Transcript Slide 1

MARY
MOTHER OF JESUS,
MOTHER OF GOD
Federico Fiori Barocci's
Madonna del Populo
(1575–1579)
Part Six: VIb
The Mediatorship of Mary
“And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through
Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Mary’s Role as Mediatrix of All Graces
This title has been received into the Liturgy of the Church through the
introduction of the Feast of The Virgin Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces (1921).
Mary is designated Mediatrix of all Graces in a double sense:
1. Mary gave the Redeemer, the Source of all graces, to the world, and
in this way she is the channel of all graces. (Sententia certa; Certain
theological opinion)
Second Person
of the Trinity
Son of God
Jesus Christ
In Him is Life
I am the Life
Grace (The Divine Life)
“go-between"
Virgin
Mother
Wife
Co-Redemptrix
Mediatrix of Divine Life
Mediatrix
Advocatrix
Flesh of Her Flesh
Blood of Her Blood
Behold Your Mother
Mother of the Church
2. Since Mary's Assumption into Heaven no grace is conferred on man
without her actual intercessory co-operation.
(Pius and probable opinion; Sententia pia et probabiIis).
Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces by her co-operation in the Incarnation.
Mary freely and deliberately co-operated in giving the Redeemer to the
world. Instructed by the angel as to the person and the task of Her Son
she freely assented to be Mother of God.
Luke 1:38
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done unto me according to
thy word.
The Incarnation of the Son of God, and the Redemption of mankind by
the vicarious atonement of Christ were dependent on her assent. In this
significant moment in the history of Salvation Mary represented humanity.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
“At the Annunciation the concurrence of the
maiden was awaited as a representative of
all human nature”. (S. Th. III 30, I)
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1893)
“To a certain extent she (Mary) represented the whole human race.” D 1940 a.
Exception to “Mediatrix of All Graces”
The Virgin Mary is Mediatrix of Grace. Pope Pius XI even calls her
“Mediatrix of all graces.” However, a correct understanding of this title
requires two exceptions to the phrase “Mediatrix of all graces.”
1. The Virgin Mary is not the Mediatrix of the grace given by the Divine
Nature of Christ to the Human Nature of Christ. There is no mediator
between Christ’s Divine and Human Natures, therefore, there can be no
mediatrix between Christ’s Divine and Human Natures. The Virgin Mary
does not intercede with the Divine Nature of Christ to obtain grace for
the Human Nature of Christ. The Virgin Mary does not intercede with
the Most Holy Trinity to obtain grace for the Human Nature of Christ.
Mary does not pray for Christ to be saved or to be blessed by God. Christ
is Mary’s Savior and God, so He never requires her intercession in the
least. Mary never interceded for Christ; from the time of the Annunciation,
Mary always understood that Christ is God.
2. The Virgin Mary is not the Mediatrix of the grace given by the Trinity
to the Virgin Mary. When Mary receives grace, from Christ as Source of
grace by virtue of His Divinity, and through Christ as Mediator by virtue
of His Humanity, she is the recipient, not the Mediatrix, of that grace.
She cannot be both mediatrix and recipient of the same grace.
She cannot stand as Mediatrix between Christ and herself.
No Other Exceptions
There are no other exceptions to Mary’s role as Mediatrix of all grace.
Mary is Mediatrix of all grace given to all angels and to all created persons,
other than Christ and Mary.
The Virgin Mary is the Mediatrix of grace given by God throughout all
Time and all Creation. How can Mary be the Mediatrix of grace given by
God before her own beginning at the Immaculate Virgin Conception?
If Heaven were stretched out in Time, with events occurring in an absolute
order of before and after, she could not. If Heaven was within Time, then
she could not dispense grace to persons living before she arrived in
Heaven. But Heaven is beyond Time and the Virgin Mary left earth for
Heaven at the time of her Dormition.
Mary’s Mediatrix Role in the Fathers of the Church
The Fathers called Mary the “go-between” (mediatrix).
St. Ephrem (306-373)
“After the Mediator thou art the mediatrix of the whole world.” (Oratio IV ad
Deiparam. 4th Lesson of the Office of the Feast)
The Fathers contrast Mary's obedience at the Annunciation with Eve's
disobedience. Mary by her obedience became the cause of the Salvation,
while Eve by her disobedience became the cause of death.
