Exhortation "Marialis Cultus" for the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
To All
Bishops in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See
February 2, 1974
INTRODUCTION
Division of the Treatise
Occasion and Purpose of the Document
Venerable
Brothers:
Health and the
Apostolic Blessing
From the moment when we were called to the See of
Peter, we have constantly striven to enhance devotion to the Blessed Virgin
Mary, not only with the intention of interpreting the sentiments of the Church
and our own personal inclination but also because, as is well known, this
devotion forms a very noble part of the whole sphere of that sacred worship in
which there intermingle the highest expressions of wisdom and of religion and which is therefore the primary task of the
People of God.
Precisely with a
view to this task, we have always favored and encouraged the great work of
liturgical reform promoted by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, and it has
certainly come about not without a particular design of divine Providence that
the first conciliar document which together with the venerable Fathers we
approved and signed in Spiritu Sancto was the Constitution Sacrosanctum
concilium. The purpose of this document was precisely to restore and enhance
the liturgy and to make more fruitful the participation of the faithful in the
sacred mysteries. From that time onwards, many
acts of our pontificate have been directed towards the improvement of divine
worship, as is demonstrated by the fact that we have promulgated in these
recent years numerous books of the Roman Rite, restored according to the
principles and norms of the same Council. For this we profoundly thank the
Lord, the giver of all good things, and we are grateful to the episcopal
conferences and individual bishops who in various ways have collaborated with
us in the preparation of these books.
We contemplate
with joy and gratitude the work so far accomplished and the first positive
results of the liturgical renewal, destined as they are to increase as this
renewal comes to be understood in its basic purposes and correctly applied. At
the same time we do not cease with vigilant solicitude to concern ourself with
whatever can give orderly fulfillment to the renewal of the worship with which
the Church in spirit and truth (cf. Jn. 4:24) adores the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit, "venerates with special love Mary the most holy Mother of
God" and honors with religious devotion
the memory of the martyrs and the other saints.
The development,
desired by us, of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is an indication of the
Church's genuine piety. This devotion fits-as we have indicated above-into the
only worship that is rightly called "Christian," because it takes its
origin and effectiveness from Christ, finds its complete expression in Christ,
and leads through Christ in the Spirit to the Father. In the sphere of worship
this devotion necessarily reflects God's redemptive plan, in which a special
form of veneration is appropriate to the singular place which Mary occupies in
that plan. Indeed every authentic development
of Christian worship is necessarily followed by a fitting increase of
veneration for the Mother of the Lord. Moreover, the history of piety shows how
"the various forms of devotion towards the Mother of God that the Church
has approved within the limits of wholesome and orthodox doctrine" have developed in harmonious subordination to the
worship of Christ, and have gravitated towards this worship as to their natural
and necessary point of reference. The same is happening in our own time. The
Church's reflection today on the mystery of Christ and on her own nature has
led her to find at the root of the former and is a culmination of the latter
the same figure of a woman: the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ and the
Mother of the Church. And the increased knowledge of Mary's mission has become
joyful veneration of her and adoring respect for the wise plan of God, who has
placed within His family (the Church), as in every home, the figure of a Woman,
who in a hidden manner and in a spirit of service watches over that family "and
carefully looks after it until the glorious day of the Lord."
In our time, the
changes that have occurred in social behavior, people's sensibilities, manners
of expression in art and letters and in the forms of social communication have
also influenced the manifestations of religious sentiment. Certain practices of
piety that not long ago seemed suitable for expressing the religious sentiment
of individuals and of Christian communities seem today inadequate or unsuitable
because they are linked with social and cultural patterns of the past. On the
other hand in many places people are seeking new ways of expressing the
unchangeable relationship of creatures with their Creator, of children with
their Father. In some people this may cause temporary confusion. But anyone
who, with trust in God reflects upon these phenomena discovers that many
tendencies of modern piety (for example, the interiorization of religious
sentiment) are meant to play their part in the development of Christian piety
in general and devotion to the Blessed Virgin in particular. Thus our own time,
faithfully attentive to tradition and to the progress of theology and the
sciences, will make its contribution of praise to her whom, according to her
own prophetical words, all generations will call blessed (cf. Lk. 1:48).
We therefore
judge it in keeping with our apostolic service, venerable Brothers, to deal, in
a sort of dialogue, with a number of themes connected with the place that the
Blessed Virgin occupies in the Church's worship. These themes have already been
partly touched upon by the Second Vatican Council7
and also by ourself, but it is useful to return
to them in order to remove doubts and, especially, to help the development of
that devotion to the Blessed Virgin which in the Church is motivated by the
Word of God and practiced in the Spirit of Christ.
We therefore wish
to dwell upon a number of questions concerning the relationship between the
sacred liturgy and devotion to the Blessed Virgin (I), to offer considerations
and directives suitable for favoring the development of that devotion (II) and
finally to put forward a number of reflections intended to encourage the
restoration, in a dynamic and more informed manner, of the recitation of the
Rosary, the practice of which was so strongly recommended by our predecessors
and is so widely diffused among the Christian people (III).
PART ONE
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
Mary in the Liturgy
1. As we prepare to discuss the place which the Blessed Virgin Mary
occupies in Christian worship, we must first turn our attention to the sacred
liturgy. In addition to its rich doctrinal content, the liturgy has an
incomparable pastoral effectiveness and a recognized exemplary conduct for the
other forms of worship. We would have liked to take into consideration the
various liturgies of the East and the West, but for the purpose of this
document we shall dwell almost exclusively on the books of the Roman Rite. In
fact, in accordance with the practical norms issued by the Second Vatican
Council, it is this Rite alone which has been
the object of profound renewal. This is true also in regard to expressions of
veneration for Mary. This Rite therefore deserves to be carefully considered
and evaluated.
Section One
The Blessed Virgin in the
Revised Roman Liturgy
2. The reform of the Roman liturgy presupposed a careful restoration
of its General Calendar. This Calendar is arranged in such a way as to give
fitting prominence to the celebration on appropriate days of the work of
salvation. It distributes throughout the year the whole mastery of Christ, from
the Incarnation to the expectation of His return in glory, and thus makes it possible in a more organic and
closely-knit fashion to include the commemoration of Christ's Mother in the
annual cycle of the mysteries of her Son.
3. For example, during Advent there are many liturgical references to
Mary besides the Solemnity of December 8, which is a joint celebration of the
Immaculate Conception of Mary, of the basic preparation (cf. Is. 11:1, 10) for
the coming of the Savior and of the happy beginning of the Church without spot
or wrinkle. Such liturgical references are
found especially on the days from December 17 to 24, and more particularly on
the Sunday before Christmas, which recalls the ancient prophecies concerning the
Virgin Mother and the Messiah and includes
readings from the Gospel concerning the imminent birth of Christ and His precursor.
4. In this way the faithful, living in the liturgy the spirit of
Advent, by thinking about the inexpressible love with which the Virgin Mother
awaited her Son, are invited to take her as a
model and to prepare themselves to meet the Savior who is to come. They must be
"vigilant in prayer and joyful in...praise."
We would also remark that the Advent liturgy, by linking the awaiting of the
Messiah and the awaiting of the glorious return of Christ with the admirable
commemoration of His Mother, presents a happy balance in worship. This balance
can be taken as a norm for preventing any tendency (as has happened at times in
certain forms of popular piety) to separate devotion to the Blessed Virgin from
its necessary point of reference-Christ. It also ensures that this season, as
liturgy experts have noted, should be considered as a time particularly suited
to devotion to the Mother of the Lord. This is an orientation that we confirm
and which we hope to see accepted and followed everywhere.
5. The Christmas season is a prolonged commemoration of the divine,
virginal and salvific motherhood of her whose "inviolate virginity brought
the Saviour into the world." in fact, on
the Solemnity of the Birth of Christ the Church both adores the Savior and
venerates His glorious Mother. On the Epiphany, when she celebrates the
universal call to salvation, the Church contemplates the Blessed Virgin, the
true Seat of Wisdom and true Mother of the King, who presents to the Wise Men,
for their adoration, the Redeemer of all peoples (cf. Mt. 2:11). On the Feast
of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (the Sunday within the octave of
Christmas) the Church meditates with profound reverence upon the holy life led
in the house at Nazareth by Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, Mary His
Mother, and Joseph the just man (cf. Mt. 1:19).
In the revised
ordering of the Christmas period it seems to us that the attention of all
should be directed towards the restored Solemnity of Mary the holy Mother of
God. This celebration, placed on January 1 in conformity with the ancient
indication of the liturgy of the City of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part
played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the
singular dignity which this mystery brings to the "holy Mother...through
whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of life." It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing
adoration of the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad
tidings of the angels (cf. Lk. 2:14), and for imploring from God, through the
Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace. It is for this reason that, in the
happy concurrence of the Octave of Christmas and the first day of the year, we
have instituted the World Day of Peace, an occasion that is gaining increasing
support and already bringing forth fruits of peace in the hearts of many.
6. To the two solemnities already mentioned (the Immaculate Conception
and the Divine Motherhood) should be added the ancient and venerable
celebrations of March 25 and August 15.
