth concerning Mary's maternal care. This truth
has also found expression in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. It is
important to note how the Council illustrates Mary's maternal role as it
relates to the mediation of Christ. Thus we read: "Mary's maternal function towards mankind in no way
obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its
efficacy," because "there is one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus" (I Tim. 2:5). This maternal role of Mary flows, according to God's good pleasure, "from the superabundance of the merits of
Christ; it is founded on his mediation, absolutely depends on it, and draws all
its efficacy from it." [44] It is precisely in this sense that the
episode at
From
the text of John it is evident that it is a mediation which is maternal. As the Council proclaims: Mary became "a mother to us in the order
of grace." This
motherhood in the order of grace flows from her divine motherhood. Because she
was, by the design of divine Providence, the mother who nourished the divine
Redeemer, Mary became "an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's
humble handmaid," who "cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and
burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to
souls."[45] And
"this maternity of Mary in the order of grace*. . .will last without
interruption until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect." [46] *(Cf.1Cor15:23-ed.)
23.
If John's description of the event at
Cana presents Mary's caring motherhood at the beginning of Christ's messianic
activity, another passage from the same Gospel confirms this motherhood in the
salvific economy of grace at its crowning moment, namely when Christ's
sacrifice on the Cross, his Paschal Mystery, is accomplished. John's
description is concise: "Standing
by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife
of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom
he loved standing near, he said to his mother: 'Woman, behold your son!' Then
he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple
took her to his own home" (Jn.
Undoubtedly,
we find here an expression of the Son's particular solicitude for his Mother,
whom he is leaving in such great sorrow. And yet the "testament of
Christ's Cross" says more. Jesus highlights a new relationship between
Mother and Son, the whole truth and reality of which he solemnly confirms. One can say that if Mary's motherhood of
the human race had already been outlined, now it is clearly stated and
established. It emerges from the definitive accomplishment of the Redeemer's
Paschal Mystery. The
Mother of Christ, who stands at the very center of this
mystery--a mystery which embraces each individual and all humanity--is given as mother to every single individual
and all mankind. The man at the foot of the Cross is John,
"the disciple whom he loved."[47] But it is not he alone. Following
tradition, the Council does not hesitate to call Mary "the Mother of Christ and mother of
mankind": since she "belongs to the offspring of Adam she is one with
all human beings.... Indeed she is 'clearly the mother of the members of
Christ...since she cooperated out of love so that there might be born in the
Church the faithful."'[48]
And so this "new motherhood of
Mary,"
generated by faith, is the fruit of the "new" love which came to definitive maturity in her at the foot
of the Cross, through
her sharing in the
redemptive love of her Son.
24.
Thus we find ourselves at the very center of the fulfillment of the promise
contained in the Proto-gospel: the "seed
of the woman...will crush the head of the serpent"
(cf. Gen. 3:15). By his redemptive death
Jesus Christ conquers the evil of sin and death at its very roots. It is
significant that, as he speaks to his mother from the Cross, he calls her "woman"
and says to her: "Woman,
behold your son!" Moreover, he had addressed her by the same
term at
The
words uttered by Jesus from the Cross signify that the motherhood of her who
bore Christ finds a "new" continuation in the Church and through the
Church, symbolized and represented by John.
In this way, she who as the one "full of grace"
was brought into the mystery of Christ in order to be his Mother and thus
the Holy Mother of God, through the
Church remains in that mystery as "the woman" spoken of by the Book
of Genesis (3:15) at the beginning and by the Apocalypse (12:1) at the end of the history of salvation.
In accordance with the eternal plan of
According
to the Council, the very moment of the Church's birth and full manifestation to
the world enables us to glimpse this continuity of Mary's motherhood:
"Since it pleased God not to manifest solemnly the mystery of the
salvation of the human race until he poured forth the Spirit promised by
Christ, we see the Apostles before the day
of Pentecost 'continuing with one mind in prayer with the women and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with his brethren' (Acts 1:14). We
see Mary prayerfully imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already
overshadowed her in the Annunciation." [51]
And so, in the redemptive economy of grace,
brought about through the action of the Holy Spirit, there is a unique correspondence between the
moment of the Incarnation of the Word and the moment of the birth of the
Church.
The person who
links these two moments is Mary: Mary at
25.
"The Church 'like a
pilgrim in a foreign land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world
and the consolations of God,'[52] announcing the Cross and Death of the Lord
until he comes (cf. 1 Cor.
The
Second Vatican Council speaks of the
It is precisely in this ecclesial journey or
pilgrimage through space and time, and even more through the history of souls,
that Mary is present, as the one who is "blessed because she
believed," as the one who advanced on the pilgrimage of faith, sharing
unlike any other creature in the mystery of Christ. The Council further says
that "Mary figured profoundly in the history of salvation and in a certain
way unites and mirrors within herself the central truths of the faith." [58] Among all believers she is like a
"mirror" in which are reflected in the most profound and limpid way
"the mighty works of God" (Acts
26.
Built by Christ upon the Apostles, the
Church became fully aware of these mighty works of God on the day of Pentecost,
when those gathered together in the Upper Room "were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance" (Acts 2:4). From that moment there also begins that journey of
faith, the Church's pilgrimage through the history of individuals and peoples. We know that at the beginning of this journey
Mary is present. We see her in the midst of the Apostles in the Upper Room,
"prayerfully imploring the gift of the Spirit."[59]
In a sense her journey of faith is longer. The Holy Spirit had already come down upon her, and she became
his faithful spouse at the Annunciation, welcoming the Word of the true God,
offering "the full submission of intellect and will...and freely assenting
to the truth revealed by him," indeed abandoning herself totally to God through "the
obedience of faith,"[60] whereby
she replied to the angel: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it
be to me according to your word." The journey of faith made by Mary, whom we see praying in the Upper Room, is
thus longer than that of the others gathered there: Mary "goes before
them," "leads the way" for them.[61] The moment of Pentecost in Jerusalem had been prepared for by the moment of the Annunciation in Nazareth, as well as by the
Cross. In the Upper
Room Mary's journey
meets the Church's journey of faith. In what way?
Among
those who devoted themselves to prayer in the Upper Room, preparing to go
"into the whole world" after receiving the Spirit, some had been
called by Jesus gradually from the beginning of his mission in
Mary
did not directly receive this apostolic mission. She was not among those whom
Jesus sent "to the whole world to teach all nations" (cf. Mt. 28:19)
when he conferred this mission on them. But she was in the Upper Room, where
the Apostles were preparing to take up this mission with the coming of the
Spirit of Truth: she was present with them. In their midst Mary was
"devoted to prayer" as the "mother of Jesus" (cf. Acts
But
above all, in
the Church of that time and of every time Mary was and is the one who is
"blessed because she believed"; she was the first to believe.
From the moment of the Annunciation and conception, from the moment of his
birth in the stable at
27.
Now, at the first dawn of the Church, at the beginning of the long journey
through faith which began at
Pentecost in
Elizabeth's words "Blessed is she who
believed" continue to accompany the Virgin also at Pentecost; they
accompany her from age to age, wherever
knowledge of Christ's salvific mystery spreads,
through the Church's apostolic witness and service. Thus is fulfilled the prophecy of the Magnificat: "All generations
will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and
holy is his name" (Lk.
28.
