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Blessed Virgin Mary

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This article is about the Roman Catholic theological and doctrinal concept of Mary. See Virgin Mary for other conceptions of Mary. See Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the religious order of women whose members use the initals BVM following their names.
A traditional Catholic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, displaying her Immaculate Heart

The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to The Blessed Virgin is a traditional title specifically used by Roman and Eastern Catholics, Anglo-Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and others to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus. It carries with it a belief not merely in the virginity of Mary, but of her continuing role within the church and in the life of ordinary Catholics, for which Roman Catholicism in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (21 November 1964), passed during the Second Vatican Council, granted her the title Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. Colloquially she is often referred to as Our Lady.

Perpetual virginity

It is a fundamental Catholic teaching that Mary remained a virgin her entire life. Several explanations are offered regarding verses such as Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3, which list "adelphoi" of Jesus. Jerome translated the ambiguous Greek term "adelphoi" to possibly mean certain types of close relatives such as "cousins".[1] Several early writers (the Clementine literature, Hegesippus-Eusebius) suggest that they were step-brothers of Jesus, sons of a previous wife of Joseph.[2][3][4] It is important to note that the perpetual virginity of Mary is linked to the belief of her Immaculate Conception, or sinlessness: her physical virginity is reflective of her spiritual virginity.

The Blessed Virgin Mary in Catholicism

Image of the coronation of Mary in a stained glass window in St Ultan's RC Church, Bohermeen in Ireland.

Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy focus on Mary as a living person who can intercede with her Son, Jesus, on behalf of humanity. From the beginning of the Church, Catholic theology has maintained that Christ is the sole Mediator between God and Man [5]. Yet as theologian Ludwig Ott observes, "there is nothing to prevent others in a certain way (secundum quid) from being called mediators between God and man, in so far as they, by preparing or serving, cooperate in uniting men to God" (emphasis added).[6] Mary's willed obedience[7] is contrasted with Eve's disobedience [8], an idea with roots in the writings of the Church Fathers. Mary herself required redemption and is not equal to Jesus in Catholic theology. Nonetheless her role was pivotal, as emphasized by Jerome, Irenaeus 180–199 (see Jurgens §224), Tertullian c.212 (see Jurgens §358) and others including herself in Scripture: "behold the handmaid of the Lord."[9] Mary is also described by Ambrose as "the prototype of the Church."[10]

Marian devotions play a key part in the ritual and liturgy of Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, many of the traits attributed to her and devotions given her by those Christians who adhere to the Pope of Rome are not found among the Eastern Orthodox. The remainder of this article ought not to be taken as normative of Eastern Orthodox Christian doctrine regarding the Theotokos.

Marian prayers

The most famous Marian prayer is the Rosary, a form of prayer in which an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be to the Father (together forming a "decade of the Rosary") are recited five times while meditating on the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious) to be followed by a prayer called the "Hail Holy Queen" and perhaps the "Litany of Loreto".

Other famous Marian prayers include the "Magnificat" and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Marian hymns include O Mary, we Crown Thee With Blossoms Today, O Purest of Creatures, the Regina Coeli, and the Ave Maria. May and October are usually seen within traditional Roman Catholicism as Marian months.

The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a weekly cycle of prayers said throughout the day, based on the Liturgy of the Hours, and consists of hymns, psalms, scripture, and patristic readings.

Apparitions

Main article: Marian apparitions

The central role of Mary in the belief and practice of Catholicism is reflected in the fact that many Catholic churches contain side altars dedicated to the Virgin Mary. She is also celebrated through major religious sites where it is claimed apparitions or appearances of the Virgin have occurred, often with claims by witnesses that messages to humanity were delivered.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
Catholic dogma proclaimed under papal infallibility by Pope Pius XII in 1950

The Immaculate Conception

Since the Middle Ages, Catholic theologians had argued the question of whether or not Mary had been subject to original sin. In general, the Franciscans argued in favor of her "immaculate conception", the doctrine that she, from the moment of her conception, had been preserved by God from all sin and all tendency to sin; the Dominicans, on the other hand, including most notably Thomas Aquinas, argued that Mary's sinlessness is a grace granted to her at some time after her conception. In 1854, Pope Pius IX effectively ended the debate for Roman Catholics by proclaiming the dogma of the "Immaculate Conception", stating that "the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race." ("Ineffabilis Deus", issued on 8 December 1854). It was subsequently claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary during her sixteenth appearance in Lourdes on March 25 1858 announced to Bernadette Soubirous "I am the Immaculate Conception". The term Immaculate Conception is also widely used within Catholicism to refer to the Virgin Mary.

Dogma of the Assumption

In 1950, speaking ex cathedra (that is, for the whole Church), in his encyclical Munificentissimus Deus Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption, in which he stated that "at the end of her earthly course, Mary was assumed into heavenly glory, body and soul". He also stated that he was relying both on scripture and on "apostolic tradition". As an infallible pronouncement, the Dogma of the Assumption is thus a mandatory belief for Roman Catholics. No pope since has issued an infallible dogma.