For the Solemnity of the Incarnation of the Word,
in the Roman Calendar the ancient title-the Annunciation of the Lord-has been
deliberately restored, but the feast was and is a joint one of Christ and of
the Blessed Virgin: of the Word, who becomes Son of Mary (Mk. 6:3), and of the
Virgin, who becomes Mother of God. With regard to Christ, the East and the
West, in the inexhaustible riches of their liturgies, celebrate this solemnity
as the commemoration of the salvific "fiat" of the Incarnate Word,
who, entering the world, said: "God, here I am! I am coming to obey Your
will" (cf. Heb. 10:7; Ps. 39:8-9). They commemorate it as the beginning of
the redemption and of the indissoluble and wedded union of the divine nature
with human nature in the one Person of the Word. With regard to Mary, these
liturgies celebrate it as a feast of the new Eve, the obedient and faithful
virgin, who with her generous "fiat" (cf. Lk. 1:38) became through
the working of the Spirit the Mother of God, but also the true Mother of the
living, and, by receiving into her womb the one Mediator (cf. 1 Tm. 2:5),
became the true Ark of the Covenant and true Temple of God. These liturgies
celebrate it as a culminating moment in the salvific dialogue between God and
man, and as a commemoration of the Blessed Virgin's free consent and cooperation
in the plan of redemption.
The solemnity of
August 15 celebrates the glorious Assumption of Mary into heaven. It is a feast
of her destiny of fullness and blessedness, of the glorification of her
immaculate soul and of her virginal body, of her perfect configuration to the
Risen Christ; a feast that sets before the eyes of the Church and of all
mankind the image and the consoling proof of the fulfillment of their final
hope, namely, that this full glorification is the destiny of all those whom
Christ has made His brothers, having "flesh and blood in common with
them" (Heb. 2:14; cf. Gal. 4:4). The Solemnity of the Assumption is
prolonged in the celebration of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which
occurs seven days later. On this occasion we contemplate her who, seated beside
the King of ages, shines forth as Queen and intercedes as Mother. These four solemnities therefore, mark with the
highest liturgical rank the main dogmatic truths concerning the handmaid of the
lord.
7. After the solemnities just mentioned, particular consideration must
be given to those celebrations that commemorate salvific events in which the
Blessed Virgin was closely associated with her Son. Such are the feasts of the
Nativity of Our Lady (September 8), "the hope of the entire world and the
dawn of salvation"; and the Visitation
(May 31), in which the liturgy recalls the "Blessed Virgin Mary carrying
her Son within her," and visiting
Elizabeth to offer charitable assistance and to proclaim the mercy of God the Savior. Then there is the commemoration of Our Lady of
Sorrows (September 15), a fitting occasion for reliving a decisive moment in
the history of salvation and for venerating, together with the Son "lifted
up on the cross, His suffering Mother."
The feast of
February 2, which has been given back its ancient name, the Presentation of the
Lord, should also be considered as a joint commemoration of the Son and of the
Mother, if we are fully to appreciate its rich content. It is the celebration
of a mystery of salvation accomplished by Christ, a mystery with which the
Blessed virgin was intimately associated as the Mother of the Suffering Servant
of Yahweh, as the one who performs a mission belonging to ancient Israel, and
as the model for the new People of God, which is ever being tested in its faith
and hope by suffering and persecution (cf. Lk. 2:21-35).
8. The restored Roman Calendar gives particular prominence to the
celebrations listed above, but it also includes other kinds of commemorations
connected with local devotions and which have acquired a wider popularity and
interest (e.g., February 11, Our Lady of Lourdes August 5, the Dedication of
the Basilica of St. Mary Major). Then there are others, originally celebrated
by particular religious families but which today, by reason of the popularity
they have gained, can truly be considered ecclesial (e.g., July 16, Our Lady of
Mount Carmel; October 7, Our Lady of the Rosary). There are still others which,
apart from their apocryphal content, present lofty and exemplary values and
carry on venerable traditions having their origin especially in the East (e.g.,
the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin, celebrated on the Saturday
following the second Sunday after Pentecost).
9. Nor must one forget that the General Roman Calendar does not
include all celebrations in honor of the Blessed Virgin. Rather, it is for
individual Calendars to include, with fidelity to liturgical norms but with
sincere endorsement, the Marian feasts proper to the different local Churches.
Lastly, it should be noted that frequent commemorations of the Blessed Virgin
are possible through the use of the Saturday Masses of our Lady. This is an
ancient and simple commemoration and one that is made very adaptable and varied
by the flexibility of the modern Calendar and the number of formulas provided
by the Missal.
10. In this Apostolic Exhortation we do not intend to examine the
whole content of the new Roman Missal. But by reason of the work of evaluation
that we have undertaken to carry out in regard to the revised books of the
Roman Rite, we would like to mention some of
the aspects and themes of the Missal. In the first place, we are pleased to
note how the Eucharistic Prayers of the Missal, in admirable harmony with the
Eastern liturgies, contain a significant
commemoration of the Blessed Virgin. For example, the ancient Roman Canon,
which commemorates the Mother of the Lord in terms full of doctrine and
devotional inspiration: "In union with the whole Church we honor Mary, the
ever-virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God." In a similar way the
recent Eucharistic Prayer III expresses with intense supplication the desire of
those praying to share with the Mother the inheritance of sons: "May he
make us an everlasting gift to you (the Father) and enable us to share in the
inheritance of your saints, with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God." This
daily commemoration, by reason of its place at the heart of the divine
Sacrifice, should be considered a particularly expressive form of the
veneration that the Church pays to the "Blessed of the Most High"
(cf. Lk. 1:28).
11. As we examine the texts of the revised Missal we see how the great
Marian themes of the Roman prayerbook have been accepted in perfect doctrinal
continuity with the past. Thus, for example, we have the themes of Mary's
Immaculate Conception and fullness of grace, the divine motherhood, the
unblemished and fruitful virginity, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mary's
cooperation in the work of her Son, her exemplary sanctity, merciful
intercession, Assumption into heaven, maternal Queenship and many other themes.
We also see how other themes, in a certain sense new ones, have been introduced
in equally perfect harmony with the theological developments of the present day.
Thus, for example, we have the theme of Mary and the Church, which has been
inserted into the texts of the Missal in a variety of aspects, a variety that
matches the many and varied relations that exist between the Mother of Christ
and the Church. For example, in the celebration of the Immaculate Conception
which texts recognize the beginning of the Church, the spotless Bride of
Christ. In the Assumption they recognize the
beginning that has already been made and the image of what, for the whole Church,
must still come to pass. In the mystery of
Mary's motherhood they confess that she is the Mother of the Head and of the
members-the holy Mother of God and therefore the provident Mother of the
Church.
When the liturgy
turns its gaze either to the primitive Church or to the Church of our own days
it always finds Mary. In the primitive Church she is seen praying with the
apostles; in our own day she is actively
present, and the Church desires to live the mystery of Christ with her:
"Grant that your Church which with Mary shared Christ's passion may be
worthy to share also in his resurrection."
She is also seen represented as a voice of praise in unison with which the
Church wishes to give glory to God: "...with her [Mary] may we always praise
you." And since the liturgy is worship
that requires as way of living consistent with it, it asks that devotion to the
Blessed Virgin should become a concrete and deeply-felt love for the Church, as
is wonderfully expressed in the prayer after Communion in the Mass of
September: "...that as we recall the sufferings shared by the Blessed
Virgin Mary, we may with the Church fulfill in ourselves what is lacking in the
sufferings of Christ."
12. The Lectionary is one of the books of the Roman Rite that has
greatly benefited from the post-conciliar reform, by reason both of its added
texts and of the intrinsic value of these texts, which contain the ever-living
and efficacious word of God (cf. Heb. 4:12). This rich collection of biblical
texts has made it possible to arrange the whole history of salvation in an
orderly three-year cycle and to set forth more completely the mystery of
Christ. The logical consequence has been that the Lectionary contains a larger
number of Old and New Testament readings concerning the Blessed Virgin. This
numerical increase has not however been based on random choice: only those
readings have been accepted which in different ways and degrees can be
considered Marian, either from the evidence of their content or from the results
of careful exegesis, supported by the teachings of the magisterium or by solid
Tradition. It is also right to observe that these readings occur not only on
feasts of the Blessed Virgin but are read on many other occasions, for example
on certain Sundays during the liturgical year, in the celebration of rites that
deeply concern the Christian's sacramental life and the choices confronting
him, as also in the joyful or sad experiences
of his life on earth.
13. The Liturgy of the Hours, the revised book of the Office, also
contains outstanding examples of devotion to the Mother of the Lord. These are
to be found in the hymns-which include several masterpieces of universal
literature, such as Dante's sublime prayer to the Blessed Virgin - and in the antiphons that complete the daily
Office. To these lyrical invocations there has been added the well-known prayer
Sub tuum praesidium, venerable for its antiquity and admirable for its content.
Other examples occur in the prayers of intercession at Lauds and Vespers,
prayers which frequently express trusting recourse to the Mother of mercy.
Finally there are selections from the vast treasury of writings on our Lady
composed by authors of the first Christian centuries, of the Middle Ages and of
modern times.
14. The commemoration of the Blessed Virgin occurs often in the
Missal, the Lectionary and the Liturgy of the Hours-the hinges of the
liturgical prayer of the Roman Rite. In the other revised liturgical books also
expressions of love and suppliant veneration addressed to the Theotokos are not
lacking. Thus the Church invokes her, the Mother of grace, before immersing
candidates in the saving waters of baptism;
the Church invokes her intercession for mothers who, full of gratitude for the
gift of motherhood, come to church to express their joy;
the Church holds her up as a model to those who follow Christ by embracing the
religious life or who receive the Consecration
of Virgins. For these people the Church asks
Mary's motherly assistance. The Church prays
fervently to Mary on behalf of her children who have come to the hour of their
death. The Church asks Mary's intercession for
those who have closed their eyes to the light of this world and appeared before
Christ, the eternal Light"; and the
Church, through Mary's prayers, invokes comfort upon those who in sorrow mourn
with faith the departure of their loved ones.
