MARY, MODEL OF FAITH
AND PERFECT DISCIPLE
By Rev. Peter Schineller, S.J.
FAITH AND LIFE SERIES
GAUDIUM ET SPES INSTITUTE
Abuja, Nigeria
Imprimatur: +Edmund Fitzgibbon
First Published 1986
Revised Edition 2002
Printed in Nigeria by
FOREWORD
In every generation, the young, the not so young, and the old need teachers. Jesus
Christ, the Great Teacher, encourages this generation to learn from his Mother Mary who
teaches by example. How Mary listened, prayed, and thought give an approach to
Christian living that is within reach of all and the best for this generation.
In good time, in bad times, and in puzzling times, Mary gives us her approach.
She listened, thought, and prayed. On Christmas night, the news was good; the shepherds
told what they had seen and heard on the night of the angels, the night that Christ was
born. The news was good and was for all the world.
When the time came for purification according to the Law of Moses and to
present the child to the Lord, Simeon took the child, blessed God, blessed them and said
to Mary his mother, “ A sword will pierce through your own soul.” The news was not so
good.
When Jesus was twelve years old he was lost for three days and found in the
temple sitting among the teachers, listening and asking them questions. The mother said
to him: “Why have you treated us so?” And he said to her: “How is it that you sought
me? Did you not know that I was about my Father’s business” The news was puzzling.
Whether good, bad, or puzzling, Mary listened, thought and prayed. At the
wedding of Cana she gave a clear line of action: “Whatever Jesus tells you to do, do”
(Cf. Lk. 2:19, 2:51, and Jn. 2: 1-10). Mary pondered all these things and treasured them
in her heart. Fr. Peter Schineller’s booklet on Mary, Model of Faith and Perfect
Disciple helps greatly to ponder all these things that Mary treasured in her heart.
Bishop Edmund Fitzgibbon
MARY, MODEL OF FAITH AND PERFECT DISCIPLE
Rev. Peter Schineller, S.J.
Gaudium et Spes Institute, Abuja, Nigeria
“All ages to come shall call me blessed” (Lk. 1:48). This prophetic statement of
Mary in her Magnificat is being fulfilled in the Catholic tradition. In this study we shall
examine why we call her blessed. What does the greatness of Mary consist of? This is a
topic of interest not only to Roman Catholics, but one of deep ecumenical significance.
By reflecting on the mystery of God’s love in the life of Mary, especially as revealed in
the Scriptures, we hope to show that all Christians should both reverence and learn from
Mary, who is Model of Faith and Perfect Disciple.
Our reflections take the form of twelve summary statements, each of which I will
explain and ground. Statements 1-3 focus on the biblical basis for the greatness of Mary.
Statements 4-9 explore the various dimensions of her faith and their significance for
Christian faith today. The final statements 10-12 point to the specifically Catholic nature
of devotion to Mary.
These reflections will be successful if they lead the reader to a deeper
understanding of the faith life of Mary and a deeper understanding of the grace and love
of God which called Mary to faith and calls us to faith today.
1. Faith mean basically a firm YES to God and God’s revelation. Thus a
contemporary understanding of Mary aptly views her as MODEL OF
FAITH, and PERFECT DISCIPLE. “My mother and my brothers are those
who hear the Word of God and put it into practice” (Lk. 8:21).
We need concrete examples, particular persons who show us what Christianity is. Saints
are precisely those men and women whom the Church designates by canonization to
serve as such models and examples. They are the pathfinders, showing the way of Jesus,
setting the standard. Above all the saints is Mary, Queen of all Saints. While there are
many beautiful titles and functions assigned to Mary – as in the Litany of Loretto – we
will here focus upon Mary as model of faith and perfect disciple. Thus, in the Second
Vatican Council, The Church Today, we read of Mary: “She is hailed as pre-eminent
and as a wholly unique member of the Church, and as its type and outstanding model in
faith and charity” (No. 53).
What is faith? A catechism might define it as a supernatural gift of God which
enables us to accept as true what God has revealed and what the Church presents to us for
belief. In more direct and personal language, faith is our YES to God – a graced
response to God’s call and word. It is the surrender of our heart, mind, soul, and strength
to the will of God. It is not only one act, but an entire life or way of life, a daily living out
of that YES to God. In terms of this description, Mary is the model of faith for her strong,
generous, continual YES to God’s revelation. “I am the servant of the Lord: let it be don
to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38).
Mary is also the perfect disciple. Christian discipleship has at least two key
dimensions. A disciple (stemming from the Latin) is one who learns, who listens to, and
follows the teaching of the master. Every Christian, from the newly baptized to a learned
Catholic scholar, to a bishop or the Pope always remains a disciple, that is, learning more
and more about God and God’s ways. Secondly, a Christian disciple is one who hears the
call of Jesus and follows the way of life of the teacher. As the gospel stories show, Mary
was closest to Jesus from his birth to his death on the cross. Thus she is the supreme
example of the one who follows the way or teaching of Jesus, and follows him on the
way.