As the Council says, "Mary
figured profoundly in the history of salvation.... Hence when she is being
preached and venerated, she summons the faithful to her Son and his sacrifice,
and to love for the Father.[64] For this reason,
Mary's faith, according to the Church's apostolic witness, in some way continues
to become the faith of the pilgrim People of God: the faith of individuals and
communities, of places and gatherings, and of the various groups existing in
the Church. It is a faith that is passed on simultaneously through both the
mind and the heart. It is gained or regained continually through prayer. Therefore, "the Church in her
apostolic work also rightly looks to her who brought forth Christ, conceived by
the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin, so that through the Church Christ may
be born and increase in the hearts of the faithful also."[65]
Today,
as on this pilgrimage of faith we draw near to the end of the second Christian
Millennium, the Church, through the
teaching of the Second
During
this time of vigil, Mary, through the same faith which made her blessed,
especially from the moment of the Annunciation, is present in the Church's
mission, present in the Church's work of introducing into the world the Kingdom
of her Son.[68]
This
presence of Mary finds many different expressions in our day, just as it did
throughout the Church's history. It also has a wide field of action. Through
the faith and piety of individual believers; through the traditions of
Christian families or "domestic churches," of parish and missionary
communities, religious institutes and dioceses; through the radiance and
attraction of the great shrines where not only individuals or local groups, but
sometimes whole nations
and societies, even whole continents, seek to meet the Mother of the Lord, the
one who is blessed because she believed is the first among believers and
therefore became the Mother of Emmanuel. This
is the message of the
In the faith which Mary professed at the
Annunciation as the "handmaid of the Lord" and in which she
constantly "precedes" the pilgrim People of God throughout the earth,
the Church "strives energetically and constantly to bring all
humanity...back to Christ its Head in the unity of his Spirit."
[71]
29.
"In all of Christ's disciples the Spirit arouses the desire to be
peacefully united, in the manner determined by Christ, as one flock under one
shepherd."[72] The journey of the Church, especially in our own time, is
marked by the sign of ecumenism: Christians
are seeking ways to restore that unity which Christ implored from the Father
for his disciples on the day before his Passion: "That they may all be one; even as you,
Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world
may believe that you have sent me" (Jn. 17:21).
The unity of Christ's disciples, therefore, is
a great sign given in order to kindle faith in the world, while their division
constitutes a scandal.
[73]
The
ecumenical movement, on the basis of a clearer and more widespread awareness of
the urgent need to achieve the unity of all Christians, has found on the part
of the Catholic Church its culminating expression in the work of the Second
Vatican Council: Christians must deepen
in themselves and each of their communities that "obedience of faith" of which Mary is the first and brightest
example. And since she
"shines forth on earth,...as a sign of sure hope and solace for the
pilgrim People of God,"
"it gives great joy and comfort to this most holy Synod that among the
divided brethren, too, there are those who give due honor to the Mother of our
Lord and Savior. This is especially so among the Easterners."
[74]
30.
Christians know that their unity will be
truly rediscovered only if it is based on the unity of their faith. They must
resolve considerable discrepancies of doctrine concerning the mystery and
ministry of the Church, and sometimes also concerning the role of Mary in the
work of salvation.[75] The dialogues begun by the Catholic Church with the
Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the West[76] are steadily converging upon
these two inseparable aspects of the same mystery of salvation. If the mystery of the Word made flesh enables
us to glimpse the mystery of the divine motherhood and if, in turn,
contemplation of the Mother of God brings us to a more profound understanding
of the mystery of the Incarnation, then the same must be said for the mystery
of the Church and Mary's role in the work of salvation.
By a more profound study of both Mary and the Church, clarifying each by the
light of the other, Christians who are
eager to do what Jesus tells them as their Mother recommends (cf. Jn. 2:5) will be able to go
forward together on this "pilgrimage of faith." Mary, who is still
the model of this pilgrimage, is to lead them to the unity which is willed by
their one Lord and so much desired by
those who are attentively listening to what "the Spirit is saying to the Churches" today (Rev.
2:7, 11, 17).
Meanwhile,
it is a hopeful sign that these Churches
and Ecclesial Communities are finding agreement with the Catholic Church on
fundamental points of Christian belief, including matters relating to the
Virgin Mary. For they recognize her as the Mother of the Lord and hold that this
forms part of our faith in Christ, true God and true man. They look to her who at the foot of the Cross
accepts as her son the beloved disciple, the one who in his turn accepts her as
his mother.
Therefore, why should we not all together look
to her as our common Mother,
who prays for the unity of God's family and who "precedes" us all at the head
of the long line of witnesses of faith in the one Lord, the Son of God, who
was conceived in her virginal womb by the power of the Holy Spirit?
31.
On the other hand, I wish to emphasize how profoundly the Catholic Church, the
Orthodox Church and the ancient Churches of the East feel united by love and
praise of the *Theotokos. *(Greek: Eastern Rite
Catholic term for Mary as (literally) “God-bearer.”-ed) Not only "basic dogmas of the Christian
faith concerning the Trinity and God's Word made flesh of the Virgin Mary were
defined in Ecumenical Councils held in the East,"[77] but also in their
liturgical worship "the
Orientals pay high tribute, in very beautiful hymns, to Mary ever
Virgin...God's Most Holy Mother." [78]
The
brethren of these Churches have experienced a complex history, but it is one
that has always been marked by an intense desire for Christian commitment and
apostolic activity, despite frequent persecution, even to the point of
bloodshed. It is a history of fidelity to the Lord, an authentic
"pilgrimage of faith" in space and time, during which Eastern Christians
have always looked with boundless trust to the Mother of the Lord, celebrated
her with praise and invoked her with unceasing prayer. In the difficult moments
of their troubled Christian existence, "they have taken refuge under her
protection,"[79] conscious of having in her a powerful aid. The Churches
which profess the doctrine of
The
Coptic and Ethiopian traditions were introduced to this contemplation of the mystery
of Mary by St. Cyril of Alexandria, and in their turn they have celebrated it
with a profuse poetic blossoming.[81] The poetic genius of St. Ephrem the
Syrian, called "the Iyre of the Holy Spirit," tirelessly sang of
Mary, leaving a still living mark on the whole tradition of the Syriac
Church.[82]
In
his panegyric of the Theotokos, St. Gregory of Narek, one of the outstanding
glories of Armenia, with powerful poetic inspiration ponders
the different aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation, and each of them is
for him an occasion to sing and extol the extraordinary dignity and magnificent
beauty of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Word made flesh.[83]
It
does not surprise us therefore that Mary
occupies a privileged place in the worship of the ancient Oriental Churches
with an incomparable abundance of feasts and hymns.
32.
In the Byzantine liturgy,
in all the hours of the Divine Office, praise of the Mother is linked with
praise of her Son and with the praise which, through the Son, is offered up to
the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the Anaphora or Eucharistic Prayer of St. John Chrysostom, immediately after the
epiclesis the assembled community sings in honor of the Mother of God: "It is truly just to proclaim you
blessed, O Mother of God, who are most blessed, all pure and Mother of our God.
We magnify you who are more honorable than the Cherubim and incomparably more
glorious than the Seraphim. You who, without losing your virginity, gave birth
to the Word of God. You who are truly the Mother of God."
These praises, which in
every celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy are offered to Mary, have molded
the faith, piety and prayer of the faithful. In the course of the centuries they have permeated their whole
spiritual outlook, fostering in them a profound devotion to the "All Holy
Mother of God." (Cf.Lk1:28; “All Holy”, meaning “full of grace” (Gr.
kecharitwmehne). Holiness as given by God;
obviously not holiness as God.-ed.)
33.
This year there occurs the twelfth centenary of the Second Ecumenical Council of Nice (787 A.D.). Putting an end to the well-known
controversy about the cult of sacred images, this Council defined that,
according to the teaching of the holy Fathers and the universal tradition of
the Church, there
could be exposed for the veneration of the faithful, together with the Cross,
also images of the Mother of God,
of the angels and of the saints, in churches and houses and at the roadside.[84]
This custom has been maintained in the whole of the East and also in the West.