15. The examination of the revised liturgical books leads us to the
comforting observation that the postconciliar renewal has, as was previously
desired by the liturgical movement, properly considered the Blessed Virgin in
the mystery of Christ, and, in harmony with tradition, has recognized the
singular place that belongs to her in Christian worship as the holy Mother of
God and the worthy Associate of the Redeemer.
It could not have
been otherwise. If one studies the history of Christian worship, in fact, one
notes that both in the East and in the West the highest and purest expressions
of devotion to the Blessed Virgin have sprung from the liturgy or have been
incorporated into it.
We wish to
emphasize the fact that the veneration which the universal Church today accords
to blessed Mary is a derivation from and an extension and unceasing increase of
the devotion that the Church of every age has paid to her, with careful
attention to truth and with an ever watchful nobility of expression. From
perennial Tradition kept alive by reason of the uninterrupted presence of the
Spirit and continual attention to the Word, the Church of our time draws
motives, arguments and incentives for the veneration that she pays to the
Blessed Virgin. And the liturgy, which receives approval and strength from the
magisterium, is a most lofty expression and an evident proof of this living
Tradition.
Section Two
The Blessed Virgin as the Model
of the Church in Divine Worship
16. In accordance with some of the guidelines of the Council's
teaching on Mary and the Church, we now wish to examine more closely a
particular aspect of the relationship between Mary and the liturgy-namely, Mary
as a model of the spiritual attitude with which the Church celebrates and lives
the divine mysteries. That the Blessed virgin is an exemplar in this field
derives from the fact that she is recognized as a most excellent exemplar of
the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ, that is, of that interior disposition with which
the Church, the beloved spouse, closely associated with her Lord, invokes
Christ and through Him worships the eternal Father.
17. Mary is the attentive Virgin, who receives the word of God with
faith, that faith which in her case was the gateway and path to divine
motherhood, for, as Saint Augustine realized, "Blessed Mary by believing
conceived Him (Jesus) whom believing she brought forth." In fact, when she received from the angel the
answer to her doubt (cf. Lk. 1:34-37), "full of faith, and conceiving
Christ in her mind before conceiving Him in her womb, she said, 'I am the
handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me' (Lk. 1:38)." It was faith that was for her the cause of
blessedness and certainty in the fulfillment of he promise: "Blessed is
she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled"
(Lk. 1:45). Similarly, it was faith with which she, who played a part in the
Incarnation and was a unique witness to it, thinking back on the events of the infancy
of Christ, meditated upon these events in her heart (cf. Lk. 2:19,51). The
Church also acts in this way, especially in the liturgy, when with faith she
listens, accepts, proclaims and venerates the word of God, distributes it to
the faithful as the bread of life and in the
light of that word examines the signs of the times and interprets and lives the
events of history.
18. Mary is also the Virgin in prayer. She appears as such in the
visit to the mother of the precursor, when she pours out her soul in
expressions glorifying God, and expressions of humility, faith and hope. This
prayer is the Magnificat (cf. Lk. 1:46-55), Mary's prayer par excellence, the
song of the messianic times in which there mingles the joy of the ancient and
the new Israel. As St. Irenaeus seems to suggest, it is in Mary's canticle that
there was heard once more the rejoicing of Abraham who foresaw the Messiah (cf.
Jn. 8:56) and there rang out in prophetic
anticipation the voice of the Church: "In her exultation Mary prophetically
declared in the name of the Church: 'My soul proclaims the glory of the
Lord....'" And in fact Mary's hymn has
spread far and wide and has become the prayer of the whole Church in all ages.
At Cana, Mary
appears once more as the Virgin in prayer: when she tactfully told her Son of a
temporal need she also obtained an effect of grace, namely, that Jesus, in
working the first of His "signs," confirmed His disciples' faith in
Him (cf. Jn. 2:1-12).
Likewise, the
last description of Mary's life presents her as praying. The apostles
"joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:14). We have here the
prayerful presence of Mary in the early Church and in the Church throughout all
ages, for, having been assumed into heaven, she has not abandoned her mission
of intercession and salvation. The title
Virgin in prayer also fits the Church, which day by day presents to the Father
the needs of her children, "praises the Lord unceasingly and intercedes for
the salvation of the world."
19. Mary is also the Virgin-Mother-she who "believing and
obeying...brought forth on earth the Father's Son. This she did, not knowing
man but overshadowed by the Holy Spirit."
This was a miraculous motherhood, set up by God as the type and exemplar of the
fruitfulness of the Virgin-Church, which "becomes herself a mother.... For
by her preaching and by baptism she brings forth to a new and immortal life
children who are conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of
God." The ancient Fathers rightly taught
that the Church prolongs in the sacrament of Baptism the virginal motherhood of
Mary. Among such references we like to recall that of our illustrious
predecessor, Saint Leo the Great, who in a Christmas homily says: "The
origin which (Christ took in the womb of the Virgin He has given to the
baptismal font: He has given to water what He had given to His Mother-the power
of the Most High and the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit (cf Lk. 1:35), which
was responsible for Mary's bringing forth the Savior, has the same effect, so
that water may regenerate the believer."
If we wished to go to liturgical sources, we could quote the beautiful Illatio
of the Mozarabic liturgy: "The former [Mary] carried Life in her womb; the
latter [the Church] bears Life in the waters of baptism. In Mary's members
Christ was formed; in the waters of the Church Christ is put on."
20. Mary is, finally, the Virgin presenting offerings. In the episode
of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (cf. Lk. 2:22-35), the Church,
guided by the Spirit, has detected, over and above the fulfillment of the laws
regarding the offering of the firstborn (cf. Ex. 13:11-16) and the purification
of the mother (cf. Lv. 12:6-8), a mystery of salvation related to the history
of salvation. That is, she has noted the continuity of the fundamental offering
that the Incarnate Word made to the Father when He entered the world (cf. Heb.
15:5-7). The Church has seen the universal nature of salvation proclaimed, for
Simeon, greeting in the Child the light to enlighten the peoples and the glory
of the people Israel (cf. Lk. 2:32), recognized in Him the Messiah, the Savior
of all. The Church has understood the prophetic reference to the Passion of
Christ: the fact that Simeon's words, which linked in one prophecy the Son as
"the sign of contradiction" (Lk. 2:34) and the Mother, whose soul
would be pierced by a sword (cf Lk. 2:35), came true on Calvary. A mystery of
salvation, therefore, that in its various aspects orients the episode of the
Presentation in the Temple to the salvific event of the cross. But the Church
herself, in particular from the Middle Ages onwards, has detected In the heart
of the Virgin taking her Son to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (cf. Lk.
2:22) a desire to make an offering, a desire that exceeds the ordinary meaning
of the rite. A witness to this intuition is found in the loving prayer of Saint
Bernard "Offer your Son, holy Virgin, and present to the Lord the blessed
fruit of your womb. Offer for the reconciliation of us all the holy Victim
which is pleasing to God."
This union of the
Mother and the Son in the work of redemption
reaches its climax on Calvary, where Christ "offered himself as the
perfect sacrifice to God" (Heb. 9:14) and where Mary stood by the cross
(cf. Jn 19:25), "suffering grievously with her only-begotten Son. There
she united herself with a maternal heart to His sacrifice, and lovingly
consented to the immolation of this victim which she herself had brought
forth" and also was offering to the
eternal Father." To perpetuate down the
centuries the Sacrifice of the Cross, the divine Savior instituted the
Eucharistic sacrifice, the memorial of His death and resurrection, and entrusted
it to His spouse the Church, which, especially
on Sundays, calls the faithful together to celebrate the Passover of the Lord
until He comes again. This the Church does in
union with the saints in heaven and in particular with the Blessed Virgin, whose burning charity and unshakable faith she
imitates.
21. Mary is not
only an example for the whole Church in the exercise of divine worship but is
also, clearly, a teacher of the spiritual life for individual Christians. The
faithful at a very early date began to look to Mary and to imitate her in
making their lives an act of worship of God and making their worship a
commitment of their lives. As early as the fourth century, St. Ambrose,
speaking to the people, expressed the hope that each of them would have the
spirit of Mary in order to glory God May the heart of Mary be in each Christian
to proclaim the greatness of the Lord; may her spirit be in everyone to exult
in God." But Mary is above all the
example of that worship that consists in making one's life an offering to God.
This is an ancient and ever new doctrine that each individual can hear again by
heeding the Church's teaching, but also by heeding the very voice of the Virgin
as she, anticipating in herself the wonderful petition of the Lord's
Prayer-"Your will be done" (Mt. 6:10)-replied to God's messenger:
"I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me"
(Lk. 1:38). And Mary's "yes" is for all Christians a lesson and example
of obedience to the will of the Father, which is the, way and means of one's
own sanctification.
22. It is also
important to note how the Church expresses in various effective attitudes of
devotion the many relationships that bind her to Mary: in profound veneration,
when she reflects on the singular dignity of the Virgin who, through the action
of the Holy Spirit has become Mother of the Incarnate Word; in burning love,
when she considers the spiritual motherhood of Mary towards all members of the
Mystical Body; in trusting invocation; when she experiences the intercession of
her advocate and helper; in loving service,
when she sees in the humble handmaid of the Lord the queen of mercy and the
mother of grace; in zealots imitation, when she contemplates the holiness and
virtues of her who is "full of grace" (Lk. 1:28); in profound wonder,
when she sees in her, "as in a faultless model, that which she herself wholly
desires and hopes to be"; in attentive
study, when she recognizes in the associate of the Redeemer, who already shares
fully in the fruits of the Paschal Mystery, the prophetic fulfillment of her
own future, until the day on which, when she has been purified of every spot
and wrinkle (cf. Eph. 5:27), she will become like a bride arrayed for the
bridegroom, Jesus Christ (cf. Rev. 21:2).