To summarize this first statement, we can refer to the magnificent Apostolic
Exhortation of Pope Paul VI on “Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
First, the Virgin Mary has always been proposed to the faithful by the Church as
an example to be imitated, not precisely in the type of life she led, and much less
for the socio-cultural background in which she lived and which today scarcely
exists anywhere. She is held up as an example to the faithful rather in the way in
which, in her own particular life, she fully and responsibly accepted the will of
God (Cf. Lk. 1:38), because she heard the word of God and acted upon it, and
because charity and a spirit of service were the driving force of her actions. She is
worthy of imitation because she was the first and most perfect of Christ’s
disciples. All of this has a permanent and universal exemplary value (No. 35).
2. Scriptural basis for this understanding of Mary is found in the Gospels
and Acts of the Apostles. (Cf. Lk.1:38-45; 8:19-21; 11: 27-28; Acts 1:14;
Jn. 2:1-12; 19:25-27).
In the same exhortation quoted above, Pope Paul VI writes that devotion to Mary should
draw its inspiration from the Bible (No. 30). To show that Mary is model of faith and
perfect disciple, we will begin not with the stories of the conception and birth of Jesus but
with an incident from the public life, as found in Luke 8: 19-21.
Jesus is in a home, teaching as he often did. Word comes to Jesus that his mother
and brothers are outside and wish to see him. Rather than grant this request, Jesus
answers, somewhat surprisingly, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the
word of God and put it into practice” (Lk. 8:21). Here Jesus the master teacher points to
the true greatness of Mary. He is not rebuffing her, but saying that her true greatness is
her faith. Even if she is physically or biologically his mother, more important, and the
basis for the deepest relationship to Jesus, is that she hears God’s word and keeps it.
The same point is made in Luke 11:27-28. An unknown woman exclaims to
Jesus: “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and breasts that you sucked.” Jesus replies:
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” By this answer Jesus
does not deny the greatness of Mary as his physical mother, but says that true blessedness
consists essentially in hearing and doing God’s will – and this Mary did in a most
excellent manner!
From this perspective we can look back to the beautiful story of the
Annunciation. Here Mary gives her “fiat”, her free and complete act of faith in the power
of God. “Be it done to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38). The next gospel incident,
the story of the Visitation, makes the same point. Elizabeth blesses Mary, among all
women, and blessed is the fruit of her womb. Then Elizabeth praises Mary and points to
her greatness, her faith: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of
what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Lk. 1:45).
This faithful response of Mary continues in the writing of Luke in his Acts of the
Apostles (1:14). We see Mary in prayer, with one accord with the apostles. As at the
Annunciation, she is waiting in faith for the coming of the Holy Spirit. At the
Annunciation, the Spirit comes upon Mary and Christ is born in her. At Pentecost, the
Spirit comes upon the first disciples, and Christ again is born in them and the Church and
its mission begins. Mary at Pentecost is that faithful disciple among the disciples of
Jesus Christ, now Risen Lord. In high praise of Mary, Raymond Brown, biblical scholar,
once wrote that Mary is “the most consistent disciple in the whole gospel narratives” –
the one who remained faithful to the end.
Mary, as model of faith and as perfect disciple is found again in the gospel of
John. It is significant and surprising that John never gives Mary her proper name. In the
two key places (at the beginning of the public ministry in Cana, and at the end of his
ministry at Calvary) where the mother of Jesus appears, she is called simply “woman.”
By calling her the more general or generic “woman”, John is consciously taking her out
of the role of motherhood simply in the biological sense, and placing her in the symbolic
role of disciple. He is setting her forth as a type or model of faith and discipleship.
Thus, at Cana, Mary is the one who trusts in the power of Her Son. She shows
great faith in his power and love. Mary then speaks for herself and for all Christians when
she adds, “do whatever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5). Then at Calvary, Jesus addresses the
beloved disciple. Significantly again, no name is given to the beloved disciples, in order
to show that he represents all disciples. “Behold, your mother” (Jn. 19:27). Mary,
because of her faith, so strong that it keeps her with Jesus to the end, becomes and model
and mother of all disciples of Christ. “Woman, there is your Son” (Jn. 19:26).
3. The understanding of Mary as model of faith and perfect disciple joins
together, and gives a basis for the Church’s teaching on Mary as (a) mother
of Jesus Christ, (b) mother and type of the Church, and (c) ever Virgin. That
is, her faith is the basis for her biological motherhood; her faith like the faith
of the Church is fruitful in giving life to Jesus Christ, and her virginity is not
only physical, but a total, integral commitment and giving of herself to God \
in faith and love.
