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NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

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BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER
Woman of Faith

A Pastoral Letter on the
Blessed Virgin Mary

NATIONAL CONFERENCE
OF

CATHOLIC BISHOPS

November 21, 1973

1973

Publications Office

UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005



Copyright © 1973 National Conference of Catholic Bishops



Analytical Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

I. OUR LADY IN THE BIBLE 5

Great women of the Old Testament 5
People of Israel as "Bride of Yahweh/' "Daughter

of Zion" 5

Eve and Mary 5

Mary in the Gospel of St. Luke 6

Zephaniah's Anticipation of Gabriel's Message 8

Nathan Tells David of Jesus' Coming 8
Mary's Child the "Son of God" 9
The Ark of the Covenant and Mary 9
Mary and Abraham 11
Mary and Elizabeth 12

Mary in the Gospel of St. John 12
Mary at Cana and at Calvary 12

II. THE CHURCH'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE MYSTERY
OF MARY 15

Seeing Mary in the Scriptures 15

The New Eve 15
The Virginal Conception 16

The Church's Constant Teaching 16

The Creeds 17

Mary's Virginity in the 2d Century Fathers 17

The Precursors of Jesus: Isaac, Samuel, John

the Baptist 18

Mary Always a Virgin 19

St. Jerome and the "Brothers of the Lord" 19

The Blessedness of Mary 20
The Immaculate Conception 20

The Assumption 22

Mary, Mother of God

—

Theotokos 23

iii



III. MARY, MEDIATRIX AND SPIRITUAL MOTHER 25

Vatican II and the Title "Mediatrix" 25

Mary's Role as Mediatrix 25

Mary as Spiritual Mother 27
Mother of the Church 27
Mother of the Members of Christ 27
The Faithful Christian as Mother of Christ 27
Mary, Mother of the Spiritual Life 27

IV. MARY IN OUR LIFE 31

Mary as Intercessor 31

Mary in the Communion of Saints 31
Mary in the Mass 32

Mary and Those Who Have Died in Christ 33
Mary in the Eastern Rites 34

Mary in Christian Devotion 34

Decline of Marian Devotion Today 34

Mary in the Liturgy 35

Extra-liturgical devotions 36

The Rosary 36

Apparitions of the BVM—Lourdes, LaSalette,
Fatima, Guadalupe 37

Mary and Ecumenism 38

The Reformation 39

Vatican II on the Hierarchy of Truths 40

Tradition and the Magisterium 41

V. MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH 43

Pope Paul's Use of the Title 43

Mary and the Holy Spirit 44

Mary and the Priesthood 44

Mary and the Religious Life 45

Mary and Family Life 47

Reverence for Human Life 48
Christian Marriage 48

The Christian Home 49
The Prayer Life of the Home 50

Mary and the Dignity of Women 50
Mary and Youth 51
Mary and Single Life in the World 51

IV



CONCLUSION 52

APPENDIX—MARY'S PLACE IN AMERICAN CATHOLIC
HISTORY

REFERENCES

SUGGESTED READINGS

STUDY QUESTIONS

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INTRODUCTION

Dearly Beloved:

1 We your Bishops and your brothers in the faith, are addressing
to you a Pastoral Letter on the Blessed Virgin Mary. We wish to
share with you our faith in the truths concerning her and together

with you to express publicly our filial love for her. The Gospels

summon us all to recognize the special place the Mother of Jesus
has in God's plan for the salvation of mankind. The teachings of

Popes and Councils lead us to an ever clearer understanding of

Mary's privileged position in the Church. Singular honor has

been given her in piety, art, music and literature. Surely this

Catholic tradition is a fulfillment of her prophecy: "All ages to

come shall call me blessed" (Lk. 1:48).

2 In order to serve better the current needs of men, the Church

seeks to adapt herself to the widespread social and cultural

changes of our time. Nevertheless, under the guidance of the

Holy Spirit, she must preserve intact the divine message which

she has received from Christ. This includes the special role of

Mary in the mystery of the salvation of the human race. Through
this letter we hope to reaffirm our heritage of faith in Mary, the
Mother of God, and to encourage authentic devotion to her.

3 First of all, we should clearly understand that the Second
Vatican Council in no way downgraded faith in or devotion to
Mary. On the contrary, the eighth chapter of the Constitution
on the Church is a clear and penetrating account of Catholic

teaching on the Blessed Mother of God. Other ages have erected
shrines and temples in her honor. This chapter, fashioned from

the inspired texts of Sacred Scripture, the teachings of early

Christian writers, and the practice and prayer life of the Church,

is in reality a beautiful spiritual shrine in which the Mother of

Jesus is honored and from which she continues to speak to us

with a mother's loving concern. Our Holy Father, Pope Paul VI,
has repeatedly affirmed the position of the Council. He called
the chapter on Our Lady "a vast synthesis of Catholic doctrine"

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concerning her place in the mystery of Christ and his Church.

He also recalled that she was the heavenly patroness to whom
Pope John entrusted the Council.1

4 These words of ours are the preamble to our full Pastoral
Letter on Our Lady. We have called upon dedicated theologians
to aid us in restating the teachings of the Church about her. Here

again the Council documents have guided our approach. We
hope and pray that our presentation will be a subject for serious

study and loving reflection. We desire with all our hearts that it
be received into homes and rectories and seminaries, into schools
and institutes of higher learning, into adult education groups,

confraternity centers, campus ministries and religious com-
munities.

5 The intercession of Mary extends not only to individuals but

to the whole community of believers. She has a place in the
ongoing work of redemption, which has as its goal, "to bring all
things in the heavens and on earth into one under Christ's head-

ship" (Eph. 1:10). The full sense of Mary's role is summed up in
the title Pope Paul gave her, "Mother of the Church." 2 Because of

her divine maternity, Mary stands in a unique relationship with

her Savior and her Son. "Believing and obeying, she brought forth

on earth the Father's Son . . . whom God placed as the first-born
among many brethren, namely, the faithful. In their birth and
development she cooperates with a maternal love." 3

6 Sometimes anxiety is expressed that devotion to Mary may
detract from the position of Jesus, our one Lord and Mediator.

Such fear is unfounded. The more we know and love Mary, the
more surely will we know and love Jesus and understand His
mission in the world. It is also true that the more we know Jesus
and love Him, the better we will appreciate His Mother's place
in God's plan for man's redemption. This is the teaching of the

Second Vatican Council. Her motherly intercession, the Council

made clear, in no way diminishes the unique mediation of Christ,
but rather shows its power. God's free choice is the reason for

Mary's place in the plan for our redemption. She is totally

dependent on her son. Commenting on the words of the Council,

Paul VI declared: "Devotion to the Virgin Mother of God does
not stop with her, but has to be regarded as a help which of its

very nature leads men to Christ." 4

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7 Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, this is the faith we share
with you

:

8 We honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate
Word of God. We recognize her unique and exalted role in the
redemption her Son brought to men. We love Mary. We try to
imitate her virtues of faith, purity, humility and conformity to the

will of God, which are part of the very texture of the Gospel

message.

9 We acknowledge that devotion to Mary, the joyful duty of
all of us, has a special function in exalting the dignity of woman
and fostering respect for her person. We believe in the power of
Mary's intercession to bring us, as individuals and as a com-

munity, under the influence of Christ's redeeming mercy.

10 With all the affection of our hearts and the full submission
of our minds to the truths of our holy Faith, we repeat the
Church's familiar words in praise of the Mother of Jesus:

Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.

Blessed be her glorious Assumption.

Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.

11 United with our Holy Father, we proclaim once more the
preeminent position of Mary in "the mystery of Christ and the
Church." We urge the restoration and renewal of the ancient
love of Christendom for the Mother of the Lord as a tribute to lay
tenderly at her feet. In this Holy Year, we pray that she may fill
the hearts of all men with peace and lead them to know and love
Jesus Christ, her Son, and to share in the abundant fruits of His
redemption.

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Chapter One

OUR LADY IN THE BIBLE

12 The Holy Spirit led the Second Vatican Council to describe

our Lady's life on earth as a pilgrimage of faith. 1 This approach to

the Virgin Mary based on the Bible is especially suited to the

needs of our day. Remembering the coming of the Son of God
among us as the Son of Mary, in one of the earliest New Testa-
ment passages, St. Paul wrote: "When the designated time had
come, God sent forth his Son born of a woman, born under the
law." According to the plan of the Father of mercies this took

place "that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal 4:4-5).
Following St. Paul, the evangelists portrayed the special signifi-

cance of the Virgin Mary. St. Luke's Annunciation narrative stands

in the tradition of Old Testament announcements delivered by

angels, in which God chose men to play a special part in the
messianic preparations.

13 In the history of Israel, women as well as men had privileged
roles in the accomplishment of God's saving plan. The Old

Testament shows a line of great men of the Bible as "standard-
bearers" of redemption: Adam, Abraham, Moses and others; and
a parallel line of believers in the saving action of the Lord, the

great women: Eve, Sarah, Miriam, and even the whole people of
Israel under a feminine image "bride of Yahweh," "Daughter of
Zion."

14 The future Eve, to whose offspring victory over Satan is
promised, is realized in the great Old Testament women, but
preeminently in Mary of Nazareth, whose obedient expression of
faith, "Let it be done to me as you say" (Lk 1 :38), heals the dis-
obedience of the first Eve. The comparison between the first
Eve, primitive mother of the living, and Mary, the new Eve, is the
oldest Christian reflection on the Blessed Virgin outside the Bible,

and accords well with the New Testament teaching that Christ is
the new Adam (Rom 5:19).

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15 The Eve-Mary comparison is rooted in the covenant theology
of the Old Testament, in which God's free initiative stirs up man's
response of faith. Faith, God's gift, becoming then truly man's
possession, marks the moment when mankind receives salvation.
In Mary's response, "Let it be done to me as you say," the
expectation of the old covenant achieves perfect expression. God
bestows His grace freely. He chose Mary, prepared her, guided
her to a fully human consent. Mary, then, has a central function
in the fulfillment of redemption. Her faith opened the way for
Jesus to perform His salvific mission. God's free election made
Mary the representative of the believing remnant. In the Council's
words, "She stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord
who confidently await and receive salvation from Him" (n. 55).
Mary is the "exalted Daughter of Zion" in whom, after the long
waiting for the promise, the times are fulfilled and the new
dispensation is established. "All this occurred when the Son of
God took a human nature from her, that He might in the mysteries
of His flesh free man from sin." 2

16 The designation "Daughter of Zion," evocative of Mt. Zion
and the temple, is used in the Old Testament for the messianic

community, especially that remnant of the chosen people who
returned to Jerusalem after the Exile. "Daughter of Zion" includes

"the poor and lowly," the humble of spirit, the devout believers

who counted on God for salvation.

The Gospel of St. Luke

17 Luke begins his gospel by taking us into the company of

poor and holy people: Elizabeth and Zachary, Anna and Simeon,

Joseph and Mary. Jesus himself and the Good News came from
this circle, cradle of the Christian Church. For St. Luke, Mary is

the perfect example of awaiting the Messiah with a pure and

humble spirit. Luke sees in Mary the Daughter of Zion who
rejoices because God is with her and who praises His greatness
for pulling down the mighty and exalting the humble.

18 God's guidance of His people of Israel culminated in the

exemplary role of the "Daughter of Zion" who was to give the
world the universal Redeemer. God's favor was expressed in the

initial gift of grace to Mary which we call the "Immaculate Con-
ception." Mary was the person who acted on behalf of "the total

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remnant''; she stood out among the Lord's poor and lowly who
looked for salvation. Kept free from original sin, she was able to

give herself wholeheartedly to the saving work of her Son. By

accepting the Annunciation, she became intimately associated

with all the saving mysteries of Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection.

"Just as a woman contributed to death, so also a woman should
contribute to life."

3

19 Even the books of the Old Testament, as they are under-

stood by the Church in the light of Christian revelation, "bring

the figure of the woman, Mother of the Redeemer, into a
gradually sharper focus" (n. 55). In the fulfillment, we find the
vague "figure of a woman" realized in the woman who is Mary of
Nazareth, the "predestined mother" who would not merely
"contribute to life" but bring into the world the One who is Life
itself and who renews all things.4 The light of completion shows
that the Redeemer's Mother was "already prophetically fore-

shadowed in that victory over the serpent which was promised to
our first parents after their fall into sin (cf. Gen 3:15)." 5 With
St. Matthew, the Church holds that the Mother of Jesus is like-

wise the Virgin who will conceive a Son called Emmanuel (Mt
1:22-23, cf. Is 7:14, Mi 5:2-3).

20 The bridge-role of Mary between the Old Testament and
New, between expectation and fulfillment, appears not only in
individual texts, such as St. Matthew's use of Isaiah, but is an

integral element of the Gospel view of Mary. For St. Luke and

St. John the Mother of Jesus is the typical, the perfect believer.

The "handmaid of the Lord" in St. Luke's infancy chapters, and

the "woman" in St. John's Cana and Calvary narratives is at once
the individual "Daughter of Zion," in whom Old Testament hopes
are achieved, and the type of the Church, Bride of Christ, new
mother of all men. The primitive Church saw in Mary the fulfill-

ment and personification of the Church, Mother of the messianic

people.

21 Thanks to the recent researches of scholars, we have be-
come aware of new depths in the Gospel portrait of Mary. In
the past, as in the image of the "Daughter of Zion," the liturgy,

both for Advent and the Immaculate Conception, has, in fact,

incorporated such texts long before their scientific exposition.

The Holy Spirit leads the Christian people in many ways. The

7



celebration of the mystery of Mary in the liturgy and other prayer

is a school of the faith and a profession of doctrine.

22 Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the early Church had
long reflected on Jesus, who He was and why He had come,
before any book of the New Testament was written. A rich
"allusive theology" is characteristic of the first two chapters, the

most mature section, of St. Luke's gospel. The author went back
to the Old Testament for words and phrases to describe New
Testament events. By multiple allusions to the Old Testament, St.

Luke shows Jesus as the promised Messiah. These allusions can

be illustrated here by a summary of the Annunciation story. The
opening words of Gabriel, best known as the beginning of the
"Hail Mary," repeat the promise of hope that the prophet

Zephaniah addressed to his people ("Daughter of Zion") as they

faced the threat of invasion 625 years before Christ:

"Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,

O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has removed the judgment against you,

he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst,

you' have no further misfortune to fear.

On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,

a mighty savior;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,

He will sing joyfully because of you," (Zep 3:14-17).

23 The pattern of allusions to the Old Testament continues as

Gabriel speaks of the place of Jesus among the descendants of
David, and then of the divinity of the Son of Mary. The Old

Testament counterpart to the angelic words about the relationship

of Jesus to royal David and His eternal rule over the house of

Jacob is the prophecy of Nathan addressed to King David a

thousand years before: "And when your time comes and you
rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung

from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who

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shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne
firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.