23. Therefore, venerable Brothers, as we consider the piety that the
liturgical Tradition of the universal Church and the renewed Roman Rite
expresses towards the holy Mother of God, and as we remember that the liturgy
through its pre-eminent value as worship constitutes the golden norm for
Christian piety, and finally as we observe how the Church when she celebrates
the sacred mysteries assumes an attitude of faith and love similar to that of
the Virgin, we realize the rightness of the exhortation that the Second Vatican
Council addresses to all the children of the Church, namely "that the
cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin be generously
fostered." This is an exhortation that we
would like to see accepted everywhere without reservation and put into zealous
practice.
PART TWO
The Renewal of Devotion to Mary
24. The Second Vatican Council also exhorts us to promote other forms
of piety side by side with liturgical worship, especially those recommended by
the magisterium. However, as is well known,
the piety of the faithful and their veneration of the Mother of God has taken
on many forms according to circumstances of time and place, the different
sensibilities of peoples and their different cultural traditions. Hence it is
that the forms in which this devotion is expressed, being subject to the
ravages of time, show the need for a renewal that will permit them to
substitute elements that are transient, to emphasize the elements that are ever
new and to incorporate the doctrinal data obtained from theological reflection
and the proposals of the Church's magisterium. This shows the need for
episcopal conferences, local churches, religious families and Community of the
faithful to promote a genuine creative activity and at the same time to proceed
to a careful revision of expressions and exercises of piety directed towards
the Blessed Virgin. We would like this revision to be respectful of wholesome
tradition and open to the legitimate requests of the people of our time. It seems
fitting therefore, venerable Brothers, to put forward some principles for
action in this field.
Section One
Trinitarian, Christological and
Ecclesial Aspects of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
25. In the first place it is supremely fitting that exercises of piety
directed towards the Virgin Mary should clearly express the Trinitarian and
Christological note that is intrinsic and essential to them. Christian worship
in fact is of itself worship offered to the Father and to the Son and to the
Holy Spirit, or, as the liturgy puts it, to the Father through Christ in the
Spirit. From this point of view worship is rightly extended, though in a
substantially different way, first and foremost and in a special manner, to the
Mother of the Lord and then to the saints, in whom the Church proclaims the
Paschal Mystery, for they have suffered with Christ and have been glorified
with Him. In the Virgin Mary everything is
relative to Christ and dependent upon Him. It was with a view to Christ that
God the Father from all eternity chose her to be the all-holy Mother and
adorned her with gifts of the Spirit granted to no one else. Certainly genuine
Christian piety has never failed to highlight the indissoluble link and
essential relationship of the Virgin to the divine Savior. Yet it seems to us particularly in conformity with
the spiritual orientation of our time. which is dominated and absorbed by the
"question of Christ," that in the
expressions of devotion to the Virgin the Christological aspect should have particular
prominence. It likewise seems to us fitting that these expressions of devotion
should reflect God's plan, which laid down "with one single decree the
origin of Mary and the Incarnation of the divine Wisdom." This will without doubt contribute to making piety
towards the Mother of Jesus more solid, and to making it an effective
instrument for attaining to full "knowledge of the Son of God, until we
become the perfect man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself"
(Eph. 4:13). It will also contribute to increasing the worship due to Christ
Himself, since, according to the perennial mind of the Church authoritatively
repeated in our own day, "what is given
to the handmaid is referred to the Lord; thus what is given to the Mother redounds
to the Son; ...and thus what is given as humble tribute to the Queen becomes
honor rendered to the King."
26. It seems to us useful to add to this mention of the Christological
orientation of devotion to the Blessed Virgin a reminder of the fittingness of
giving prominence in this devotion to one of the essential facts of the Faith:
the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Theological reflection and the liturgy
have in fact noted how the sanctifying intervention of the Spirit in the Virgin
of Nazareth was a culminating moment of the Spirit's action in the history of
salvation. Thus, for example, some Fathers and writers of the Church attributed
to the work of the Spirit the original holiness of Mary, who was as it were
"fashioned by the Holy Spirit into a kind of new substance and new
creature." Reflecting on the Gospel
texts-"The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High
will cover you with his shadow" (Lk. 1:35) and "[Mary] was found to
be with child through the Holy Spirit.... She has conceived what is in her by
the Holy Spirit" (Mt. 1:18, 20)-they saw in the Spirit's intervention an
action that consecrated and made fruitful Mary's virginity and transformed her into the "Abode of the
King" or "Bridal Chamber of the Word,"
the "Temple" or "Tabernacle of the Lord," the "Ark of the Covenant" or "the
Ark of Holiness," titles rich in biblical
echoes. Examining more deeply still the mystery of the Incarnation, they saw in
the mysterious relationship between the Spirit and Mary an aspect redolent of
marriage, poetically portrayed by Prudentius: "The unwed Virgin espoused
the Spirit," and they called her the
"Temple of the Holy Spirit," an
expression that emphasizes the sacred character of the Virgin, now the permanent
dwelling of the Spirit of God. Delving deeply into the doctrine of the
Paraclete, they saw that from Him as from a spring there flowed forth the
fullness of grace (cf. Lk. 1:28) and the abundance of gifts that adorned her.
Thus they attributed to the Spirit the faith, hope and charity that animated
the Virgin's heart, the strength that sustained her acceptance of the will of
God, and the vigor that upheld her in her suffering at the foot of the cross. In Mary's prophetic canticle (cf. Lk. 1:46-55) they
saw a special working of the Spirit who had spoken through the mouths of the
prophets. Considering, finally, the presence
of the Mother of Jesus in the Upper Room, where the Spirit came down upon the
infant Church (cf Acts 1:12-14; 2:1-4), they enriched with new developments the
ancient theme of Mary and the Church. Above
all they had recourse to the Virgin's intercession in order to obtain from the
Spirit the capacity for engendering Christ in their own soul, as is attested to
by Saint Ildephonsus in a prayer of supplication, amazing in its doctrine and
prayerful power: "I beg you, holy Virgin, that I may have Jesus from the
Holy Spirit, by whom you brought Jesus forth. May my soul receive Jesus through
the Holy Spirit by whom your flesh conceived Jesus.... May I love Jesus in the
Holy Spirit in whom you adore Jesus as Lord and gaze upon Him as your
Son."
27. It is sometimes said that many spiritual writings today do not
sufficiently reflect the whole doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit. It is the
task of specialists to verify and weigh the truth of this assertion, but it is
our task to exhort everyone, especially those in the pastoral ministry and also
theologians, to meditate more deeply on the working of the Holy Spirit in the
history of salvation, and to ensure that Christian spiritual writings give due
prominence to His life-giving action. Such a study will bring out in particular
the hidden relationship between the Spirit of God and the Virgin of Nazareth,
and show the influence they exert on the Church. From a more profound
meditation on the truths of the Faith will flow a more vital piety.
28. It is also necessary that exercises of piety with which the
faithful honor the Mother of the Lord should clearly show the place she
occupies in the Church: "the highest place and the closest to us after
Christ." The liturgical buildings of
Byzantine rite, both in the architectural structure itself and in the use of
images, show clearly Mary's place in the Church. On the central door of the
iconostasis there is a representation of the Annunciation and in the apse an
image of the glorious Theotokos. In this way one perceives how through the
assent of the humble handmaid of the Lord mankind begins its return to God and
sees in the glory of the all-holy Virgin the goal towards which it is
journeying. The symbolism by which a church building demonstrates Mary's place
in the mystery of the Church is full of significance and gives grounds for
hoping that the different forms of devotion to the Blessed Virgin may
everywhere be open to ecclesial perspectives.
The faithful will
be able to appreciate more easily Mary's mission in the mystery of the Church
and her preeminent place in the communion of saints if attention is drawn to
the Second Vatican Council's references to the fundamental concepts of the
nature of the Church as the Family of God, the People of God, the Kingdom of
God and the Mystical Body of Christ. This will
also bring the faithful to a deeper realization of the brotherhood which unites
all of them as sons and daughters of the Virgin Mary, "who with a mother's
love has cooperated in their rebirth and spiritual formation," and as sons and daughters of the Church, since
"we are born from the Church's womb we are nurtured by the Church's milk,
we are given life by the Church's Spirit."
They will also realize that both the Church and Mary collaborate to give birth
to the Mystical Body of Christ since "both of them are the Mother of
Christ, but neither brings forth the whole (body) independently of the
other." Similarly the faithful will
appreciate more clearly that the action of the Church in the world can be
likened to an extension of Mary's concern. The active love she showed at
Nazareth, in the house of Elizabeth, at Cana and on Golgotha - all salvific
episodes having vast ecclesial importance - finds its extension in the Church's
maternal concern that all men should come to knowledge of the truth (cf. 1 Tm.
2:4), in the Church's concern for people in lowly circumstances and for the
poor and weak, and in her constant commitment to peace and social harmony, as
well as in her untiring efforts to ensure that all men will share in the
salvation which was merited for them by Christ's death. Thus love for the
Church will become love for Mary, and vice versa, since the one cannot exist
without the other, as St. Chromatius of Aquileia observed with keen
discernment: "The Church was united... in the Upper Room with Mary the
Mother of Jesus and with His brethren. The Church therefore cannot be referred
to as such unless it includes Mary the Mother of our Lord, together with His
brethren." In conclusion, therefore, we
repeat that devotion to the Blessed Virgin must explicitly show its intrinsic
and ecclesiological content: thus it will be enabled to revise its forms and
texts in a fitting way.