Three major ways of pointing to the greatness of Mary would be by saying that she is (a)
Mother of God, (b) Mother of the Church, and (c) Blessed Mary ever Virgin. I wish to
show that each of these beautiful affirmations of faith result and flow from Mary’s faith.
Mary is Mother of God because of her faith. She did not become Mother of God
Automatically, magically, but she freely and faithfully accepted the gift offered. Quoting
St. Augustine, the American bishops in a pastoral letter, Behold your Mother – Woman
of Faith, 1973 wrote: “More blessed was Mary in receiving the faith of Christ than in
conceiving the flesh of Christ…So too 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.” Because, and only because she spoke a generous ‘fiat’ in faith, did she
become the Mother of God.
Secondly, Mary has been proposed as mother and type of the Church. While this
has deep roots in the patristic era of the Church, it was Pope Paul VI at the close of the
Vatican Council who brought it to our attention. In doing this, he was echoing the thrust
of the Vatican Council Bishops, who decided that the Council statement on Mary most
fittingly belonged in the Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) rather than in a
separate statement or decree. How can Mary be considered Mother of the Church? First,
at Bethlehem, because of her ‘yes’, she brought forth her firstborn, Jesus, who is the
founder and head of the Church. Again in the writing of Luke, Mary is present with the
apostles as they wait in prayer for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14). She assists and
strengthens the apostles by her faith as they await the power of the Spirit at Pentecost,
which is traditionally called the birthday of the Church. The Spirit give life to the Church
and the fire for its mission.
The Church is the community of those faithful ones, who like Mary, say yes to
God. The Church in turn, following the example of Mary, Mother of the Church,
“becomes herself a mother. By preaching and baptism she brings forth sons, who are
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life” (The Church
Today, No. 64). In this manner the faith of the Church, like Mary, is fruitful for
salvation, bringing Christ and his Word to a waiting world.
Thirdly, Mary is ever virgin. In speaking of virginity, we must include physical
virginity, but not limit it to that. Physical virginity by itself can mean little. The true and
deepest meaning of a virginal life is one that places itself unconditionally at God’s
disposal. Instead of dissipating oneself, in place of temporary liaisons, in place of
scattering one’s energy, one maintains personal integrity and makes a total commitment
of oneself to God. One is so self-possessed and clear about one’s vocation, that one is
free to fully surrender oneself completely to God. Mary is this woman of faith. She
hears God’s call and surrenders to God unconditionally. This attitude is maintained
through her life as she remains with her Son even to the cross. She is the strong, chase,
self-possessed woman who freely and in faith says ‘yes’ to God with a full heart, mind,
body and spirit. We can also imitate the essence of her virginal faith by a total
commitment to God in whatever state of life we are called to.
To summarize this third statement, I quote from the writing of a scholar on Mary:
We see emerging a new paradigm for the understanding of Mary in this age: Mary
the perfect disciple. By means of the perspective given by this paradigm, Mary’s
divine motherhood, her role in the Church, and the true significance of her
virginity can be understood coherently as facets of the one whole which is the
mystery of Mary in the plan of man’s salvation. (Patrick Bearsley, “Mary, the
Perfect Disciple,” Theological Studies, Vol. 41, No. 3 (September 1980) 472).
We can also note that this third thesis makes Mary accessible and one who can be
imitated by Christians. By imitating her faith, we too “who truly follow Christ become
‘mothers’ of Christ, for by their faith they bring him to birth in others” (Behold Your
Mother, No 71). Our mission as Christians includes that of enabling Christ to be born in
the hearts of others. For this to happen, of course, Jesus Christ must first be born in us.
Only those who have themselves been evangelized, touched by the Good News, can go
out to evangelize or bring Christ to birth in others
4. Christian faith today in imitation of Mary should lead the Christian to
solidarity with, identification with the poor in service and in lifestyle.
In these next statements, 4-8, we shift somewhat from the biblical foundations and
dogmatic teaching of the Church, to the qualities of faith that Mary exemplifies, qualitie
we should imitate in our Christian lives today. These qualities are needed in West Africa
and elsewhere. Our devotion to Mary involves this effort to imitate her faith and the
qualities of her faith. Thus, we are urged by the Second Vatican Council:
Let the faithful remember moreover that true devotion consists neither in sterile or
transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds from true faith,
by which we are led to recognize the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are
moved to a filial love towards our mother and to the imitation of her virtues (The
Church Today, No. 67).