Images of the Virgin have a place of honor in churches and houses. In them
Mary is represented in a number of ways:
as the throne
of God carrying the Lord and giving him to humanity (Theotokos); as the way
that leads to Christ and manifests him (Hodegetria); as a praying figure in an
attitude of intercession and as a sign of the divine presence on the journey of
the faithful until the day of the Lord (Deesis); as the protectress who
stretches out her mantle over the peoples (Pokrov), or as the merciful Virgin
of tenderness (Eleousa). She is usually represented with her Son, the child Jesus, in her
arms: it is the relationship with the Son which glorifies the Mother. Sometimes she embraces him with tenderness
(Glykophilousa); at other times she is a hieratic figure, apparently rapt in
contemplation of him who is the Lord of history (cf.
Rev. 5:9-14). [85]
It
is also appropriate to mention the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, which continually
accompanied the pilgrimage of faith of the peoples of ancient Rus’. (Russia-ed.) The first Millennium
of the conversion of those noble lands to Christianity is approaching: lands of
humble folk, of thinkers and of saints. The Icons are still venerated in the
34.
Such a wealth of praise, built up by the
different forms of the Church's great tradition, could help us to hasten the
day when the Church can begin once more to breathe fully with her "two
lungs," the East and the West. As I have often said, this is more than
ever necessary today. It would be an effective aid in furthering the progress
of the dialogue already taking place between the Catholic Church and the
Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the West.[86] It would also be the way for the pilgrim Church to sing and to live
more perfectly her "Magnificat." (Lk1:46-55-ed.)
35.
At the present stage of her journey, therefore, the Church seeks to rediscover
the unity of all who profess their faith in Christ, in order to show obedience
to her Lord, who prayed for this unity before his Passion. "Like a pilgrim in a foreign land, the
Church presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations
of God, announcing the Cross and Death of the Lord until he comes." [87]
"Moving forward
through trial and tribulation, the Church is strengthened by the power of God's
grace promised to her by the Lord, so that in the weakness of the flesh she may
not waver from perfect fidelity, but remain a bride worthy of her Lord; that
moved by the Holy Spirit she may never cease to renew herself, until through
the Cross she arrives at the light which knows no setting."
[88]
The Virgin Mother is constantly present on
this journey of faith of the People of God towards the light. This is shown in
a special way by the canticle of the "Magnificat," which, having welled up from the depths of
Mary's faith at the Visitation, (Lk1:40-ed.) ceaselessly re-echoes in the heart of the
Church down the centuries. This is proved by its
daily recitation in the liturgy of Vespers and at many other moments of both
personal and communal devotion. "My
soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has
looked on his servant in her lowliness. For behold, henceforth all generations
will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and
holy is his name: And his mercy is from age to age on those who fear him. He
has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud-hearted, he has
cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled
the hungry with good things, sent the rich away empty. He has helped his
servant
36. When Elizabeth greeted her young kinswoman
coming from Nazareth, Mary replied with the Magnificat. In her greeting,
Elizabeth first called Mary
"blessed" because of "the fruit of her womb," and then she
called her "blessed" because of her faith (cf. Lk. 1:42, 45). These two blessings referred directly to
the Annunciation. Now, at the Visitation, when
Mary is the first to share in this new
revelation of God and, within the same, in this new "self-giving" of
God. Therefore she
proclaims: "For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is
his name." Her
words reflect a joy of spirit which is difficult to express: "My spirit
rejoices in God my Savior." Indeed, "the deepest truth about God and
the salvation of man is made clear to us in Christ, who is at the same time the
mediator and the fullness of all revelation." [90] In her exultation Mary confesses that she
finds herself in the very heart of this fullness of Christ. She is conscious
that the promise made to the fathers, first of all "to Abraham and to his
posterity for ever," is being fulfilled in herself. She is thus aware that concentrated within
herself as the mother of Christ is the whole salvific economy, in which "from age to age" is
manifested he who, as the God of the Covenant, "remembers his mercy."
37.
The Church, which from the beginning has modeled her earthly journey on that of
the Mother of God, constantly repeats after her the words of the Magnificat.
From the depths of the Virgin's faith at the Annunciation and the Visitation,
the Church derives the truth about the God of the Covenant: the God who is
Almighty and does "great things" for man: "holy is his
name." In the Magnificat the Church sees uprooted that sin which is found
at the outset of the earthly history of man and woman, the sin of disbelief and
of "little faith" in God. In
contrast with the "suspicion" which the "father of lies"
sowed in the heart of Eve the first woman, Mary, whom tradition is wont to call
the "new Eve"[91] and the true "Mother of the living," [92] (As
the first and fallen “Eve” was called “Mother of the living” by Adam---who also
fell (Cf.Gen3:20)---Mary, as the “new Eve” (Cf.Lk1:28,35), who gave birth to
the “New Adam” (Cf.Lk1:32; 1Cor15:45-47), her Son, Jesus Christ, is aptly
called the “true Mother of the living” by the Church.-ed.) boldly proclaims the undimmed truth about
God: the holy and almighty God, who from the beginning is the source of all
gifts, he who "has done great things" in her, as well as in the whole
universe. In the act of creation God gives existence to all that is.
In creating man, God gives him the dignity of the image and likeness of himself
in a special way as compared with all earthly creatures. Moreover,
in his desire to give*, God gives himself in the Son,
notwithstanding man's sin:
"He so loved
the world that he gave his only Son" (Jn.
The Church, which even "amid trials and
tribulations" does not cease repeating with Mary the words of the
Magnificat, is sustained by the
power of God's truth, proclaimed on that occasion with such extraordinary
simplicity. At the same time, by
means of this truth about God, the Church desires to shed light upon the
difficult and sometimes tangled paths of man's earthly existence. The
Church's journey, therefore, near the end of the second Christian Millennium,
involves a renewed commitment to her mission. Following him who said of
himself: "(God) has anointed me to preach good news to the poor" (cf.
Lk.
The
Church's love of preference for the poor is wonderfully inscribed in Mary's
Magnificat. The God of the Covenant, celebrated in the exultation of her spirit
by the Virgin of Nazareth, is also he who "has cast down the mighty from
their thrones, and lifted up the lowly, ...filled the hungry with good things,
sent the rich away empty, ...scattered the proud-hearted...and his mercy is
from age to age on those who fear him." Mary is deeply imbued with the
spirit of the "poor of Yahweh," who in the prayer of the Psalms
awaited from God their salvation, placing all their trust in him (cf. Pss. 25;
31; 35; 55). Mary truly proclaims the coming of the "Messiah of the
poor" (cf. Is. 11:4; 61:1). Drawing from Mary's heart, from the depth of
her faith expressed in the words of the Magnificat, the Church renews ever more
effectively in herself the awareness that the truth about God who saves, the
truth about God who is the source of every gift, cannot be separated from the
manifestation of his love of preference for the poor and humble, that love
which, celebrated in the Magnificat, is later expressed in the words and works
of Jesus.
The Church is thus aware--and at the
present time this awareness is particularly vivid--not only that these two elements
of the message contained in the Magnificat cannot be separated, but also that
there is a duty to safeguard carefully the importance of "the poor"
and of "the option in favor of the poor" in the word of the living
God. These are matters and questions intimately connected with the Christian
meaning of freedom and liberation. "Mary is totally dependent upon God and completely directed
towards him, and, at the side of her Son, she is the most perfect image of
freedom and of the liberation of humanity and of the universe. It is to her as
Mother and Model* that the Church must look in order to understand in its
completeness the meaning of her own mission."
*(Mary focused-on and followed---to the exclusion of all
else---her Son, Jesus Christ-ed.) [93]
38. The Church knows and teaches with
The Church knows and teaches that "all
the saving
influences
of the Blessed
Virgin on mankind (Mary leads us only to her Son for the purposes of our
salvation.-ed.)
originate...from the divine pleasure. They flow forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ,
rest on his mediation, depend entirely on it, and draw all their power from it.
In no way do they impede the immediate union of the faithful with Christ.