Section Two
Four Guidelines for Devotion to
the Blessed Virgin:
Biblical, Liturgical,
Ecumenical and Anthropological
29. The above considerations spring from an examination of the Virgin
Mary's relationship with God-the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit-and
with the Church. Following the path traced by conciliar teaching, we wish to add some further guidelines from
Scripture, liturgy, ecumenism and anthropology. These are to be borne in mind
in any revision of exercises of piety or in the creation of new ones, in order
to emphasize and accentuate the bond which unites us to her who is the Mother
of Christ and our Mother in the communion of saints.
30. Today it is recognized as a general need of Christian piety that
every form of worship should have a biblical imprint. The progress made in
biblical studies, the increasing dissemination of the Sacred Scriptures, and
above all the example of Tradition and the interior action of the Holy Spirit
are tending to cause the modern Christian to use the Bible ever increasingly as
the basic prayerbook, and to draw from it genuine inspiration and unsurpassable
examples. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin cannot be exempt from this general
orientation of Christian piety; indeed it
should draw inspiration in a special way from this orientation in order to gain
new vigor and sure help. In its wonderful presentation of God's plan for man's
salvation, the Bible is replete with the mystery of the Savior, and from
Genesis to the Book of Revelation, also contains clear references to her who
was the Mother and associate of the Savior. We would not, however, wish this
biblical imprint to be merely a diligent use of texts and symbols skillfully
selected from the Sacred Scriptures. More than this is necessary. What is
needed is that texts of prayers and chants should draw their inspiration and
their wording from the Bible, and above all that devotion to the Virgin should
be imbued with the great themes of the Christian message. This will ensure
that, as they venerate the Seat of Wisdom, the faithful in their turn will be
enlightened by the divine word, and be inspired to live their lives in accordance
with the precepts of Incarnate Wisdom.
31. We have already spoken of the veneration which the Church gives to
the Mother of God in the celebration of the sacred liturgy. However, speaking
of the other forms of devotion and of the criteria on which they should be
based we wish to recall the norm laid down in the Constitution Sacrosanctum
concilium. This document, while wholeheartedly approving of the practices of
piety of the Christian people, goes on to say:"...it is necessary however
that such devotions with consideration for the liturgical seasons should be so
arranged as to be in harmony with the sacred liturgy. They should somehow
derive their inspiration from it, and because of its pre-eminence they should
orient the Christian people towards it."
Although this is a wise and clear rule, its application is not an easy matter,
especially in regard to Marian devotions, which are so varied in their formal
expressions. What is needed on the part of the leaders of the local communities
is effort, pastoral sensitivity and perseverance, while the faithful on their
part must show a willingness to accept guidelines and ideas drawn from the true
nature of Christian worship; this sometimes makes it necessary to change
long-standing customs wherein the real nature of this Christian worship has
become somewhat obscured.
In this context
we wish to mention two attitudes which in pastoral practice could nullify the
norm of the Second Vatican Council. In the first place there are certain
persons concerned with the care of souls who scorn a priori, devotions of piety
which, in their correct forms have been recommended by the magisterium, who
leave them aside and in this way create a vacuum which they do not fill. They
forget that the Council has said that devotions of piety should harmonize with
the liturgy, not be suppressed. Secondly there are those who, without wholesome
liturgical and pastoral criteria, mix practices of piety and liturgical acts in
hybrid celebrations. It sometimes happens that novenas or similar practices of
piety are inserted into the very celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This
creates the danger that the Lord's Memorial Rite, instead of being the
culmination of the meeting of the Christian community, becomes the occasion, as
it were, for devotional practices. For those who act in this way we wish to
recall the rule laid down by the Council prescribing that exercises of piety
should be harmonized with the liturgy not merged into it. Wise pastoral action
should, on the one hand, point out and emphasize the proper nature of the
liturgical acts, while on the other hand it should enhance the value of
practices of piety in order to adapt them to the needs of individual
communities in the Church and to make them valuable aids to the liturgy.
32. Because of its ecclesial character, devotion to the Blessed Virgin
reflects the preoccupations of the Church herself. Among these especially in
our day is her anxiety for the re-establishment of Christian unity. In this way
devotion to the Mother of the Lord is in accord with the deep desires and aims
of the ecumenical movement, that is, it acquires an ecumenical aspect. This is
so for a number of reasons.
In the first
place, in venerating with particular love the glorious Theotokos and in
acclaiming her as the 'Hope of Christians,"
Catholics unite themselves with their brethren of the Orthodox Churches, in
which devotion to the Blessed Virgin finds its expression in a beautiful
lyricism and in solid doctrine. Catholics are also united with Anglicans, whose
classical theologians have already drawn attention to the sound scriptural
basis for devotion to the Mother of our Lord, while those of the present day
increasingly underline the importance of Mary's place in the Christian life.
Praising God with the very words of the Virgin (cf. Lk. 1:46-55), they are
united, too, with their brethren in the Churches of the Reform, where love for
the Sacred Scriptures flourishes.
For Catholics,
devotion to the Mother of Christ and Mother of Christians is also a natural and
frequent opportunity for seeking her intercession with her Son in order to
obtain the union of all the baptized within a single People of God. Yet again, the ecumenical aspect of Marian devotion
is shown in the Catholic Church's desire that, without in any way detracting
from the unique character of this devotion,
every care should be taken to avoid any exaggeration which could mislead other
Christian brethren about the true doctrine of the Catholic Church. Similarly, the Church desires that any
manifestation of cult which is opposed to correct Catholic practice should be
eliminated.
Finally, since it
is natural that in true devotion to the Blessed Virgin "the Son should be
duly known, loved and glorified...when the Mother is honored," such devotion is an approach to Christ, the source
and center of ecclesiastical communion, in which all who openly confess that He
is God and Lord, Savior and sole Mediator (cf. 1 Tm. 2:5) are called to be one,
with one another, with Christ and with the Father in the unity of the Holy
Spirit.
33. We realize that there exist important differences between the
thought of many of our brethren in other Churches and ecclesial communities and
the Catholic doctrine on "Mary's role in the work of salvation." In consequence there are likewise differences of
opinion on the devotion which should be shown to her. Nevertheless, since it is
the same power of the Most High which overshadowed the Virgin of Nazareth (cf
Lk. 1:35) and which today is at work within the ecumenical movement and making
it fruitful, we wish to express our confidence that devotion to the humble
handmaid of the Lord, in Whom the Almighty has done great things (cf. Lk.
1:49), will become, even if only slowly, not an obstacle but a path and a
rallying point for the union of all who believe in Christ. We are glad to see
that, in fact, a better understanding of Mary's place in the mystery of Christ
and of the Church on the part also of our separated brethren is smoothing the
path to union. Just as at Cana the Blessed Virgin's intervention resulted in
Christ's performing His first miracle (cf. Jn. 2:1-12), so today her
intercession can help to bring to realization the time when the disciples of
Christ will again find full communion in faith. This hope of ours is
strengthened by a remark of our predecessor Leo XIII, who wrote that the cause
of Christian unity "properly pertains to the role of Mary's spiritual
motherhood. For Mary did not and cannot engender those who belong to Christ, except
in one faith and one love: for 'Is Christ divided?' (1 Cor. 1:13) We must all
live together the life of Christ, so that in one and the same body 'we may bear
fruit for God' (Rom. 7:4)."
34. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin must also pay close attention to
certain findings of the human sciences. This will help to eliminate one of the
causes of the difficulties experienced in devotion to the Mother of the Lord,
namely, the discrepancy existing between some aspects of this devotion and
modern anthropological discoveries and the profound changes which have occurred
in the psycho-sociological field in which modern man lives and works. The
picture of the Blessed Virgin presented in a certain type of devotional
literature cannot easily be reconciled with today's life-style, especially the
way women live today. In the home, woman's equality and corresponsibility with
man in the running of the family are being justly recognized by laws and the
evolution of customs. In the sphere of politics women have in many countries
gained a position in public life equal to that of men. In the social field
women are at work in a whole range of different employments, getting further
away every day from the restricted surroundings of the home. In the cultural
field new possibilities are opening up for women in scientific research and
intellectual activities.
In consequence of
these phenomena some people are becoming disenchanted with devotion to the
Blessed Virgin and finding it difficult to take as an example Mary of Nazareth
because the horizons of her life, so they say, seem rather restricted in
comparison with the vast spheres of activity open to mankind today. In this
regard we exhort theologians, those responsible for the local Christian
communities and the faithful themselves to examine these difficulties with due
care. At the same time we wish to take the opportunity of offering our own
contribution to their solution by making a few observations.
35. First, the Virgin Mary has always been proposed to the faithful by
the Church as an example to be imitated, not precisely in the type of life she
led, and much less for the socio-cultural background in which she lived and
which today scarcely exists anywhere. She is held up as an example to the
faithful rather for the way in which, in her own particular life, she fully and
responsibly accepted the will of God (cf. Lk. 1:38), because she heard the word
of God and acted on it, and because charity and a spirit of service were the
driving force of her actions. She is worthy of imitation because she was the
first and the most perfect of Christ's disciples. All of this has a permanent
and universal exemplary value.
