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Magisterial Documents: Mary and Jesus Christ

Magisterial Documents: Mary and Jesus Christ

Below are direct quotes from Post-Vatican II Magisterial Documents concerning the following themes. These teachings of the Catholic Church may prove useful to include in talks, in homilies or for research.

General
First/Fully Redeemed of Her Son
Mother of Jesus Christ
Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God
Mother as Birth-Giver
Mother as Educator
Handmaid, Associate, Cooperatrix
Disciple
Other



GENERAL

Lumen Gentium, 1964

united to him by a close and indissoluble tie 53

This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's conception up to his death.... 57

Mense Maio, 1965

Every encounter with her can only result in an encounter with Christ himself. 5
we continually turn to Mary...to seek...Christ she holds in her arms 6

Signum Magnum, 1967

was united to Him "by a close, indissoluble bond," [LG 53] 5

was accorded a special "role...in the mystery of the Incarnate Word" [LG 54] that is, "in the economy of salvation." [LG 55] 5

[after Ascension] she remained united to her son by her enduring and ardent love 19

Creed, Paul VI, 1968

joined by a close and indissoluble bond to the Mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption [18: cf. LG 53, 58, 61] 14

General Catechetical Directory, 1971

Mary is united in an ineffable manner with the Lord. 68

Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973

She is totally dependent on her son. 6

Marialis Cultus, 1974

[pastoral need]
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. 25

Redemptor Hominis, 1979

If we feel a special need, in this difficult and responsible phase of the history of the Church and of mankind, to turn to Christ, who is Lord of the Church and Lord of man's history on account of the mystery of the Redemption, we believe that nobody else can bring us as Mary can into the divine and human dimension of this mystery. Final paragraph.

Redemptoris Mater, 1987

"only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light," then this principle must be applied in a very particular way to that exceptional "daughter of the human race," that extraordinary "woman" who became the Mother of Christ. Only in the mystery of Christ is her mystery fully made clear. (cf. GS 22) 4

... she made present to humanity the mystery of Christ. And she still continues to do so. Through the mystery of Christ, she too is present within mankind. Thus through the mystery of the Son the mystery of the Mother is also made clear. 19

united by a close and indissoluble bond (LG 53) 41

The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988

The Council, explaining the participation of Mary in the history of salvation expounded, first of all the multiple aspects of the relationship between the Virgin and Christ: 7

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 Fidei Depositum, 1992

Christ and Mary: 437, 467, 469, 726, 970, 1138, 2162, 2665 [BB]

Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 2003

I would like to rekindle this Eucharistic "amazement" by the present Encyclical Letter, in continuity with the Jubilee heritage which I have left to the Church in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte and its Marian crowning, Rosarium Virginis Mariae. To contemplate the face of Christ, and to contemplate it with Mary, is the "program" which I have set before the Church at the dawn of the third millennium, summoning her to put out into the deep on the sea of history with the enthusiasm of the new evangelization. 6

By proclaiming the Year of the Rosary, I wish to put this, my twenty-fifth anniversary, under the aegis of the contemplation of Christ at the school of Mary. 7

In my Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I pointed to the Blessed Virgin Mary as our teacher in contemplating Christ's face, and among the mysteries of light I included the institution of the Eucharist.102 Mary can guide us towards this most holy sacrament, because she herself has a profound relationship with it. 53

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FIRST/FULLY REDEEMED OF HER SON


Lumen Gentium, 1964

redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son 53

Creed, Paul VI, 1968

By reason of this singular election, she was, in consideration of the merits of her Son, redeemed in a more eminent manner. [15: cf. Conc. Vat. II, LG 53] 14

General Catechetical Directory, 1971

For she was completely conformed "to her Son, the Lord of lords, and the Conqueror of sin and death" (LG, 59) 68

Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973

... no one is saved apart from Christ. ... the preservative redemption of Mary is totally and splendidly God's gift to her because she was to be the Mother of Christ. 53 "the most excellent fruit of the redemption," (SC 103) 56

Gaudete in Domino, 1975

But she is also open in an unlimited degree to the joy of the resurrection; and she is redeemed, immaculate from the moment of her conception, the incomparable dwelling-place of the Spirit.

Dives in Misericordia, 1980

having obtained mercy in an exceptional way, in an equally exceptional way, "merits" that mercy throughout her earthly life and, particularly, at the foot of the cross of her Son 9

Redemptoris Mater, 1987

In the event of the Immaculate Conception the Church sees projected, and anticipated in her most noble member, the saving grace of Easter. 1

According to the belief formulated in solemn documents of the Church, this "glory of grace" is manifested in the Mother of God through the fact that she has been "redeemed in a more sublime manner." (LG 53) 10

[Article 10 discusses preredemption at length] [See also 41]
Mary receives life from him to whom she herself, in the order of earthly generation, gave life as a mother. 10