Rather, they foster this union." [95] This saving influence is sustained by the Holy
Spirit,
who, just as he overshadowed the Virgin Mary when he began in her the divine
motherhood, in a similar way constantly
sustains her solicitude for the brothers and sisters of her Son.
In effect, Mary's mediation is intimately
linked with her motherhood. It
possesses a specifically maternal character, which distinguishes it from the mediation of the other
creatures who in various and always subordinate ways share in the one mediation
of Christ, although
her own mediation is also a shared mediation.[96] In fact, while it is true that "no creature could ever be classed with
the Incarnate Word and Redeemer," at the same time "the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but
rather gives rise among creatures to a manifold cooperation which is but a
sharing in this unique source." And thus "the
one goodness of God is in reality communicated diversely to his
creatures."
[97]
The teaching of the Second
39. From this point of view we must consider once more the
fundamental event in the economy of salvation, namely the Incarnation of the
Word at the moment of the Annunciation. It is significant that Mary, recognizing
in the words of the divine messenger the will of the Most High and submitting
to his power, says: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to
me according to your word" (Lk. 1:38-ed.). The first moment of submission to the one
mediation "between God and men"--the mediation of Jesus Christ--is
the Virgin of
It can be said that this consent to motherhood
is above all a result of her total self-giving to God in virginity. Mary
accepted her election as Mother of the Son of God, guided by spousal love, the
love which totally "consecrates" a human being to God. By virtue of
this love, Mary wished to be always and in all things "given to God,"
living in virginity. The words "Behold, I am the handmaid of the
Lord" express the fact that from the outset she accepted and understood
her own motherhood as a total gift of self, a gift of her person to the service
of the saving plans of the Most High. And to the very end she lived her entire
maternal sharing in the life of Jesus Christ, her Son, in a way that matched
her vocation to virginity.
Mary's motherhood, completely pervaded by her
spousal attitude as the "handmaid of the Lord," constitutes the first
and fundamental dimension of that mediation which the Church confesses and
proclaims in her regard [100] and continually "commends to the hearts of the
faithful," since the Church has great trust in her. For it must be
recognized that before anyone else it was God himself, the Eternal Father, who
entrusted himself to the Virgin of
For this reason Mary became not only the
"nursing mother" of the Son of Man but also the "associate of
unique nobility"[101] of
the Messiah and Redeemer. As I have already said, she advanced in her
pilgrimage of faith, and in this pilgrimage to the foot of the Cross there was
simultaneously accomplished her maternal cooperation with the Savior's whole
mission through her actions and sufferings. Along the path of this
collaboration with the work of her Son, the Redeemer, Mary's motherhood itself underwent a singular
transformation, becoming ever more imbued with "burning charity"
towards all those to whom Christ's mission was directed. Through
this "burning charity," which sought to achieve, in union with
Christ, the restoration of "supernatural life to souls,"[102] Mary
entered, in a way all her own, into the one mediation "between God and
men" which is the mediation of the man Christ Jesus. If she was the first to experience within
herself the supernatural consequences of this one mediation in the Annunciation
she had been greeted as "full of grace" then we must say that through
this fullness of grace and supernatural life she was especially predisposed to
cooperation with Christ, the one Mediator of human salvation. And such
cooperation is precisely this mediation subordinated to the mediation of Christ.
In
Mary's case we have a special and exceptional mediation, based upon her
"fullness of grace," which was expressed in the complete willingness
of the "handmaid of the Lord." In response to this interior willingness of his Mother, Jesus
Christ prepared her ever more completely to become for all people their
"mother in the order of grace." (1Cor15:23-ed.) This is indicated, at
least indirectly, by certain details noted by the Synoptics (cf. Lk.
40.
After the events of the Resurrection and Ascension, Mary entered the Upper Room
together with the Apostles to await Pentecost, and was present there as the
Mother of the glorified Lord. She was
not only the one who "advanced in her pilgrimage of faith" and
loyally persevered in her union with her Son "unto the Cross," but
she was also the "handmaid
of the Lord,"
left by her Son as Mother in the midst of the infant Church: "Behold your mother."
Thus there began to
develop a special bond between this Mother and the Church. For the infant
Church was the fruit of the Cross and Resurrection of her Son. Mary, who from
the beginning had given herself without reserve to the person and work of her
Son, could not but pour out upon the Church, from the very beginning, her
maternal self-giving.
After her Son's
departure, her motherhood remains in the Church as maternal mediation:
interceding for all her children, the Mother cooperates in the saving work of
her Son, the Redeemer of the world. In fact the Council
teaches that the "motherhood of
Mary in the order of grace...will last without interruption until the eternal
fulfillment of all the elect." [103] With the redeeming death of her Son, the maternal mediation of the
handmaid of the Lord took on a universal dimension, for the work of redemption
embraces the whole of humanity. Thus there is
manifested in a singular way the efficacy of the one and universal mediation of
Christ "between God and men." Mary's cooperation shares, in its subordinate character, in the
universality of the mediation of the Redeemer, the one Mediator.
This is clearly indicated by the Council in the words quoted above.
For,"
the text goes on, "taken up to
heaven, she did not lay aside this saving role, but by her manifold acts of
intercession continues to win for us gifts of eternal salvation." [104]
With this character of
"intercession," first manifested at
41.
Through her mediation, subordinate to
that of the Redeemer, Mary contributes in a special way to the union of the
pilgrim Church on earth with the eschatological and heavenly reality of the
Communion of Saints, since she has already been "assumed into
heaven." [107] The truth of the Assumption, defined by Pius XII,
is reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which thus expresses the Church's
faith: "Preserved
free from all guilt of original sin, the Immaculate Virgin was taken up body
and soul into heavenly glory upon the completion of her earthly sojourn. She
was exalted by the Lord as Queen of the Universe, in order that she might be
the more thoroughly conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords (cf. Rev. 19:16)
and the conqueror of sin and death." [108] In this
teaching Pius XII was in continuity with Tradition, which has found many
different expressions in the history of the Church, both in the East and in the
West.
By the mystery of the Assumption into
heaven there were definitively accomplished in Mary all the effects of the one
mediation of Christ the Redeemer of the world and Risen Lord: "In Christ
shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits,
then at his coming those who belong to Christ"
(1 Cor.
Connected
with this exaltation of the noble "Daughter of Sion"[111] through her Assumption into heaven is the
mystery of her eternal glory. For the Mother of Christ is glorified as
"Queen of the Universe."[112] She who at the
Annunciation called herself the "handmaid of the Lord" remained
throughout her earthly life faithful to what this name expresses. In this she
confirmed that she was a true "disciple" of Christ, who strongly
emphasized that his mission was one of service: the Son of Man "came not
to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt.
20:28). In this way Mary became the
first of those who, "serving Christ also in others, with humility and
patience lead their brothers and sisters to that King whom to serve is to
reign," [113] and she fully
obtained that "state of royal freedom" proper to Christ's disciples: to serve means to reign!
"Christ obeyed even at the cost of
death, and was therefore raised up by the Father
(cf. Phil. 2:8-9). Thus he entered into the glory of his kingdom. To him all things are made subject until he
subjects himself and all created things to the Father, that God may be all in
all (cf. 1 Cor. 15:27-28)."[114] Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, has a share in this Kingdom of
the Son.[115] The glory of serving does not cease to be her royal exaltation:
assumed into heaven, she does not cease her saving service, which expresses her
maternal mediation "until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect."
[116] Thus, she who here on earth "loyally persevered in her union with
her Son unto the Cross," continues to remain united with him, while now
"all things are subjected to him, until he subjects to the Father himself
and all things." Thus in
her Assumption into heaven, Mary is as it were clothed by the whole reality of
the Communion of Saints, and her very union with the Son in glory is wholly
oriented towards the definitive fullness of the Kingdom, when "God will be
all in all."