St. Irenaeus (c. 115 – 202)
“As she (Eve) who had Adam as her husband, but was nevertheless a
virgin, was disobedient, and thereby became the cause of death to herself
and to the whole of mankind, so also Mary, who had a pre-ordained husband,
and was still a virgin, by her obedience became a cause of her own salvation
and the salvation or the whole human race.” (Adv. haer. III 22, 4; cf. V 19, I)
St. Jerome (340-420)
“By a woman the whole world was saved.” (Tract. de Ps. 96).
Tertullian (c. 160-c. 225)
“Mary brought forth him who should sometime bring to salvation his brother
according to the flesh, Israel, by whom he himself was slain. So then, God
brought down into the womb his own Word, the good brother, that he might
erase the memory of the evil brother: for the salvation of man Christ must
needs come forth from that organ into which man already under
condemnation had entered.” (De carne Christi 17)
Mary Mediatrix in Church Documents
The title, Corredemptrix = Co-redemptress, which has been current since
the fifteenth century, also appears in some official Church
documents.
Pope Pius X (1903-1914) Encyclical “Ad diem”
“The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mediatrix of all graces, as the result of this
participation between Mary and Christ in the sorrows and the will, she
deserved most worthily to be made the restorer of the lost world and so
the dispenser of all the gifts which Jesus procured for us by His death
and blood.” (D 1978 a)
The title must not be conceived in the sense of an equation of the efficacy
of Mary with the redemptive activity of Christ, the sole Redeemer of
humanity .
I Timothy 2:5
For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and
the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself
as ransom for all.
As she herself required redemption and in fact was redeemed by Christ, she
could not of herself merit the grace of the redemption of humanity in
accordance with the principle: The author of an act of merit cannot be a
recipient of the same act of merit. Her co-operation in the objective
redemption is an indirect, remote co-operation, and derives from this that
she voluntarily devoted her whole life to the service of the Redeemer and,
under the Cross, suffered and sacrificed with Him.
Pope Pius XII (1943) Encyclical “Mystici Corporis”
She “offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father together with the
holocaust of her maternal rights and her motherly love like a new Eve for
all children of Adam.” (D 2291)
Mary is “The New Eve”, the same Pope declares, in the Apostolic
Constitution “Munificentissimus Deus” (1950)
Christ alone truly offered the sacrifice of atonement on the Cross; Mary
merely gave Him moral support in this action. Thus Mary is not entitled
to the title “Priest" (sacerdos). Indeed this is expressly laid down by
the Holy Office (1916, 1927).
Council of Florence (1438-1445)
“Jesus Christ, . . . alone laid low the enemy of the human race by destroying
our sins and opened the entrance of the kingdom of heaven . . .” (D 7II)
In the same way, He alone acquired the grace of Redemption for the whole
human race, including Mary.
Luke 1:38
Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Luke implies Mary's mediate, remote co-operation in the Redemption.
St. Ambrose (337-397)
“Christ's Passion did not require any support.” (De inst. virgo 7)
In the power of the grace of Redemption merited by Christ, Mary, by
her spiritual entering into the sacrifice of her Divine Son for men, made
atonement for the sins of men, and merited the application of the
redemptive grace of Christ. In thus manner she co-operates in the
subjective redemption of mankind.
Pope St. Pius X (1904) Encyclical “Ad diem”
“The Blessed Virgin merits (“promeret”) for us de congruo (along with)
what Christ merited de condigno (alone worthy) and is the first minister of
the graces to be bestowed.” (D 1978 a)
The present tense “promeret” (“merits”) shows, not indeed to be taken as
referring to the historical objective Redemption, which occurred once and
for all, but to her ever-present, intercessory co-operation in the subjective
redemption.
Mary is the Mediatrix of All Graces by Her Intercession
in Heaven
Since her assumption into Heaven, Mary co-operates in the application
of the grace of Redemption to man. She participates in the distribution
of grace by her maternal intercession which is far inferior in efficacy to
that of the intercessory prayer of Christ, the High Priest, but surpasses
far the intercessory prayer of all the other saints.