The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988

She is "the most excellent fruit of the redemption," (Sacrosanctum Concilium 103) having been "redeemed in an especially sublime manner by reason of the merits of her Son" (LG 53); thus the Fathers of the Church, the Liturgy and the Magisterium have called her "daughter of her Son" (cf. Concilium Toletanum XI,48: Denzinger-Schonmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum [Barcinone 1976], 536) in the order of grace. 7

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 Fidei Depositum, 1992

411 ... Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ's victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life. (cf. Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus)

[See also 491]

492 ... she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son." (LG 53, 56)

Deus Caritas Est, 2005

Here we see how completely at home Mary is with the Word of God, with ease she moves in and out of it. She speaks and thinks with the Word of God; the Word of God becomes her word, and her word issues from the Word of God. Here we see how her thoughts are attuned to the thoughts of God, how her will is one with the will of God. 41

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MOTHER OF JESUS CHRIST

Lumen Gentium, 1964

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ [Canon of the Roman Mass] 52

acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer 53

and the duties of the redeemed towards the Mother of God, who is mother of Christ 54

the role of the Mother of the Savior in the plan of salvation55

most holy Mother of God who was involved in the mysteries of Christ 66

Mother of Our Lord and Saviour [honor given] 69

gift and role of her divine motherhood, by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer 63

Mother as birth giver:

when the Son of God has taken human nature from her 55

Mother of Jesus [predestined, enriched for her role] 56

Mother of Jesus [in heaven...image of Church] 68

Mother of the Redeemer 55

gracious mother of the divine Redeemer [predestined mother, generous associate and humble handmaid] 61

conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ 61

gave birth on earth to the very Son of the Father [through her faith and obedience] 63

The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first born among many brethren (Rom 8:29). 63

[Mother of Life] "gave Life to the world." 53

[Mother of Life] "Mother of Jesus who gave to the world the Life that renews all things" 56

enduring with her only begotten Son 58


Mysterium Fidei, 1965

quoting Ambrose, regarding the miraculous nature of the Eucharist, uses as example of miracles described in Scripture, including "Christ's birth of the Virgin Mary" is mentioned. 51

the oath demanded of Berengarius is quoted in full. ...the Eucharist we receive is "after the consecration, there is present the true body of Christ which was born of the Virgin... 52


Christi Matri Rosarii, 1968

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

to pray the Mother of God (title) 13

acceptable to the Mother of God (title) 15

Mother of God (title) 19

the Virgin Mother of God (title) 20

most high Mother of God (title) 22

Mother as birth giver:

Mother of Christ 1

for she is the mother of Our Saviour 14


Signum Magnum, 1967

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

the revered Mother of God (title) 1

Council of Ephesus in the year 431 hailed Mary as Theotokos, that is, as the "Mother of God." 2

the Virgin Mother of God (title) 4, 5

"God's most holy Mother, who took part in the mystery of Christ," [LG 66] 5

[venerate] Mary as the Mother of God's Son 35

Mother as birth giver:

"Mother of God and of the Redeemer," [LG 53] 5

she is the mother of Jesus Christ and His closest associate in "the new economy...when the Son of God takes on human nature from her in order to free men from sin by the mysteries of His flesh"; [LG 55] 8

Mother as educator:

No human mother can limit her task solely to the procreation of new human beings; she must also undertake the task of nourishing them and educating them. So it is with the Blessed Virgin Mary. 9


Creed, Paul VI, 1968

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

We believe that the Blessed Mother of God... [see ftn 20] 15

Mother as birth giver:

...He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was made man: equal therefore to the Father according to His divinity, and inferior to the Father according to His humanity, (11: Symbolum Quicumque, DS 76) and Himself one, not by some impossible confusion of His natures, but by the unity of His person (12: Ibid.). 11

We believe that Mary is the Mother, who remained ever a Virgin, of the Incarnate Word, our God and Savior Jesus Christ. [cf. Conc. Ephes., DS 251-252] 14


Recurrens Mensis October, 1969

Mother as birth giver:

It is the humble Virgin of Nazareth who became Mother of "the Prince of Peace," (Is 9:5) of Him who was born under the sign of peace, [Lk 2:14) and who proclaimed to the whole world: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Mt 5:9) 7


General Catechetical Directory, 1971

Mother as birth giver:

the mystery of Christ the Incarnate Word, who was born of the Virgin Mary [hierarchy of truths] 43

being his [the Lord's] Ever-Virgin Mother 68

the Church...venerates in a most special way Christ's Mother 68

Mother of Jesus 78


Basic Teaching for Catholic Education (USA), 1973

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Included in the title of the article: MARY, MOTHER OF GOD [title]

special veneration due to Mary - Mother of Christ

Mother as birth giver:

The "ever virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God," [Footnoted: 106 First Eucharist Prayer of the Mass


Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

The holy Child to be born of Mary will be not only the promised Messiah, but God made man. 24

