1st January 2023 - The Latin Rite Solemnity of Mary
Mother of God and the Church, Co-operator in our Redemption, Mediator of Grace
One writer expresses Mary's role in our redemption this way:
Since this axial moment in the human story, the
birth of the incarnate Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity,
began with the fiat, the answer of a trusting and obedient young woman
to the angelic salutation and summons to motherhood.
As St John
Paul II never tired of teaching:
"Mary’s fiat - 'Be
it done unto me according to your word' (Luke 1:38) — made her the
first of disciples and established the paradigm of all discipleship: joyful
obedience to the divine call. Everything else in the Church — evangelism,
contemplation, authority, service — only makes sense in light of that Marian
“yes” and the discipleship it uniquely expressed. Mary is the beginning of the
Church. And Mary remains the model of the Church forever, because her Assumption
reveals the destiny that God intended for humanity 'in the beginning. - eternal
life with the Thrice-Holy God."
It is good, at Christmastide,
to reflect on Mary and the Church — and on what Mary’s initial act of
discipleship, that fiat which came to fruition “when
Quirinius was governor of Syria” (Luke 2:2), means for us today.
Hans Urs von Balthasar ... points that
meditation in the proper direction:
“From the Mother’s
disposition grows the disposition of the Church. The Church is not an external
assembly of people brought together by a common religious purpose, but rather a
reality that exists before we do and to which we owe what we are, through God
and by the grace of God. No one helps himself to the sacraments; they are
bestowed on a person as graces…The Church is responsible for us before God; she
is to rear us in her pure and holy spirit and not in our own…[which is how we
become] ‘ecclesial souls.’”
One writer expresses Mary's role in our redemption this way:
Since this axial moment in the human story, the
birth of the incarnate Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity,
began with the fiat, the answer of a trusting and obedient young woman
to the angelic salutation and summons to motherhood.
As St John
Paul II never tired of teaching:
"Mary’s fiat - 'Be
it done unto me according to your word' (Luke 1:38) — made her the
first of disciples and established the paradigm of all discipleship: joyful
obedience to the divine call. Everything else in the Church — evangelism,
contemplation, authority, service — only makes sense in light of that Marian
“yes” and the discipleship it uniquely expressed. Mary is the beginning of the
Church. And Mary remains the model of the Church forever, because her Assumption
reveals the destiny that God intended for humanity 'in the beginning. - eternal
life with the Thrice-Holy God."
It is good, at Christmastide,
to reflect on Mary and the Church — and on what Mary’s initial act of
discipleship, that fiat which came to fruition “when
Quirinius was governor of Syria” (Luke 2:2), means for us today.
Hans Urs von Balthasar ... points that
meditation in the proper direction:
“From the Mother’s
disposition grows the disposition of the Church. The Church is not an external
assembly of people brought together by a common religious purpose, but rather a
reality that exists before we do and to which we owe what we are, through God
and by the grace of God. No one helps himself to the sacraments; they are
bestowed on a person as graces…The Church is responsible for us before God; she
is to rear us in her pure and holy spirit and not in our own…[which is how we
become] ‘ecclesial souls.’”
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,Jesus
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
O Virgin pure, immaculate/
O Lady Theotokos!
O Virgin Mother,
Queen of all/ and fleece which is all
dewy
More radiant than the rays of
sun!
and higher than the heavens
Delight of virgin choruses
superior to Angels.
Much brighter than the firmament/
and purer than the sun's light
More holy than the multitude
of all the heav'nly armies.
Disputes and Divisions
A wide range of views on Mary exist at multiple levels of differentiation within distinct Christian belief systems … Over the centuries, Roman Catholic Mariology has been shaped by varying forces ranging from sensus fidelium to Marian apparitions to the writings of the saints to reflection by theologians and papal encyclicals.
Eastern Orthodox theology calls Mary the Theotokos, which means God-bearer. The virginal motherhood of Mary stands at the center of Orthodox Mariology, in which the title Ever Virgin is often used. The Orthodox Mariological approach emphasizes the sublime holiness of Mary, her share in redemption and her role as a mediator of grace. Eastern Orthodox Marilogical thought dates as far back as Saint John Damascene who in the 8th century wrote on the mediative role of Mary and on the Dormition of the Mother of God. In the 14th century, Orthodox Mariology began to flourish among Byzantine theologians who held a cosmic view of Mariology, placing Jesus and Mary together at the center of the cosmos and saw them as the goal of world history … [In] Russia, Mary is the heart of the Church and the center of creation … Eastern Orthodox Mariology does not support the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
[Both based on deepening understandings of the mysteries of Sacred Scripture - HJ]
Protestant views on Mary vary from denomination to denomination. They focus generally on [their] interpretations of Mary in the Bible, the Apostles' Creed, (which professes the Virgin Birth), and the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, in 431, which called Mary the Mother of God … Martin Luther's views on Mary, John Calvin's views on Mary, Karl Barth's views on Mary and [a host of] others have all contributed to modern Protestant views. Anglican Marian theology varies greatly, from the Anglo-Catholic (very close to Roman Catholic views) to the more Reformed views …
[The[ Anglican Church … [has] no systematic agreed upon Mariology among the diverse parts of the Anglican Communion.
Some of the lines are only one letter long!
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Are a bit longer.
What truths about Mary are directly derivable from scripture?
ReplyDeleteEastern Orthodox theology calls Mary the Theotokos, which means God-bearer.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't just from Orthodox theology. The title Theotokos was adopted by the undivided Church at the Council of Ephesus in 431. We simply prefer to use it untranslated.
Eastern Orthodox Mariology does not support the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
Orthodox theology doesn't require the Immaculate Conception, as we understand Ancestral (Original) Sin to be the transmission of proclivity to sin after the Fall, rather than inheriting the guilt of Adam's sin.
Have a Blessed and Happy New Year, Lain. Did you get to spend time with your family over the Christmas season?
DeleteAnd a blessed new year to you too. I did, thanks, they came up to visit me this time, which was nice. My mum came to my concert (and complained that my dress showed too much shoulder) and then my dad came up later after he'd finished with all his church stuff.
DeleteQuite correct too young lady! Lord knows there's enough distraction in churches these days without bare arms; would that it stopped there. Hope you also had a veil covering your hair.
DeleteJack thought you lived in a cave!
DeleteFortunately, M. Dodo, my charity concert wasn't in a church. When I played for the carol services, I did, of course, veil myself from head to toe in a net of flashing Christmas lights, to avoid causing a distraction.
ReplyDeleteAnd a cave!? How rude. I even tidied up!