According to the view of the older, and of many of the modern, theologians
Mary's intercessory co-operation extends to all graces, which are conferred
on mankind, so that no grace accrues to men, without the intercession
of Mary.
The implication of this is not that we are obliged to beg for all graces
through Mary, nor that Mary's intercession is intrinsically necessary
for the application of the grace, but that, according to God's positive
ordinance, the redemptive grace of Christ is conferred on nobody without
the actual intercessory co-operation of Mary.
Recent Popes have declared in favor of this doctrine.
Leo XIII (1891) Encyclical “Octobri mense”
“From that great treasure of all graces, which the Lord has brought,
nothing, according to the will of God, comes to us except through Mary,
so that, as nobody can approach the Supreme Father except through
the Son, similarly nobody can approach Christ except through the Mother.”
(1940 a)
Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914)
Mary “the dispenser of all gifts, which Jesus has acquired for us by His
death and His blood.” (D 1978 a)
Pope Benedict XV (1914 – 1922)
“All gifts which the Author of all good has deigned
to communicate to the unhappy posterity of Adam,
are, according to the loving resolve of His Divine
Providence, dispensed by the hands of the Most
Holy Virgin.” (AAS 9, 1917, 266)
Pope Benedict XV (1914 – 1922)
Mary is “the mediatrix with God of all graces.” (AAS II 1919, 227)
Pope Pius XI Encyclical “Ingravescentibus malis” (1937)
quotes the words of Saint Bernard :
“Thus it is His (God's) will that we should have everything through Mary.”
(AAS 29, 1937, 373)
Mary as Mediatrix in Scripture
Express scriptural proofs are lacking.
Theologians seek a biblical foundation in the words of Christ,
John 19:26
Woman behold thy son, son behold thy mother.
According to the literal sense these words refer only to the persons
addressed, Mary and John.
The mystical interpretation, which became dominant in the West in the late
Middle Ages (Dionysius the Carthusian), sees in John the representative
of the whole human race. In him Mary was given as a mother to all the
redeemed. Moreover, it corresponds to the position of Mary as the spiritual
mother of the whole of redeemed humanity that she, by her powerful
intercession, should procure for her children in need of help all graces
by which they can attain eternal salvation.
The idea of the spiritual Motherhood of Mary is part of the Ancient Christian
tradition, independently of the interpretation of John 19:26.
Origen (185 - 253/254)
“Every perfect person no longer lives (of himself) but Christ lives in him;
and because Christ lives in him, it is said of him to Mary: Behold thy son
Christ.” (Com. in loan. 14, 23)
St. Epiphanius (310-403)
“She (Mary) is she of whom Eve is the prototype, who, as such received
the appellation' mother of the living' ... as to externals the whole human
race on earth stemmed from that Eve. Thus in truth, through Mary, the
very life of the world was borne, so that she bore the Living One, and
became the Mother of the Living. Thus in prototype Mary was called ‘
Mother of the living.’” (Haer. 78, 18)
St. Augustine (354-430) bases Mary's spiritual Motherhood on the mystical
unity of the faithful with Christ. As the bodily Mother of God, she is, in
a spiritual fashion, also the mother of those who are articulated with
Christ. (De s. virginitate 6, 6)
Express testimonies, though few in number, to Mary's position as Mediatrix
of grace are found since the eighth century. They became more numerous
during the peak period of the Middle Ages.
St. Germanus of Constantinople (d. 733)
“Nobody can achieve salvation except through thee ... O Most Holy One .
nobody can receive a gift of grace except through thee ... O Most Chaste
One.” (Or. 9, 5. Lesson of the Office of the Feast)
St. Bernard of Clairvaux (d. II53)
“God wished that we have nothing, except by the hands of Mary.”
(In Vig. Nativit. Domini serm. 3, 10)
Pseudo-Albert the Great (c. 1193/1206-1280)
“The universal dispenser of all riches.” (Super Missus est q. 29)
In modern times the doctrine that Mary is the Universal Mediatrix of Grace
was advocated by
St. Peter Canisius (1520-1597),
Francisco Suarez (1548- 1617),
St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787),
Matthias Joseph Scheeben (1835-1888).
and it is supported by the opinion of numerous theologians at the present
day.
