Mariology

This is the Christian theological study of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Mariology looks to relate doctrine/dogma about Mary to other doctrine of the faith, like those concerning Jesus & notions about redemption, intercession, & grace.

Christian Mariology looks to place the role of the historic Mary in the context of Scripture, tradition, & the teachings of the Church of Mary. In terms of social history, Mariology may be broadly defined as the study of devotion to & thinking about Mary throughout the history of Christianity.

There’s a variety of Christian, & non-Christian, views on Mary as a figure ranging from the focus on the veneration of Mary in Roman Catholic Mariology to criticism of “mariolatry” as a form of idolatry.

As a field of theology, the most substantial developments in Mariology, & the founding of specific centers devoted to its study. In recent centuries, it’s taken place within the Roman Catholic Mariology.

The Eastern Orthodox ideas, & veneration, of Mary are integral to the rite as a whole (theotokos). They’re mostly expressed in liturgy. The veneration of Mary is said to permeate, in a way, the entire life of the Church as a “dimension” of dogma, as well as piety, of Christology as well as of Ecclesiology.

While similar to the Roman Catholic view, barring some minor differences, the Orthodox don’t see a need for a separate academic discipline of Mariology, as the Mother of God is seen as the self-evident apogee of God’s human creation. Apogee is the highest point in the development of something.

A significant number of Marian publications were written in the 20th century. Theologians Raimondo Spiazzi & Gabriel Roschini produced 2,500 & 900 publications respectively.

Over the centuries, Roman Catholic Mariology has been shaped by various forces ranging from sensus fidelium to Marian apparitions to the writing of saints to reflection by theologians & papal encyclicals. Encyclicals are papal letters sent to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.

Eastern Orthodox theology calls Mary “the Theotokos” or the God bearer. The virginal motherhood of Mary is at the center of Orthodox Mariology. The title of Ever Virgin is/was given to Mary. The Orthodox Mariology approach emphasizes the sublime holiness of Mary, her share in redemption, & her role as a mediator of grace.

Eastern Orthodox mariological thought goes back as far as St. John Damascene, who in the 8th century, wrote on the mediative role of Mary & one the Dormition of the Mother of God. Dormition is from the Latin “dormine” meaning to sleep. This is in reference to the death & subsequent assumption into Heaven to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Eastern Christianity & some other churches.

In the 14th century, Orthodox Mariology began to flourish among Byzantine theologians who held a cosmic view of Mariology. This puts Jesus & Mary together at the center of the cosmos & saw them as the goal of world history.

More recently, the Eastern Orthodox Mariology achieved a renewal among 20th century theologians in Russia. Mary is the heart of the Church & the center of creation. Unlike the Catholic approach, Eastern Orthodox Mariology doesn’t support the Immaculate Conception Mary. Before the 20th century, Eastern Orthodox Mariology was almost entirely liturgical. It didn’t have any systematic presentation similar to Roman Catholic Mariology.

Protestant views on Mary differ between different denominations. Focus is generally on interpretations of Mary in the Bible, the Apostles’ Creed (which professes the Virgin Birth), & the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431, which called Mary the Mother of God. Some early Protestants created Marian art & allowed limited forms of Marian veneration. Most Protestants today don’t share the veneration of Mary as practiced by Roman Catholics & Eastern Orthodox. Martin Luther, John Calvin, & Karl Barth’s views on Mary, & others have contributed to modern Protestant views.

Anglican Marian theology varies greatly from the Anglo-Catholic, which are very close to Roman Catholic views. The Anglican Church formally celebrates 6 Marian feast days: the Annunciation (March 25), Visitation (May 31), Day of Mary/Assumption or dormition (August 15), Nativity of Mary (September 8), Our Lady of Walsingham (October 15), & Mary’s Conception (December 8). Anglicans, with some other Protestants, teach the Marian dogmas of divine maternity & the virgin birth of Jesus. Even though there’s no systematic agreed upon Mariology among diverse parts of the Anglican Communion. The role of Mary as a mediator is accepted by some groups of modern Anglican theology.

Lutheran Mariology is informed by the Augsburg Confession & honors Mary as “the most blessed Mother of God, the most blessed Virgin Mary, & the Mother of Christ.” The Lutheran Churches, asserts the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches regard Mary as the highest of saints & the Theotokos. They also celebrated a variety of Marian feast days.

In the Islamic perception of the Virgin Mary (known as Maryam in Arabic), she’s an extremely pious & chaste woman who miraculously gave birth, while still a virgin, to the prophet Jesus (called Isa in Arabic). Mary is the only woman named specifically in the Quran. The 19th chapter of the Quran, which is named after her, begins with 2 narrations of a “miraculous birth.”