36. Secondly, we would like to point out that the difficulties alluded
to above are closely related to certain aspects of the image of Mary found in
popular writings. They are not connected with the Gospel image of Mary nor with
the doctrinal data which have been made explicit through a slow and
conscientious process of drawing from Revelation. It should be considered quite
normal for succeeding generations of Christians in differing sociocultural
contexts to have expressed their sentiments about the Mother of Jesus in a way
and manner which reflected their own age. In contemplating Mary and her mission
these different generations of Christians, looking on her as the New Woman and
perfect Christian, found in her as a virgin, wife and mother the outstanding
type of womanhood and the preeminent exemplar of life lived in accordance with
the Gospels and summing up the most characteristic situations in the life of a
woman. When the Church considers the long history of Marian devotion she
rejoices at the continuity of the element of cult which it shows, but she does
not bind herself to any particular expression of an individual cultural epoch
or to the particular anthropological ideas underlying such expressions. The
Church understands that certain outward religious expressions, while perfectly
valid in themselves, may be less suitable to men and women of different ages
and cultures.
37. Finally, we wish to point out that our own time, no less than
former times, is called upon to verify its knowledge of reality with the word
of God, and, keeping to the matter at present under consideration, to compare
its anthropological ideas and the problems springing therefrom with the figure
of the Virgin Mary as presented by the Gospel. The reading of the divine
Scriptures, carried out under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and with the
discoveries of the human sciences and the different situations in the world
today being taken into account, will help us to see how Mary can be considered
a mirror of the expectations of the men and women of our time. Thus, the modern
woman, anxious to participate with decision-making power in the affairs of the
community, will contemplate with intimate joy Mary who, taken into dialogue
with God, gives her active and responsible consent, not
to the solution of a contingent problem, but to that "event of world
importance," as the Incarnation of the Word has been rightly called. The modern woman will appreciate that Mary's
choice of the state of virginity, which in God's plan prepared her for the
mystery of the Incarnation, was not a rejection of any of the values of the
married state but a courageous choice which she made in order to consecrate
herself totally to the love of God. The modern woman will note with pleasant
surprise that Mary of Nazareth, while completely devoted to the will of God,
was far from being a timidly submissive woman or one whose piety was repellent
to others; on the contrary, she was a woman who did not hesitate to proclaim
that God vindicates the humble and the oppressed, and removes the powerful
people of this world from their privileged positions (cf Lk. 1:51-53). The
modern woman will recognize in Mary, who "stands out among the poor and
humble of the Lord," a woman of
strength, who experienced poverty and suffering, flight and exile (cf. Mt.
2:13-23). These are situations that cannot escape the attention of those who
wish to support, with the Gospel spirit, the liberating energies of man and of
society. And Mary will appear not as a Mother exclusively concerned with her
own divine Son, but rather as a woman whose action helped to strengthen the
apostolic community's faith in Christ (cf. Jn. 2:1-12), and whose maternal role
was extended and became universal on Calvary.
These are but examples, but examples which show clearly that the figure of the
Blessed Virgin does not disillusion any of the profound expectations of the men
and women of our time but offers them the perfect model of the disciple of the
Lord: the disciple who builds up the earthly and temporal city while being a
diligent pilgrim towards the heavenly and eternal city; the disciple who works
for that justice which sets free the oppressed and for that charity which
assists the needy; but above all, the disciple who is the active witness of
that love which builds up Christ in people's hearts.
38. Having offered these directives, which are intended to favor the
harmonious development of devotion to the Mother of the Lord, we consider it
opportune to draw attention to certain attitudes of piety which are incorrect.
The Second Vatican Council has already authoritatively denounced both the
exaggeration of content and form which even falsifies doctrine and likewise the
small-mindedness which obscures the figure and mission of Mary. The Council has
also denounced certain devotional deviations, such as vain credulity, which
substitutes reliance on merely external practices for serious commitment.
Another deviation is sterile and ephemeral sentimentality, so alien to the
spirit of the Gospel that demands persevering and practical action. We
reaffirm the Council's reprobation of such attitudes and practices. They are
not in harmony with the Catholic Faith and therefore they must have no place in
Catholic worship. Careful defense against these errors and deviations will
render devotion to the Blessed Virgin more vigorous and more authentic. It will
make this devotion solidly based, with the consequence that study of the
sources of Revelation and attention to the documents of the magisterium will
prevail over the exaggerated search for novelties or extraordinary phenomena.
It will ensure that this devotion is objective in its historical seeing, and
for this reason everything that is obviously legendary or false must be
eliminated. It will ensure that this devotion matches its doctrinal
content-hence the necessity of avoiding a one-sided presentation of the figure
of Mary, which by overstressing one element compromises the overall picture
given by the Gospel. It will make this devotion clear in its motivation; hence
every unworthy self-interest is to be carefully banned from the area of what is
sacred.
39. Finally, insofar as it may be necessary we would like to repeat
that the ultimate purpose of devotion to the Blessed Virgin is to glorify God
and to lead Christians to commit themselves to a life which is in absolute
conformity with His will. When the children of the Church unite their voices
with the voice of the unknown woman in the Gospel and glorify the Mother of
Jesus by saying to Him: "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts
that you sucked" (Lk. 11:27), they will be led to ponder the Divine
Master's serious reply: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God
and keep it!" (Lk. 11:28) While it is true that this reply is in itself
lively praise of Mary, as various Fathers of the Church interpreted it and the Second Vatican Council has confirmed, it is also an admonition to us to live our lives
in accordance with God's commandments. It is also an echo of other words of the
Savior: "Not every one who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Mt.
7:21); and again: "You are my friends if you do what I command you"
(Jn. 15:14).
PART THREE
Observations on Two Exercises
of Piety: The Angelus and the Rosary
40. We have indicated a number of principles which can help to give
fresh vigor to devotion to the Mother of the Lord. It is now up to episcopal
conferences, to those in charge of local communities and to the various
religious congregations prudently to revise practices and exercises of piety in
honor of the Blessed Virgin, and to encourage the creative impulse of those who
through genuine religious inspiration or pastoral sensitivity wish to establish
new forms of piety. For different reasons we nevertheless feel it is opportune
to consider here two practices which are widespread in the West, and with which
this Apostolic See has concerned itself on various occasions: the Angelus and
the Rosary.
The Angelus
41. What we have to say about the Angelus is meant to be only a simple
but earnest exhortation to continue its traditional recitation wherever and
whenever possible. The Angelus does not need to be revised, because of its
simple structure, its biblical character, its historical origin which links it
to the prayer for peace and safety, and its quasi-liturgical rhythm which
sanctifies different moments during the day, and because it reminds us of the
Paschal Mystery, in which recalling the Incarnation of the Son of God we pray
that we may be led "through his passion and cross to the glory of his
resurrection." These factors ensure that
the Angelus despite the passing of centuries retains an unaltered value and an
intact freshness. It is true that certain customs traditionally linked with the
recitation of the Angelus have disappeared or can continue only with difficulty
in modern life. But these are marginal elements. The value of contemplation on
the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, of the greeting to the Virgin, and
of recourse to her merciful intercession remains unchanged. And despite the
changed conditions of the times, for the majority of people there remain
unaltered the characteristic periods of the day-morning, noon and evening-which
mark the periods of their activity and constitute an invitation to pause in
prayer.
The Rosary
42. We wish now, venerable Brothers, to dwell for a moment on the
renewal of the pious practice which has been called "the compendium of the
entire Gospel": the Rosary. To this our
predecessors have devoted close attention and care. On many occasions they have
recommended its frequent recitation, encouraged its diffusion, explained its
nature, recognized its suitability for fostering contemplative prayer-prayer of
both praise and petition-and recalled its intrinsic effectiveness for promoting
Christian life and apostolic commitment.
We, too, from the
first general audience of our pontificate on July 13, 1963, have shown our
great esteem for the pious practice of the Rosary.
Since that time we have underlined its value on many different occasions, some
ordinary, some grave. Thus, at a moment of anguish and uncertainty, we
published the Letter Christi Matri (September 15, 1966), in order to obtain
prayers to Our Lady of the Rosary and to implore from God the supreme benefit
of peace. "We renewed this appeal in our
Apostolic Exhortation Recurrens mensis October (October 7 1969), in which we
also commemorated the fourth centenary of the Apostolic Letter Consueverunt
Romani pontifices of our predecessor Saint Pius V, who in that document
explained and in a certain sense established the traditional form of the
Rosary.
43. Our assiduous and affectionate interest in the Rosary has led us
to follow very attentively the numerous meetings which in recent years have
been devoted to the pastoral role of the Rosary in the modern world, meetings
arranged by associations and individuals profoundly attached to the Rosary and
attended by bishops, priests, religious and lay people of proven experience and
recognized ecclesial awareness. Among these people special mention should be
made of the sons of Saint Dominic, by tradition the guardians and promoters of
this very salutary practice. Parallel with such meetings has been the research
work of historians, work aimed not at defining in a sort of archaeological
fashion the primitive form of the Rosary but at uncovering the original
inspiration and driving force behind it and its essential structure. The
fundamental characteristics of the Rosary, its essential elements and their
mutual relationship have all emerged more clearly from these congresses and
from the research carried out.
44. Thus, for instance, the Gospel inspiration of the Rosary has
appeared more clearly: the Rosary draws from the Gospel the presentation of the
mysteries and its main formulas. As it moves from the angel's joyful greeting
and the Virgin's pious assent, the Rosary takes its inspiration from the Gospel
to suggest the attitude with which the faithful should recite it. In the
harmonious succession of Hail Mary's the Rosary puts before us once more a
fundamental mystery of the Gospel-the Incarnation of the Word, contemplated at
the decisive moment of the Annunciation to Mary. The Rosary is thus a Gospel
prayer, as pastors and scholars like to define it, more today perhaps than in
the past.