The first quality of Mary’s faith and faith life is here clear association with the
poor, the “anawim” to use the Biblical word. The gospel of Luke makes this eminently
clear. Jesus Christ is born in a stable because there is no room in the inn. He is laid in a
manger. Mary, Joseph and Jesus share the lot of the poor. The first visitors to Jesus are
shepherds, a lowly and humble way of life. The sign given to the shepherds is the sign of
the manger, the sign of poverty. Luke continues with the story of the Presentation. Mary
and Joseph offer the gifts of the poor, two young pigeons. They are welcomed by Simeon
and Anna, representing the humble who wait for the Lord. In the gospel of Matthew we
see that the Holy Family shared the fate of many of the poor – fleeing as refugees, in
exile to a foreign land, the land of Egypt.
In addition to the events of her life, we see the simplicity and poverty of Mary in
her great prayer, the Magnificat. “God has regarded the lowly estate of his handmaiden”
(Lk. 1:48). She expresses her faith in and, and her praise for the God who puts down the
mighty and raises up the lowly, the God who fills the hungry and sends the rich away
empty (Lk. 1:52-53). So strong is this prayer - a prayer of revolution - that in one nation
in Latin America, the wealthy military government officials forbade Catholics to recite
this prayer in public!
This insight into the poor as those especially loved and regarded by God is found
today in the theology of liberation. Faith leads to a preferential, but not exclusive option
for the poor. This is based upon the teaching of the prophets, the life and ministry of
Jesus, and the example of Mary. This faith is needed in Nigeria where the Church might
often appear to be a church of the rich, where the center of the Church and parish is not
this concern for the poor.
We might learn from the varied apparitions of Mary. Most often, as in Guadalupe
and Lourdes, Mary comes to the simple, the poor. She associates and reveals herself to
the poor and the needy who find in her a place of refuge, a mother’s love and care.
We must again recover the faith of Mary who “stands out among the poor and
humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from him” (The
Church Today, No. 55).
5. Faith must be fruitful, that is, leading to good works of charity and
justice.
St. Paul writes that “the only thing that counts is faith active in love” (Gal. 5:6). The letter
of James is equally strong. “Faith that does nothing in practice… is thoroughly lifeless”
(Jas. 2:17). Mary exemplifies a fruitful and active faith from the moment she gives her
faith consent in the story of the Annunciation. “Thereupon Mary set out, proceeding in
haste…” (Lk. 1:39). She journeys to assist her kinswoman Elizabeth as Elizabeth
prepares for the birth of her firstborn. We can also mention the day to day faith life of
Mary in nurturing, rearing and educating her child Jesus in the ways of Jewish life.
At Cana, Mary is active, saving embarrassment for the host by bringing to Jesus’
attention the lack of wine. She remains with Jesus even to Calvary, where most of the
apostles had deserted their Lord and Master. Then, when the Church is about to be born,
Mary is there, supporting and strengthening the first apostles in prayer as they wait for
the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In her Magnificat, Mary give the basis for this active, fruitful faith. She explains
that God acts for justice. God shows might with his arm, God upholds Israel, his servant.
The God who actively does great things for Mary calls for that active, loving response in
her.
It goes without saying that this active faith is necessary in Nigeria today. Christian
faith and life cannot be reserved or limited to Sunday, to times of prayer, to the realm of
the spiritual. Faith must manifest and prove itself by a concern for the community, by
integrity and honesty in public life, by charity to the neighbor. Thus Pope Paul VI holds
forth Mary as the model of the active disciples:
The figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary…offers them the perfect model of the
disciple of the Lord who builds up the earthly and temporal city while being a diligent
pilgrim towards the heavenly and eternal city; the disciple who works for that justice
which sets free the oppressed and for that charity which assists the needy; but above all,
the disciple who is the active witness of that love which builds up Christ in people’s
hearts” (Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, No. 37).
One further implication of the example of the fruitful faith of Mary is this. In
Africa there is tremendous emphasis upon physical fertility, the ability to bear children.
The comment of Jesus on the true greatness of Mary should comfort and encourage those
who may physically be unable to bear children, and those who freely choose a celibate
life. Rather than blessed is the womb that bore Jesus, blessed are those who hear God’s
word and keep it (Lk. 11:27-28). Women should be judged not primarily in their ability
to bear fruit of the womb, but by the fruit of their faith, a life like Mary of doing God’s
will.
6. Faith must be tested and deep, that is, paschal/Passover faith that passes
through the cross and death to new life.
Jesus Christ expects a faith in his followers that can stand persecution and overcome
difficulties. In fact he promises the sign of persecution to his followers (Jn. 15:20). This
we see continually in Mary, in “her pilgrimage of faith” as Vatican II describer her life.
The difficulties of no room in the inn and the hardships of exile in Egypt did not deter
Mary from her vocation. She proceeded in faith and trust even when she did not
understand, for example, when Gabriel announced she would conceive of the Holy Spirit,
and when Simeon spoke during the Presentation. “You yourself shall be pierced with a
sword” (Lk. 2:35). At the age of twelve, again in the temple, Mary did not fully
understand the words of Jesus that he must be about his Father’s business. At Cana, Jesus
calls her to deeper faith in the mystery of his life, calling her simply “woman” rather
than mother, and saying “My hour has not yet come: (Jn. 2:4).
