MARY THROUGH THE EYES OF VATICAN II

MARY THROUGH THE EYES OF VATICAN II

Introduction

Second Vatican Council is a renewal Council, a reform Council and not a controversial Council. It does not define new dogmas. Vatican II breaks away with the Mariology of the medieval period which exalts and glorifies Mary. Most of the time, the image of Mary that we have in our minds is that of the medieval Mary. Maximalism in Marian theology, Marian spirituality and Marian devotion began to crop in and this continued till Vatican II.  As a result, Marian theology, spirituality and devotion gradually lost their solid Biblical basis, their patristic simplicity and theological and devotional sobriety, lost their liturgical and Christological orientation and considered Mary like another Mediator along with and even above Christ. Medieval Mariology was un-ecclesial, un-ecumenical un-Christological and set Mary above the church and not with the Church; Jesus appeared more and more distant in the theology of the period, as well as in the popular imagination, and was often viewed as stern king and judge. Mary became the gentle intercessor, able to change her Son’s mind; her mercy was often contrasted with Christ’s harsh justice.  She became a mediator between sinful humankind and a distant and sometimes vengeful Christ. No excellence was considered too great to attribute to this powerful Intercessor and Queen. All virtue and knowledge, as well as beauty and goodness, were in her possession. It became a Mariological principle that one could never say too much about Mary (De numquam satis).  

In today’s context too, in ignorance, the things that we have heard and read about Mary in our younger days pertaining to Mary are taken literally: For example in Revelation 12:1 we read, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” What do we understand by ‘a woman clothed with the sun’? She will get burnt. We also hear, “Say a prayer to Mary and you will pass the examination.” Mary should wait with a whip to tell us, “Go and do your duty”.  On a wedding day, some brides go to the beauty parlor and when they come back you cannot recognize them because they are not in their usual appearance. In the like manner, the positioning of Mary in an art work or photos is such that sometimes we get a wrong understanding of Mary. No doubt, Medieval Mariology elevated Mary exceedingly. But Mary is more than all these. We get a clear picture of Mary from Vatican II. She is described in Lumen Gentium, chapter 8 as the most perfect disciple of Jesus, who walked the pilgrimage of faith, hope and love. She is portrayed as the one who serves the mystery of Redemption (LG, 56).

Mother of God

Mary is endowed with the high office and dignity of the mother of the Son of God and thus, becomes the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit (53). Her glory comes from her being the mother of God. At the message of the angel, she received the Word of God in her heart and in her body and gave life to the world. Thus, she is acknowledged and honored as being truly the mother of God and of the redeemer (53). Through her faith and obedience, she gave birth to the Son of God not through the knowledge of man but by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit in the manner of a new Eve who placed her faith not in the serpent of old but in God’s messenger without wavering in doubt (63).   Sacred synod, set forth painstakingly both the role of the Blessed Virgin in the mystery of the Incarnate Word and the Mystical Body and the duties of the redeemed towards the Mother of God, who is the Mother of Christ and the Mother of men and most of all those who believe (54). The Motherhood of Mary continues uninterruptedly from the loyally given consent at the annunciation, sustained without wavering beneath the cross until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect (62).

 Mary’s Role in the Plan of Salvation

Wishing in His supreme goodness and wisdom to effect the redemption of the world, “when the fullness of time came God sent his Son, born of a woman that we might receive the adoption of sons,” (Gal 4:4) and thus Mary became an essential part of our salvation history (52). Earliest part of apostle’s Creed and Roman Missal of toady are the proof of this fact. Mary is not there by chance. Mary is not an accidental addition. Mary is the servant of redemption brought by Christ the redeemer. Mary served the mystery of salvation with close and indissoluble tie with the redeemer. She is indissolubly associated with the plan of salvation (53).  God willed that a woman should be associated with the plan of salvation. Her role is very clear in the sacred writings of the OT and NT and venerable traditions. OT describes the history of salvation by which the coming of Christ in the world was slowly prepared. Earlier documents bring the figure of a woman, mother of the redeemer in to a gradually clear light. Considered in this light, she is prophetically foreshowed in the promise of the victory over the serpent (Gen 3:15) (55). Just as a woman had a share in bringing about death, so also a woman should contribute to life. St Irenaeus would say, “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the Virgin Eve bound through her disbelieve, Mary loosened by her faith,” and was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness because of which she is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as full of grace (Lk 1:28) (56).  As a response to God’s saving will to the person and work of her Son, serving the mystery of salvation, she is not passively engaged by God, but freely cooperating in the work of men’s salvation through faith and obedience (56).

Mary, a Pilgrim

Vatican II says that Mary is the first and most perfect Christian disciple who walked the pilgrimage of faith, hope and love. Mary lived in constant doubt and was considered living an unfaithful life. She walked a very difficult pilgrimage. Mathew, Mark and Luke put Mary far away from the Cross but John brings her near because Jesus could not speak (Jn 19:25). There is a shift from the Mariology of exaltation and glorification to the Mariology of imitation and invitation to walk the pilgrimage of faith, hope and love. All disciples of Jesus should imitate her who is the mother of all believers. She received the Word of God with faith and acted on it and Jesus declared blessed those who heard and kept the Word of God (Mk 3:35) and she was faithfully doing it in her life. She advanced in her pilgrimage of faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the Cross. In keeping with the divine plan, finally she was given by the same Jesus dying on the Cross as mother to his disciples with these words, “woman behold thy son” (Jn 19:26-27) (58). She did not understand the words of Jesus but she kept all these things to be pondered in her heart (Lk 2:41-51); the Mother of God joyfully showed her first born Son to the shepherds and the Magi (57).