The First Council of Ephesus, in 431, formally approved devotion to Mary as the Theotokos. Its use implies that Jesus, whom Mary gave birth to, is God. Nestorians preferred Christotokos, meaning “Christ-bearer” or “Mother of the Messiah”, not because they denied Jesus’ divinity. But because they believed that since God the Son, or Logos, existed before time & before Mary. Jesus took divinity from God the Father & humanity from His mom. So calling her “Mother of God” was confusing & perhaps heretical. Others at the council believed that denying the Theotokos title would carry with it the implication that Jesus wasn’t divine.

The Council of Ephesus also approved the creation of icons having the images of the Virgin & child. Devotion to Mary was already widespread before this point. This is reflected in the fresco depictions of Mother & child win the Roman catacombs.

Mary, as the 1st Christian saint & Mother of Jesus, was deemed to be a compassionate mediator between suffering mankind & her son, Jesus, who’s seen as a king & judge.

In the East, devotion to Mary blossomed in the 6th century under official patronage & imperial promotion of the Court of Constantinople. The popularity of Mary as an individual object of devotion only became in the 5th century with the appearance of apocryphal versions of her life, interest in her relics, & the 1st churches dedicated in her name. Like St. Maria Maggiore in Rome.

Since the writing of the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, various beliefs have circulated concerning Mary’s own conception. This led, eventually, to the Roman Catholic Church dogma. It was formally established in the 19th century of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. This exempts her from original sin. This story goes: When Mary’s mom got pregnant with her, it was an Immaculate Conception. So when Mary was born, she was free from original sin. After Mary was born, she was sent to the Temple to live, so she wouldn’t get corrupted by the world. So Mary could be pure to have Jesus.

Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox teaching also extends to the end of Mary’s life ending with the Assumption of Mary. This was formally established as dogma in 1950 & the Dormition of the Mother of God respectively.

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Marie du jour, 18 May: St. John Paul II

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!”

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”!

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.”

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.”

Saint John Paul II

Papal Encyclical Redemptoris Mater, Conclusion
25 March 1987

John Paul II, St. 1987, Redemptoris Mater: On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Pilgrim Church, Vatican, Rome. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater.html.

Featured image: Madonna and Child, created by the workshop of Sassoferrato (Italian, 1609–1685), executed in oil on canvas (date unknown). Image credit: Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How do I let Mary accompany me in the struggle between falling and rising?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#AlmaRedemptorisMater #BlessedVirginMary #encyclical #inspiration #MotherOfGod #MotherOfTheRedeemer #StJohnPaulII

> the Pope's long-awaited #encyclical on climate change and global warning and their effects on soil, water and all the creatures, including humans, whose survival depends on a healthy and sustainable planet, was released. He sounded quite a lot like the Latin American ecofeminist #IvonGabera, when he said "the worldwide disruption of the physical climate system and the loss of millions of species that sustain life are the grossest manifestations of unsustainability."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/face-to-face-with-pope-fr_b_8208534

Explore St. John Paul II’s reflections on how Mary, as our loving Mother and Mediatrix, intercedes for us, supports us in our spiritual journey, and has a unique participation in Christ’s mediation.
Music credit: Sean Beeson

“They have no wine” (Jn 2:3)

We can therefore say that in this passage of John’s Gospel [Jn 2:1-11] 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” (1 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” (Lumen Gentium, 60).

It is precisely in this sense that the episode at Cana in Galilee offers us a sort of first announcement of Mary’s mediation, wholly oriented towards Christ and tending to the revelation of his salvific power.

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” (Lumen Gentium, 61).

And “this maternity of Mary in the order of grace… will last without interruption until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect” (Lumen Gentium, 62).

Saint John Paul II

Redemptoris Mater, 22
25 March 1987

St. John Paul II highlights that Mary’s role as Mediatrix does not lessen or obstruct her Son’s unique role as the one mediator between God and us. Instead, it demonstrates His unique mediation.

As Mediatrix, Mary’s role flows from Christ’s merits. Her prayers are powerful and obtain miracles from the Lord because Jesus is our mediator, and she appeals to Him alone.

For example, at the wedding feast in Cana (Jn 2:1-11), Mary obtained the miracle of turning water into wine by leaning in and encouraging Jesus to reveal His power as Savior.

St. John Paul II further elaborates on Mary’s unique role and its ongoing significance, emphasizing her continuous role in our spiritual lives.