Above all, at Calvary Mary shows the depth of her faith. When others, including
Peter and most of the apostles abandoned Jesus, Mary remains. It seems that her Son’s
life is a failure. All that he stood for seems rejected. But she remains with her Son to the
end in faithful love. The end is a new beginning and Easter Sunday follows Good Friday.
Mary rises to new faith at Easter and shares that faith with the disciples awaiting
Pentecost. As Mary remained one with her Son in his suffering and death, she is one,
reunited with him in his Resurrection. Tradition believes that Jesus first appeared to
Mary before he appeared to Mary Magdalen and the apostles. Even if this is not
mentioned in Scripture, it makes eminent sense. Mary who was closest to Jesus in his
death, would also be closest to him in his resurrection. Mary continually exemplifies true
Christian faith as a dying to self and living for Christ and the followers of Christ.
The Church annually celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on 15
September. Traditionally this recalls the Seven Sorrows of Mary. These have been, as
we outlined above, the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight to Egypt, the Losing in the
Temple, the Fourth Station of the Cross, Standing beneath the Cross, Jesus taken down
from the Cross, and the Burial of Jesus. The courageous faith of Mary shines through
each of these incidents. Mary does not withdraw into herself, does not feel self-pity.
Rather she stays with her Son – as an example to the other disciples and an example to us
today.
For the Christian today, as for Mary, faith does not mean an end to struggle, an
absence of suffering. Mary, conceived without sin, and all holy, still suffered! But her
faith stood the test. The Christian today needs that courage, that trust in God who will
never abandon us in the struggle, who gives strength to those who suffer. With St. Paul,
faith gives the deep conviction that nothing – no suffering, no persecution, no famine, not
even death – can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:31-39).
Mary demonstrates that the only way to God is through the Paschal Mystery. By
dying to selfishness and sin, by living with and dying with Jesus, we attain to the life that
never ends. This Paschal Mystery we recall and celebrate in each of the sacraments,
most especially at Holy Mass. Mary was most closely associated with this Paschal
Mystery and is the model of our own dying to sin and self-centeredness and living for
God, God as revealed most clearly in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
7. Faith today must be Christ-centered, and thus Trinitarian. Christian faith
is in and with Jesus, led by the power of the Spirit, leading to God the Father.
Trinitarian faith describes both how God reveals God’s self to humankind, and how the
human person returns to God. In regard to revelation, the Father reveals his love through
the sending of his Son, the Word made flesh, born of Mary. This always occurs in and
with the power of the Spirit who is poured out and given to humankind. As we pray at
Mass in the Preface for Christian Unity, “through Christ you have given the Holy Spirit
to all peoples.”
So too, our Christian response of faith is empowered by the Spirit, conformed to
the Son, and with the Son leading us back to the Father.
Mary exemplifies this pattern and direction of Christian faith. Through the power
of the Spirit she makes her ‘fiat’, her yes to God. She conceives of the Holy Spirit. The
Spirit who spoke through the prophets speaks through Mary as she utters her Magnificat
in the tradition of the prophets. This openness to the Spirit remains with her and we see
her in prayer at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, waiting for the promised Spirit
to be poured out.
She is one with her Son, the Word Incarnate, throughout his life, death and
resurrection. Her words at Cana, “do whatever he tells you” become our own way of life,
looking to Jesus and doing what he asks us to do. As we see in the Magnificat, Mary’s
faith us ultimately in the God of Abraham, God the Father who acts through his Son and
the Spirit. Mary’s pilgrimage of faith leads back to the Father.
Christian faith today follows this pattern. Faith must be centered on the Triune
God. The angels, the saints, and Mary, Queen of All Saints, do not replace God as the
object of faith. Rather our devotion to them, in its proper place, leads us to God who is
Father, Son, and Spirit. In this way, the doctrine of the Trinity is not a luxury, but rather
the precise description of how God comes to us and how we journey back to God.
8. Mary can be invoked under many titles. Three titles that are under
discussion today are advocate, mediatrix, and co-redemptrix. These must be
understood in the correct manner.
The Catholic tradition has many ways of invoking and describing Mary. The Litany of
Loretto gives a number of such descriptions or titles. The most important of these is the
simplest, namely Mary as Mother of God. Other titles would be Queen of Apostles,
Queen of All Saints, Seat of Wisdom, New Eve, Queen of Nigeria, Mother of the
Church, Help of Christians. In this essay we have spoken of Mary as Model of Faith,
and Perfect Disciple.
In recent years, there has been a discussion in the Catholic Church on three
particular titles, namely advocate, mediatrix, and co-redemptrix. Let us examine each of
these in turn. Our conclusion is that they may be used, but used carefully, and with a
proper understanding so that they do not take away from the unique mediation of her
Son, Jesus Christ.