And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and
with human chastisements; but I will not withdraw my favor from
him as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul, whom I removed
from my presence. Your house and your kingdom shall endure
forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever" (2 Sm
7:12-16).

24 In St. Luke's beautifully balanced story, our Lady's words
come next: "How can this be since I do not know man?" Mary's
question is evidence of the belief of the early Church that Jesus

was virginally conceived, the doctrine usually called the "Virgin

Birth." Gabriel's reply to Mary's question leads into the second

main part of his message: that the holy Child to be born of Mary

will be not only the promised Messiah, but God made man. The
angel explains the virginal conception of Jesus as being due to the

power of God who has chosen this unique way to send His Son
among men as their true brother and Savior. In Jesus, mankind
gets a fresh start. The conception of the Son of Mary without a
human father is the sign that the Incarnation is the new creation,
independent of the will of man or urge of the flesh (Jn 1 :13). The
merciful Father intervenes in human history to send the new
Adam, born of the Virgin Mary through the power of the Spirit.

25 "Hence, the holy offspring to be born will be called Son of
God" (Lk 1 :35). The title "Son of God" provides solid ground for
us to profess our faith in the divinity of Jesus. Yet Gabriel's words
offer an even more subtle and profound reason for affirming that
the Son of Mary is truly the Son of God, Emmanuel, God-with-us.
Again the key is found in the Old Testament. When the Israelites
were wandering through the desert they carried with them the
precious "ark of the covenant," a chest made of wood, con-
taining the tables of the law, Aaron's rod, and other sacred

objects. They called it "of the covenant" because it reminded
them of the alliance between God and Israel. They believed that
where the ark of the covenant was, the invisible God was present
in a special way. Above the ark and the tent containing it, an
overshadowing cloud was the visible sign of God's invisible
presence. When the temple was built by Solomon, the ark of the
covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies and remained the

center of worship and sacrifice. After Jerusalem fell to the

9



Babylonian army in 587 B.C., the ark disappeared and has never

been found. But its memory still serves Jew and Christian as a
symbol of God's protecting presence.

26 One of the many descriptions of the ark and the over-
shadowing cloud is found in Exodus 40:

"Moses did exactly as the Lord commanded him. On
the first day of the first month of the second year the
Dwelling was erected. It was Moses who erected the
Dwelling. ... He took the commandments and put them
in the ark; ... He brought the ark into the Dwelling . . .
Then the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory

of the Lord filled the Dwelling. Moses could not enter
the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon
it and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling" (Ex

40:16-21 and 34-35).

27 The ark of the covenant and the covering cloud influence
St. Luke's narrative. In his account, however, the vivifying power
of the unseen Spirit overshadows the Virgin, and God is made
visibly present as the Son of Mary. The Mother of Jesus is the

new and perfect ark of the covenant, the living tabernacle of the
divine presence. The sacred ark that disappeared six centuries

before has now returned in a more perfect way. Mary is the living
ark of the covenant carrying Jesus. Salvation comes through
Mary's flesh, through Mary's faith.

The "ark of the covenant" theme continues in St. Luke's
account of Mary's visit to her cousin, Elizabeth. The Old Testa-
ment counterpart is provided by the story of the transfer of the
ark of the covenant by King David (2 Sm 6). Without elaborating
details, we suggest here the parallels between Lk 1 and 2 Sm 6:

a) David dances for joy before the ark. —The unborn John
the Baptist leaps for joy in Elizabeth's womb.

b) David calls out: "How can the ark of the Lord come to
me?" —Elizabeth cries out: "Who am I that the mother
of my Lord should come to me?"

David's cry of reverential fear was prompted by the sud-

den death of Uzzah, who had dared to touch the ark; that
note of terror is totally absent in the joyous response of

Elizabeth.

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c) "The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-

edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed
Obed-edom and his whole house." —As St. Luke tells
it, Mary remained "about three months" and clearly

Zachary's whole house received great blessing from the

presence of Mary's unborn Son.

28 The episode of the Annunciation concludes with a double

tribute to Mary's faith. The better-known is Mary's word of

consent; her maternal "yes" was also her act of faith: "I am the
servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say" (Lk 1 :38).
These words have echoed and re-echoed in Christian liturgy and

literature from earliest times. The chapter on Mary in the Dog-

matic Constitution on the Church may be regarded as an ex-
tended commentary on her consent at the Annunciation. The

opening sentence of n. 53 is typical: "At the message of the angel,

the Virgin Mary received the Word of God into her heart and her
body, and gave Life to the world." 6

29 Less well known is the delicate praise of Mary's faith em-
bodied in the final words of Gabriel: "for nothing is impossible

with God" (Lk 1:37). This phrase is taken from the Genesis story
of Abraham, great Old Testament "man of faith." For Christians,
too, Abraham is "our father in faith," as we still call him in
Eucharistic Prayer I. The memory of Abraham permeates the
opening chapters of St. Luke, as it does the epistles to the

Romans, the Galatians and the Hebrews, and his name and faith
are commemorated repeatedly in Christian liturgical prayer.

30 There are remarkable likenesses between Abraham and

Mary, especially in the accounts of the birth of Isaac, child of

promise, and the virginal conception of Jesus, holy Child of Mary.

Abraham, Old Testament man of faith, illuminates our under-
standing of Mary, New Testament woman of faith. Abraham, our
father in faith, can teach us much about Mary, our mother in faith.

31 Mary's "song of poverty," the Magnificat, concludes: "He
has upheld Israel his servant ever mindful of his mercy; even as

he promised our fathers, promised Abraham and his descendants
forever" (Lk 1:54-55).

32 Genesis relates the dramatic story of the son whom God sent
to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. In this son, Isaac, all

11



nations will be blessed. Even when Abraham is preparing to
sacrifice his child, he still believes that somehow God's promise
will be fulfilled. St. Paul reflects: "He is father of us all . . . in the
sight of God in whom he believed, the God who restores the dead
to life and calls into being those things which had not been.

Hoping against hope, Abraham believed. . . . Without growing
weak in faith, he thought of his own body . . . and of the dead
womb of Sarah. Yet he never questioned or doubted God's
promise; rather, he was strengthened in faith and gave glory to

God, fully persuaded that God could do whatever he had
promised" (Rom 4:16-21). When Abraham was told that Isaac
was to be born, God strengthened him with the reminder that all
things are possible to God (Gen 18:14). That divine reminder
runs like a refrain through the many references to Abraham in
both Testaments. Sometimes the words are declarative: "All

things are possible to God." At other times they form a rhetorical

question: "Is there anything God cannot do?" Still again, the
divine assurance is simply alluded to: "fully persuaded that God
could do whatever he had promised" (Rom 4:21).

33 Gabriel concludes his message with the unexpected news
of Elizabeth's pregnancy, and then repeats the powerful words

associated with Abraham in Genesis: "for nothing is impossible
with God" (Lk 1 :3 7). St. Luke places Mary, daughter of Abraham,
before us as the great Gospel model of faith. He applies to her
virginal motherhood the promise made to Abraham, remote
ancestor of the Messiah. In the strength of her faith, Mary con-
sents to the merciful Father's invitation, and in the power of the
Spirit becomes the Mother of Jesus, Son of God in human flesh.

The Gospel of St. John

34 In the gospel of St. John, the Mother of Jesus appears at Cana
and Calvary, the beginning and the end of her Son's public life.

Both times Jesus addresses her as "woman." Each scene turns on
a special "hour." At Cana, the hour refers to the beginning of

the messianic ministry that "has not yet come" (Jn 2:4), yet which
commences in "this first of his signs" that Jesus worked at Mary's
request. At Calvary, we have the arrival of the great Johannine
hour when Jesus "will be lifted up and draw all men" to himself
(Jn 12:32). It is moreover "on the third day" that the wedding

feast takes place, and "the third day" is the fulfillment of the

12



sacred time of the paschal mystery. What began at Cana achieved
its consummation on Calvary.

35 The words of Jesus to His Mother, "Woman, how does this
concern of yours involve me? My hour has not yet come,"
(Jn 2:4) were an invitation to deepen her faith, to look beyond the

failing wine to His messianic career. At the close of the Cana

narrative, St. John tells its purpose: "Jesus performed this first of

his signs. . . . Thus did he reveal his glory and his disciples

believed in him" (Jn 2:11). For St. John, the signs (or miracles) of

Jesus always have to do with the awakening or strengthening of

the faith of His followers. It is striking that no sign is done to help

Mary believe. The Mother of Jesus requires no miracle to

strengthen her faith. At her Son's word, before "this first of his

signs," she shows her faith.

36 Mary's presence at the wedding feast reveals much about
her. We see her quick grasp of the situation, her concern over the
embarrassment of the young couple, her willingness to make
compassionate intercession. "She was moved by pity, and her
intercession brought about the beginning of miracles by Jesus

the Messiah." 7 The significance of Mary is also richly ecclesial.
At first, Mary is the figure of the synagogue, Daughter of Zion of
old, still making use of the imperfect means of the past, the water
in the stone jars "as prescribed for Jewish ceremonial washings."

But when she says to the waiters, "Do whatever he tells you"
(Jn 2:5), she becomes the figure of the new People of God. The
change of water into abundant and very good wine symbolizes

the coming of messianic times. Mary is present as figure of the

Church, Bride of Christ. On behalf of the Church she greets the
messianic Bridegroom. At her request the new wine is supplied.

37 The meaning of Mary at Cana is revealed fully when His
Mother stands "near the cross of Jesus," and hears Him say:
"Woman, there is your Son" (Jn 19:26). The Gospel means more
than that the dying Jesus is providing for His Mother's care. St.

John's thought goes beyond such limited domestic details. The

words of Jesus at the Last Supper serve as guide to the meaning of

His words on Calvary. The night before He suffered He had said,
"When a woman is in labor she is sad that her time has come.
When she has borne her child, she no longer remembers her pain
for joy that a man has been born into the world" (Jn 16:21). The

13



Old Testament promised that in the messianic age the Daughter
of Zion would bring forth children she had never conceived.
Israel's longing for the Messiah was sometimes compared to the
pains of labor. The words "Woman, there is your son; there
is your mother" contain the solemn announcement that the mes-
sianic promise has come true. Mary on Calvary symbolizes the
"woman" who is mother Church, the new Israel, the new People
of God, the mother of all men, Jew and Gentile. "The Mother of

Jesus brings forth in him and with him that whole new people that
is to spring from his resurrection; all these children Mary carries
in her womb as she once carried Jesus." 8 "The importance of this
action is emphasized by the words that follow: 'After this, Jesus,
knowing that all was now accomplished. . . .' It is the climax of
Jesus' deeds on the cross, the climax of his 'hour,' because it sets

the Church on its path, creating the community of love between
those he loves." 9

14



Chapter Two

THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING
OF THE MYSTERY OF MARY

38 The understanding of Mary in Christian history unfolded
along the lines of the Scriptures. The Church saw herself sym-

bolized in the Virgin Mary. The story of Mary, as the Church has

come to see her, is at the same time the record of the Church's
own self-discovery. The Second Vatican Council quoted St.
Ambrose (d. 397): "The Mother of God is a model of the Church
in the matter of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ." 10

"As the Church's model and excellent exemplar in faith and

charity,"
11 Mary stands out as uniquely virgin and mother within

the Church, itself rightly called virgin and mother.12 As the Virgin

Mary conceived and brought forth Jesus, so the Church, virgin in

purity of faith, brings forth His brethren at the baptismal font.

39 The Church appears in the New Testament as the "spotless
bride of Christ," as "virgin," and as "mother." Christians early

learned to speak of "mother Church." Mary's virginal conception

of Jesus, and her life-long virginal vocation, were taken as the

model of the Church's virginal faith. The Church keeps faith with

Christ the Bridegroom, who will make His bride spotless, free
from every stain.

The New Eve

40

After the Scriptures, the oldest consideration of the Virgin

Mary by Christian writers is that she is the "new Eve." St. Justin
(d. 165) contrasts Mary with the first Eve, and St. Irenaeus (d. ca.
202) develops this much further. In writing of the recapitulation
of all things in Christ, the new Adam, Irenaeus says:

"If the former, Eve, did disobey God, yet the latter,
Mary, was persuaded to be obedient to God in order that
the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin

15



Eve. And thus, as the human race fell into bondage to
death by means of a virgin, so it is rescued by a virgin, a
virgin's disobedience having been balanced in the scale

by virginal obedience." 13

41 The early comparisons were between the disobedient Eve

and the obedient new Eve. Eve believed the word of deceit; the
new Eve heeded Gabriel's message. A woman helped introduce
death; Mary became "the cause of salvation" and "advocate of
Eve." By St. Jerome's time (d. 420) it was common to hear: "death
through Eve, life through Mary." 14 Even more anciently, the
Church was regarded as the "new Eve." The Church is the bride
of Christ, formed from His side in the sleep of death on the cross,

as the first Eve was formed by God from the side of the sleeping
Adam. As the first Eve was "mother of the living," the Church
becomes the "new mother of the living." In time, some of the
maternal characteristics of the Church were seen in Mary, and so

St. Epiphanius (d. 403) calls Mary "the mother of the living." 15

The Virginal Conception

42 We commented briefly above on the virginal conception and
birth of Jesus. Here it may be helpful to speak further on this
doctrine. Both St. Luke and St. Matthew bear witness to the fact
that Jesus had no human father. St. Luke brings this out in
relating Mary's question (1:34) and St. Matthew in telling of

Joseph's dream (1:20-25). Some of the Fathers read an allusion
to the Virgin birth in St. John's reference to those "begotten not

by blood, nor by carnal desire, nor by man's willing it, but by

God" (1:13).

43 The Gospel of Mark has no infancy chapters arid is silent

about the Virgin birth, as is the rest of the New Testament. What
is normative in the matter of the Virgin birth is the teaching of the

Church. The Bible is read rightly in the Church, whose interpreta-

tion is guided by the Holy Spirit. This guidance of the Holy Spirit

is experienced at many levels within the Church: 1) in the "sense
of the faithful," i.e., the unerring instinct for truth of the

Christian people; 2) in the faithful and loving work of Christian

theologians; 3) in a very important way in the liturgy and

approved prayers of all Christians; 4) and especially in the magis-

terial teaching of popes and bishops, whether expressed solemnly

16



in ecumenical councils and ex cathedra definitions of the pope

or through ordinary teaching channels.

44 In the creed we profess that Jesus was "born of the Virgin
Mary." Our Catholic profession of faith in the Virgin birth is not

based on a theoretical acceptance of the possibility of virgin

births, which is then applied to the particular fact of the human
origin of Jesus. We affirm that "we believe in Jesus Christ, his
only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and
born of the Virgin Mary. . . ." The creedal phrases go together to

confess the unique mystery of Jesus the Savior, Son of God, Son

of Mary, bound up with the mystery "that we might receive the
adoption of sons." The Virgin birth is not merely a symbolical

way of describing God's intervention in human history, not just a
literary device to convey the divine preexistence of the Word.