Mary in the Church

The word church comes from ekklesia which means an assembly, the gathering of believers. Mary is given the privilege as the one who first believed. In as much as Mary remains the first believer, she is a model for the believing community, the Church. Mary is a miniature Church from the moment she began to believe. Mary is very much part of the Church and not outside the church. She is the pre-eminent and singular member of the church. As gathering around Mary was an essential characteristic of early Christians, the Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, honours her with the filial devotion (Act: 1:14). Veneration of Mary is not creation of medieval time. LG No. 56 gives the Biblical foundation of the Veneration of Mary. Mary was told “hail full of Grace.” The faithful are to revere the memory “of the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ (52). Because of the gift of sublime grace, she far surpasses all creatures both in heaven and on earth. Being of the race of Adam, she is, at the same time, united to all those who are to be saved. Therefore, she is hailed as pre-eminent and wholly unique member of the church, outstanding model in faith and charity. By reason of the gift and role of her divine motherhood by which she is united with her son, the redeemer and with her unique graces and functions, the Blessed is also intimately united to the church the body of Christ (63). While, in the most Blessed Virgin Mary, the church has reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle (Eph5:27), the faithful still strives to conquer sin and increase in holiness. Thus, they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of Virtues (65). The church becomes more like her lofty type and continually progresses in faith, hope and charity, seeking and doing the will of God in all things (65). The church, by contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will by receiving the Word of God in faith, becomes herself a mother (64).

Cult of Mary in the Church

By her grace, Mary has been exalted above all angels and men to a place second only to her Son: and thus, she is rightly honored by special cult in the church under the title of Mother of God from the earliest times in whose protection the faithful take refuge together in prayer in all their perils and needs. According to her own prophetic words, “all generation shall call me blessed…”and after the council of Ephesus, there was a remarkable growth in the cult of the people of God towards Mary in veneration love, and imitation. Thus, cult, for all its uniqueness, differs essentially from the cult of adoration which is offered equally to the incarnate Word and to the Father and the Holy Spirit. The various forms of piety towards the mother of God , which the church has approved within the  limits of sound and orthodox doctrine, according to the disposition and understanding of the faithful, ensures that while the mother is honoured, the Son is rightly known, loved and glorified and his commandments are observed (66). The sacred synod teaches that the liturgical cult of the Blessed Virgin be generously fostered and the practices and exercises of devotion toward her, as recommended by the teaching authority of the church, be religiously observed. But it strongly urges theologians and preachers of the Word of God to be careful to refrain as much from all false exaggerations as from to summary an attitude in considering the special dignity of the mother of God. The faithful should remember 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 this leads to a filial love towards our Mother and to the imitation of her virtues (67).

Mary as Intercessor

Mary  appears prominently in the public life of Jesus  at the very beginning  when, at the Marriage feast of Cana, moved with pity,  she brought about, by her intercession, the beginning of miracles of Jesus the Messiah (Jn: 2: 1-11) (58). The apostles before the day of Pentecost, “ persevering  with one mind in prayer with the woman and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brethren” (Acts:1:14)  by her prayer imploring the gift of the Sprit who had already overshadowed her in the annunciation was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son Lord of Lords (Apoc 19:16) and conquered sin and death (58). Even from heaven she continues her saving office by her manifold intercession and brings us the gift of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares of the brethren of her son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties until they are led into their blessed home. That’s why she is invoked in the church under the titles of advocate, helper, Benefactress and mediatrix. Her various above tiles neither take away anything nor add anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the mediator. Her mediation must always be understood as being secondary to and deepens on Christ’s primacy and self- sufficient mediatorial role (62). Mary became the mother of Jesus one and only mediator this is the answer to the abuse of medieval period attributing Mary as the parallel mediator to mean what you don’t get from the Father and the Son, you get through Mary (56).

 Conclusion

Mary is not only the monopoly of the Catholics. Among the separated brothers too, there are those who give due honour to the Blessed Virgin especially among the Eastern, and the entire body of the faithful pours forth urgent supplications to the Mother of God  and of men  that she may intercede before her Son in the fellowship of all the saints, until all families of people , whether they are honored with the title of Christians or whether they still do not know the Saviour , may be happily gathered together in peace and harmony into one people of God for the glory of the Most holy and undivided unity (69). This is a comforting sign and a matter of joy. Now what made the Mariology of Vatican II so special is the right understanding and presentation of Mary as the one who serves the mystery of Redemption and as one who walked the pilgrimage of faith, hope and charity. This is an ecumenical move to keep the conversation going though there are differences of opinion especially among the separated brethren.