Advocate. In the Hail Holy Queen, we call upon Mary as “our most gracious
advocate.” An advocate is one, for example a lawyer, who pleads our cause. In the New
Testament, Jesus says that the father will send the Holy Spirit, who is the Advocate or
Paraclete (Jn. 14: 16 and 26).
In the first letter of John, Jesus himself is called the
advocate or the intercessor (1 Jn. 2:1), interceding on behalf of sinners.
The Catholic tradition believes strongly in the intercession of the saints. Mary, as
Queen of All Saints, in dependence upon her Son, fulfills this role as advocate. This title
is given to Mary in the Second Vatican Council, and in fact, we implicitly invoke it every
time we pray the Hail Mary. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners…”
Mediatrix. Many popes, from Pope Leo XIII to Pius XII invoke Mary as
mediatrix. A mediator is one who brings parties together that were at a distance. We call
Mary mediatrix of all graces, meaning that she is instrumental in assuring that the grace
of God comes to us.
The Second Vatican Council gives this title a very moderate use, saying that
because of her motherly care, Mary is invoked as “mediatrix” (The Church Today, No.
62). Pope John Paul II in his teaching on Mary affirms that Mary is mediatrix
“inasmuch as she “presents our desires and petitions to Christ, and transmits the divine
gifts to us, interceding continually on our behalf” ( September 24, 1997). In his
Encyclical letter on Mary speaks carefully of Mary’s maternal mediation. He reminds us
that as St. Paul affirms, there is only one mediator, namely Jesus Christ.
Thus, this title, if used, must be used carefully and cautiously. It must not be
taken as interfering with the immediate union we have as Christians with Jesus Christ.
According to the Council, Mary’s mediation “takes nothing away from the dignity and
power of Christ, the one mediator, and adds nothing to it” (No. 62).
Co-redemptrix. In past years, and even today, some Catholics hope and pray
that the Catholic Church will officially give the title of co-redemptrix to Mary. But as we
will see, there are serious problems with this. It is open to exaggeration and
misunderstanding.
The Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI avoided this
description of Mary.
Pope John Paul II has used it, not in his encyclicals but in a few occasional
speeches. In so describing Mary, the Pope wishes to associate her in a special way with
the redemptive action of her Son Jesus. He thus speaks of Mary’s role as cooperating in
the work of redemption – but never substituting for Jesus. The doctrine of Mary as coredemptrix cannot mean that Mary stands on the same level with Jesus Christ, or that the
work of Christ is deficient and Mary makes up for that. Positively, the title tries to show
that Jesus Christ freely does associate others, such as Mary, with his redemptive action.
If the title is understood in this way, as sharing in the unique mediation of Jesus Christ, it
might be used, but only with care and caution.
9. Faith must be compassionate and merciful, with the strong and tender
love of a mother for her children.
Most books about Christian faith have been written by men rather than women. I am
afraid that many of these authors emphasize what might be called the masculine qualities
of faith, such as its power, intellectual prowess, and controlling aspects. But Christian
faith and life must be balanced to include the more compassionate, tender, and servant
qualities of faith. These are prominent in the faith life of Mary. She manifests that
compassion and reverence for life from her Annunciation, to the Visitation to her
prayerful support for the apostles in Acts 1: 14. At Cana, she has the good eye, the
concern for the host when the wine runs short. At Calvary she manifests the boundless
love of a mother for her child. She is closest to the cross and “has the deepest knowledge
of the mystery of God’s mercy. She knows the price” (Pope John Paul II, On the Mercy
of God, No. 9).
Even in the midst of such grief, she accepts the beloved disciple as her own son,
and so becomes the mother of all Christians. Christian artists have pointed to the depth
of Mary’s compassionate faith in the Pieta, the 13th station of the cross, when she
received the limp body of her Son into her arms.
Christian faith today calls for this compassionate heart that goes out in love and
concern for the weak, the suffering, and the needy. The Second Vatican Council put it
this way:
In her life the Virgin has been a model of that motherly love with which all who
join in the Church’s apostolic mission for the regeneration of mankind should be
animated (The Church Today, No. 65).
Our faith today can be enriched through devotion to Mary. Such devotion assures
that our faith includes the woman’s touch, the sensitivity to beauty, the care and respect
for each and every individual. It helps to overcome a tendency, especially in men,
towards crudeness or rudeness, towards domination and reliance upon physical strength
and power.
In this example of motherly, compassionate love, Mary echoes the very life and
love of God., God is not only like a father, but like a mother in strong and tender love. In
Isaiah 49:15 God declares: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have
no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will never forget
you.” Jesus compares the love of God to that of a woman searching for the lost coin (Lk.