45. It has also been more easily seen how the orderly and gradual
unfolding of the Rosary reflects the very way in which the Word of God,
mercifully entering into human affairs, brought about the Redemption. The Rosary
considers in harmonious succession the principal salvific events accomplished
in Christ, from His virginal conception and the mysteries of His childhood to
the culminating moments of the Passover-the blessed passion and the glorious
resurrection-and to the effects of this on the infant Church on the day of
Pentecost, and on the Virgin Mary when at the end of her earthly life she was
assumed body and soul into her heavenly home. It has also been observed that
the division of the mysteries of the Rosary into three parts not only adheres
strictly to the chronological order of the facts but above all reflects the
plan of the original proclamation of the Faith and sets forth once more the
mystery of Christ in the very way in which it is seen by Saint Paul in the
celebrated "hymn" of the Letter to the Philippians-kenosis, death and
exaltation (cf 2:6-11).
46. As a Gospel prayer, centered on the mystery of the redemptive
Incarnation, the Rosary is therefore a prayer with a clearly Christological
orientation. Its most characteristic element, in fact, the litany-like
succession of Hail Mary's, becomes in itself an unceasing praise of Christ, who
is the ultimate object both of the angel's announcement and of the greeting of
the mother of John the Baptist: "Blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk. 1:42). We would go further and say that the succession of Hail Mary's
constitutes the warp on which is woven the contemplation of the mysteries. The
Jesus that each Hail Mary recalls is the same Jesus whom the succession of the
mysteries proposes to us-now as the Son of God, now as the Son of the Virgin-at
His birth in a stable at Bethlehem, at His presentation by His Mother in the
Temple, as a youth full of zeal for His Father's affairs, as the Redeemer in
agony in the garden, scourged and crowned with thorns, carrying the cross and
dying on Calvary, risen from the dead and ascended to the glory of the Father
to send forth the gift of the Spirit. As is well known, at one time there was a
custom, still preserved in certain places, of adding to the name of Jesus in
each Hail Mary reference to the mystery being contemplated. And this was done
precisely in order to help contemplation and to make the mind and the voice act
in unison.
47. There has also been felt with greater urgency the need to point
out once more the importance of a further essential element in the Rosary, in addition
to the value of the elements of praise and petition, namely the element of
contemplation. Without this the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its
recitation is in danger of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas and of
going counter to the warning of Christ: "And in praying do not heap up
empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for
their many words" (Mt. 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary
calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to
meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of her
who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these
mysteries are unfolded.
48. Finally, as a result of modern reflection the relationships
between the liturgy and the Rosary have been more clearly understood. On the
one hand it has been emphasized that the Rosary is, as it were, a branch sprung
from the ancient trunk of the Christian liturgy, the Psalter of the Blessed
Virgin, whereby the humble were associated in the Church's hymn of praise and
universal intercession. On the other hand it has been noted that this
development occurred at a time-the last period of the Middle Ages-when the
liturgical spirit was in decline and the faithful were turning from the liturgy
towards a devotion to Christ's humanity and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, a
devotion favoring a certain external sentiment of piety. Not many years ago
some people began to express the desire to see the Rosary included among the rites
of the liturgy, while other people, anxious to avoid repetition of former
pastoral mistakes, unjustifiably disregarded the Rosary. Today the problem can
easily be solved in the light of the principles of the Constitution
Sacrosanctum concilium. Liturgical celebrations and the pious practice of the
Rosary must be neither set in opposition to one another nor considered as being
identical. The more an expression of prayer
preserves its own true nature and individual characteristics the more fruitful
it becomes. Once the pre-eminent value of liturgical rites has been reaffirmed
it will not be difficult to appreciate the fact that the Rosary is a practice
of piety which easily harmonizes with the liturgy. In fact, like the liturgy,
it is of a community nature, draws its inspiration from Sacred Scripture and is
oriented towards the mystery of Christ. The commemoration in the liturgy and
the contemplative remembrance proper to the Rosary, although existing on
essentially different planes of reality, have as their object the same salvific
events wrought by Christ. The former presents new, under the veil of signs and
operative in a hidden way, the great mysteries of our Redemption. The latter,
by means of devout contemplation, recalls these same mysteries to the mind of
the person praying and stimulates the will to draw from them the norms of
living. Once this substantial difference has been established, it is not
difficult to understand that the Rosary is an exercise of piety that draws its
motivating force from the liturgy and leads naturally back to it, if practiced
in conformity with its original inspiration.; It does not, however, become part
of the liturgy. In fact, meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, by
familiaring the hearts and minds of the faithful with the mysteries of Christ,
can be an excellent preparation for the creation of those same mysteries in the
liturgical action and an also become a continuing echo thereof. However, it is
a mistake to recite the Rosary during the celebration of the liturgy, though
unfortunately this practice still persists here and there.
49. The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to the tradition
accepted by our predecessor St. Pius V and authoritatively taught by him,
consists of various elements disposed in an organic fashion:
a) Contemplation
in communion with Mary, of a series of mysteries of salvation, wisely
distributed into three cycles. These mysteries express the joy of the messianic
times, the salvific suffering of Christ and the glory of the Risen Lord which
fills the Church. This contemplation by its very nature encourages practical
reflection and provides stimulating norms for living.
b) The Lord's
Prayer, or Our Father, which by reason of its immense value is at the basis of
Christian prayer and ennobles that prayer in its various expressions.
c) The
litany-like succession of the Hail Mary, which is made up of the angel's
greeting to the Virgin (cf. Lk. 1;28), and of Elizabeth's greeting (cf. Lk.
1:42), followed by the ecclesial supplication, Holy Mary. The continued series
of Hail Mary's is the special characteristic of the Rosary, and their number,
in the full and typical number of one hundred and fifty, presents a certain
analogy with the Psalter and is an element that goes back to the very origin of
the exercise of piety. But this number, divided, according to a well-tried
custom, into decades attached to the individual mysteries, is distributed in
the three cycles already mentioned, thus giving rise to the Rosary of fifty
Hail Mary's as we know it. This latter has entered into use as the normal
measure of the pious exercise and as such has been adopted by popular piety and
approved by papal authority, which also enriched it with numerous indulgences.
d) The doxology
Glory be to the Father which, in conformity with an orientation common to
Christian piety concludes the prayer with the glorifying of God who is one and
three, from whom, through whom and in whom all things have their being (cf.
Rom. 11:36).
50. These are the elements of the Rosary. Each has its own particular
character which, wisely understood and appreciated, should be reflected in the
recitation in order that the Rosary may express all its richness and variety.
Thus the recitation will be grave and suppliant during the Lord's Prayer,
lyrical and full of praise during the tranquil succession of Hail Mary's,
contemplative in the recollected meditation on the mysteries and full of
adoration during the doxology. This applies to all the ways in which the Rosary
is usually recited: privately, in intimate recollection with the Lord; in
community, in the family or in groups of the faithful gathered together to
ensure the special presence of the Lord (cf. Mt. 18:20); or publicly, in
assemblies to which the ecclesial community is invited.
51. In recent times certain exercises of piety have been created which
take their inspiration from the Rosary. Among such exercises we wish to draw
attention to and recommend those which insert into the ordinary celebration of
the word of God some elements of the Rosary, such as meditation on the
mysteries and litany-like repetition of the angel's greeting to Mary. In this
way these elements gain in importance, since they are found in the context of
Bible readings, illustrated with a homily, accompanied by silent pauses and
emphasized with song. We are happy to know that such practices have helped to
promote a more complete understanding of the spiritual riches of the Rosary
itself and have served to restore esteem for its recitation among youth
associations and movements.
52. We now desire, as a continuation of the thought of our
predecessors, to recommend strongly the recitation of the family Rosary. The
Second Vatican Council has pointed out how the family, the primary and vital
cell of society, "shows itself to be the domestic sanctuary of the Church
through the mutual affection of its members and the common prayer they offer to
God." The Christian family is thus seen
to be a domestic Church" if its members,
each according to his proper place and tasks, all together promote justice,
practice works of mercy, devote themselves to helping their brethren, take part
in the apostolate of the wider local community and play their part in its
liturgical worship. This will be all the more
true if together they offer up prayers to God. If this element of common prayer
were missing, the family would lack its very character as a domestic Church.
Thus there must logically follow a concrete effort to reinstate communal prayer
in family life if there is to be a restoration of the theological concept of
the family as the domestic Church.
53. In accordance with the directives of the Council the Institutio
Generulis de Liturgia Horarum rightly numbers the family among the groups in
which the Divine Office can suitably be celebrated in community: "It is
fitting...that the family, as a domestic sanctuary of the Church, should not
only offer prayers to God in common, but also, according to circumstances,
should recite parts of the Liturgy of the Hours, in order to be more intimately
linked with the Church." No avenue
should be left unexplored to ensure that this clear and practical
recommendation finds within Christian families growing and joyful acceptance.
54. But there is no doubt that, after the celebration of the Liturgy
of the Hours, the high point which family prayer can reach, the Rosary should
be considered as one of the best and most efficacious prayers in common that
the Christian family is invited to recite. We like to think, and sincerely
hope, that when the family gathering becomes a time of prayer, the Rosary is a
frequent and favored manner of praying. We are well aware that the changed
conditions of life today do not make family gatherings easy, and that even when
such a gathering is possible many circumstances make it difficult to turn it
into an occasion of prayer. There is no doubt of the difficulty. But it is
characteristic of the Christian in his manner of life not to give in to
circumstances but to overcome them, not to succumb but to make an effort.
Families which want to live in full measure the vocation and spirituality
proper to the Christian family must therefore devote all their energies to
overcoming the pressures that hinder family gatherings and prayer in common.
