By DON FIER
Our topic for the past two weeks, the communion of saints, is superbly summed up by Blessed Paul VI in his apostolic letter of June 30, 1968, entitled Credo of the People of God: “We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are attaining their purification, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion the merciful love of God and His saints is ever listening to our prayers” (n. 30).
This article of our faith professes our firm belief in a three-way communication between those who form the one family of God in praise of the Holy Trinity.
As expressed by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, this continual familial interchange among the Church Militant on Earth, the Church Suffering in Purgatory, and the Church Triumphant in Heaven (including the holy angels) occurs in the following manner: “The saints in heaven intercede for persons on earth and in purgatory; we on earth foster the memory of the saints in heaven, invoke them, and imitate their virtues; and we pray for the souls of the faithful departed that ‘they may be loosed from their sins’ (2 Macc. 12:45)” (The Faith, p. 96).
It is fitting that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) turns its attention once again to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose intercessory power among members of the communion of saints superabundantly exceeds that of all others. “Mary’s role in the Church [the communion of saints] is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it” (CCC, n. 964). In virtue of the singular and sublime gifts of grace that Mary received from the Almighty, “she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth” (Lumen Gentium [LG], n. 53).
In fact, as articulated by Fr. Hardon in his Basic Catholic Catechism Course, “the spiritual goods of the whole Body are dispensed throughout the Mystical Body of Christ through His Mother. She is the bond between Christ and the members” (p. 48). An edifying sermon entitled “The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” by the distinguished Jesuit theologian and Doctor of the Church St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) is cited by Fr. Hardon.
Using an analogy, the saint illuminates the greatness of Mary’s role in the distribution of graces won by our Savior.
“The Head of the Catholic Church is Jesus Christ, and Mary is the neck which joins the Head to its Body,” says St. Bellarmine. “All the gifts and all the graces which proceed from Christ as the Head should pass through Mary to the Body of the Church…it is no exaggeration to say that she unites the Head to the Body, and that therefore through her, before all others, flow the heavenly blessings from the Head, Who is Christ, to us who are His members” (Sermon 42).
Much earlier in this series when we reflected on Article 3 of the Creed (“Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary”), the Blessed Mother’s role in the mystery of Christ and the Holy Spirit was examined. Over the course of eight articles (see vol. 146, nn. 26-33; June 27-August 15, 2013), we looked briefly at each of the four Marian dogmas — her Divine Maternity, Perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption into Heaven — as well as the meaning of her title as the “New Eve” as it pertains to salvation history.
Privileged to receive such magnificent gifts and honors, and “redeemed by reason of the merits of her Son and united to Him by a close and indissoluble tie,” teach the Vatican II fathers, “she is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God, by which account she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit” (LG, n. 53).
But she also has another sublime role, that of Mother of the Church, which the Catechism now takes up. For “she is ‘the mother of the members of Christ…having cooperated by charity that faithful might be born in the Church, who are members of that Head’ (St. Augustine, De S. Virginitate, 6)” (LG, n. 53).
In other words, Mary is not only the physical, biological mother of the only-begotten Son of God, who is the Head of the Mystical Body of Christ, but she is also the spiritual mother of all the members of the Body “in the order of grace” (LG, n. 61).
Although its doctrinal foundation is deeply rooted in Scripture and Tradition, the official title “Mary, Mother of the Church” is relatively new. It was solemnly proclaimed by Blessed Paul VI on November 21, 1964, at the closing ceremony of the third session of Vatican II:
“For the glory of the Blessed Virgin Mary and our own consolation, we declare most Holy Mary Mother of the Church, that is of the whole Christian people, both faithful and pastors, who call her a most loving Mother; and we decree that henceforth the whole Christian people should, by this most sweet name, give still greater honor to the Mother of God and address prayers to her.”
However, as noted by St. John Paul II in his general audience of September 17, 1997, “the conciliar text does not explicitly attribute the title ‘Mother of the Church’ to the Blessed Virgin, but it unmistakably expresses its content.” Words contained in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church: “The Catholic Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, honors her with filial affection and piety as a most beloved mother” (LG, n. 53), certainly infer the doctrinal authenticity of this title of our Lady. Why was it not formally recorded in the conciliar documents?
Noted Mariologist Dr. Mark Miravalle provides an explanation in his well-documented book entitled Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons. At the close of the second session of Vatican II in December of 1963, Pope Paul VI publicly expressed his desire that Mary might be honored with the title of “Mother of the Church” in the upcoming third session.
However, many council participants “claimed that title would constitute an obstacle or be a source of difficulties for the Council in achieving one of its primary goals, the promotion of ecumenism” (p. 554).
Nonetheless, even though Blessed Paul VI’s earlier-cited proclamation during his closing allocution at the council’s third session is “not the equivalent of a dogmatic definition as such…it retains the full doctrinal value of a solemn action of the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church” (ibid., p. 553). Therefore, it is an article of faith to which members of the Church must give their firm assent of intellect and will.
To further accentuate the teaching, when Pope Paul VI promulgated the above-mentioned Credo of the People of God, he restated the universal Church’s belief in this august title of our Lady in an even more forceful way with the words: “We believe that the Blessed Mother of God, the New Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven her maternal role with regard to Christ’s members, cooperating with the birth and growth of divine life in the souls of the redeemed” (n. 15; as cited in CCC, n. 975).
The Handmaid Of The Lord
Let us now look at scriptural evidence for Mary’s spiritual maternity over all the faithful. It can be seen as initially rooted in the Book of Genesis where we see the first Eve identified as “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20). Just as all mankind can trace its maternal heritage on the natural level to Eve, so can all redeemed humanity trace its maternal heritage on the supernatural level to Mary, the New Eve.
The Blessed Virgin accepted this role at the moment of her “fiat” when she responded to the angel of the Lord with the following words: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Mary’s “yes,” although she did not immediately fully understand all that it entailed, constituted an act of consecration in faith, obedience, and love to collaborate with her Son in the redemption of mankind.
“The Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross” (LG, n. 58). It was at this point that her spiritual maternity was most fully manifested, at that moment when Christ gave birth to the Church from His pierced side (cf. CCC, n. 766). Standing alongside her crucified Son to the end and uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, she lovingly consented to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth (cf. LG, n. 58).
Just before His death, Jesus said to His sorrowful Mother, “Behold your son!” (John 19:26) and to His beloved disciple John, “Behold your mother!” (John 19:27) It is here that we will pick up next week to reflect on the Church’s understanding of this interchange as it relates to Mary’s spiritual maternity.
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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