15:8-10) and to a mother hen gathering her chicks (Lk. 13:34). Thus reflection on the
faith of Mary can lead to deep insight into the boundless love of God, who is both father
and mother, whose love is strong and tender, merciful and just.
10. Catholic teaching on Mary is paradigmatic for Catholic theology. That
is, it reveals and points to the specifically Catholic emphasis upon
sacramentality, mediation, incarnation and the ecclesial character of faith.
At this point we step back from specific focus upon the faith of Mary. We will show how
Catholic teaching on Mary is illuminative, indicative and representative of the Roman
Catholic tradition.
What makes Catholicism stand out as specifically different from the many
Christian denominations? True, it is the largest. True, it traces itself back to Peter and
the apostles in apostolic succession. True, it is the most universal, present throughout the
earth. It has the pope as its visible head. All of these are characteristics of Roman
Catholicism. But I wish to move to a deeper, more basic religious or theological level to
examine what is specifically Catholic, and then link this with the important place of Mary
in Catholic faith.
My thesis is that in Catholicism there is a definite emphasis upon sacramentality,
mediation, incarnation, and the ecclesial character of faith. This means that God is found
not only far off, as distant Creator, as totally other. No, God is also found mediated lin
and through the creation God made. God chooses to be close to the creature, God
reveals his power, love and glory in and through creatures, especially human persons.
Thus Catholicism has an array of saints, with Mary, Queen of All Saints. Glory given to
God’s children is glory given to their Creator. God is honored when God’s saints are
honored. Thus Catholicism has seven sacraments to mediate God’s life and love to basic
moments of human existence such as birth, sickness, marriage and forgiveness. The
sacraments dare to use created matter such as bread and wine, oil and water, the
imposition of hands, to be vehicles or means of divine life. Catholicism also has a rich
variety of sacramentals and blessings. These enable God’s presence and protection to be
celebrated in daily life through candles and medals, through rosaries and palm branches.
Catholicism, for this reason, has been a strong and important patron of the arts, inspiring
and encouraging artists to capture with their imagination the stories of the Bible, the
traces of God found throughout creation. Through Christian art, the material painting or
sculpture points to and reveals the divine.
Catholicism has been called “the churchy Church.” Yes, we believe that the
Church is holy (as well as sinful). God is not simply a distant creator or redeemer but
incarnate and mediated through the Church. The Church, like Mary, is not only a place
but an instrument of divine grace. Holiness adheres in the Church as gift of God to the
members. God truly dwells in and with his people in his Spirit given to the Church.
In contrast to mainline Protestant denominations, Catholicism has emphasized
that human persons, and Mary above all others, have indispensable roles to play in the
history of salvation. God’s gift of grace calls forth a response of grateful cooperation.
Thus with St. Augustine and St. Thomas, we affirm that “God who created us without our
cooperation, will not redeem us without that cooperation.” With St. Paul, we are called
to be God’s co-workers (1 Cor. 3:9). Roman Catholicism takes our humanity and human
freedom with utmost seriousness. We are not lost, or overwhelmed by divine power, but
called upon to freely, faithfully, and lovingly respond to the grace of God as Mary did.
Mary cooperated most perfectly with God’s plan in her “fiat” and throughout her entire
life.
Roman Catholicism demonstrates and stands for the many ways in which God
enters into human lives. While Protestantism tends to focus upon the first of the
following pairs, Catholicism stands for both sides. Catholicism says Bible and tradition;
Word and sacrament; faith and works; Jesus Christ and his saints; grace and nature, faith
and reason; God and the world.
Catholicism affirms the legitimate development of
doctrine. Thus, for example, the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and
the doctrine of her Assumption are not found in so many words in Scripture. But
Catholics believe that the Spirit is at work, guiding the Church towards the fullness of
truth. Thus these Marian doctrines, with roots in Scripture, have developed in light of
the faith and practice of Catholics over the centuries.
Devotion to Mary is therefore not an exception or aberration in the Catholic
tradition or in Catholic theology, but rather exemplary and paradigmatic for that tradition.
While Jesus Christ remains the one unique mediator, the prime sacrament, we believe
that with Jesus and because of him, we have other persons and signs that embody and
reveal the mystery of God’s love. We believe in the communion of saints. Primary
among these is Mary, blessed among all women, and sometimes named mediatrix. Mary
is a model for the Church in Mary’s faithful, graced, generous cooperative response to
God’s call.
11. While fostering these positive values of “the Catholic substance,” we
must also be aware of the dangers in misunderstanding or exaggerating these
values.
The Bishops of Nigeria, issued a Pastoral Letter, Mary, our Mother and Model, for the
Marian Year, 1987-88. In it they pointed to two extreme attitudes towards Mary. The
one, found mainly outside Catholicism, treats all honor to Mary as idolatrous. It
overlooks the fact that in the Scriptures, Mary has been declared destined to be called
“Blessed” by all generations (Lk. 1:48).