In this phase too Mary's maternal mediation
does not cease to be subordinate to him who is the one Mediator, until the
final realization of "the fullness of time," that is to say until
"all things are united in Christ" (cf. Eph.
l:10).
42.
Linking itself with Tradition, the Second Vatican Council brought new light to
bear on the role of the Mother of Christ in the life of the Church. "Through the gift...of divine motherhood,
Mary is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with his singular graces and
offices. By these, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united with the
Church. The Mother of God is a figure of the Church in the matter of faith,
charity and perfect union with Christ." [117] We have
already noted how, from the beginning, Mary remains with the Apostles in
expectation of Pentecost and how, as
"the blessed one who believed," she is present in the midst of the
pilgrim Church from generation to generation through faith and as the model of
the hope which does not disappoint (cf. Rom. 5:5).
Mary
believed in the fulfillment of what had been said to her by the Lord. As
Virgin, she believed that she would conceive and bear a son: the "Holy
One," who bears the name of "Son of God," the name
"Jesus" (= God who saves). As handmaid of the Lord, she remained in
perfect fidelity to the person and mission of this Son. As Mother,
"believing and obeying...she brought forth on earth the Father's Son. This
she did, knowing not man but overshadowed by the Holy Spirit."[118]
For
these reasons Mary is honored in the Church "with special reverence.
Indeed, from most ancient times the Blessed Virgin Mary has been venerated
under the title of 'God-bearer.' In all perils and needs, the faithful have
fled prayerfully to her protection."[119] This cult is altogether special:
it bears in itself and expresses the profound link which exists between the
Mother of Christ and the Church.[120] As Virgin and Mother, Mary remains for
the Church a "permanent model." It can therefore be said that
especially under this aspect, namely as a model, or rather as a
"figure," Mary, present in the mystery of Christ, remains constantly
present also in the mystery of the Church. For the Church too is "called
mother and virgin," and these names have a profound biblical and
theological justification.[121]
43.
The Church "becomes herself a
mother by accepting God's word with fidelity."[122] Like Mary, who first
believed by accepting the word of God revealed to her at the Annunciation and
by remaining faithful to that word in all her trials even unto the Cross, so
too the Church becomes
a mother when, accepting with fidelity the word of God, "by her preaching
and by baptism she brings forth to a new and immortal life children who are
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God."
[123] This "maternal" characteristic of the Church was expressed in a
particularly vivid way by the Apostle to the Gentiles when he wrote: "My
little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in
you!" (Gal. 4:19) These words of
It
can be said that from Mary the Church also learns her own motherhood: she
recognizes the maternal dimension of her vocation, which is essentially bound
to her sacramental nature, in "contemplating Mary's mysterious sanctity,
imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father's will."[124]
If the Church is the sign and instrument of intimate union with God, she is so
by reason of her motherhood, because, receiving life from the Spirit, she
"generates" sons and daughters of the human race to a new life in
Christ. For, just as Mary is at the service of the mystery
of the Incarnation, so the Church is always at the service of the mystery of
adoption to sonship through grace.
Likewise,
following the example of
Mary, the Church remains the virgin faithful to her spouse: "The Church
herself is a virgin, who keeps whole and pure the fidelity she has pledged to
her Spouse."[125] For the Church is the spouse of Christ, as is clear from the Pauline
Letters (cf. Eph.
But
the Church also preserves the faith received from Christ. Following the example
of Mary, who kept and pondered in her heart everything relating to her divine
Son (cf. Lk. 2:19, 51), the Church is
committed to preserving the word of God and investigating its riches with
discernment and prudence, in order to bear faithful witness to it before all
mankind in every age.[126]
44.
Given Mary's relationship to the Church as an exemplar, the Church is close to
her and seeks to become like her: "Imitating the Mother of her Lord, and
by the power of the Holy Spirit, she preserves with virginal purity an integral
faith, a firm hope, and a sincere charity."[127] Mary is thus present in
the mystery of the Church as a model. But the Church's mystery also consists in
generating people to a new and immortal life: this is her motherhood in the
Holy Spirit. And here Mary is not only
the model and figure of the Church; she is much more. For, "with maternal
love she cooperates in the birth and development" of the sons and
daughters of
She
cooperated, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, with a maternal love.[129]
Here we perceive the real value of the
words spoken by Jesus to his Mother at the hour of the Cross: "Woman,
behold your son" and to the disciple: "Behold your mother" (Jn.
Her
motherhood is particularly noted and experienced by the Christian people at the
Sacred Banquet, the liturgical celebration of the mystery of the Redemption at
which Christ, his True Body, born of the Virgin Mary, becomes present.
The piety of the Christian people has
always very rightly sensed a
profound link between devotion to the Blessed Virgin and worship of the
Eucharist: this
is a fact that can be seen in the liturgy of both the West and the East, in the
traditions of the Religious Families, in the modern movements of spirituality,
including those for youth, and in the pastoral practice of the Marian Shrines.
Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist. (Eucharistic
Adoration and devotion to Mary are the telling marks of a traditional Roman
Catholic parish.-ed.)
45.
Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person.
Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between
two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when
the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with
each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. For each child is
generated in a unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the
mother and for the child. Each child is surrounded in the same way by that
maternal love on which are based the child's development and coming to maturity
as a human being.
It can be said that motherhood "in the
order of grace" preserves the analogy with what "in the order of
nature" characterizes the union between mother and child. In the light of this fact it becomes easier to
understand why in Christ's testament on
It
can also be said that these same words fully show the reason for the Marian
dimension of the life of Christ's disciples. This is true not only of John, who
at that hour stood at the foot of the Cross together with his Master's Mother,
but it is also true of every disciple of Christ, of every Christian. The Redeemer entrusts his mother to the disciple,
and at the same time he gives her to him as his mother. Mary's motherhood,
which becomes man's inheritance, is a gift: a gift which Christ himself makes
personally to every individual. The Redeemer entrusts Mary to John because he entrusts John to Mary. At
the foot of the Cross there begins that special entrusting of humanity to the
Mother of Christ, which in the history of the Church has been practiced and
expressed in different ways. The same Apostle and Evangelist, after
reporting the words addressed by Jesus on the Cross to his Mother and to
himself, adds: "And
from that hour the disciple took her to his own home"
(Jn.
The
Marian dimension of the life of a disciple of Christ is expressed in a special
way precisely through this filial entrusting to the Mother of Christ, which
began with the testament of the Redeemer on
46.
This filial relationship, this self-entrusting of a child to its mother, not
only has its beginning in Christ (“Behold
your mother.”- Jn19:27 -ed.) but can also be said to be definitively
directed towards Him. Mary
can be said to continue to say to each individual the words which she spoke at
This
Marian dimension of Christian life takes on special importance in relation to
women and their status. In fact, femininity has a unique relationship with the
Mother of the Redeemer, a subject which can be studied in greater depth
elsewhere. Here I simply wish to note that the figure of Mary of Nazareth sheds
light on womanhood as such by the very fact that God, in the sublime event of the Incarnation of his Son,
entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a woman.
It can thus be said that
women, by looking to Mary, find in her the secret of living their femininity
with dignity and of achieving their own true advancement.
In the light of Mary, the Church sees in
the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest
sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of
love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless
fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating
intuition with words of support and encouragement.
47.