Nor is the Virgin birth a human construct, as if Christians feared
that the divinity of Jesus would be compromised by His having a
human father. What really matters here is the manner in which
God in fact chose to "send his Son in the fullness of time." We
know what God has done, not only from the text of Bible, taken
in isolation, but from the Bible as read, interpreted, and under-

stood by the living Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. Catholic

belief in the Virgin birth rests not on the Scriptures alone, but on

the constant and consistent faith of the Church. Faith on this

precise point has been expressed in many ways from the time of
St. Matthew and St. Luke to the present.

45 Many of our beliefs have been taught by the Church without
ever having been solemnly defined either by ecumenical councils

or by popes invoking their supreme teaching authority. In

addition to crisis situations and special needs, the Church has its

normal gradual growth in belief and practice. Early Christian

writers and creeds repeated the phrase, "born of the Virgin

Mary." By the second century, elements of the Apostles' Creed

make their appearance in various documents. Ignatius of Antioch
(d. ca. 110) wrote to the Christians of Smyrna of "the Son of God
. . . truly born of a virgin." St. Justin in the middle of the second

century sees the Isaian prophecy (Is 7:14) fulfilled in the Virgin

birth, and calls the Mother of Jesus simply "Virgin Mary." St.
Irenaeus looks more deeply into the mystery: "Because an
unexpected salvation was to be initiated for men through God's
help, an unexpected birth from a Virgin was likewise accom-

17



plished. The sign was God-given; the effect was not man-

made." 16 Irenaeus' disciple, Hippolytus, records this third-

century creed: "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in

Christ Jesus, Son of God, who was born from the Holy Spirit of
Mary the Virgin." 17

46 In the understanding of the Church, as well as of Sts. Mat-
thew and Luke, the virginal conception is not accomplished at the

expense of the full humanity of Jesus, always insisted upon by

Christian faith. If miracles be rejected out of hand, then the

Virgin birth will be ruled out as antecedently impossible. Catholic

faith, however, does not see God as "a prisoner of his own
eternity."

18
In the Virgin birth He has intervened in a truly

unique way. The loving graciousness of God has offered man-
kind a fresh beginning in Christ, the new Adam. The conception
of Jesus is not due to procreation through human love, exalted
though this may be, but to the Spirit of divine love.

47 The Old Testament tells of many marvelous births in prepa-
ration for the Messiah, of children sent to elderly couples, as were

Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah, and Samuel, son of Hannah.

In the gospels, there is John the Baptist, son of Zachary and

Elizabeth, immediate forerunner of Christ. These unexpected

births were signs that salvation comes from God.

48 The virginal conception of Jesus is the climax and goal of this

great series, totally surpassing human hopes and human means.
The same God who sanctifies human sexuality and procreation,
God the Creator, who made the marriage law of "two in one flesh
. . . increase and multiply," has at the dawn of the new creation
shown His independence of normal ways. It was prophesied

in the Old Testament that the Spirit would revivify all things,

would create a new people, renew the face of the earth. The
overshadowing Spirit who brings about the virginal conception of
the Son of Mary is the same powerful Spirit. The Virgin birth is

not simply a privilege affecting only Jesus and Mary, but a sign

and means for the Spirit to build the new People of God, the
Body of Christ, the Church. The glorious positive sign value of

the Virgin birth is the merciful and free saving grace of the Father

sending His Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin

Mary, that we might receive the adoption of Sons.

18



Always A Virgin

49 The truth that Mary remained always a virgin, that is, that she

had no other children and never used her marital rights, emerges

clearly in the Church's consciousness in the 4th century, when
"ever-virgin" became a common description of her. This truth was
accepted by all Christians until the Reformation. Groups of

Christian ascetics were able to form after the peace of Constantine

in the early 4th century. Consecrated virgins and celibate monks

and hermits gave their lives to the keeping of the evangelical

counsels, witnessing to Christ by lives of poverty, obedience and

voluntary virginity. In prayerful reflection and in their own
experience of this type of dedication, these Christians discovered

in Mary an exemplar of virginal consecration to Christ. This

experience, freely chosen by some and held in general honor by
the Christian people, provided insights into the mystery of Mary

ever-virgin that the Church recognized as guided by the Holy

Spirit. In the writings of St. Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373), of

St. Ambrose (d. 397), of St. Augustine (d. 430), and of St. Jerome

(d. 420), our Lady's lifelong virginity is praised. St. Jerome faced

the difficulties in such Biblical expressions as "brothers of the

Lord." He showed that in New Testament Greek this term can
mean "cousins" as well as "blood brothers."19 By the time of the
Council of Ephesus, 431 A.D., belief in the perpetual virginity of

Mary was well formulated.

50 This teaching about Mary's lifelong virginity is an example

of the Church's growth in understanding of Christian doctrine.

In its ordinary teaching, reflected in catechesis and liturgy, as well

as in more formal pronouncements, the Church has here recog-
nized as an aspect of "public revelation" a belief not clearly

demonstrable from the Scriptures. In Mary's virginal dedication

to her Son's saving work, the Church sees delineated her own
mission to bear witness to values that go beyond the secular

city to the city of redeemed man, the kingdom of God, in its

present reality as well as in its future completion. The Dogmatic

Constitution on the Church repeated this conviction, urging

religious to "pattern (themselves) after that manner of virginal

and humble life which Christ the Lord elected for himself and

which His Virgin Mother also chose." 20

19



The Blessedness of Mary

51 In the Bible "blessed" is the preferred description of the

Mother of Jesus. Considering how infrequently the Gospel writers
praise individuals, the insistence on Mary's blessedness is evi-

dence of the veneration in which the early Church held her. John

Macquarrie, Anglican theologian, suggests that the beatitudes

help us understand how the word "blessed" is particularly asso-
ciated with Mary: "The qualities set forth there are those which

we see also in the Blessed Virgin. So the blessedness of the Virgin
adumbrates the blessedness of the Church—no earthly happiness,
but a likeness to God/ which means a participation in God's
self-giving love. . . ."

21 The gospel of St. Luke witnesses to the

belief of the primitive Church in Mary's unique holiness: "All

ages to come will call me blessed. . . . God who is mighty has
done great things for me" (Lk 1 :48). In her, above all others, was
realized the promise of our Lord "blest are those who hear the
word of God and keep it" (Lk 11 :28).

52 The Virgin Mary was called by the Fathers of the Church
"all holy," the term beloved to this day by Christians in the

East. She was declared to be "free from all stain of sin,"

"fashioned by the Holy Spirit into a kind of new substance and a
new creature." The Second Vatican Council asserts that she was
"adorned with the radiance of a singular holiness from the first

moment of her conception. . . ." 22 In this statement, the Council
calls attention to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. In

1854 Pope Pius IX defined as revealed truth "that the Blessed

Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception, by a singular

grace and privilege of almighty God, in view of the foreseen

merits of Jesus Christ the Savior of the human race, was preserved
free from all stain of original sin." 23

53 Conceived and born of human parents in the normal way,
Mary was especially gifted by God from "the first instant of her
conception." The grace which others receive in Baptism, God
gave to Mary even before her birth, through the foreseen merits

of Christ, to prepare her to be the Mother of the Redeemer. The

doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is doubly Christ-centered.

It makes clear, first of all, that no one is saved apart from Christ.

This is true of all men who have ever lived, even though they were

20



born many centuries before Christ. Secondly, the preservative
redemption of Mary is totally and splendidly God's gift to her

because she was to be the Mother of Christ.

54 In one of his first sermons after he became a Catholic, John

Henry Newman asserted the great principle contained in our
Lord's words, "More blessed is it to do God's will than to be God's

Mother." He wrote: "Never say . . . that Catholics forget this

passage of Scripture. Whenever they keep the feast of the

Immaculate Conception, the Purity, or the like, recollect it is

because they make so much of the blessedness of sanctity. . . .

For the honor of the Son she (the Church) has ever extolled the

glory of the Mother." 24

55 As the Council put it, "By thus consenting to the divine utter-

ance, Mary, a daughter of Adam, became the Mother of Jesus.

Embracing God's saving will with a full heart and impeded by no

sin, she devoted herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the

person and work of her Son. In subordination to Him and along

with Him, by the grace of almightly God she served the mystery of
redemption." 25 "The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in

conjunction with the Incarnation of the divine Word to be the
Mother of God" (n. 61, repeating a phrase from Pope Pius IX).
For "the Father of Mercies willed that the consent of the pre-

destined mother should precede the Incarnation. . . ." 26 The

Mother of the Lord was early regarded by popular piety as

singularly holy even in her origin, and a feast of the "conception

of holy Mary" was celebrated in some countries as early as the 8th
or 9th centuries.

27

56 Mary's initial holiness, a totally unmerited gift of God, is a

sign of the love of Christ for His Bride the Church, which, though

composed of sinners, is still "holy Church." Mary Immaculate is
seen in relation to Christ and the Church. Her privileged origin

is the final step in preparing mankind to receive the Redeemer.

God's grace triumphed over the power of original sin; the Father
chose a perfectly responsive mother for the incarnate Son. The

grace of the Immaculate Conception, a charism totally from God,

prepared Mary for the motherhood of Jesus, the Savior. The
Virgin Mary is "the most excellent fruit of the redemption," 28 a
figure of the spotless bride of Christ, which is the Church.

21



The Assumption

57 Another aspect of Our Lady's holiness is brought out in her
oldest liturgical feast, the Assumption. The meaning of this doc-
trine is that Mary is one with the risen Christ in the fullness of her
personality, or as we commonly say, "in body and soul." Pope
Pius XII solemnly proclaimed on November 1, 1950: "The Im-
maculate Mother of God, Mary ever-virgin, after her life on earth,
was assumed, body and soul, into heavenly glory." 29

58 As early as the fifth century, Christians celebrated a "Memo-
rial of Mary," patterned on the "birthday into heaven" of the

martyrs' anniversaries. By this they gave prayer form to their

belief in the resurrection of the body and in the special bond

between holy Mary and Jesus, the risen Savior. This primitive

"Memorial of Mary," sometimes observed on August 15, evolved

into the feast of the Dormition (the "falling asleep") of the Virgin.

As early as the 6th century, homilies on the Assumption appear,30

which bring out the abiding and perfect conformity of the Mother

of Jesus with "her Son, the Lord of lords, and the Conqueror of sin

and death." 31 An 8th century prayer, originally an announcement
of a procession on August 15, has survived as an entrance prayer

in some Western liturgies (e.g., the Carmelite rite until recently):
"On this day the holy Mother of God suffered temporal death,
but could not be held fast by the bonds of death, who gave birth
to our Lord made flesh."

59 United to the victorious Christ in heaven, Mary is "the image

and first-flowering of the Church as she is to be perfected in the

world to come." She shines forth "as a sign of sure hope and

solace for the pilgrim People of God." 32 In her Assumption, Mary

manifests the fullness of redemption, and appears as the "spotless

image" of the Church responding in joy to the invitation of the

Bridegroom Christ, himself the "first fruits of those who have
fallen asleep" (1 Cor 15:20).

60 Christ has risen from the dead; we need no further assurance
of our faith. "Mary assumed into heaven" serves rather as a

gracious reminder to the Church that our Lord wishes all whom
the Father has given him to be raised with him. In Mary taken to

glory, to union with Christ, the Church sees herself answering the

invitation of the heavenly Bridegroom.

22



61
There is a tender note here that is at the same time pro-

foundly doctrinal, for it is based on the real humanity of the risen

Jesus. Archbishop Philip Pocock of Toronto expresses it this way:

"Jesus does not wish to be alone, but face-to-face with another

in love. Our Lady sharing in the glory of her Son strengthens our
hope in the destiny of the entire Church. This was the vision of

St. John, when, contemplating the age to come, he saw the holy

city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
made ready as a bride adorned for her husband" (Rv 21:2). 33

The Mother of Jesus stands facing the risen Savior, her Son, a

joyful sign to the Church of the answer to its constant prayer,

"Come, Lord Jesus." The documents of the Second Vatican

Council use several Biblical images for the Church. It is called

not only the "body," favored by St. Paul, consisting of Christ as

Head and Christians as members, but also "People of God," and

"bride." In a good marriage, their very union perfects the

partners as individuals. Similarly, the mystical marriage between

Christ and His Church perfects the bride (and hence each member
of the Church) in and through union with the Bridegroom. Mary
in her Assumption, as in other aspects of her God-gifted per-

sonality, is a figure of the Church as perfected through union with

Christ.

Mother of God

62 In the liturgy "we honor Mary the ever-virgin Mother of
Jesus Christ our Lord and God" (Eucharistic Prayer I); "Mary, the
virgin Mother of God" (Prayers II and III); and "the Virgin Mary,
the Mother of God" (Prayer IV). Cardinal Newman's phrase,
"The Glories of Mary for the Sake of Her Son," 34 is supremely
applicable to the title "Mother of God," which was declared to
be the faith of the Church at the Third Ecumenical Council, held
at Ephesus, in 431 A.D. The Church's insistence on this title,
Mother of God, is understandable, since no other formula makes
so evident the intimate link between devotion to the Virgin Mary
and belief in the Incarnation. This title was already in use in parts
of the Church as early as the third century. The original form of
the familiar prayer, "We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of
God" may also be that early.

63 The term "Mother of God" was used in Christian prayers
before the doctrinal controversy that made it a test phrase of

23



Christian faith. In 428 A.D. the term "Mother of God" was
publicly challenged in Constantinople. The Church reacted

strongly to this challenge at the Council of Ephesus. At stake was

the central Christian truth that the man Jesus, Son of Mary, is truly
"Son of God." Mary can be rightly called "Mother of God," not

indeed in the blasphemous sense of having existed before God,

but as an affirmation of the truth of the Incarnation. The Son of

Mary is the one person who is the Son of God, Emmanuel.

64 St. Cyril of Alexandria spoke for the Church's traditional faith
when he wrote: "If we are to confess that Emmanuel is truly God,
we must also confess that the Holy Virgin is Theotokos (Mother
of God); for she bore according to the flesh the Word of God
made flesh." St. Cyril's explanation of the term "Mother of God"
shows that the center of attention must be Christ himself: "Nor

was he first born of the holy Virgin as an ordinary man, in such a

way that the Word only afterwards descended upon him; rather
was he united with flesh in the womb itself, and thus is said to
have undergone birth according to the flesh, inasmuch as he

makes his own the birth of his own flesh. . . . For this reason the
holy Fathers have boldly proclaimed the holy Virgin Theotokos." 35

Subsequent ecumenical councils, such as Chalcedon, 451 A.D.,

and II Constantinople, 553 A.D., made the meaning of "Mother of
God" even more precise.