Speculatively the doctrine of Mary's Universal Mediation is based on
her cooperation in the Incarnation and the Redemption, as well as on
her relationship to the Church:
a) Since Mary gave the source of all grace to men, it is to be expected
that she would also co-operate in the distribution of all grace.
b) As Mary became the spiritual Mother of all the redeemed, it is fitting
that she, by her constant motherly intercession should care for the
supernatural life of all her children.
c) As Mary is “the prototype of the Church” (St. Ambrose, Expos. ev.
ec. Luc. 11 7), and as all grace of redemption is obtained by the Church,
it is to be assumed that Mary. by her heavenly intercession, is the
universal mediatrix of grace.
Definability
The doctrine of Mary's Universal Mediation of Grace based on her
co-operation in the Incarnation is so definitely manifest in the sources
of the Faith, that nothing stands in the way of a dogmatic definition.
Her position as Mediatrix of Grace in virtue of her intercession in Heaven
is less definitely attested. Since however it is organically associated
with Mary's Spiritual Motherhood which in turn is based on Scripture and
with her intimate participation in the work of her Divine Son, its definition
does not seem impossible.
So then, why do some persons promote the idea of a “fifth and final Marian
dogma?” They have been influenced by the false apparitions and false
messages of this claimed private revelation at Amsterdam. This false private
revelation promotes the doctrine of Mary as co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and
Advocate, but also distorts that doctrine in a number of ways. One distortion
is the claim that this doctrine is fifth and final. This insidious error implies
that the Magisterium cannot teach and define any further dogmas about the
Virgin Mary, and it implies that other teachings about Mary (her Immaculate
Heart, her Queenship, her suffering at the foot of the Cross, etc.) are not
dogmas.
Summary of Correct Doctrine
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, Mediator, Advocate. Christ is assisted by
the Virgin Mary in her triune role as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocatrix.
The following points are an important part of a correct understanding of
this doctrine.
1. Mary’s role is Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocatrix .
2. All three aspects of this one role are substantially different from, and
wholly subordinate to, Christ’s triune role as Redeemer, Mediator,
Advocate.
3. Mary’s role is different from, and subordinate to, Christ’s role because,
in God’s plan for Creation, the role given to women is different from,
and subordinate to, the role given to men.
4. The “co-” prefix in Co-Redemptrix refers to Mary’s cooperation with us;
it does not mean that Mary is Co-Redeemer, not even with and
under Christ.
5. Mary is not a Co-Redeemer and is not able to save anyone, not even with
and under Christ. Christ alone redeems; Mary merely assists Christ
in His work of redemption. Her role is not co-redemptive.
6. Mary is Mediatrix of all graces, but with two exceptions. She is not
Mediatrix of grace given to Christ, nor is she Mediatrix of grace she
herself receives from Christ.
7. Mary is also Mediatrix of Divine Providence and of mercy and of all that
God does within Creation, except with respect to Christ and herself.
Therefore, she should be called: “Mediatrix.”
8. Mary is Advocatrix. The term “Advocate,” when applied to the Virgin Mary,
is theologically deficient because it lacks the feminine form, which
would distinguish Mary’s different and subordinate role from Christ’s
role as Advocate. Use of the Latin form of the word allows a clear
theological definition to be attached to the term, unfettered by the
various connotations which the word “advocate” has when translated
into various languages.
9. The expression “Advocate of the People of God” can only be used to refer
to Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary has no role of
advocacy herself; instead, her role as Advocatrix is to assist Christ,
our Advocate. Mary is not “Advocate of the People of God,” but rather
is a humble assistant to Christ, the Advocate of the People of God.
10. Mary does not stand before God as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocatrix.
In truth, only Christ stands before God to redeem, mediate, and
advocate. The Virgin Mary humbly kneels before Christ, in worship
of Him, and assists Christ fully in His work of redemption, mediation,
advocacy.
11. Mary is truly Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocatrix. But this true doctrine
is neither the fifth Marian dogma, nor is it the final Marian dogma.
The claim that this doctrine is “the fifth and final Marian dogma” is a
serious theological error which contradicts the teaching of the Church.
