The Popes, Marian Devotion, And The New Evangelization

By DONAL ANTHONY FOLEY

Part 2

This is the second article in a series which looks at Marian aspects of the New Evangelization, in the light of the teaching of recent Popes.
Following the tremendous events at Fatima in 1917, and particularly the Miracle of the Sun on October 13, and the approval of the apparitions by the local bishop in 1930, the following year, the Portuguese bishops collectively consecrated Portugal to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.
In 1936, at the site of the Fatima apparitions, with the prospect of the country being afflicted with Communism as a result of the conflict raging in neighboring Spain, they made a vow to organize a national pilgrimage to Fatima if Portugal was delivered from this fate. Their country was indeed preserved from Communism, and as a result they were able to return in May 1938 to fulfill their vow and renew the previous consecration, being joined by half a million ordinary Portuguese.
On September 8, 1946, Poland was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Marian shrine at Jasna Gora in the presence of 700,000 Poles. Poland was thus the first country to follow the example of Portugal in making this consecration, and we can see the fruit of this in their extraordinary resistance to Communism under Cardinal Wyszynski, the election of Cardinal Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II, and the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland following his visit in June 1979.
The important thing to note about these consecrations is that they were not just ceremonial occasions, but rather, when done with a living devotion, and invoking the intervention of God through His Mother, they had a real impact.
The message for us is that if individuals, parishes, dioceses and countries make such a consecration, then they are inviting Mary to help them experience the presence of God in a decisive way in their own lives, and more widely, and are thus furthering the evangelizing efforts of the Church as a whole.
After World War II, in the light of our Lady’s appeals that people should pray the rosary daily for world peace, Pope Pius XII (1939-1958), was insistent about the power and importance of the rosary; in his encyclical Ingruentium Malorum (n. 15), which was issued in 1951, he said: “We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that We put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils which afflict our times.”
And Pius XII was, of course, the Pope who promulgated the dogma of the Assumption of our Lady into Heaven, body and soul, in 1950. This dogmatic pronouncement, and the previous one concerning the Immaculate Conception, in 1854, point to our Lady’s great importance for the Church in our modern era.
Pius XII’s Successor, Pope St. John XXIII, was particularly devoted to the rosary, and said all 15 decades daily. He issued an encyclical on it, Grata Recordatio, in 1959, in which he urged the recitation of the rosary, particularly during the month of October, and Pope Paul VI, likewise, promoted the rosary.
In general, if we look at the documents of the Second Vatican Council, we can see aspects of them as important for the New Evangelization. The problem is that for various reasons — and mainly due to the rise of the counterculture of secularism from the 1960s onward — they haven’t been properly put into practice.
In addition, it could be argued that some of the texts of Vatican II were interpreted as putting too much emphasis on the values present in some other Christian denominations and even other religions, to the detriment of the Church’s missionary impetus.
And, in addition, following the council, for a number of reasons, Marian devotion went into decline, even though our Lady has a prominent place in the important Vatican II document Lumen Gentium (“The Light of the Nations”). This invites us to understand the importance of her role at the heart of the Church, and to realize that Marian devotion and activity are not just optional extras for Catholics.
At the close of the third session of the council, on November 21, 1964, Blessed Pope Paul VI proclaimed Mary as “Mother of the Church.” His apostolic exhortation Signum Magnum (“A Great Sign”), was issued on May 13, 1967, the 50th anniversary of the first Fatima apparition, and the occasion of his one-day pilgrimage to Fatima — the first by a reigning Pope; Fatima was also specifically mentioned in the document.
In his apostolic exhortation, Recurrens Mensis Octobris, issued on October 7, 1969, the Pope urged Catholics to deepen their devotion to the rosary.
Marialis Cultus (“Marian Devotion”), is the title of a Mariological apostolic letter written by Blessed Pope Paul VI which was issued on February 2, 1974. It is subtitled, “For the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” and focuses on Marian liturgical celebrations, and the angelus and rosary. It was influenced by the Vatican II Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy — Sacrosanctum Concilium — and also by chapter 8 of Lumen Gentium. In this letter, the Pope wanted to respond to a perceived Marian “crisis” that had arisen following Vatican II, in which Marian devotion was being downplayed by some in the Church.
The liturgical focus of Marialis Cultus illustrates an important, but often overlooked, point regarding the feast days and solemnities assigned to the Blessed Virgin in the liturgy. These include the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1), the Annunciation (March 25), the Assumption (August 15), the Immaculate Conception (December 8), and the feast days associated with Christmas.
And we could also add the particular Marian feast days associated with approved Marian apparitions, such as Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11), Our Lady of Fatima (May 13), and Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12).

The Gift Of Grace

If we follow the ancient maxim, Lex orandi, lex credendi (the “law of prayer is the law of belief”), which signifies that there is an intimate relationship between prayer and belief, then this prominence given to Mary in the liturgy, which is the supreme form of prayer in the Church, ought to be reflected in our beliefs and practices.
And if the liturgy should be at the center of deep Catholic reform and evangelization, and our Lady’s feasts are so prominent in it, then her role must be far more important than is generally recognized at the present moment.
Regarding evangelization, following the Synod of Bishops to discuss this topic in 1974, Blessed Pope Paul VI, in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975), said: “The Church exists in order to evangelize, that is, to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace” (n. 14).
The Pope stressed that Catholics ought to be willing to witness about their faith to their fellow men and women, ultimately with a view to bringing about an inner change in their lives leading to their conversion.

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(Donal Anthony Foley is the author of a number of books on Marian apparitions, and maintains a related website www.theotokos.org.uk.)