24



Chapter Three

MARY, MEDIATRIX AND
SPIRITUAL MOTHER

65 "Mediatrix" is a familiar Catholic term to describe the

unique role of the Mother of Jesus in her Son's mission as

Mediator. We need to consider the meaning of "mediatrix," since
some have the erroneous impression that the Second Vatican
Council minimized or even denied the mediation of Mary. Al-

though it used the word, mediatrix, only once, and altogether

avoided the words "co-redemptrix" and "dispensatrix," the

Council both retained and deepened Catholic understanding of

our Lady's mediatorial role.

66 For the Council's restricted use of the word "mediatrix"

there was a double reason: one ecumenical, the other pastoral.

Ecumenically, "mediatrix" has seemed to many who are not
Catholics to clash with the Biblical insistence on Jesus Christ as

our one Mediator (1 Tm 2:5). Pastorally, the bishops were anxious
that Catholics understand even better Mary's true place under

Christ. As mediatrix, Mary takes away nothing from Christ's all-

sufficient mediatorship. It is owing to the Redeemer that all the

redeemed are enabled to share in the Savior's work, and to

influence the salvation of their brothers and sisters in the body of

Christ. Through her life of faith on earth, and now through her
union with the risen Christ, the Mother of Jesus is the supreme

example of loving association with the Savior in His mission of

redeeming mankind. The manner in which men share in the
Savior's redeeming work is similar to the way Christians, both
ordained ministers and other believers, share in the priesthood of

Christ, and, indeed, to the way all creatures share in the
undivided goodness of the Creator.80

67 Pope Paul put it this way: "Since Mary is rightly to be re-
garded as the way by which we are led to Christ, the person who

25



encounters Mary cannot help but encounter Christ likewise." 37

Father Frederick Jelly explains how Mary's mediation, far from
being a new role, fosters "immediate union of the faithful with
Christ."

38 Father Jelly writes: "Mary is not a bridge over the gap

that separates us from a remote Christ. . . . Such an approach to

Marian devotion and doctrine would minimize the deepest

meaning of the Incarnation, the fact that he has become a man
like us, and that his sacred humanity has made him the unique
mediator between God and us. Mary's greatness is that she
brought him close to us, and her mediation continues to create

the spiritual climate for our immediate encounter with Christ." 39

68 St. Paul saw himself as the herald of Christ Jesus, the one

Mediator. Nevertheless in the same letter to Timothy in which

he extols the unique mediatorship of Christ, the apostle calls upon

all to share in God's saving plan by offering prayers, petitions,

intercessions and thanksgivings (1 Tm 2:1). What St. Paul urges is
in fact a sharing in the mission of Christ the Mediator. Mary's

mediatorial role, correctly understood, is in perfect accord with

the centrality of Christ.

69 What is the positive value of Mary's role as mediatrix, and
how does she exercise it? The Gospels portray her as a woman
who walked by faith from the time of the Annunciation to
Pentecost. The Virgin of Nazareth belonged to a family circle that

was awaiting the consolation of Israel (Lk 2:5). The Mother of

Jesus appears as totally responsive to the Father's will, always one

with her Son's purposes, led by the Holy Spirit in everything.
40

"Be it done unto me according to your word" (Lk 1:38) was the
act of faith of the Lord's handmaid, a sign of her unwavering

service to God in every detail of her life. In the Scriptures, "faith"
means surrender of heart and body as well as of mind and intel-

lect. St. Luke writes of Mary "reflecting in her heart" (Lk 2:19, 51).

St. John records the advice she exemplified in her own life: "Do
whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5). The Gospels provide few details

of Mary's life; but they do delineate a remarkable portrait of the

woman who gave herself wholeheartedly to her Son and His
mission in perfect faith, love and obedience. What Mary began
on earth in association with the saving mission of Jesus, she

continues still, in union with the risen Christ.

26



Spiritual Mother

70 It is a cherished American Catholic custom to call the Mother

of Jesus "our Blessed Mother." In many respects this title can be

explained in the same way as "mediatrix." Still, it has its own
special value. "Mother" belongs to the language of the transmis-

sion of life. The reference here is to our life in Christ. St. Paul's

familiar comparison likens the Church to a human body, with
Christ as Head, and the faithful as its members. Like the Savior's

parable of the vine and branches, the image of the Church as

"body of Christ" is a graphic reminder that the same life links

members to Head, branches to Vine. From earliest Christian times
the Church was regarded as "Mother Church." Gradually, Mary's

relationship to the sons and daughters of the Church came to be
regarded also as that of "spiritual mother." Physically mother of

Christ the Head, Mary is spiritually mother of the members of

Christ. She is mother of all men, for Christ died for all. She is

especially the mother of the faithful, or as Pope Paul proclaimed

during the Second Vatican Council, she is "Mother of the

Church."

71 It is important to understand what is meant by the title, "our

Blessed Mother." Mary is not spiritual mother of men solely
because she was physical Mother of the Savior. Nonetheless, the

full understanding of Mary's motherhood of Jesus contains also

the secret of her spiritual motherhood of the brethren of Christ.

This secret is the truth already given in the Gospels and constantly

stressed ever since in Christian thought and piety: Mary con-

sented in faith to become the Mother of Jesus. The Second
Vatican Council was in the stream of the constant tradition of the

Church when it said that Mary received the Word of God into her
heart and her body at the angel's announcement and thereby
brought Life to the world.41 She conceived in her heart, with her

whole being, before she conceived in her womb. First came
Mary's faith, then her motherhood. Faith is the key also to the

spiritual motherhood of Mary. By her faith she became the
perfect example of what the Gospels mean by "spiritual mother-
hood." In the preaching of the Savior, His "mother" is whoever

hears God's word and keeps it. All who truly follow Christ
become "mothers" of Christ, for by their faith they bring Him
to birth in others.

27



72 The Council fathers make use of a beautiful passage from
St. Augustine, describing Mary as "Mother of the members of
Christ . . . since she cooperated out of love so that there might

be born in the Church the faithful, who are members of Christ
their head." 42 These words were used by Pope Pius XII in his

encyclical letter of May 15, 1956 on the Sacred Heart. The strength
of St. Augustine's words becomes evident when it is realized that
he was commenting on two incidents from the public life, the

so-called "difficult sayings" of the Lord. The first incident is

found in St. Luke. He is the only evangelist to record the praise
of the enthusiastic woman from the crowd: "Blest is the womb
that bore you and the breasts that nursed you," and the reply of

Jesus: "Rather, blest are they who hear the word of God and
keep it" (Lk 11:28). The "true kinsmen" incident is told by

Matthew (12:46-50) and Mark (3:31-35), as well as by Luke, who
writes (8:19-21): "He was told, 'Your mother and your brothers
are standing outside and they wish to see you.' He said in reply,
'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God
and act upon it.' "

73 The passage from St. Augustine quoted above comes from
his treatise On Christian Virginity (about 401 A.D.). He writes:
"More blessed was Mary in receiving the faith of Christ than in
conceiving the flesh of Christ. For to her who said, 'Blessed is the
womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you,' he replied,
'Still more blessed are those who hear the word of God and
keep it' (Lk 11:27-28). What in fact did their relationship profit
his brethren according to the flesh who believed not in him? So
too, even the close relationship of motherhood would have

profited Mary nothing had she not also more blessedly borne
Christ in her heart than in her flesh. ..."

74 St. Augustine continues: "All holy virgins are, with Mary,

mothers of Christ if they do his Father's will. For in this even Mary

is with greater praise and blessedness Christ's Mother, according

to the sentence, 'Whoever does the will of my Father who is in
heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother' " (Mt 12,
50). Commenting on this passage, Augustine explains: "All these
relationships to himself he (Jesus) sets forth spiritually in the

people whom he has redeemed. He has as brethren and sisters
holy men and holy women, since they are co-heirs with him in the
heavenly inheritance (Rom 8:17). The whole Church is his

28



mother, because she it is who brings forth his members, that is, his
faithful by the grace of God. His mother too is every good

person who does his Father's will by means of charity, meaning a
charity that is in labor for others until Christ be formed in them

(Gal 4:15). And therefore Mary in doing God's will is mother of
Christ in the flesh, but spiritually she is both sister and mother.

. . . She is mother of the members of Christ, which we are, because
through love she cooperated in the birth of the faithful in the

Church, and they are members of that Head."

75 St. Augustine does not restrict spiritual motherhood to the

Virgin Mary and to other virgins. For he writes a bit further on:

"Both married women of the faith and virgins consecrated to
God, by holy lives and by charity 'from a pure heart and a good

conscience and faith unfeigned' (1 Tm 1:5) are spiritually the
mothers of Christ because they do the will of his Father." 43

76 The incidents from the public ministry used by St. Augustine

occur frequently in the liturgy. St. Luke's narrative of the en-

thusiastic woman is often read at Marian Masses. Our Lord's reply
intensifies the woman's simple praise: "Still more blessed those
who hear the word of God and keep it." Elizabeth's words from
the first chapter of St. Luke come to mind: "Blest are you among
women and blest is the fruit of your womb. . . . Blest is she who
trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled" (Lk

1:42, 45).

77 The other incident which refers to Mary is that of "the true
kinsmen." St. Luke relates the event just after the parable of the

Sower and the Seed in which Jesus likens the rich soil to persons

who hear God's word "in a spirit of openness, retain it, and
bear fruit through perseverance" (Lk 8:15). It is possible that St.

Luke deliberately described the visit of the "mother and brothers"

of Jesus just after the parable of the sower because of Mary.

Mary is the person of noble and generous heart, the woman of
faith who heard the word and took it to herself and yielded the
great harvest through her perseverance, her love and her faith.

Mary put into practice her Son's advice about the kingdom being

above considerations of flesh and blood. Jesus proposed hearing

the Word of God and keeping it as the norm of blessedness. His
Mother kept the Word so faithfully that her life can be called
a "pilgrimage of faith." St. Luke twice calls attention to Mary's

29



"pondering in her heart": when the shepherds relate the experi-
ences that brought them to Bethlehem (Lk 2:19); and in reaction

to the mysterious word about "His Father's house" from her
12-year-old Son (Lk 2:51 ; cf. also Lk 1:29 and 2:33).

78 As a perfect disciple, the Virgin Mary heard the Word of God
and kept it, to the lasting joy of the messianic generations who
call her blessed. It is our Catholic conviction that in her present

union with the risen Christ, our Blessed Mother is still solicitous

for our welfare, still desirous that we become more like Jesus,
her firstborn. The Mother of Jesus wishes all her other children,

all men and all women, to reach the maturity of the fullness of
Christ (Eph 4:13; Col 1:28).

79 Word of God—faith—birth of Christ: this is the pattern for
the maternity of Mary and the maternity of the Church. Life is the

dominant note in the language of motherhood. Mary brings

forth Christ the Life; the Church continually regenerates men in
the Christ-life. For both Mary and the Church, their motherhood

is virginal, that is, entirely dependent on God, not on man. The

Church's mission as "mother of the redeemed" was first realized

in the Virgin Mother of Jesus. Open to the overshadowing Spirit,
as was the Virgin Mary, the Church receives the Word of God and
brings forth life. There are striking likenesses between the Annun-

ciation and Pentecost. From the overshadowing of the Spirit,

Christ is conceived; from the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit,

Christ is born in His members who are the Church. Mary, the
great mother figure for the Church, is present not only at the An-

nunciation, but praying with her Son's disciples before Pentecost.

80 Pondering the hidden holiness of Mary, the Church learns to
imitate her charity and to carry out in faith the Father's will..

Thereby the Church herself becomes a mother, receiving the
Word of God in faith. By the ministry of the Word and Baptism,
Mother Church brings forth to new life children conceived by the
Holy Spirit and born of God. In imitation of the Mother of her
Lord, by the power of His Spirit, the Church maintains an integral
faith, a firm hope and a sincere charity.44 In its apostolic work
the Church looks to Mary. She conceived, brought forth, and

nourished Christ.45 So too, through the Church, Jesus continues

to be born and grow in the hearts of the faithful.46

30



Chapter Four

MARY IN OUR LIFE

Mary's Intercession. Her Place in the Communion of Saints.

81 According to the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

,

the

Church honors the Mother of God when it celebrates the cycle
of Christ's saving mysteries. For "Blessed Mary is joined by an

inseparable bond to the saving work of her Son." 47 Deeper

Biblical insights have increased our awareness of Mary as the

model of faithful discipleship; but it is also our purpose here to

reinforce our Catholic sense of the Blessed Mother's present

concern for us in her union with the risen Christ.

82 Since early times, but especially after the Council of Ephesus,
devotion to Mary in the Church has grown wondrously. The

People of God through the ages have shown her veneration and
love. They have called upon her in prayer and they imitate her.48

All these ways of praising Mary draw us closer to Christ. When
Mary is honored, her Son is duly acknowledged, loved and glori-

fied, and His commandments are observed.49 To venerate Mary
correctly means to acknowledge her Son, for she is the Mother of

God. To love her means to love Jesus, for she is always the

Mother of Jesus. To pray to our Lady means not to substitute her

for Christ, but to glorify her Son who desires us to have loving
confidence in His Saints, especially in His Mother. To imitate the

"faithful Virgin" means to keep her Son's commandments.

83 The better we come to know Mary of the gospels as the
Church views her in liturgical celebrations and popular com-

memorations, the more we will be led to imitate her. We may
ask, however, how the two aspects of imitation and prayer are
joined in devotion to Mary. Or, to put the question in another

way: how are memory of the past and experiences of the present
related in our devotion to the Mother of Jesus? Through the Bible

we recall what Mary once was in her earthly association with

31



Jesus; but we also long to know what she means to us now, and
why we pray to her. As Catholics, we believe that Mary was once
joined to her Son's saving work on earth; but we also believe
that she remains inseparably joined to Him, associated with the

intercession the glorified Jesus makes for us forever at the

throne of His Father (Heb 7:25).

84 All four Eucharistic Prayers contain a prayer of remembrance
that names Mary. In Eucharistic Prayer III, after mentioning

"Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, the apostles and martyrs and all

your saints," we say that "on their constant intercession we rely
for help." Intercession means that the blessed who are one with
the risen Christ are still interested in us; they can and do pray for

us. It is erroneous to think that the intercession of Mary and the

saints is necessary in the sense that we do not have direct access
to the merciful Savior. We believe that, having Christ, we have all
things together with Him. However, it is part of God's loving

plan that, even as we help one another on earth by our prayers
and deeds, so we can rely on the blessed in heaven, above all the
Blessed Virgin Mary, to assist us by their prayers.