The idea that Mary has a role in God’s plan as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix,
Advocatrix does not come from private revelation, but is implicit in Tradition
and Scripture. Pope Leo XIII even used the terms “Co-Redemptress” and
“Mediatrix” in the 1890s and Pope Pius X called Mary “advocate” in the
early 1900s.
The Veneration of Mary
Mary, the Mother of God, is entitled to the Cult of Hyperdulia. (Sententia
certa; certain theological opinion)
Theological Proof
In view of her dignity as the Mother of God and her fullness of grace, a
special veneration is due to Mary.
This is substantially less than the cultus latriae (= adoration) which is due
to God alone;
but it is higher than the cultus duliae (= veneration) due to the angels and
to the other saints.
The special veneration thus given to Mary is called cultus hyperduliae.
The Scriptural source of the special veneration due to the Mother of God
is to be found in:
Luke 1:28
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. .
Luke 1:42
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb.
Luke 1:48
For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Luke 11:27
Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the breasts that gave thee
suck.
Historical Development
During the first three centuries, the veneration of Mary was intimately
connected with the veneration of Christ. From the fourth century onwards
there is a formal veneration of Mary herself.
St. Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373)
Hymns on the birth of the Lord “are almost equally songs of
praise for the Virgin Mother.” (Bardenhewer, Sermons on Mary II)
St. Gregory Nazianzus (d. 390)
Refers to the invocation of Mary's intercession by saying of the Christian
maiden Justina, that she had “besought the Virgin Mary to assist a maiden
in danger,” when her virginity was threatened. (Or. 24, II)
St. Epiphanius (d. 403)
The Collyridians whose member paid an idolatrous veneration to Mary:
“Mary should be honored, but the Father and the Son and the Holy
Ghost should be adored. Nobody should adore Mary.” (Haer. 79, 7)
Saints Ambrose (337-397) and Jerome (340-420)
depict Mary as the prototype of virginity, and demand that she should be
imitated (St. Ambrose, De virginibus, II 2, 6-17; St. Jerome, Ep. 22, 38;
107, 7).
The veneration of Mary was greatly promoted by the definition of her dignity
as Mother of God, advocated by St. Cyril of Alexandria (378 – 444), at the
Council of Ephesus (431).
In the years following, Mary was glorified innumerous sermons and hymns;
in her honor Churches were built and feasts instituted.
Side by side with the Purification of the Blessed Virgin (Greek Hypapante),
and the Annunciation, which were originally feasts of the Lord, there emerged,
even in Patristic times, the Feast of the Home-Going (Assumption) of Mary,
and of the Birth of Mary.
The veneration of Mary achieved its richest development in the Middle Ages.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) fearing that Divine honor would be paid to a
creature, and that the unique mediatorship of Christ would be prejudiced,
sharply criticized many forms of the veneration paid to Mary, but held fast to
the traditional belief in Mary's Motherhood of God, her perpetual virginity, her
Immaculate Conception, and her intercession. He paid homage to her as
the model of humility and faith, and recommended that appeal be made to
her intercession. (Interpretation of the Magnificat 1521)
Ulrich Zwingli (1483-1546) also acknowledged the Church's belief in Mary,
and held to the veneration of Mary, but rejected the practice of making
petition to her.
The same attitude was adopted by most of tile Old Lutheran Theologians,
although it must be remarked that they often confounded petition with
adoration.
A resolute opponent of the veneration paid to Mary was John Calvin (1509
-1564) who rejected it as adoration of idols
Even within the framework of Lutheranism the three biblically founded
Feasts of Mary, the Annunciation, the Purification, and the Visitation were
solemnized up to the time of the Enlightenment, while the Feasts of
the Birth of Mary and Her Assumption, after they had been maintained
for some time, as Luther wished, were abandoned in the sixteenth century.
Under the influence of rationalism the religious veneration of Mary
deteriorated and sank to the level of regarding her as a sublimely moral
model but a merely natural person.
Wherever in Protestantism belief in the Incarnation is still living, veneration
of the Mother of God is not entirely extinguished.
End of
Mary the Series, Mediatrix, Part VIb
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Mary the Series, Her Apparitions, Part VIIa