Side altar to the Blessed Virgin Mary
in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin

Mary as "Co-Redemptrix"

See full article Fifth Marian Dogma

Some Catholics in the late twentieth century urged Pope John Paul II to infallibly declare Mary Co-Redemptrix, not meaning by this title that Mary herself redeems mankind, but that she cooperates with Jesus in His redemption of the world; as a co-pilot is not equal to the pilot of an airplane, so is the case with Jesus and His Mother as well as with any other Christian faithful who, by the Baptism, becomes member of the Mystical Body of Jesus and, as such, "co-redemptor".

Professor Mark Miravalle of the Franciscan University in Steubenville in the United States launched a petition to urge Pope John Paul to make such a move, by defining the teaching of the Church that Mary is Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate for the People of God. More than six million signatures were gathered from 148 countries. Signatories included Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, 41 other cardinals and 550 bishops. However, such a proposal was also heavily criticised by many Catholics who suggested that only Jesus could be a Redeemer and that such an act would drive a wedge in relationships with other apostolic tradition Christian faiths, notably the Orthodox Church and Anglicanism, neither of whom would accept such a designation. Though both Pope Pius XI in 1935 and Pope John Paul II himself in 1985 did use the word co-redemptrix to refer to Mary, no formal infallible dogma supporting such a designation has been issued, notwithstanding the petition.

Accusations of idolatry

Some Protestants have accused Catholics and Eastern Orthodox of mariolatry, suggesting that Catholics adore the Virgin Mary in breach of the Ten Commandments which condemn keeping "false gods." This point was offered especially by Calvin. In Catholic theology there is a clear distinction drawn between the worship of latria (adoration, which may be offered only to God), and veneration and praise, or dulia. Catholicism has traditionally accorded to the Virgin Mary the veneration of hyperdulia which rests in part upon the angelic salutation, "Hail, full of grace" (Lk 1:28), a phrase with momentous theological impact. Over the centuries, according to the Roman Catholics, the nature of Mary within theology became clearer. By 403 we find Epiphanius refuting a sect called the Collyridians who adored Mary, telling them: "Mary should be honoured, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost should be adored. Nobody should adore Mary" (in Ott, Bk III, Pt 3 Ch. 3, §8). Thus we find, from the third century Church, veneration of Mary. Later, the belief that Mary intercedes for us with her Divine Son, and a clear distinction between latria and dulia together with a rejection of the notion of giving latria to Mary. The saints, for their part, receive dulia. This distinction between latria, hyperdulia, and dulia, is key to understanding Catholic Tradition (the Orthodox do not distinguish hyperdulia from dulia).

These proclamations by the Roman Catholic Church, in addition to calling Mary the mother of God, which echoes the term Theotokos, instituted by an Ecumenical Council (instead of the mother of the human body of Jesus, which may echo the term Christotokos, specifically condemned as Nestorian by an Ecumenical Council), the Queen of Heaven, and the Queen of the World has led to such accusations. It should be noted however, that Catholics and Orthodox Christians believe that Mary is the Mother of Jesus, and that He is both God and man. Catholics counter the Protestant attack by stating that many Protestants have fallen into the Nestorian heresy which claimed that the "man Jesus" is not both fully divine and fully human, two natures (ousia) united inextricably in one person (hypostasis). Instead, Nestorianism claims that the "man Jesus" had Divine nature bestowed upon him at some time later than His conception and, therefore, Mary could not have been the Mother of God. Instead, the Nestorian doctrine was that she was merely the "mother of his humanity". Catholics do not believe Mary is the source of Jesus' Divine nature, but the source of his human nature. Yet as a person he is truly God and truly man, thus making her His mother as a person, if not the source of all traits. This has led to disagreement between Catholics and Protestants.

"Marianism" describes the excessive veneration of Mary, as opposed to Jesus. The term was first used in the 19th century to condemn the "perversion of Christianity into Marianism".

Our Lady of Lourdes
Frequently displayed image commemorating Lourdes Apparition.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Highly venerated image in Mexico.

Marian titles and feast days in the Roman Catholic Church

Among the most prominent Marian feast days in the Roman Catholic Calendar are

See also

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Our Lady of Perpetual Help
A famous mediæval icon.

References

  1. ^ "The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary" from the Catholic Encylopedia
  2. ^ The Book of the Birth of Saint Mary
  3. ^ The Protoevangelium of James
  4. ^ Liturgy of St James
  5. ^ Bible - 1 Timothy 2:5
  6. ^ Ludwig Ott. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma 1954;Bk III, Pt. 3, Ch. 3, §7
  7. ^ Bible - Luke 1:38
  8. ^ Bible - Genesis 3:6
  9. ^ Bible - Luke 1:38
  10. ^ Ambrose Expos. Ev. Sec. Luc. II 7
  • Rosary - a small windows program that teaches you how to pray the rosary
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