The other extreme, the Bishops call an “exaggerated and near-idolatrous Marian
devotion.” These devotees tend to make Mary the counterpart or almost equal to Jesus.
They are clearly out of tune with the Church.
The Bishops also note that this
exaggerated Marian devotion also does harm to the cause of Christian unity, and for that
reason too, it must be avoided.
It is this second position, which Catholics must be aware of, and not fall into.
Thus, while we have highlighted the specific emphasis of Catholicism, something to be
proud of (our “Catholic substance”, as the Protestant theologian Paul Tillich termed it)
we must also mention possible difficulties or dangers inherent in that emphasis. Popes,
bishops, and theologians have pointed to these dangers. Emphasis and reverence for
Mary can sometimes mean that for all practical purposes Mary becomes more important
than her Son Jesus Christ. Sacramentals can be incorrectly sought and celebrated more
than the seven key sacraments. Devotion to St. Jude might incorrectly take more of our
time and energy than devotion to and following of Jesus Christ, and prayerful reading of
Scripture.
Devotion to Mary is improper if we think that only through Mary do we have
access to Jesus Christ or to the Father. If we think that God and Jesus Christ are remote,
and we always and absolutely need Mary as the bridge or link to that distant God, then
our understanding of Mary is wrong. Rather we should say that Jesus Christ is brought
close to us through Mary, that Jesus Christ is the one, sufficient mediator between God
and the human. The greatness of Mary is not to form a bridge between us and a remote
Christ, but to enable Christ to be close to us. As Vatican II reminds us, the role of Mary
is an important but “subordinate role” (The Church Today, No. 62).
Devotion to Mary must follow the instruction of John the Baptist, pointing the
way to Jesus Christ, who must increase as we decrease (Cf. Jn. 3:30). Pope Paul VI
writes that “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 and women to Christ” (Address of
21 November, 1964).
While there may be dangers in exaggerated devotion to Mary, the Catholic
Church considers these risks worth taking. Catholicism cannot draw back from its belief
in the communion of saints, with Mary as the first of all saints, without at the same time
losing its deepest heritage and tradition. Catholicism holds on to the ‘analogy of being’
meaning that we find God in and through the world. When we look at the world and its
history we quickly find Mary as the ‘morning star’, one of the human race completely,
but also completely holy with the grace of God.
12. In summary fashion, Mary is model of Christian faith and perfect
disciple insofar as she exemplifies the life of the Beatitudes.
Sometimes we might be tempted to think that Mary is the exception, that Mary is far
superior to us and different from us in view of her holiness and special mission. But we
must end by recalling that Mary is fully human, like us. And she is put forth by Popes and
by the Vatican Council as a model and example for all Christians.
Jesus in his own example and teaching, shows his disciples the type of life that leads
to eternal life. While Jesus expects us to keep the law of the Old Testament, the Ten
Commandments, in his Sermon on the Mount, he presents a new and more perfect way.
He begins that teaching on what he expects from his followers with the beatitudes. I
submit that they are profoundly lived in the life of Mary.
 “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Mary stand with and for the poor of God, placing
her trust and her life in God’s hands.
 “Blessed are those who mourn.” The scene of Mary at Calvary reminds us how she
mourned and suffered with her Son for the sins of the world.
 “Blessed are the meek.” Mary knows her place and lets her Son be the center of her
life and the center of those who follow him.
 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.” In her Magnificat Mary prays
and commits herself to the God who brings down the mighty and exalts the humble.
 “Blessed are the merciful.” Mary’s compassion stretches to Elizabeth, to the newly
married couple at Cana, and amidst her own suffering, to the beloved disciple on
Calvary.
 “Blessed are the pure in heart.” Mary, ever virgin, dedicates all her life and energy to
the cause and call of God.
 “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Mary gave birth to the Prince of Peace, and
prayerfully waits with the apostles at Pentecost for the coming of the Spirit of Peace.
 “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the cause of right.” Like the Israelite
people, Mary suffers exile in Egypt. With her Son, Jesus, she suffers on Calvary and
shows that life is stronger than death, that God’s mercy and justice are more powerful
than human sinfulness.
Mary, Mother of God; yes, she is that. Mary, type and Mother of the Church; yes.
Mary ever Virgin; yes. But we end where we began. Mary is model of faith and perfect
disciple. She is the woman of courage who followed her Son to the cross; a wife, mother,
and widow; a refugee, the mother of a prisoner, the victim of persecution, the woman
who in her Magnificat announces the downfall of the powerful and the vindication of the
oppressed.
Her faith, which we are challenged to imitate, her discipleship, which we are
challenged to follow, were her responses to the love of God. This is what Jesus pointed
to when he said, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Lk. 11:28).