85 There is little doubt that we are passing through a period
marked by a lack of interest in the saints. Much more is involved
here than devotion to the saints, even St. Mary. What is at stake is
the reality of the humanity of the risen Jesus. There is danger of

so spiritualizing the risen Christ that we diminish awareness of
His humanity. It is our Christian belief that as man Jesus has taken
His seat at the right hand of the Father; as man, Christ rose from

the dead and ascended to heaven; as man, He lives forever to
make intercession for us. When he was asked about the decline
of Marian devotion, the German Jesuit, Father Karl Rahner,

declared that the special temptation that affects Christians today,

Catholics and Protestants alike, is the temptation to turn the

central truths of the faith into abstractions, and abstractions have

no need of mothers (quoted by Cardinal Suenens at Zagreb,

August, 1971).50

86 The seventh chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution on the

Church 51 concerns the relationship of the pilgrim Church to the

Church in heaven, or, more familiarly, treats the "communion of
saints." This strongly Scriptural chapter has been even more

neglected than the chapter on our Blessed Lady. The Council

32



reminds us of our Catholic belief that we are still united with
our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the peace of
Christ. Far from being interrupted, our union with them is

strengthened by a sharing of spiritual goods.

87 Father Herbert McCabe, O.P., explains: "Prayer for the dead

is first of all an expression of our presence in Christ, not merely

to our contemporaries, but to the men and women of the past.
. . . Because Christ is risen and present to us we are more present
to each other." In the risen Christ "we establish a deep and
mysterious union with our fellow-men." 52 Christians live to-

gether in the Spirit of Christ; death cannot break this living com-

munity. Belief in the Resurrection does not mean that we think
of Christ simply as a person from the past whom we still remem-
ber; belief in the risen Christ means that we are somehow in
personal contact with Him, that the glorified Jesus is present to us.

88 For the same reason, Father McCabe adds, all "who have
'died in Christ' are also not merely objects of memory ... in him
they are really present to us and in him they will share the future

we hope for." The Church has recognized that certain holy
people, led by the Mother of the Lord, are already in glory. When
we celebrate the memory of Mary in the liturgy, we join together
in a present liturgical "moment" the past and the future—what
Mary once was on earth, as the Gospels show her, and the future,
our reunion with Mary and the saints, including the uncanonized

saints of our own families, reunited in the risen Lord. The saints
"have been received into their heavenly home and are present to
the Lord. Through him, with him and in him, they do not cease to

intercede with the Father for us." 53 Through their fraternal con-

cern, our pilgrim weakness is greatly alleviated. We seek from the
saints for our greater good and that of the Church "example in

their way of life, fellowship in their communion, and aid by their
intercession,"

54
as a new Preface says.55

89 The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy states: "In the earthly

liturgy, by way of foretaste we share in that heavenly liturgy which
is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we
journey as pilgrims, and in which Christ is sitting at the right hand

of God. . . ." 50 Celebrating the Eucharistic sacrifice, we are most
closely joined with the worship of the heavenly Church, as we
unite to honor the memory first of all of "the ever-virgin Mother

33



of Jesus Christ our Lord and God," 57 of Mary who is the "image
and first-flowering of the Church as she is to be perfected in the

world to come." 58

90 In speaking of Catholic devotion to Mary, we must not
neglect to mention the special honor paid to our Lady in the

liturgy and theology of the Eastern rites. Some of the most beauti-
ful and profound passages concerning the Mother of God were
written by the Eastern Fathers of the Church. Even today, in

almost every liturgical service, we find repeated use of three
glorious titles for the Mother of the Lord: She is called "the all-

holy one," "the one without even the slightest stain," and "the

one blessed beyond all others." 59

Mary in Christian Devotion

91 What is the place of our Lady in Catholic prayer life? Many
Catholics today are forgetful of the saints, and have little sense

of being one with the blessed, when they celebrate the liturgy and
in their other prayers and devotions. From an age of novenas to

our Lady under many titles, and to certain favorite saints (one
thinks readily of St. Anne, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Therese of

Lisieux), we have passed abruptly to near silence about these
friends of Christ. In spite of the urging of the Constitution on the

Sacred Liturgy that we celebrate the feasts of our Lady and deepen
the sense of her association in the central saving mysteries of Jesus

the Savior, the Church is suffering a malaise with respect to the

commemoration of Mary. Two numbers, 66-67, in the chapter on
our Lady deal with the cult of Mary, and are filled with practical

suggestions, e.g., let the liturgy provide the lead, even for non-

liturgical devotions, which are encouraged, especially those

which have enjoyed the Church's favor for a long time. A
middle way is recommended between the extremes of too much
and too little. 60

92 In writing this- Pastoral Letter, our concern about our Lady
is most keenly felt in the area of devotion. No survey is needed to
show that all over the country many forms of Marian devotion
have fallen into disuse, and others are taking an uncertain course.

In an age avid for symbols (the peace medals and other signs of

the young are evidence of this), the use of Catholic Marian

symbols, such as the scapular and the Miraculous Medal, has

34



noticeably diminished. Only a few years ago use of the rosary was

a common mark of a Catholic, and it was customarily taught to
children, both at home and in courses in religious instruction.
Adults in every walk of life found strength in this familiar prayer

which is biblically based and is filled with the thought of Jesus

and His Mother in the "mysteries." The praying of the rosary

has declined. Some Catholics feel that there has even been a
campaign to strip the churches of statues of our Lady and the

saints. Admittedly, many churches were in need of artistic
reform; but one wonders at the severity of judgment that would

find no place for a fitting image of the Mother of the Lord.

93 We view with great sympathy the distress our people feel
over the loss of devotion to our Lady and we share their concern
that the young be taught a deep and true love for the Mother of

God. We Bishops of the United States wish to affirm with all our
strength the lucid statements of the Second Vatican Council on

the permanent importance of authentic devotion to the Blessed

Virgin, not only in the liturgy, where the Church accords her a

most special place under Jesus her Son, but also in the beloved

devotions that have been repeatedly approved and encouraged

by the Church and that are still filled with meaning for Catholics.

As Pope Paul has reminded us, the rosary and the scapular are

among these tested forms of devotion that bring us closer to
Christ through the example and protection of His Holy Mother.

94 In this sensitive area, where it is not possible to assess and

comment on all the individual aspects of concern or to enter into
local differences of viewpoint, we offer to the faithful some sug-
gestions to increase love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Above all, the renewed liturgy offers immense riches with respect

to the Mother of the Lord. Having the liturgy in English increases

these possibilities even more. Far from having minimized the

place of our Lady, the present lectionary contains more readings
than we had before, from Old Testament and New, arranged for
our Lady's feasts and commemorations. In the current calendar,

there are more optional days on which a Marian votive Mass may
be celebrated, on Saturdays in particular. Pope Paul's missal of

1970 has many excellent new prayers for Mary's feasts, based on
the Bible and in the spirit of the Council. Among the more than
80 prefaces of the Sacramentary there are four of our Lady: two

35



for regular use, one for the Immaculate Conception, and another

for the Assumption.

95 Our bond with the saints, and St. Mary at their head, has its
noblest expression in the liturgy, where we praise with joy the
majesty of God. "Celebrating the Eucharistic sacrifice, therefore,

we are most closely united to the worshipping Church in heaven
as we join with and venerate the memory first of all of the glorious
ever-Virgin Mary, of blessed Joseph and the blessed apostles and

martyrs and of all the saints." 61

96 Besides her place in the liturgy, our Lady has been honored

by an amazingly rich variety of extra-liturgical devotional forms.

Some of these have a long history. In particular the Dominican
rosary of 15 decades links our Lady to her Son's salvific career,

from the Annunciation and the joyful events of the infancy and

childhood of Jesus, through the sorrowful mysteries of His

suffering and death, to His Resurrection and Ascension, and the

sending of the Spirit to the apostles at Pentecost, and concluding

with the Mother's reunion with her Son in the mysteries of

Assumption and Coronation. It is unwise to reject the rosary

without a trial simply because of the accusation that it comes

from the past, that it is repetitious and ill-suited to sophisticated

moderns. The Scriptural riches of the rosary are of permanent

value. Its prayers, in addition to the opening Apostles' Creed and

the occasional repetition of the ancient and simple doxology

(Glory be to the Father), are the "Our Father" and the "Hail
Mary." The words of the first half of the Hail Mary are taken from

St. Luke. The second half: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for

us sinners, now and at the hour of our death," is in the main-
stream of prayers that go back to the early centuries of Christian

devotion.62

97 The recommended saying of the rosary does not consist

merely in "telling the beads" by racing through a string of familiar

prayers. Interwoven with the prayers are the "mysteries."

Almost all of these relate saving events in the life of Jesus,

episodes in which the Mother of Jesus shared. Nor is rhythmic

prayer alien to modern man, as is shown by the attraction of

Eastern religions for many young people today. Besides the

precise rosary pattern long known to Catholics, we can freely
experiment. New sets of mysteries are possible. We have custom-

36



arily gone from the childhood of Jesus to His Passion, bypassing

the whole public life. There is rich matter here for rosary medita-

tion, such as the wedding feast of Cana, and incidents from the

public life where Mary's presence and Mary's name serve as
occasions for her Son to give us a lesson in discipleship: "Still

more blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it"
(Lk 11:28). Rosary vigils have already been introduced in some
places, with an instructive use of readings, from Old Testament as

well as New, and with recitation of a decade or two, if not all five.

In a public celebration of the rosary, hymns can be introduced as

well, and time allowed for periods of silent prayer.

98 The rosary suggestions here sketched can be applied to other
devotional practices as well. In these changing times great inven-

tiveness on the part of the whole Catholic people is needed.

Under the guidance of the Holy Father and the bishops we must
revitalize old forms and devise new devotions corresponding to
current needs and desires. The liturgical season should set the

tone for Marian prayers at each particular time of the year, e.g.,

May devotions should reflect paschal and pentecostal orienta-
tions.

63 Advent provides a unique opportunity for the consider-

ation of Mary, in whom all Old Testament hopes culminated. Fol-
lowing her example, the Church awaits the Lord, not only in His

coming at Bethlehem, but also in His second coming, and indeed

in that daily presence to which the Church as bride must ever be

sensitive.

99 We turn our reflections now to the authenticated appear-
ances of our Lady and their influence on Catholic devotion

especially in the years since the Apparition at Lourdes, in 1858.

Other 19th century events of this kind were the experiences of

St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 (the "Miraculous Medal"), and the

apparition at La Salette in 1846. In our own hemisphere we recall
the apparition in 1531 of Our Lady of Guadalupe, "Queen of the
Americas." Best known of the 20th century appearances of the
Mother of the Lord is that at Fatima, in 1917.

100 These providential happenings serve as reminders to us of
basic Christian themes: prayer, penance, and the necessity of the

sacraments. After due investigation, the Church has approved the

pilgrimages and other devotions associated with certain private

revelations. She has also at times certified the holiness of their

37



recipients by beatification and canonization, for example, St.

Bernadette of Lourdes and St. Catherine Laboure. The Church

judges the devotions that have sprung from these extraordinary

events in terms of its own traditional standards. Catholics are
encouraged to practice such devotions when they are in con-
formity with authentic devotion to Mary. Even when a "private
revelation" has spread to the entire world, as in the case of Our
Lady of Lourdes, and has been recognized in the liturgical

calendar, the Church does not make mandatory the acceptance
either of the original story or of particular forms of piety springing

from it. With the Vatican Council we remind true lovers of our
Lady of the danger of superficial sentiment and vain credulity.64

Our faith does not seek new gospels, but leads us to know the
excellence of the Mother of God and moves us to a filial love
toward our Mother and to the imitation of her virtues. 65

The Blessed Virgin and Ecumenism

101 We live in a new era of friendly relations between Catholics
and members of other Christian Churches, Orthodox, Anglican
and Protestant. Often in the past, even fairly recently, the matter

of Mary caused acrimonious differences between Catholics and
Protestants. The dialogues of recent years, thanks to initiatives

taken on both sides (on the Catholic side especially through the

Second Vatican Council), have brought Christians to consider the

difficulties of doctrine about and devotion to Mary openly and

with charity. It would be naive to suggest that openness and

mutual love can suddenly break down barriers erected on both
sides over centuries. Yet encouraging signs appear. Catholics

have been spurred on by the Second Vatican Council to "return

to the Bible" for a profounder understanding of the Mother of

Jesus as woman of faith. Brother Max Thurian of the French
Calvinist monastery of Taize has put all Christians in his debt with

a valuable book on the Mary of the Gospels: Mary, Mother of the

Lord, Figure of the Church.
66

102 Taking their cue from the Council's careful language, and
profiting from its advice to "painstakingly guard against any word

or deed which could lead separated brethren or anyone else into

error regarding the true doctrine of the Church" 67 about our

Lady, Catholic theology and piety of the last few years have been

more discriminating in the use of such words as "mediatrix."

38



This term, as we mentioned before, was used only once by the
fathers of Vatican II. Of ecumenical import also are Catholic

efforts to show that such beliefs about the Mother of the Lord as

her initial freedom from original sin (the Immaculate Conception)

and her final union with the risen Christ (the Assumption) are not

isolated privileges, but mysteries filled with meaning for the

whole Church.

103 For too long Mary's place in Catholic doctrine and, even

more, in Catholic devotion has been a sharp point of difference

with other Christians of the West. What began in the Reformation
as a reaction against certain abuses, soon led in some quarters to
forbidding all invocation of the saints, even of Saint Mary, and to

a diminished sense of the communion of saints. Throughout the
Reformation and Counter-Reformation, excesses abounded on

both sides. Protestant polemicists made a battle cry of the sup-
posedly fatal choices: Christ or Mary, Scripture or Tradition,

grace or freedom, God or man, as if Catholics did not also accept
Christ and the Bible and the supremacy of grace and God as
central to the faith.

104 The Catholic counterattack exalted and extolled Mary as
"conqueror of all heresy." It seemed to many Protestants that the
Roman Catholic Church had moved even farther away from Christ
the Center, when Pius IX defined the Immaculate Conception of
Mary in 1854, and Pius XII her Assumption in 1950. Karl Barth
was fully in the Reformed tradition in his strong rejection of what
he called "the Mariological dogma." He saw this as the sign par
excellence of the Roman Church, which was to him "that church
of man who, prompted by the grace of God, cooperates with
grace and merits salvation." 68

105 The role of the Mother of Jesus remains one of our many
persisting religious differences, even though we are now better
able to speak openly and charitably, putting aside old prejudices

in common efforts to seek out what we share jointly in our
Christian heritage and also where and why we differ.

