We cannot leave our consideration of the communion of saints
without prayerfully turning our attention to the unique place of the Mother
of God in the plan of salvation and in the Church. It is regrettable that
the Protestant Reformation eventually turned away from the ancient teaching
of the early Church about Mary as the Mother of the God-Man and Mother
of the Church. In the second century St. Irenaeus called Mary the new
Eve and Mother of the new race of the children of God, that is, Mother
of the Church or the Mystical Body of Christ. The oldest Marian devotional
book, the Protoevangelium of James, copied into all known Christian languages,
dates from the end of the second century. The oldest known prayer to Mary,
"We fly to thy protection, holy Mother of God . . ." comes from Egypt
in the next century. In Genesis 3:15 Mary is shown to be an essential
part of salvation history, and her unique role is proclaimed in the Book
of Revelation 12:1-6. Luther and Calvin wrote devoutly of the Blessed
Mother, and Zwingli even included the "Hail, Mary" in the first prayer
book of his new Reformed Church. As popular religious expressions sometimes
do, certain Marian devotions moved toward superstition. This led St. Louis
de Montfort, the great Marian apostle, to teach that any devotion to Mary
not based on her unique relationship to her divine Son was "idolatry."
Despite occasional devotional excess, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches
continue to acknowledge the dogmatic teaching of the Council of Ephesus:
Mary is the mother of the person who is the divine Son of God.
Mary stands at the center of the communion of saints. She
is given to us by her Son as our Mother as she stands at the foot of the
Cross. No Catholic need ever apologize for devotion to Mary. She herself
prophesied that all generations would call her blessed.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§ 964, 967-970).
Most of this teaching comes from the Vatican II decree Lumen Gentium.
Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ
and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in
the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal
conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour
of His passion: Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of
faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the
cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with
her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself
with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to
the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same
Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these
words: "Woman, behold your son."
By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive
work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is
the Church's model of faith and charity. Thus she is a "preeminent and
. . . wholly unique member of the Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary
realization" (typus) of the Church. Her role in relation to the Church
and to all humanity goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she
cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the
Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason
she is a mother to us in the order of grace."
"This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly
from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which
she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal
fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven, she did not lay aside
this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring
us the gifts of eternal salvation. . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin
is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress,
and Mediatrix."
"Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes
this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the
Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the
superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends
entirely on it, and draws all its power from it." "No creature could
ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just
as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers
and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different
ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer
does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which
is but a sharing in this one source."
Quiet Time and Then Discussion
Questions for Meditation
1. Do you think of Mary as your spiritual mother?
2. Do you ask her intercession for yourself and all those you care
about?
3. How would you explain Catholic and Orthodox devotion to Mary beginning
with the earliest centuries of the Church?
Prayer
Mary, Mother of the Church and my mother, I
ask you humbly and confidently to intercede for me, my family and friends,
the Church, and the whole world. How beautiful it is that the Son of
God would be your Son with all that that word means. At the wedding
feast of Cana you seem to have changed His mind. Mary, I have many needs,
many troubles. I am concerned for the welfare of so many. Please pray
for me, pray for us all. Amen.