At the Council Paul VI solemnly
proclaimed that Mary is the Mother of the Church, "that is, Mother of the
entire Christian people, both faithful and pastors."[134] Later, in 1968,
in the Profession of Faith known as the "Credo of the People of God,"
he restated this truth in an even more forceful way in these words: "We believe that the Most Holy Mother of God,
the new Eve, the Mother of the Church, carries on in heaven her maternal role
with regard to the members of Christ, cooperating in the birth and development
of divine life in the souls of the redeemed." [135]
The
Council's teaching emphasized that the truth concerning the Blessed Virgin,
Mother of Christ, is an effective aid in exploring more deeply the truth
concerning the Church. When speaking of the Constitution Lumen Gentium, which
had just been approved by the Council, Paul VI said: "Knowledge of the true Catholic doctrine
regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary will always be a key to the exact
understanding of the mystery of Christ and of the Church."[136]
Mary is present in the Church as the
Mother of Christ, and at the same time as that Mother whom Christ, in the
mystery of the Redemption, gave to humanity in the person of the Apostle John.
Thus, in her new motherhood in the Spirit, Mary embraces each and every one in
the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense
Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church's model. Indeed, as Paul VI
hopes and asks, the
Church must draw "from the Virgin Mother of God the most authentic form of
perfect imitation of Christ." [137]
Thanks
to this special bond linking the Mother of Christ with the Church, there is
further clarified the mystery of that "woman" who, from the first
chapters of the Book of Genesis until the Book of Revelation, accompanies the
revelation of God's salvific plan for humanity. For Mary, present in the Church, as the Mother of the Redeemer, takes part
as a mother, in that "monumental struggle against the powers of
darkness"[138] which continues
throughout human history. And by her
ecclesial identification as the "woman
clothed with the sun"
(Rev. 12:1)[139]
it can be said that "in
the Most Holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she
exists without spot or wrinkle." Hence, as Christians raise their eyes with faith to Mary in the course
of their earthly pilgrimage, they "strive to increase in holiness."
[140] Mary, the exalted
Daughter of Sion, helps all her children, wherever they may be and whatever
their condition, to find in Christ the path to the Father's house.
Thus,
throughout her life, the Church maintains with the Mother of God a link which
embraces, in the saving mystery, the past, the present and the future, and
venerates her as the spiritual mother of humanity and the advocate of grace.
48.
It is precisely the special bond between humanity and this Mother which has led
me to proclaim a Marian Year in the Church, in this period before the end of
the Second Millennium since Christ's birth. A similar initiative was taken in
the past, when Pius XII proclaimed 1954 as a Marian Year, in order to highlight
the exceptional holiness of the Mother of Christ as expressed in the mysteries
of her Immaculate Conception (defined exactly a century before) and of her
Assumption into heaven.[141]
Now,
following the line of the Second Vatican Council, I wish to emphasize the
special presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and his Church.
For this is a fundamental dimension emerging from the Mariology of the Council,
the end of which is now more than twenty years behind us. The Extraordinary Synod of Bishops held in
1985 exhorted everyone to follow faithfully the teaching and guidelines of the
Council; We can say that these two events, the Council and the Synod--embody
what the Holy Spirit himself wishes "to say to the Church" in the
present phase of history.
In
this context, the Marian Year is meant to promote a new and more careful
reading of what the Council said about the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
in the mystery of Christ and of the Church, the topic to which the contents of
this Encyclical are devoted. Here we speak not only of the doctrine of faith but also of the life of
faith, and thus of authentic "Marian spirituality" seen in the light
of Tradition, and especially the spirituality to which the Council exhorts us.[142]
Furthermore, Marian spirituality, like
its corresponding devotion, finds a very rich source in the historical
experience of individuals and of the various Christian communities present
among the different peoples and nations of the world. In this regard, I
would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teachers of this
spirituality, the figure of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort,[143] who
proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective
means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments. I am
pleased to note that in our own time too, new manifestations of this
spirituality and devotion are not lacking.
There
thus exist solid points of reference to look to and follow in the context of
this Marian Year.
49.
This Marian Year will begin on the Solemnity of Pentecost, on June 7 next. For it is a question not only of recalling that Mary
"preceded" the entry of Christ the Lord into the history of the human
family, but also of emphasizing, in the light of Mary, that from the moment
when the mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished, human history entered
"the fullness of time," and that the Church is the sign of this
fullness. As the People of God, the Church makes her pilgrim way
towards eternity through faith, in the midst of all the peoples and nations,
beginning from the day of Pentecost. Christ's Mother
who was present at the beginning of "the time of the Church," when in
expectation of the coming of the Holy Spirit she devoted herself to prayer in
the midst of the Apostles and her Son's disciples--constantly "precedes" the Church in
her journey through human history. She is also the one who, precisely as the "handmaid of
the Lord," cooperates unceasingly with the work of salvation accomplished
by Christ, her Son.
Thus
by means of this Marian Year the Church is called not only to remember everything
in her past that testifies to the special maternal cooperation of the Mother of
God in the work of salvation in Christ the Lord, but also, on her own part, to
prepare for the future the paths of this cooperation. For the end of the Second
Christian Millennium opens up as a new prospect.
50.
As has already been mentioned, also among
our divided brethren many honor and celebrate the Mother of the Lord,
especially among the Orientals. It is a Marian light cast upon ecumenism.
In particular, I wish to mention once more that during the Marian Year there
will occur the Millennium of the Baptism of Saint Vladimir, Grand Duke of Kiev
(988). This marked the beginning of Christianity in the territories of what was
then called Rus', and subsequently in other territories of
In
announcing the Year of Mary, I also indicated that it will end next year on the
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven, in order to
emphasize the "great sign in heaven" spoken of by the Apocalypse. In
this way we also wish to respond to the exhortation of the Council, which looks
to Mary as "a sign of sure hope and solace for the pilgrim People of
God." And the Council expresses this exhortation in the following words: "Let the entire body of the faithful pour
forth persevering prayer to the Mother of God and Mother of mankind. Let them
implore that she who aided the beginning of the Church by her prayers may now,
exalted as she is in heaven above all the saints and angels, intercede with her
Son in the fellowship of all the saints. May she do so until all the peoples of
the human family, whether they are honored with the name of Christian or
whether they still do not know their Savior, are happily gathered together in
peace and harmony into the one People of God, for the glory of the Most Holy
and Undivided Trinity." [146]
51.
At the end of the daily Liturgy of the Hours, among the invocations addressed
to Mary by the Church is the following:
"Loving
Mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven,
star
of the sea, assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To
the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator!"
"To
the wonderment of nature"! These words of the antiphon express that wonderment
of faith which accompanies the mystery of Mary's divine motherhood. In a sense,
it does so in the heart of the whole of creation, and, directly, in the heart
of the whole People of God, in the heart of the Church.
How wonderfully far God has gone, the Creator
and Lord of all things, in the "revelation of himself" to man! [147] How clearly he has bridged all the spaces of
that infinite "distance" which separates the Creator from the
creature ! If in himself he remains ineffable and unsearchable, still more
ineffable and unsearchable is he in the reality of the Incarnation of the Word,
who became man through the Virgin of Nazareth.
If he has eternally willed to call man to
share in the divine nature (cf. 2 Pt. 1:4), it can be said that he has matched the
"divinization" of man to humanity's historical conditions, so that
even after sin he is ready to restore at a great price the eternal plan of his
love through the "humanization" of his Son, who is of the same being
as himself.
The whole of creation, and more directly man himself, cannot fail to be amazed
at this gift in which he has become a sharer, in the Holy Spirit: "God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son" (Jn.
3:16).
At the center of this mystery, in the midst of
this wonderment of faith, stands Mary. As the loving Mother of the Redeemer,
she was the first to experience it: "To the wonderment of nature you bore
your Creator"!
52. The
words of this liturgical antiphon also express the truth of the "great
transformation" which the mystery of the Incarnation establishes for man.
It is a transformation which belongs to his entire history, from that beginning
which is revealed to us in the first chapters of Genesis until the final end,
in the perspective of the end of the world, of which Jesus has revealed to us
"neither the day nor the hour" (Mt. 25:13). It
is an unending and continuous transformation between falling and rising again,
between the man of sin and the man of grace and justice.