106 We are convinced that all Christians share a basic reverence
for the Mother of Jesus, a veneration deeper than doctrinal
differences and theological disputes. We share a common past.
Together we accept the Gospel respect for the Mother of Jesus,
handmaid of the Lord, woman of faith, model of prayer, servant of

39



the Spirit. The faith of the Church is anchored in history and,
Mary is part of that anchor. Mentioned with Pontius Pilate in the
Creed (but for a greatly different reason!), she attests to the

historicity of Jesus Christ. In the early Church and in the first

ecumenical councils, attention was focused on Jesus Christ, truly

man and truly God. The phrase, "born of the Virgin Mary," was
used in the second century to defend the reality of Jesus'

humanity. At Ephesus, in 431 A.D., the divine motherhood was
defined in defense of the divinity of the Son of Mary. The title,

"Mother of God" became a permanent part of the creeds and
liturgies of the entire Church. We have seen above how the
Church recognized many aspects of herself in the Mother of Jesus
—as virgin, as mother, as holy. The Middle Ages explored still
further the likenesses between Mary and the Church. The

emphasis on the heavenly intercession of the Mother of God
strengthened the sense of community between the pilgrim Church

on earth and the Church triumphant in heaven. With St. Luke as

a basis, earlier times had made much of the Annunciation. The
Middle Ages pondered Mary's compassion on Calvary, leading to

the familiar representations of the Pieta.

107 We ask our brothers in other Christian Churches to re-
examine with us Mary's place in our common patrimony. To an
encouraging degree this is already being done in Bible studies and

in the return to the study of the Fathers. The generally favorable

reaction outside the Catholic Church to the Council's document

on the Blessed Virgin Mary is encouraging indeed. Our Christian
brothers have shown sensitivity to the conciliar use of Scripture

and of the early Christian authors. They have also expressed

appreciation of the restraint exercised by the Council with regard

to the difficult term, "mediatrix." Perhaps most encouraging of'

all, they have paid notice to the reference in the Decree on

Ecumenism to "the hierarchy of truths," which "vary in their re-

lationship to the foundation of the Christian faith."
09

108 The document on ecumenism brings out this "hierarchy of

truths" with regard to the differences that still divide Western

Christians, in spite of our common formula of Trinitarian and
Christological faith. "Our thoughts are concerned first of all with

those Christians who openly confess Jesus Christ as God and
Lord and as the sole Mediator between God and man, unto the

40



glory of the one God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We are
indeed aware that among them views are held considerably
different from the doctrine of the Catholic Church even concern-

ing Christ, God's Word made flesh, and the work of redemption,
and thus concerning the mystery and ministry of the Church, and

the role of Mary in the work of salvation." 70

109 No sound ecumenism can ignore the question of Mary.
"Marian truths cannot be pushed to one side, because there are

no such things as isolated Christian truths which concern Mary

alone." 71 She no more stands alone without Christ now than she
did in the Scriptures or at Ephesus or in the liturgy, as it has been

celebrated through the ages in the Eastern and Western rites.

Christ is at the center of our faith; but He did not come among
men without the Theotokos. Nor is He in glory now without His
Mother, Theotokos still.

110 Another difficulty among Christians is the relationship be-
tween Scripture, Tradition and the Church's teaching role. How
have Catholics come to regard as revealed truth such doctrines
as Mary's Immaculate Conception and Assumption, in the absence

of clear Biblical evidence? And, most difficult of all, is the prob-

lem: what can man do under the power of grace? The chief
reason why "silence about Mary" is an ecumenically destructive
policy is that one's attitude toward the mystery of Mary shows

his position on this important question.72

111 What the Church has said about the effects of redemption in
Mary, she has affirmed in other ways and at other times of us all.

The Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, as we sought to
show earlier in this letter, are basically affirmations about the

nature of human salvation. "Mary is today, even as at Ephesus, a
witness to the Incarnation. She was then a pointer to the truly

historical reality of Jesus Christ who is God. Today she must be
seen as indicating the full implications of the Incarnation for our

understanding of being human." 78

112 Another matter we might profitably explore together as
Christians is the bond between Mary and the Holy Spirit. Christ

sent His Spirit as the new Advocate, as the Intercessor who comes
to help us in our weakness. Any correct understanding of Mary's
role must be seen in connection with the predominant role of the

41



Holy Spirit. The Bible provides us with a starting point: St. Luke

presents Mary as the humble woman overshadowed by the Holy
Spirit in order that Christ be formed. "God sent his Son born
of a woman . . . that we might receive the adoption of sons"
(Gal 4:4).

74

42



Chapter Five

MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

113 The title, "Mother of the Church/' was announced by Pope

Paul VI during the Council. The proclamation came after the

promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church , No-

vember 21, 1964. The Pope chose the occasion to give Mary a

title "that expresses with wonderful brevity the exalted place in

the Church which the Church recognizes as proper to the Mother

of God." 7r> The Holy Father desired to state in a single phrase the

spiritual motherhood that the Mother of Jesus exercises toward

the members of the "Mystical Body," the Church, of which Christ

is Head. The Council set out to show forth the true beauty of the

face of the Church, Spouse of Christ, and our teacher and mother.

What the Council said about Mary's role in the mystery of Christ
and His Church harmonized perfectly with this aim, and Pope

Paul hoped that the title, "Mother of the Church" would call

attention to the Council's teaching.

114 In this title, the "Church," of which Mary is Mother, is seen
as comprising both shepherds and flocks, both pastors and

people. As a believing disciple of Jesus, Mary can be called

daughter of the Church, and our sister as well. For, like us, she

has been redeemed by Christ, although in an eminent and
privileged way.76 What is the special significance of the title
"Mother of the Church"? It is based on Mary's being the Mother

of God. By God's call and her free response in the power of His
grace, Mary became the Mother of Jesus, Son of God made man,
and thus truly "Mother of God."

115 She remained joined to her Son's saving work in the new
economy in which He freed men from sin by the mysteries of His
flesh.

77 On Calvary, Jesus gave John into Mary's care and thus
designated her Mother of the human race which the beloved
disciple represented. At the Annunciation, Mary conceived Christ
by the power of the Holy Spirit. After Christ's Resurrection, sur-

43



rounded by His disciples, Mary prayed for the coming of that

same Spirit, in order that the Church, the Body of her Son, might

be born on Pentecost. Through her faith and love, Mary's mater-

nity reached out to include all the members of her Son's Mystical
Body.

116 Her union with the risen Lord has added to Mary's mother-
hood of the Church a new effectiveness, as she shares in the ever-
lasting intercession of our great High Priest. In calling Mary

"Mother of the Church," we are reminded that she is also the
Mother of unity, sharing her Son's desire and prayer that his body

be truly one. It is encouraging to note that some members of

other Christian Churches, for example, John Macquarrie, found

in Pope Paul's title, Mother of the Church, a sign of ecumenical

hope.78

117 The basic reason why Mary is Mother of the Church is that
she is Mother of God, and the associate of Christ in His saving

work. Another great reason is that the Mother of Jesus "shines as

the model of virtues for the whole community of the elect." 79

As Pope Paul put it, "Jesus gave us Mary as our Mother, and pro-

posed her as a model to be imitated." 80 The Mother of Jesus

exemplified in her own life the beatitudes preached by her Son,
and so the Church, in and through the many activities of its
various members and vocations, rightly regards Mary, Mother of

the Church, as the perfect model of the imitation of Christ. 81

118 The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Mary is especially

pertinent to our time. Mary of the Magnificat is, after Jesus him-

self, the supreme New Testament example of one who is led by
the Holy Spirit. Not only the Magnificat, but Mary's whole life

was a song of love inspired by the Holy Spirit. "Led by the Holy

Spirit, she devoted herself entirely to the mystery of man's

redemption." 82 She brought forth Jesus by the power of the

Spirit. So too, Jesus is brought forth and lives in us through the

Spirit.

Mary and the Priesthood

119

All the members of the People of God share in the priest-
hood of Christ and join in the offering of the Eucharist. Neverthe-

less, there is a difference not only in degree, but in essence

44



between the common priesthood of the faithful and the minis-
terial priesthood of those who have received Holy Orders.

83

120 At ordination, "by the anointing of the Holy Spirit," the

priest is "marked with a special character," and is "so configured

to Christ the priest that he can act in the person of Christ the

Head." 84 His distinct calling to be fellow worker with Christ

bears a resemblance to Mary's unique association in the saving

work of Jesus. Our Lady's relationship to Christ the eternal High

Priest overflows into her spiritual motherhood of all priests in

their call to holiness and ministry. As our Lady's fiat at the

Annunciation was consummated in her total surrender to the

Father's will at the foot of the cross, so too through Mary's inspira-

tion and intercession the priest is offered the grace of Christ to

give of himself, in union with the Eucharistic victim, for the

salvation of his fellow-men.

121 In the Latin Rite, the priest freely accepts the solemn

obligation of celibacy out of love for Christ. The spotless purity

of Mary is a constant source of inspiration and strength to him in

living his celibate life. Having sacrificed for the kingdom of God
the natural right to marriage and a family of his own, he feels

himself more closely bound to the Mother of the Savior for

whose sake he has made this sacrifice. There will be inevitable
loneliness in the life of the good priest, accepted out of love for

the suffering Christ. The sorrowful mysteries of the rosary have

special meaning to the priest as he walks with the Mother of Jesus
along the way of the Cross.

122 In Mary, Mother of the Church, the priest has the model of
his own devotion to her Son. He looks to her, the woman of faith,
for that faith and charity which will make fruitful his own human
sharing in the priesthood of the Savior. And as Mary was faithful
to the end, so he too is confident that he will persevere in the

work God began in him by his Ordination.

Mary and Religious Life

123 In a family where love rules, the mother has a special affec-
tion for each child. Mary, Mother of the Church, is universal
mother. In the community of faith, religious men and women
hold a special place, and for them also Mary is Mother and
model in a particular way. These religious, who have consecrated

45



their lives to the Church, know from experience the tension
between their vocation of prayer and the demands of the aposto-
late. Mary was the perfect contemplative, totally committed to
"the one thing necessary," yet fuliy attentive to the needs of
others, e.g., Elizabeth, the Cana couple, the disciples praying for
Pentecost.

124 The special vocation of religious is to bear witness to the
kingdom of God, both present and to come, by living in the spirit
of the three vows which they publicly profess in answer to the
Savior's evangelical counsels. Religious give up great human
goods: the control of their possessions, the joy and companionship

of married life, and free disposition of their personal talents.

Catholic people rightly understand that the giving up of such

human experiences, out of a desire to follow Christ, does honor
also to the Christian vocations of the laity and supplies strength

to the rest of the Church.

125 Their vows put religious at the disposal of their brothers

and sisters in the wider Christian family, both for an apostolate

free from family ties and for total dedication to prayer for the

Church and world by cloistered monks and nuns. The goal of

religious life is the Christian ideal of love of God and neighbor,
not only in our present time-conditioned existence, but as a sign

to the world of eternal union with the risen Christ, to which all

men are called.

126 Again, it is the loving faith of Mary that makes her a

perfect model for the religious. She is the greatest among the
"lowly and poor of the Lord," whose trust in Him brings the

abundant harvest. Humanly speaking, her virginity seemed to

exclude her maternity; yet God made her Mother of the Messiah.
Her poverty seemed to exclude her Son from the Davidic inherit-

ance; but Jesus was the promised "Son of David." Her humble

circumstances left little choice but to accept what life brought;

but her splendid obedience made her an associate of her Son's
saving work.

127 Mary's life testified to the kingdom her Son preached,

which was inaugurated by His death and resurrection and the

sending of His Spirit. "Temple of the Holy Spirit," 85 she continues

to exercise a special influence on religious men and women today,

46



whose lives proclaim that the risen Christ reigns, and that union

with Him, now and forever, is man's true vocation.

128 The founders and other holy members of religious congre-

gations, past and present, have shown by example that true

devotion to the Mother of Jesus is an indispensable element in

maturing in the life of Christ. Now, as throughout the history

of the Church, religious women find special inspiration in the
Virgin Mother of Jesus. To both cloistered nuns and the Sisters

active in schools and hospitals and other works of mercy and

service, Mary remains the model of following Jesus.

Mary and Family Life

129 What does "holy Mary" say to struggling humanity in a
sinful world? How does the example of her virtues touch laymen
and women in the pilgrim Church? In her faithful discipleship,
her union with Christ, her openness to the Spirit, Mary stands in

contrast to all the sin, all the evil in the world.

ISO We say "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death," confessing that we have added
to the evil in the world by our own sins, and asking God's for-
giveness. Yet our prayer is filled with confidence. For we find
strength for the "now" not only in the constant loving inter-
cession of the Mother of God, but also in the memory of how
our Lady of the gospels lived the life of faith. The Mother of Jesus
is the great exemplar to the whole Church; but she is model also

to each individual in the Church, at every stage of human life
and in every particular Christian vocation. No one ever followed
Jesus so well as Mary His Mother. No one can help us more, by
her example and by her intercession.

131 What does Mary mean to today's family? Mother of the
Holy Family at Nazareth, Mary is mother and queen of every
Christian family. When Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus,
human motherhood reached its greatest achievement. From the
time of the Annunciation, she was the living chalice of the Son of

God made man. In the tradition of her people she recognized
that God gives life and watches over its growth. "Just as you do
not know the way of the wind or the mysteries of a woman with
child, no more do you know the work of God who is behind it
all" (Eccl 11:5; see also Ps 138 (139) :13; 2 Me 7:22).

47



132 Reverence for human life as sacred from the beginning is
bound up with the correct understanding and use of sexual love.
Abortion arouses in the Christian the same horror as the slaughter
of the Innocents in St. Matthew's gospel. Defenders of unborn

life do well to appeal to the first part of the Hail Mary. Elizabeth's

words, "Blessed is the fruit of your womb," are true in a real sense
of every unborn child.

133 God called Mary and Joseph to sublimate the consumma-
tion of their married love in exclusive dedication to the holy

Child, conceived not by a human father but by the Holy Spirit.
When Mary said to Gabriel, "How can this be since I do not know
man?" (Lk 1:34), the angel told her of the virginal conception.

Joseph received the same message in a dream. Christian tradition
from early times has seen Saint Joseph as protector of the Christ

Child and of his wife's consecrated virginity throughout their

married life.

134 Christian marriage is a sign of the union between Christ and
His Church. Man and wife in mutual love, and in the children
they welcome from God and care for, are a witness to the world
of love of God and of their fellow-men. The offering of the
bride's bouquet at our Lady's statue is an American Catholic

custom that invites the Blessed Virgin into the life of the newly-

weds. The conjugal chastity of a holy marriage is an answer to the

neo-pagan degradation of human sexuality by pornography and
by the glorification of promiscuity, divorce and perversions.

Parents and children will find renewed strength in the grace of

Christ and in the example and assistance of the Blessed Virgin,

model of perfect purity and of self-surrender to God and neigh-
bor. Christ was "Man of Sorrows," tortured and executed for the
sins of men. Mary was "Mother of Sorrows" sharing her Son's

sufferings even to Calvary. But there were also the joyous years

at Nazareth, as her Son grew to adulthood, and something of the

happiness of the Holy Family comes through in the gospel

preaching of Jesus with His tender examples from home life.