Her cooperation in Jesus’ mission through her obedience and love makes her our mother in the order of grace. The “order of grace” refers to the supernatural order, in which God’s grace is active and transformative, guiding us toward holiness and eternal salvation.

Mary’s maternal role in this order means she intercedes for us and assists us in receiving and living out God’s grace. By “heavenly fulfillment,” St. John Paul II means the ultimate completion of our spiritual journey, where we are united with God, fully partaking in His eternal joy and peace.

God of eternal wisdom,
in your providence, you willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary
should bring forth the Author of Grace,
and take part with him
in the mystery of man’s redemption.
May she obtain for us grace in abundance
and bring us to the haven of everlasting salvation.

Featured image: The Virgin Mother’s intercession and Christ’s first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee are wonderfully portrayed in this majestic stained glass window at St. Aloysius Church on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. The church, which was dedicated in 1911, features stained glass windows crafted and installed by the studio of Franz Mayer of Munich. Image credit: Fr. James Bradley / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/22/ep13-materdivgra/

#CanaOfGalilee #encyclical #LumenGentium #maternityOfMary #mediation #MotherOfDivineGrace #MotherOfGod #RedemptorisMater #StJohnPaulII #supernatural #wedding

Christ reveals, first and foremost, that the frank and open acceptance of truth is the condition for authentic freedom: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32) [Cf. Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis (March 4, 1979), 12]. This is truth which sets one free in the face of worldly power and which gives the strength to endure martyrdom. So it was with Jesus before Pilate: “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (Jn 18:37). The true worshippers of God must thus worship him “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:23): in this worship they become free. Worship of God and a relationship with truth are revealed in Jesus Christ as the deepest foundation of freedom.

Furthermore, Jesus reveals by his whole life, and not only by his words, that freedom is acquired in love, that is, in the gift of self. The one who says: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13), freely goes out to meet his Passion (cf. Mt 26:46), and in obedience to the Father gives his life on the Cross for all men (cf. Phil 2:6-11). Contemplation of Jesus Crucified is thus the highroad which the Church must tread every day if she wishes to understand the full meaning of freedom: the gift of self in service to God and one’s brethren. Communion with the Crucified and Risen Lord is the never-ending source from which the Church draws unceasingly in order to live in freedom, to give of herself and to serve. Commenting on the verse in Psalm 100 “Serve the Lord with gladness”, Saint Augustine says: “In the house of the Lord, slavery is free. It is free because it serves not out of necessity, but out of charity… Charity should make you a servant, just as truth has made you free… you are at once both a servant and free: a servant, because you have become such; free, because you are loved by God your Creator; indeed, you have also been enabled to love your Creator… You are a servant of the Lord and you are a freedman of the Lord. Do not go looking for a liberation which will lead you far from the house of your liberator!” [Enarratio in Psalmum XCIX, 7].

The Church, and each of her members, is thus called to share in the munus regale of the Crucified Christ (cf. Jn 12:32), to share in the grace and in the responsibility of the Son of man who came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28) [Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium 36; cf. Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis (March 4,1979), 21].

Jesus, then, is the living, personal summation of perfect freedom in total obedience to the will of God. His crucified flesh fully reveals the unbreakable bond between freedom and truth, just as his Resurrection from the dead is the supreme exaltation of the fruitfulness and saving power of a freedom lived out in truth.

Saint John Paul II

Veritatis Splendor, 87
6 August 1993

Featured image: Saint John Paul II greets the faithful at a general audience in St. Peter’s Square. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/06/11/jp2-versplen87/

#BlessedAlphonsusMaryMazurek #death #encyclical #freedom #JesusChrist #martyrdom #obedience #passion #power #StJohnPaulII #truth #willOfGod

With FunkWhale I'm trying to share a song:
"Do unto others as you would have them.. do unto you" This is the entire song, the rest is commentary.
The #FratelliTutti #Encyclical of #PopeFrancis made me think of a 1979 song by #BobDylan, #DoUntoOthers, the #GoldenRule??
https://audio.liberta.vip/library/albums/7193/

> .. an opportunity "to listen ever more attentively to the cry of the earth, which urges us to act together in taking care of our common home," he said. He thanked the Vatican office promoting the initiative, the Dicastery for Promoting #IntegralHumanDevelopment, and other organizations taking part.
#LaudatoSi' Week is a yearly event marking the anniversary of #PopeFrancis' encyclical, "Laudato Si': on Care for Our #CommonHome." #LaudatoSiWeek
#Encyclical