55. In concluding these observations, which give proof of the concern
and esteem which the Apostolic See has for the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, we
desire at the same time to recommend that this very worthy devotion should not
be propagated in a way that is too one-sided or exclusive. The Rosary is an
excellent prayer, but the faithful should feel serenely free in its regard.
They should be drawn to its calm recitation by its intrinsic appeal.
CONCLUSION
Theological and Pastoral Value
of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
56. Venerable Brothers, as we come to the end of this our Apostolic
Exhortation we wish to sum up and emphasize the theological value of devotion
to the Blessed Virgin and to recall briefly its pastoral effectiveness for
renewing the Christian way of life.
The Church's
devotion to the Blessed Virgin is an intrinsic element of Christian worship.
The honor which the Church has always and everywhere shown to the Mother of the
Lord, from the blessing with which Elizabeth greeted Mary (cf. Lk. 1:42-45)
right up to the expressions of praise and petition used today, is a very strong
witness to the Church's norm of prayer and an invitation to become more deeply
conscious of her norm of faith. And the converse is likewise true. The Church's
norm of faith requires that her norm of prayer should everywhere blossom forth
with regard to the Mother of Christ. Such devotion to the Blessed Virgin is
firmly rooted in the revealed word and has solid dogmatic foundations. It is
based on the singular dignity of Mary, "Mother of the Son of God, and
therefore beloved daughter of the Father and Temple of the Holy Spirit-Mary,
who, because of this extraordinary grace, is far greater than any other
creature on earth or in heaven." This
devotion takes into account the part she played at decisive moments in the
history of the salvation which her Son accomplished, and her holiness, already
full at her Immaculate Conception yet increasing all the time as she obeyed the
will of the Father and accepted the path of suffering (cf. Lk. 2:34-35, 41-52;
Jn. 19:25-27), growing constantly in faith, hope and charity. Devotion to Mary
recalls too her mission and the special position she holds within the People of
God, of which she is the preeminent member, a shining example and the loving
Mother; it recalls her unceasing and efficacious intercession which, although
she is assumed into heaven, draws her close to those who ask her help,
including those who do not realize that they are her children. It recalls
Mary's glory which ennobles the whole of mankind, as the outstanding phrase of
Dante recalls: "You have so ennobled human nature that its very Creator did
not disdain to share in it." Mary, in
fact, is one of our race, a true daughter of Eve-though free of that mother's
sin-and truly our sister, who as a poor and humble woman fully shared our lot.
We would add
further that devotion to the Blessed Virgin finds its ultimate justification in
the unfathomable and free will of God who, being eternal and divine charity
(cf. 1 Jn. 4:7-8, 16), accomplishes all things according to a loving design. He
loved her and did great things for her (cf. Lk. 1:49). He loved her for His own
sake, and He loved her for our sake, too; He gave her to Himself and He gave
her also to us.
57. Christ is the
only way to the Father (cf. Jn. 14:4-11), and the ultimate example to whom the
disciple must conform his own conduct (cf. Jn. 13:15), to the extent of sharing
Christ's sentiments (cf. Phil. 2:5), living His life and possessing His Spirit
(cf. Gal. 2 20; Rom. 8:10-11). The Church has always taught this and nothing in
pastoral activity should obscure this doctrine. But the Church, taught by the
Holy Spirit and benefiting from centuries of experience, recognizes that
devotion to the Blessed Virgin, subordinated to worship of the divine Savior
and in connection with it, also has a great pastoral effectiveness and
constitutes a force for renewing Christian living. It is easy to see the reason
for this effectiveness Mary's many-sided mission to the People of God is a
super natural reality which operates and bears fruit within the body of the
Church. One finds cause for joy in considering the different aspects of this
mission, and seeing how each of these aspects with its individual effectiveness
is directed towards the same end, namely, producing in the children the
spiritual characteristics of the first-born Son. The Virgin's maternal
intercession, her exemplary holiness and the divine grace which is in her become
for the human race a reason for divine hope.
The Blessed
Virgin's role as Mother leads the People of God to turn with filial confidence
to her who is ever ready to listen with a mother's affection and efficacious
assistance. Thus the People of God have
learned to call on her as the Consoler of the afflicted, the Health of the
sick, and the Refuge of sinners, that they may find comfort in tribulation,
relief in sickness and liberating strength in guilt. For she, who is free from
sin, leads her children to combat sin with energy and resoluteness. This liberation from sin and evil (cf. Mt.
6:13)-it must be repeated-is the necessary premise for any renewal of Christian
living.
The Blessed
Virgin's exemplary holiness encourages the faithful to "raise their eyes
to Mary who shines forth before the whole community of the elect as a model of
the virtues." It is a question of solid,
evangelical virtues: faith and the docile acceptance of the Word of God (cf.
Lk. 1:26-38, 1:45, 11:27-28; Jn. 2:5); generous obedience (cf Lk. 1:38);
genuine humility (cf. Lk. 1:48); solicitous charity (cf. Lk. 1:39-56); profound
wisdom (cf. Lk. 1:29, 34; 2:19, 33:51); worship of God manifested in alacrity
in the fulfillment of religious duties (cf. Lk. 2:21-41), in gratitude for
gifts received (cf Lk. 1:46-49), in her offering in the Temple (cf. Lk.
2:22-24) and in her prayer in the midst of the apostolic community (cf. Acts
1:12-14); her fortitude in exile (cf. Mt. 2:13-23) and in suffering (cf. Lk.
2:34-35, 49; Jn. 19 25); her poverty reflecting dignity and trust in God (cf.
Lk. 1:48, 2:24) her attentive care for her Son, from His humble birth to the
ignominy of the cross (cf. Lk. 2:1-7; Jn. 19:25-27); her delicate forethought
(cf. Jn. 2:1-11); her virginal purity (cf. Mt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-38); her
strong and chaste married love. These virtues of the Mother will also adorn her
children who steadfastly study her example in order to reflect it in their own
lives. And this progress in virtue will appear as the consequence and the
already mature fruit of that pastoral zeal which springs from devotion to the
Blessed Virgin.
Devotion to the
Mother of the Lord becomes for the faithful an opportunity for growing in
divine grace, and this is the ultimate aim of all pastoral activity. For it is
impossible to honor her who is "full of grace" (Lk. 1:28) without
thereby honoring in oneself the state of grace, which is friendship with God,
communion with Him and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is this divine
grace which takes possession of the whole man and conforms him to the image of
the Son of God (cf. Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:18). The Catholic Church, endowed with
centuries of experience, recognizes in devotion to the Blessed Virgin a
powerful aid for man as he strives for fulfillment. Mary, the New Woman, stands
at the side of Christ, the New Man, within whose mystery the mystery of man alone finds true light; she is given to its as a
pledge and guarantee that God's plan in Christ for the salvation of the whole
man has already achieved realization in a creature: in her. Contemplated in the
episodes of the Gospels and in the reality which she already possesses in the
City of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary offers a calm vision and a reassuring word
to modern man, torn as he often is between anguish and hope, defeated by the
sense of his own limitations and assailed by limitless aspirations, troubled in
his mind and divided in his heart, uncertain before the riddle of death,
oppressed by loneliness while yearning for fellowship, a prey to boredom and
disgust. She shows forth the victory of hope over anguish, of fellowship over
solitude, of peace over anxiety, of joy and beauty over boredom and disgust, of
eternal visions over earthly ones, of life over death.
Let the very
words that she spoke to the servants at the marriage feast of Cana, "Do
whatever he tells you" (Jn. 2:5), be a seal on our Exhortation and a
further reason in favor of the pastoral value of devotion to the Blessed Virgin
as a means of leading men to Christ. Those words, which at first sight were
limited to the desire to remedy an embarrassment at the feast, are seen in the
context of Saint John's Gospel to re-echo the words used by the people of
Israel to give approval to the Covenant at Sinai (cf. Ex. 19:8, 24:3, 7; Dt.
5:27) and to renew their commitments (cf. Jos. 24:24; Ezr. 10:12; Neh. 5:12).
And they are words which harmonize wonderfully with those spoken by the Father
at the theophany on Mount Tabor: "Listen to him" (Mt. 17:5).
Epilogue
58. Venerable Brothers, we have dealt at length with an integral
element of Christian worship: devotion to the Mother of the Lord. This has been
called for by the nature of the subject, one which in these recent years has
been the object of study and revision and at times the cause of some
perplexity. We are consoled to think that the work done by this Apostolic See
and by yourselves in order to carry out the norms of the Council-particularly
the liturgical reform-is a stepping-stone to an ever more lively and adoring
worship of God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and to an increase
of the Christian life of the faithful. We are filled with confidence when we
note that the renewed Raman liturgy, also taken as a whole, is a splendid
illustration of the Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin. We are upheld by
the hope that the directives issued in order to render this devotion ever more
pure and vigorous will be applied with sincerity. We rejoice that the Lord has
given us the opportunity of putting forward some points for reflection in order
to renew and confirm esteem for the practice of the rosary. Comfort,
confidence, hope and joy are the sentiments which we wish to transform into
fervent praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as we unite our voice with that of
the Blessed Virgin in accordance with the prayer of the Roman Liturgy.
Dear Brothers,
while we express the hope that thanks to your generous commitment, there will
be among the clergy and among the people entrusted to your care a salutary
increase of devotion to Mary with undoubted profit for the Church and for
society, we cordially impart our special apostolic blessing to yourselves and
to all the faithful people to whom you devote your pastoral zeal.
Given in Rome, at
Saint Peter's, on the second day of February, the Feast of the Presentation of
the Lord, in the year 1974, the eleventh of our Pontificate.
PAULUS PP. VI