The Advent liturgy in
particular is at the very heart of this transformation and captures its
unceasing "here and now" when it exclaims:
"Assist
your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again"!
These words apply to every individual,
every community, to nations and peoples, and to the generations and epochs of
human history, to our own epoch, to these years of the Millennium which is
drawing to a close: "Assist, yes assist, your people who have
fallen"!
This is the invocation addressed to Mary, the
"loving Mother of the Redeemer," the invocation addressed to Christ,
who through Mary entered human history. Year after year the antiphon rises to Mary, evoking that
moment which saw the accomplishment of this essential historical
transformation, which irreversibly continues: the transformation from
"falling" to "rising."
Mankind
has made wonderful discoveries and achieved extraordinary results in the fields
of science and technology. It has made great advances along the path of
progress and civilization, and in recent times one could say that it has
succeeded in speeding up the pace of history. But the fundamental transformation, the one which can be called
"original," constantly accompanies man's journey, and through all the
events of history accompanies each and every individual. It is the transformation
from "falling" to "rising," from death to life. It is
also a constant challenge to people's consciences, a challenge to man's whole
historical awareness: the challenge to follow the path of "not
falling" in ways that are ever old and ever new, and of "rising
again" if a fall has occurred.
As
she goes forward with the whole of humanity towards the frontier between the
two Millennia, the Church, for her part,
with the whole community of believers and in union with all men and women of
good will, takes up the great challenge contained in these words of the Marian
antiphon: "the people who have fallen yet strive to rise again," and
she addresses both the Redeemer and his Mother with the plea: "Assist
us." For, as this prayer attests, the Church sees the Blessed Mother of God in the saving mystery
of Christ; and in her own mystery. She sees Mary deeply rooted in humanity's
history, in man's eternal vocation according to the providential plan which God
has made for him from eternity. She sees Mary maternally present and sharing in the many complicated
problems which today beset the lives of individuals, families and nations; she
sees her helping the Christian people in the constant struggle between good and
evil, to ensure that it "does not fall," or, if it has fallen, that
it "rises again."
I hope with all my heart that the reflections
contained in the present Encyclical will also serve to renew this vision in the
hearts of all believers.
As Bishop of
Given
in
the
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord,
in
the year 1987, the ninth of my Pontificate.
Joannes Paulus PP.
II
Source: (http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/JP2MOTHE.HTM)
ENDNOTES
1.
Cf. Second
2.
The expression "fullness of time" (pleroma tou chronou) is parallel
with similar expressions of Judaism, both Biblical (cf. Gen. 29:21; I Sam.
3.
Cf. Roman Missal, Preface of 8 December, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary; Saint Ambrose, "De Institutione Virginis," XV, 93-94: PL
16, 342; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
"Lumen Gentium," 68.
4.
Second
5.
Pope Paul Vl, Encyclical Epistle "Christi Matri" (
6.
The Old Testament foretold in many different ways the mystery of Mary: cf.
Saint John Damascene, "Hom. in Dormitionem" 1, 8-9:
7.
Cf. "Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo" 11, Vl/2 (1983) 225f.; Pope Pius
IX, Apostolic Letter "Ineffabilis Deus" (
8.
Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et
Spes," 22.
9.
Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, in "Conciliorum Oecumenicorum
Decreta",
10.
Second
11.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 52.
12.
Cf. ibid., 58.
13.
Ibid., 63; cf. Saint Ambrose, "Expos. Evang sec. Lucam," II, 7: CSEL
32/4, 45; "De Institutione Virginis," XIV, 88-89: PL 16, 341.
14.
Cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 64.
15.
Ibid., 65.
16.
"Take away this star of the sun which illuminates the world: where does
the day go? Take away Mary, this star of the sea, of the great and boundless
sea: what is left but a vast obscurity and the shadow of death and deepest
darkness?": Saint Bernard, "In Navitate B. Mariae Sermo--De
aquaeductu," 6: S. Bernardi Opera, V, 1968, 279; cf. I"n laudibus
Virginis Matris Homilia" II, 17: ed. cit., IV, 1966, 34f.
17.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 63.
18.
Ibid., 63.
19.
Concerning the predestination of Mary, cf. Saint John Damascene, "Hom. in
Nativitatem," 7; 10:
20.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 55.
21. In Patristic tradition there is a wide
and varied interpretation of this expression: cf. Origen, "In Lucam
homiliae", Vl, 7: S. Ch. 87, 148; Severianus of Gabala, "In mundi
creationem," Oratio Vl, 10: PG 56, 497f.; Saint John Chrysostom (Pseudo),
"In Annunciationem Deiparae et contra Arium impium," PG 62, 765f.;
Basil of Seleucia, Oratio 39, "In Sanctissimae Deiparae
Annuntiationem," 5: PG 85, 441-446; Antipater of Bosra, Hom. II, "In
Sanctissimae Deiparae Annuntiationem," 3-11: PG 85, 1777-1783; Saint
Sophronius of
22.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 55.
23.
Ibid., 53.
24.
Cf. Pope Pius XI, Apostolic Letter "Ineffabilis Deus" (
25.
Cf. Saint Germanus of
26.
Liturgy of the Hours of 15 August, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hymn
at First and Second Vespers; Saint Peter Damian, "Carmina et preces,"
XLVII: PL 145, 934.
27.
"Divina Commedia, Paradiso, XXXIII," I; cf. Liturgy of the Hours,
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday, Hymn II in the Office of
28.
Cf. Saint Augustine, "De Sancta Virginitate," III, 3: PL 40, 398;
"Sermo" 25, 7: PL 46, 937f.
29.
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation "Dei Verbum," 5.
30.
This is a classic theme, already expounded by Saint Irenaeus: "And, as by
the action of the disobedient virgin, man was afflicted and, being cast down,
died, so also by the action of the Virgin who obeyed the word of God, man being
regenerated received, through life, life.... For it was meet and just...that
Eve should be "recapitulated" in Mary, so that the Virgin, becoming
the advocate of the virgin, should dissolve and destroy the virginal
disobedience by means of virginal obedience": "Expositio doctrinae
apostolicae," 33: S. Ch. 62, 83-86; cf. also "Adversus
Haereses," V, 19, 1: S. Ch. 153, 248-250.
31.
Second
32.
Ibid., 5; cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium,"
56.
33.
Second
34.
Ibid., 56.
35.
Cf. ibid., 53; Saint Augustine, "De Sancta Virginitate," III, 3: PL
40, 398; "Sermo" 215, 4; PL 38, 1074; "Sermo" 196, I: PL
38, 1019; "De peccatorum meritis et remissione," I, 29, 57: PL 44,
142; "Sermo" 25, 7: PL 46, 937-938; Saint Leo the Great, "Tractatus
21, de natale Domini," I: CCL 138, 86.
36.
Ascent of
37.
Cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 58.
38.
Ibid., 58.
39.
Cf. Second
40.
Concerning Mary's participation or "compassion" in the death of
Christ, cf. Saint Bernard, "In Dominica infra octavam Assumptionis Senno,
14: S. Bernardi Opera," V, 1968, 273.
41.
Saint Irenaeus, "Adversus Haereses" III, 22, 4: S.
42.
Cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 56, and the
Fathers quoted there in Notes 8 and 9.
43.
"Christ is truth, Christ is flesh: Christ truth in the mind of Mary,
Christ flesh in the womb of Mary":
44.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 60.
45.
Ibid., 61.
46.
Ibid., 62.
47.
There is a well-known passage of Origen on the presence of Mary and John on
Calvary: "The Gospels are the first fruits of all Scripture and the Gospel
of John is the first of the Gospels: no one can grasp its meaning without
having leaned his head on Jesus' breast and having received from Jesus Mary as
Mother": Comm. in loan., I, 6: PG 14, 31; cf. Saint Ambrose, "Expos.