135 Because she is seen as the Mother of all the living, Mary is

viewed properly as the guardian of the child in the womb, as
well as of the child that enters this earth alive. More than any

other person, the Blessed Mother understood that the beginning

of human life is attributable to God's creative love, as well as to

48



the parents' action. When God became man within Mary, the
Incarnation began. When Mary accepted the message from the
angel and the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, the Divine Word, the

God-man began to live. Entrusted with this precious life of her

Child, Mary loved it, and defended it against all dangers. She

protected Jesus before and after He was born.

136 So too, the Blessed Mother protects human life today from

the moment of conception through birth (the beginning of our
pilgrimage of faith), until all mankind realizes its goal in the

Beatific Vision. Abortion, the deliberate killing of an unborn

fetus, is a heinous crime and a serious sin. We, the Catholic
Bishops of the United States, denounce abortion as an affront to

the human race, as an unspeakable crime and a serious sin. We
call upon all people of good will who reverence life to join in a
crusade to protect life on all levels. No court, no matter how
prestigious, can make acceptable what is obviously totally op-

posed to the Law of God and the best interests of our society.

137 Mary is Queen of the home. As a woman of faith, she
inspires all mothers to transmit the Christian faith to their

children. In the setting of family love, children should learn free

and loving obedience, inspired by Mary's obedience to God.

Her example of concern for others, as shown at the wedding feast

of Cana, will exercise its gentle influence. "He went down with
them . . . and was obedient to them . . . (Jesus) progressed steadily

in wisdom and age and grace before God and men" (Lk 2:51-52).
This obedience of Jesus is emphasized throughout the New Testa-
ment: at Nazareth, throughout His ministry in which He sought
only to do His Father's will, even unto death. The Gospel makes

clear also Mary's obedience to the Law and to the traditional

prayer life of her people. This is evident, for example, in her

annual trip to Jerusalem for the Passover. Faithful to the Law of

Moses, the holy couple brought Jesus to the temple, His Father's

house, for the presentation. Such obedience was the flower of

Mary's faith. Because of it, God found her worthy to be the
Mother of His Son.

138 In her appearances during the public life, Mary showed the
same generous response to the will of the Father made manifest
in her Son. At the marriage feast of Cana, after her Son's

49



mysterious reference to the "hour not yet come/' Mary's reaction

was to advise the waiters, "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5).
Family love builds on the fourth Commandment, and in Jesus,
Mary and Joseph, parents and children have a powerful example
of obedience to the will of God.

139 Family prayer, in whatever form it takes—meal prayers,
night prayers, the family rosary, attending Mass together—pro-
vides opportunities for prayer to the Blessed Virgin. Children

forget many things when they grow up. They do not forget the
manly piety of the father, the gentle devotion of the mother, and

love of Jesus and Mary as the support of the home, in sorrow and
in joy.

140 Here we may recall the words of the Joint Pastoral Letter of
1968, Human Life in Our Day: "Because of the primacy of the
spiritual in all that makes for renewal, we give top priority to
whatever may produce a sound 'family spirituality': family prayer,

above all that which derives its content and spirit from the

liturgy and other devotions, particularly the rosary." 86

141 According to the Gospels, Christ showed an enlightened

attitude toward women: in His conversation with the Samaritan
woman at the well; in His friendship with Martha and Mary,
especially in His defense of Mary's preference to listen to His

words, rather than wait upon Him; in His behavior toward the

Syrophenician woman with the sick daughter (Mk 7:29); and in
His appearance as risen Lord to Mary Magdalene, whom He sends
to announce the good news to His apostles. These incidents,

interpreted in their cultural context, give us a basis for a genuine

emancipation and liberation of womanhood.

142 The dignity which Christ's redemption won for all women,
was fulfilled uniquely in Mary as the model of all real feminine

freedom. The Mother of Jesus is portrayed in the gospels as:

intelligent (the Annunciation, "How can this be?"); apostolic (the
visit to Elizabeth); inquiring and contemplative (the Child lost in

the temple); responsive and creative (at Cana); compassionate

and courageous (at Calvary); a woman of great faith. These im-
plications in the lives of Jesus and Mary need to be elaborated

into a sound theology on the role of Christian women in con-
temporary Church and society.

50



Mary and Youth

143 Young people, adolescents in particular, will find in Mary

the totally unselfish person, the brave young woman who could
face and accept the hidden future bound up with being Virgin

Mother of the Messiah. According to the customs of her time

and people, Mary was probably no more than 14 when her
parents arranged her marriage, and Joseph probably about 18.

God asked great things of them both and they responded to His
call with dedicated love.

144 So too, many young people today are eager to make the
world into a better place, where justice and peace and love will

prevail. The great obstacles still remain human greed and selfish-
ness, all the deadly sins that bring turmoil and agony to so many
suffering human beings. The succession of wars that grow in
horror as technology improves, the oppression of underprivileged

people at home and abroad, the imbalance between rich and
poor countries are evils that become even more intolerable, when
men would seem to have such great potential and when modern
communications have so shrunk the information world. Only

God can change men's hearts; only with the help of His grace can
the enemies of mankind be conquered. Only those men and
women will make an impact on society and change the world
for the better, who make themselves powerful, effective instru-
ments of God by lives of faith, hope and love, giving themselves
completely to God in order that in and through them He may
accomplish His great designs.

Mary and Single Life

145 Mary is model also for women who live a single life in the
world. This can be a true vocation from God, freely chosen under

the inspiration of grace, bringing with it the fruits of joy, personal

holiness and unselfish service of others. Many a young girl, on the
death of her mother, has generously taken on herself the care of
younger brothers and sisters to train them in the love of God.
Others dedicate their lives to the service of their fellow-men as

nurses, teachers and social workers. Many exercise an apostolate
through personal example and influence, and through their work
in Catholic lay organizations. All these devoted women share in
the spiritual motherhood of the Mother of Jesus and, like her, find
true happiness and fulfillment in doing God's will.

51



CONCLUSION

146 As we conclude these pastoral reflections on the Virgin
Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church, we commend
our efforts to her loving protection. For we are deeply convinced
that the correct appreciation of the "mystery of Mary" leads to

deep and perfect understanding of the mystery of Christ and His

Church. We have contemplated our Lady with joy, pondering her
holiness, her generosity, her hope, her burning love, her whole-

hearted dedication in faith to the saving work of her Son. For we
believe the Father gave her to us as a "model of virtues for the

whole community of the elect." May her pilgrimage of faith
strengthen us in our individual Christian vocations. May her
loving desire that her Son's words be heeded hasten Christian

unity. May her motherly intercession make us worthy of the
promises of Christ.

52



Appendix

MARY’S PLACE
CATHOLIC

IN AMERICAN
HISTORY

Devotion to the Mother of God is well illustrated in American
history, from early explorations, through the colonial period and

the founding of the Republic, soon to celebrate its bicentenary.

Christopher Columbus' flagship was the Santa Maria. His suc-

cessors planted the Christian cross with the Spanish flag across

many territories that now fall within the United States. The
names these pioneers gave to many cities in the South and West
are an indication of their love of Mary. For example, they gave

Los Angeles the full name St. Mary Queen of the Angels of the
Portiuncola. When Menendez landed in Florida in 1565 and
founded the city of St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United

States, one of his first acts was to have the chaplain, Father

Mendoza, offer Mass in honor of Our Lady's Nativity. Our Lady
of La Leche is still venerated there. In New Mexico the conquista-
dores paid tribute to the greater and fairer La Conquistadora,

brought to Santa Fe in 1625.

The French missionaries came from the north, down the St.
Lawrence, and our maps still bear traces of their devotion to our
Lady. Pere Marquette explored the Mississippi with Louis Joliet

in 1673 and called it River of the Immaculate Conception. Before

him St. Isaac Jogues (d. 1646) and his companions had brought the

Christian faith and devotion to Mary to the region around the

Great Lakes. Our Lady of the Martyrs' Shrine at Auriesville
commemorates their witness.

The England of penal times was an unlikely point of origin

for an American colony where religious toleration would prevail
and Catholics could publicly profess their faith, even their devo-

tion to St. Mary. Yet George Calvert, a convert to Catholicism and

the first Lord Baltimore, was given a charter to found the crown

53



colony of Maryland, where religious freedom would be guaran-

teed. When he died in 1632, his sons carried the project through.
Their two ships, The Ark and The Dove

,

landed in Maryland

(named for the queen), March 1634. Their Chaplain, Rev. Andrew
White, S.J., recorded how the Catholics of the group consecrated
the future colony to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
They called their first settlement and capital "St. Mary's City," and

they named the Chesapeake "St. Mary's Bay."

A son of Maryland, John Carroll, was the first bishop of the
new United States. Consecrated bishop in 1790 on the feast of
the Assumption, he placed his newly founded diocese of Balti-

more under the patronage of Mary. In his first pastoral in 1792,
he wrote: "Having chosen Her the special patroness of this

Diocese, you are placed, of course, under Her powerful pro-

tection and it becomes your duty to be careful to deserve its con-
tinuance by a zealous imitation of Her virtues, and reliance on Her

motherly superintendence." The Cathedral of Baltimore, which

Bishop Carroll began, was dedicated at its completion in honor

of the Assumption of Our Lady.

The world-wide movement which resulted in the definition
of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX in 1854, had its influ-

ence on the American Church. The sixth provincial Council of

Baltimore was held in 1846 under the presidency of Archbishop

Samuel Eccleston, S.S., of Baltimore, with 23 of the country's 26

bishops in attendance. Their first decision (May 13, 1846) was to

request the Holy See that Mary under the title of the Immaculate

Conception be named patroness of the United States. This

petition was granted by Pope Pius IX in the following year. In

their pastoral of 1846 the bishops wrote: "We take this occasion,
brethren, to communicate to you the determination, unanimously

adopted by us, to place ourselves, and all entrusted to our charge

throughout the United States under the special patronage of the

holy Mother of God, whose Immaculate Conception is venerated

by the piety of the faithful throughout the Catholic Church."

The example of devotion to Mary set by the pioneers led

to a pattern among American Catholics. Cathedrals and churches
and chapels too many to enumerate carry Mary's titles across the

country. From St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, founded in 1791, to

the present, the institutions of higher learning bearing Mary's

54



name are manifold. Notre Dame and all its lovely variants have
become titles for many institutions and for every sort of Catholic
apostolic enterprise, e.g., Sodalities, Legion of Mary, and the

Family Rosary, which has spread from America to all the world.

In 1913 Bishop Thomas J. Shahan, fourth rector of the
Catholic University of America, suggested the building of a

national shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This, he hoped,

would be "a large and beautiful church in honor of our Blessed

Mother, erected by nationwide cooperation at the nation's capital

. . . a great hymn in stone." Most of the crypt area and the
foundations of the upper church were built by 1931. In 1954 work
began on the upper church and was sufficiently well along to
permit the solemn dedication on November 20, 1959. Since then
much more has been done and the Shrine, open daily and the
scene of many religious celebrations, is still being completed.
Contributions of Catholics country-wide maintain the magnificent

church, as their offerings paid for its building, in testimony to the

place the Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, holds in the hearts
and religious life of American Catholics. Along with the many
Washington visitors, of all faiths, who visit "the Shrine," in touring
the Capital City, more and more groups are coming on pilgrimage,
even from distant dioceses, and focusing on Mary's Shrine as a
place of prayer and inspiration.

From this brief survey it is evident that a loyal and loving
devotion to our Lady has been, from the very beginning, an

important part of American Catholicism. It is up to the American
Catholics of today to cherish and to pass on to succeeding gen-
erations of Catholics this rich heritage of devotion to Mary, the

Mother of God and Mother of the Church.

55



References

With a few exceptions, Scriptural quotations are from The New American
Bible, of which there are many publishers and editions.

After the Sacred Scriptures, the most frequently quoted source is the
Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965. The text of conciliar pronouncements
used by the editors of this letter is that published jointly in New York in 1966,
by the Guild Press, America Press, and the Association Press, as The Documents
of Vatican II, edited by Walter M. Abbott, S.J. For reference purposes, the title
of this source will be given as DVII. The conciliar document most frequently
drawn upon is the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, the Latin title of
which is Lumen Gentium. For reference purposes, this text is given as DCC,
followed by the number of the paragraph from which the quotation comes, and
the page number of the Abbott edition. On the relatively few occasions on
which reference is made to another conciliar document (e.g., the Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy) the title of the document is given in full. Scriptural
references are given parenthetically immediately after the text; the abbreviations

are those of The New American Bible. Other quotations are followed by a
superior number directing the reader to these References.

The Introduction

1 Pope Paul VI, Address of November 21, 1964. The Pope Speaks, X (1965) pp.
137-138

2 Ibid.

3 DCC n.63, Abbott 92
4 The Pope Speaks, X (1965), p. 140

The Text

1 DCC n.58, Abbott 89
2 DCC n.55, Abbott 87
3 DCC n.56, Abbott 88
4 Ibid.

5 DCC n.55, Abbott 87
6 DCC n.53, Abbott 86
7 DCC n.58, Abbott 89
8 Pierre Benoit, O.P., The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. N.Y., Herder
and Herder, 1969, p. 141

9 Henry Wansbrough, 'The Resurrection." The Way, xii:2 (April, 1972) p. 144
10 DCC n.63, Abbott 92
11 DCC n.53, Abbott 86
12 DCC n.63, Abbott 92
is St. Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, lib. v, ch.xix, n.1. Migne, PG vii, col. 1175
14 DCC n.56, Abbott 88
is Ibid.

i0 St. Irenaeus, loc. cit.

56



17 St. Hippolytus, quoted in Gregory Dix, ed., Treatise on the Apostolic Tradition.

N.Y., Macmillan, 1937, p. xxi, n. 15-16
18 Joseph Ratzinger, Introduction to Christianity. N.Y., Herder and Herder, 1970,

p. 211
19 St. Jerome, "Against Helvidius." Dogmatic and Polemical Works

,

tr. and ed.

by John N. Hritzu. Wash., The Catholic University of America Press, 1965
(The Fathers of the Church Series) vol. 53, p. 19

20 DCC n.46, Abbott 77
21 John Macquarrie, Principles of Christian Theology. N.Y., Scribner, 1966, p. 355
22 DCC n:56. In this instance the translation is taken from The Pope Speaks, 10

(1965) p. 396
23 Pope Pius IX, Bull Ineffabilis Deus, Dec. 8, 1854
24 John Henry Newman, Faith and Prejudice and Other Unpublished Essays, ed.

by C. S. Dessain. N.Y., Longmans, 1956, p. 88
25 DCC n.56, Abbott 88
29 DCC n.56, Abbott 87
27 Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. by F. L. Cross, art. "Immacu-

late Conception of BVM." London, Oxford, 1957, p. 681
28 DVII, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, n.103, Abbott 168
29 Pope Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus, Nov. 1, 1950, AAS 42

(1950) p. 770
30 Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, art. "Assumption of BVM," p. 97
31 DCC n.59, Abbott 90
32 DCC n.68, Abbott 95
33 Archbishop Philip Pocock, "Pastoral Letter." The Ecumenist, ii (May-June

1964) p. 73
34 This is the title of one of Newman's "Sermons to Mixed Congregations." Text

in C. F. Harrold, ed., Sermons and Discourses, 1830-1857. N.Y., Longmans
Green, 1949. p. 247

35 St. Cyril of Alexandria. Denzinger, Enchiridion, 250-251
36 DCC n.62, Abbott 92
37 Pope Paul VI, Mense Maio; English translation in The Pope Speaks, vol. X, 3

(1965) p. 220.
38 DCC n.60, Abbott 91
39 Frederick Jelly, O.P., "Mary and the Eucharistic Liturgy." Our Lady's Digest,

XXVII (May-June 1972) p. 21
40 DVII, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, n.18 Abbott 570
41 DCC n.53, Abbott 86
42 Ibid.
43 St. Augustine, "De Sancta Virginitate." Engl. tr. by John McQuade, S.M. In

St. Augustine: Treatises on Marriage and Other Subjects, ed. by Charles Wilcox
and others. N.Y., Fathers of the Church, 1955, vol. 27, pp. 148-150, passim

44 DCC n.64, Abbott 93
45 DCC n.61, Abbott 91
46 DCC n.65, Abbott 93. See also DVII, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity,

n.4, Abbott 495
47 DVII, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, n.103, Abbott 168
48 DCC n.66, Abbott 94
49 Ibid.

50 Leon Cardinal Suenens, "Mary and the World of Today." L'Osservatore
Romano, English edition, June 15, 1972

51 Abbott, 78-85
52 Herbert McCabe, O.P. Editorial in New Blackfriars, vol. 52 (Nov. 1971) p. 482
53 DCC n.49, Abbott 81

57



54 DCC n.51, Abbott 84
55 Ibid.

56 DVII, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, n.8, Abbott 141
57 Eucharistic Prayer I
58 DCC n.68, Abbott 95
59 Ibid., Abbott 96
60 Abbott, 94-95
61 DCC n.50, Abbott 83
62 Donald Attwater, ed. A Dictionary of Mariology. N.Y., Kenedy, 1956. p. 279
63 DVII, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, n.13, Abbott 143
34 DCC n.67, Abbott 94-95
65 Ibid.
66 Max Thurian, Mary, Mother of the Lord, Figure of the Church. London, Faith

Press, 1963. N.Y., Herder and Herder, 1964, with title Mary, Mother of all
Christians

67 DCC n.67, Abbott 95
68 Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics. London, Allenson, 1936, vol. 1, part 2, page 143
69 DVII, Decree on Ecumenism, n.11, Abbott 354
70 op. cit., n.20, Abbott 362
71 Donal Flanagan, “Mary in the Ecumenical Discussion," Irish Theological

Quarterly, vol. XL, July, 1973, pp. 227-249
72 Yves Congar, O.P. Christ, Mary and the Church. Westminster, Maryland, 1957
73 Flanagan, op. c/'t.
74 DCC n.52, Abbott 85
75 Macquarrie, op. cit., p. 122
76 Pope Paul VI, Address of February 2, 1965. The Pope Speaks, X (1965) p. 103
77 DCC n.55, Abbott 87
78 Macquarrie, op. cit., p. 122
79 DCC n.65, Abbott 93
80 Pope Paul VI, “Mary, Mother of the Church," May 13, 1967. The Pope Speaks,

XII (1967) p. 285
81 Pope Paul VI, Address of Nov. 21, 1964. The Pope Speaks, X (1965) p. 139
82 DVII, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, n.18, Abbott 570
83 DCC n.10, Abbott 27
84 DVII, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, n.2, Abbott 535
85 DCC n.53, Abbott 86
86 Pastoral Letter Human Life in Our Day. In Pastoral Letters of the American

Hierarchy, 1792-1970, ed. by Hugh J. Nolan. Huntington, Ind., Our Sunday
Visitor Press, 1972, pp. 679-705

58



Suggested Readings

1. Commentary on the Marian chapter of the dogmatic constitution on the
Church: by Donal Flanagan, in the book edited by Kevin McNamara, Vatican II:
The Constitution on the Church, Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago, 1968.

2. Prayers and Devotions from Pope John XXIII, edited by J. B. Donnelly,
Doubleday Image Paperback, Garden City, N.Y., 1969.

3. F.-M. Braun, O.P., Mother of God's People, Alba House, Staten Island,
N.Y., 1967.

4. Raymond E. Brown, S.S., The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resur-
rection of Jesus, Paulist Press, New York, 1973, paperback.

5. Lucien Deiss, C.S.Sp., Daughter of Sion, Liturgical Press, Collegeville,

Minn., 1972.

6. A. Gelin, S.S., The Poor of Yahweh, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn.,

1967, paperback.

7. Henri de Lubac, S.J., Splendour of the Church, Paulist, New York, 1963,
paperback: chapter, The Church and Our Lady; also the pages on our Lady in
"Lumen Gentium and the Fathers," in his book, The Church: Paradox and Mys-
tery, Alba House, Staten Island, N.Y., 1969.

8. Heiko Oberman, The Virgin Mary in Evangelical Perspective, with preface
by Thomas F. O'Meara, O.P., a Facet paperback, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1971.

9. Karl Rahner, S.J., Mary Mother of the Lord, Herder and Herder, N.Y., 1963.

10. Joseph Ratzinger, Introduction to Christianity, Herder and Herder, N.Y.,
1970: chapter on "Conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary."

11. Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P., Mary Mother of the Redemption, Sheed and
Ward, N.Y., 1965.

12. Max Thurian, Mary, Mother of All Christians, Herder and Herder, N.Y.,
1964; the American edition is out-of-print, but the book can still be had under
the title, Mary Mother of the Lord Figure of the Church, Faith Press, 7 Tufton
Street, London SW 1, England.

59



.



STUDY QUESTIONS

Chapter One

1. What was the purpose of the American Bishops in publishing this
Pastoral Letter on our Lady? Has devotion to Mary and the saints

declined in recent years? If so, what is the cause?

2. Some say: "Today we should leave aside questions of doctrine
and concentrate on an effective program for the social betterment of

mankind." What do you think of this point of view?

3. Can the ills of society be cured by human efforts alone? To what
extent is the help of God necessary to enable men to overcome their
natural selfishness?

4. At Fatima, our Lady showed a deep concern for the state of the
modern world. How does the example and intercession of Mary relate
to the spiritual and temporal betterment of the world today?

5. What do the Bishops mean by declaring that Mary, the Mother of
Jesus, has a special place in God's plan for the salvation of mankind?

6. Did Vatican Council II downgrade devotion to Mary? How has
such an impression been created? Read chapter eight of the Constitu-
tion on the Church and discuss the attitude toward our Lady which is
presented there. What have Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI said on
this matter?

7. Protestants sometimes object that Catholic devotion to Mary is
an obstacle to the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. Is this accusation
true? Show how devotion to Mary leads to a more profound knowledge
and love of Christ.

8. The first chapter of the Pastoral Letter studies the various ref-
erences to Mary in the Bible. Which passages are the most important?

9. Why is our Lady called "The New Eve"? Compare the role of Eve
and of Mary in salvation history. Why is Jesus called "The New Adam"?

10. In the liturgy, the Old Testament passages referring to the
"Daughter of Zion" are frequently applied to Mary. What did this term
mean in the Old Testament? How is it applied to Mary by the New
Testament writers and by the Church?

11. Read the description of the ark of the Covenant in Exodus
40:16-35, and explain the influence of this theme on St. Luke's descrip-

61



tion of the Annunciation and the Visitation. Compare, likewise, the
account of the Annunciation with the promise to Abraham regarding
the birth of Isaac.

12. What qualities of Mary's mind and heart are manifested in the
account of the wedding feast at Cana? Would Jesus have worked this
miracle if Mary had not asked Him to? What does this tell us about the
place of Mary's intercession in our relations with Christ?

13. Christians through the ages have had great devotion to "the
Mother of Sorrows." In what sense can Mary be said to have cooperated
in the redemption of mankind and become the spiritual Mother of all
those redeemed by her Son?

Chapter Two

1. Trace the chief points in the development of the Church's under-
standing of the mystery of Mary, as outlined in the first two paragraphs
of this chapter.

2. Which points of comparison between Mary and Eve were empha-
sized by the early Fathers of the Church?

3. What is the difference between the Immaculate Conception and
the Virgin birth?

4. Does the Church believe that the Virgin birth was a factual
reality, or merely a literary device to bring out the importance of Jesus?
What Scriptural evidence do we have on this point? What was the
testimony of the early writers of the Church? What has been the con-
stant teaching of the Church on the perpetual virginity of Mary?

5. In a number of places, the New Testament mentions "the
brothers of the Lord." Does this mean that Mary had other children
besides Jesus?

6. Show how Christian veneration of Mary is a fulfillment of her
inspired prophecy: "All generations will call me blessed."

7. In what way is Mary blessed? Show the relationship between the
external blessedness of Mary as Mother of Jesus and her internal
holiness.

8. Explain the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. Does this
mean that Mary did not have a father or mother? Some medieval
theologians found difficulty in accepting the doctrine of the Immaculate

Conception because this seemed to them to free Mary from the need
of redemption by Christ. How has the Church found an answer to this
problem?

9. Explain the doctrine of the Assumption. Did Pope Pius XII make
up this doctrine, or merely proclaim the historic belief of the Church?

62



Trace the history of the doctrine of the Assumption in the liturgy and

the early Christian writings. How does Mary's Assumption serve as a
symbol of Christian hope for the whole Church of God?

10. Some Protestants object to calling Mary "Mother of God." How
would you explain this term to them? How is the divine maternity of
Mary related to the doctrine of the Incarnation? Explain the contro-
versies on this matter in the early Church and the solution arrived at in

the Council of Ephesus, 431 A.D.

Chapter Three

1. The point is made that Vatican Council II only once used the
term "mediatrix." To what extent was this an ecumenical gesture? Does
the mediation of Mary in any way lessen our belief in the complete
mediation of Christ? How has Jesus allowed Mary, and indeed all of
the faithful, to share in His saving mission?

2. Catholics call Mary "our blessed Mother." Mary is clearly the
Mother of Jesus; but how is she also our Mother? In what way is the
spiritual motherhood of Mary the model of the spiritual motherhood of
the Church?

3. What are the qualities of a good mother? To what extent are
Catholics justified in believing that Mary manifests such motherly quali-
ties toward her spiritual children?

4. To the woman who called His Mother blessed, Jesus replied:
"More blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it." What
did Jesus mean by this?

Chapter Four

1. What is the communion of saints? Is there a bond between the
Church on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven? Ex-
plain how the divine life of grace, won for us by Christ, pervades all
the members of His Mystical Body.

2. What is meant by "intercession"? Show how Catholic belief in
the intercession of the saints implies that the saints know us, are inter-
ested in us, and pray for us. Read the appropriate passages in the
seventh chapter of the Constitution on the Church.

3. Discuss the statement: "We seek from the saints 'example in
their way of life, fellowship in their communion, and aid by their
intercession.'

"

4. Many pictures of Mary, such as that of Our Lady of Perpetual
Help, had their origin among Catholics of the Eastern Rites. Can you
tell anything of the devotion of Eastern Catholics to our Lady?

63



5. Discuss the practical suggestions in numbers 66-67 of chapter 8
of the Constitution on the Church. How can we, following the lead of
the liturgy, cultivate devotion to Mary in our daily lives?

6. Do you think that some Catholics have gone too far in removing
statues and pictures of Mary and the saints from the churches?

7. Is the rosary out-of-date? Too repetitive? Too impersonal? Ex-
plain how meditation on the mysteries should be woven into the
recitation of the prayers of the rosary. Name the 15 mysteries.

8. Are Catholics obliged to believe in the apparitions of our Lady
at Lourdes and Fatima? What kind of approval does the Church give
to such apparitions?

9. Tell briefly the story of the appearances of our blessed Mother
at Lourdes and Fatima.

10. What did Vatican Council II mean by advising us to avoid ex-
cessive sentimentality and vain credulity in our devotion to Mary?

11. What is the attitude of the Protestants you know toward Mary?
How would you explain to a Protestant why we pray to the blessed
Virgin?

Chapter Five

1. What is meant by the title "Mother of the Church"? What was
the relationship of Mary to the Church during the life of Christ and
after His Resurrection and Ascension?

2. How do all the members of the People of God share in the priest-
hood of Christ? Explain the difference between the common priesthood
of the faithful and the ministerial priesthood of those in Holy Orders.
What special powers are given to the priest at the time of ordination?

3. How can the example of Mary help a priest to be faithful to his
vows and to his apostolate?

4. Name some of the chief religious orders in the Church and the *

work which they perform. Bring out various ways in which the example
of Mary can aid religious in fidelity to their vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience and help them in their work for God.

5. What was the secret of Mary's holiness, since her daily life at
Nazareth was mainly concerned with little tasks, like sweeping the floor,
cooking the meals, mending clothes and drawing water from the village
well? How can Mary's example be applied to the work of a housewife
and mother today?

6. Discuss the problem of abortion in the light of Mary's mother-

hood and her realization of the sacredness of human life. In what

64



sense are Elizabeth's words, "blessed is the fruit of your womb," true
of every unborn child?

7. What reasonable precautions must an expectant mother take to
preserve the life of her unborn child? Where can proper instruction
on prenatal care be procured in your community?

8. On what points do you think an expectant father should be
instructed during the time of his wife's pregnancy?

9. Maria says: "I have all my children baptized when they are
eight months old." How soon after birth should a child be brought to
the church for Baptism?

10. What provision should be made for the Baptism of the fetus in
case of miscarriage?

11.

What are the duties of parents with regard to their children's
religious instruction? Should parents insist that children attend Mass on

Sunday? What example should parents give to their children in this
matter?

12. How can the religious education of preschool children be best
promoted? What problems and difficulties are met with in introducing
religious ideas to children below the age of six?

13. Outline an ideal program for family prayer. How much of this
ideal can actually be put in practice in the average home? Does your
family say the rosary together?

14. Is the Catholic attitude toward Mary an obstacle to women's
liberation? To what extent has the Church's veneration of Mary lifted
the status of women through the centuries?

15. What is the attitude of young Catholics today toward the
blessed Virgin Mary? How can Mary be best presented to them as the
model of unselfishness, courage, purity, and dedicated love of God and
their fellow-man?

16. Are older single persons necessarily frustrated and unhappy?
Explain how the single life in the world can be for some a true vocation
from God, bringing joy and happiness in the unselfish service of others.
Show how such persons can share in the spiritual motherhood of Mary
and find in her a model of holiness.

65