Evang. sec. Lucam," X, 129-131: CSEL 32/4, 504f.
48.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 54 and 53; the
latter text quotes Saint Augustine, "De Sancta Virginitate," Vl, 6:
PL 40, 399.
49.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 55.
50.
Cf. Saint Leo the Great, "Tractatus 26, de natale Domini," 2: CCL
138, 126.
51.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 59.
52.
53.
Second
54.
Ibid., 9.
55.
Ibid., 9.
56.
Ibid., 8.
57.
Ibid., 9.
58.
Ibid., 65.
59.
Ibid., 59.
60.
Cf. Second
61.
Cf. Second
62.
Cf. ibid., 9.
63.
Cf. ibid., 65.
64.
Ibid., 65.
65.
Ibid., 65.
66.
Cf. ibid., 13.
67.
Cf. ibid., 13.
68.
Cf. ibid., 13.
69.
Cf. Roman Missal, formula of the Consecration of the Chalice in the Eucharistic
Prayers.
70.
Second
71.
Ibid., 13.
72.
Ibid., 15.
73.
Cf. Second
74.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 68, 69. On Mary
Most Holy, promoter of Christian unity, and on the cult of Mary in the East, cf.
Leo XIII, Encyclical Epistle "Adiutricem Populi" (
75.
Cf. Second
76.
Cf. ibid., 19.
77.
Ibid., 14.
78.
Ibid., 1 5.
79.
Second
80.
Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, "Definitio fidei: Conciliorum
Oecumenicorum Decreta,"
81.
Cf. the Weddase Maryam (Praises of Mary), which follows the Ethiopian Psalter
and contains hymns and prayers to Mary for each day of the week. Cf. also the
Matshafa Kidana Mehrat (Book of the Pact of Mercy); the importance given to
Mary in the Ethiopian hymnology and liturgy deserves to be emphasized.
82.
Cf. Saint Ephrem, "Hymn. de Nativitate: Scriptores Syri", 82, CSCO,
186.
83.
Cf. Saint Gregory of Narek, "Le livre de priers:" S. Ch. 78, 160-163;
428-432.
84.
Second Ecumenical Council of Nice: "Conciliorum Oecumenicorum
Decreta,"
85.
Cf. Second
86.
Cf. Second
87.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
"Lumen Gentium," 8.
88.
Ibid., 9.
89.
As is well-known, the words of the Magnificat contain or echo numerous passages
of the Old Testament.
90.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
"Dei Verbum," 2.
91.
Cf. for example Saint Justin, "Dialogus cum Tryphone Iudaeo," 100:
Otto 11, 358; Saint Irenaeus, "Adversus Haereses" III, 22, 4: S. Ch.
211, 439-445; Tertullian, "De carne Christi," 17, 4-6: CCL 2, 904f.
92.
Cf. Saint Epiphanius, "Panarion," III, 2; "Haer." 78, 18:
PG 42, 727- 730.
93.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Instruction on Christian
Freedom and Liberation" (22 March 1986), 97.
94.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
"Lumen Gentium," 60.
95.
Ibid., 60.
96.
Cf. the formula of mediatrix "ad Mediatorem" of Saint Bernard,
"In Dominica infra oct. Assumptionis Sermo," 2: "S. Bernardi
Opera," V, 1968, 263. Mary as a pure mirror sends back to her Son all the
glory and honor which she receives: Id., "In Nativitate B. Mariae
Sermo--De Aquaeductu," 12: ed. cit., 283.
97.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
"Lumen Gentium," 62.
98.
Ibid., 62.
99.
Ibid., 61.
100.
Ibid., 62.
101.
Ibid., 61.
102.
Ibid., 61.
103.
Ibid., 62.
104.
Ibid., 62.
105.
Ibid., 62; in her prayer too the Church recognizes and celebrates Mary's
"maternal role": it is a role "of intercession and forgiveness,
petition and grace, reconciliation and peace" (cf. Preface of the Mass of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Mediatrix of Grace, in "Collectio
Missarum de Beata Maria Virgine," ed. typ. 1987, 1, 120).
106.
Ibid., 62.
107.
Ibid., 62; cf. Saint John Damascene, "Hom. in Dormitionem," I, 11;
II, 2, 14; III, 2:
108.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 59; cf. Pope
Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution "Munificentissimus Deus" (1 November
1950): AAS 42 (1950) 769-771; Saint Bernard presents Mary immersed in the
splendor of the Son's glory: "In Dominica infra oct. Assumptionis
Sermo," 3; "S. Bernardi Opera," V, 1968, 263f.
109.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 53.
110.
On this particular aspect of Mary's mediation as implorer of clemency from the
"Son as Judge," cf. Saint Bernard, "In Dominica infra oct.
Assumptionis Sermo," 1-2: "S. Bernardi Opera," V, 1968, 262f;
Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Epistle "Octobri Mense" (22 September
1891): "Acta Leonis," XI, 299-315.
111.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
"Lumen Gentium," 55.
112.
Ibid., 59.
113.
Ibid., 36.
114.
Ibid., 36.
115.
With regard to Mary as Queen, cf. Saint John Damascene, "Hom. in
Nativitatem," 6; 12; "Hom. in Dormitionem," I, 2, 12, 14; II,
11; III, 4: S. Ch. 80, 59f.; 77f.; 83f.; 113f.; 117; 151f.; 189-193.
116.
Second
117.
Ibid., 63.
118.
Ibid., 63.
119.
Ibid., 66.
120.
Cf. Saint Ambrose, "De Institutione Virginis," XIV, 88-89: PL 16,
341;
121.
Cf. Second
122.
Ibid., 64.
123.
Ibid., 64.
124.
Ibid., 64.
125.
Ibid., 64.
126.
Cf. Second
127.
Second
128.
Ibid., 63.
129.
Cf. ibid., 63.
130.
Clearly, in the Greek text the expression "eis ta idia" goes beyond
the mere acceptance of Mary by the disciple in the sense of material lodging
and hospitality in his house; it indicates rather a communion of life
established between the two as a result of the words of the dying Christ: cf.
Saint Augustine, "In Ioan. Evang. tract." 119, 3: CCL 36, 659:
"He took her to himself, not into his own property, for he possessed
nothing of his own, but among his own duties, which he attended to with
dedication."
131.
Second
132.
Ibid., 63.
133.
Second
134.
Cf. Pope Paul VI, Discourse of
135.
Pope Paul VI, Solemn Profession of Faith (30 June 1968), 15: AAS 60 (1968)
438f.
136.
Pope Paul VI, Discourse of 21 November 1964: AAS 56 (1964) 1015.
137.
Ibid., 1016.
138.
Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in
the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 37.
139.
Cf. Saint Bernard, "In Dominica infra oct. Assumptionis Sermo: S. Bernardi
Opera," V, 1968, 262-274.
140.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
"Lumen Gentium," 65.
141.
Cf. Encyclical Letter "Fulgens Corona" (8 September 1953): AAS 45
(1953) 577-592. Pius X with his Encyclical Letter "Ad Diem Illum" (2
February 1904), on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the dogmatic
definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, had
proclaimed an Extraordinary Jubilee of a few months; Pii X P. M. Acta, I,
147-166.
142.
Cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 66-67.
143.
Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, "Traite de la varie devotion a la
sainte Vierge." This saint can rightly be linked with the figure of Saint
Alfonso Maria de' Liguori, the second centenary of whose death occurs this
year; cf. among his works "Le glorie di Maria."
144.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 69.
145.
Homily on 1 January 1987.
146.
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 69.
147. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic
Constitution on Divine Revelation "Dei Verbum," 2: "Through this
revelation...the invisible God...out of the abundance of his love speaks to men
as friends...and lives among them..., so that he may invite and take them into
fellowship with himself."