"If we are to confess that Emmanuel is truly God, we must also confess that the Holy Virgin is Theotokos (Mother of God); for she bore according to the flesh the Word of God made flesh." [Cyril of Alexandria] 64

At Ephesus, in 431 A.D., the divine motherhood was defined in defense of the divinity of the Son of Mary. The title, "Mother of God" became a permanent part of the creeds and liturgies of the entire Church.106

Christ is at the center of our faith; but He did not come among men without the Theotokos. Nor is He in glory now without His Mother, Theotokos still. 109

Mother as birth giver:

Because of her divine maternity, Mary stands in a unique relationship with her Savior and her Son. 5

She brought forth on earth the Father's Son...whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren.... (LG 63) 5

We honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God. 8

The new dispensation is established. "All this occurred when the Son of God took a human nature from her, that He might in the mysteries of His flesh free man from sin." [Paul VI, 21 Nov 1964, pp. 137-138] 15

In the strength of her faith, Mary consents to the merciful Father's invitation, and in the power of the Spirit becomes the Mother of Jesus, Son of God in human flesh. 33
Mother of Jesus [by consenting] (LG 56) 55

She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ. (LG 61) 80

"the ever-virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God" (Eucharistic Prayer I) 89

Mother of Jesus 105, 106


Marialis Cultus, 1974

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

[liturgy]
- January 1: [liturgical celebration of, one of four Marian solemnities in revised liturgy] 5, 6

[new theme] 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. 11

- March 25: of the Virgin, who becomes Mother of God. 6

Mother of the Son of God, and therefore beloved daughter of the Father and Temple of the Holy Spirit (LG 53) 56

In the other revised liturgical books also expressions of love and suppliant veneration addressed to the Theotokos are not lacking. 14

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.15

Mother as birth giver:

[liturgy]

- Christmas: brought the Savior into the world (Eucharistic Prayer I) 5

- March 25: of the Word, who becomes "Son of Mary" (Mk. 6:3) 6

she who "believing and obeying ... brought forth on earth the Father's Son. ..." (LG 63) 19


RMO

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Mother of the Eternal Son

the pure abode of the Redeemer of mankind

the mother of hope and grace


Sharing the Light of Faith (USA), 1979

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Included in title of the article:
MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
[title] 106

While it is neither possible nor desirable to establish a rigid order to dictate a uniform method for the exposition of content, certain norms or criteria guide all sound catechesis.... In practice this means recognizing a certain hierarchy of truths: ... 47

Mother as birth giver:

the mystery of Christ the incarnate Word, who was born of the Virgin Mary 47

[belief in Mary as] virgin mother 78

In taking on human flesh through the ever-virgin Mary 87

The "ever-virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God," [Footnoted: 45 Roman Ritual, First Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass.] 106

special love and veneration due her as mother of Christ 106


Redemptor Hominis, 1979

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

We can say that the mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her fiat. From then on, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced and continues to embrace with inexhaustible love.

For that reason her heart must also have the inexhaustibility of a mother. Final paragraph.


Catechesi Tradendae, 1979

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

What kind of catechesis would it be that failed to give their full place to man's creation and sin; to God's plan of redemption and its long, loving preparation and realization; to the incarnation of the Son of God; to Mary, the Immaculate One, the Mother of God, ever Virgin, raised body and soul to the glory of heaven, and to her role in the mystery of salvation? Subtitle: "Integrity of Content" 30

Mother as educator:

By a unique vocation, she saw her Son Jesus "increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favor." (cf. Lk 2:52) As He sat on her lap and later as He listened to her throughout the hidden life at Nazareth, this son, who was "the only Son from the Father," "full of grace and truth": was formed by her in human knowledge of the Scriptures and of the history of God's plan for His people, and in adoration of the Father. (cf. Jn 1:14; Heb 10:5; S. Th., III, Q. 12, a. 2: a. 3, ad 3.) 73


Dives in Misericordia, 1980

The above titles [see: holiness] which we attribute to the Mother of God speak of her principally, however, as the Mother of the crucified and risen One. 9


Ephesus, 1550th Anniversary, 1981

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

also the truth concerning the Blessed Virgin, called to the unique and unrepeatable dignity of being the Mother of God, the Theotokos, as was so clearly shown principally by the Letter of St. Cyril to Nestorius and by the splendid Formula Unionis of 433. It was a whole hymn raised by those ancient Fathers to the incarnation of the only begotten Son of God, in the full truth of the two natures in the one person; it was a hymn to the work of salvation, accomplished in the world through the working of the Holy Spirit; and all of this could not fail to redound to the honor of the Mother of God, the first cooperator with the power of the Almighty, which overshadowed her at the moment of the Annunciation in the luminous coming of the Holy Spirit. And this is how our brothers and sisters of Ephesus understood it, when, on the evening of June 22, the first day of the Council, celebrated in the Cathedral of the "Mother of God," they acclaimed the Virgin Mary with this title....3

While we recall the joy and exultation that the profession of faith in the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos) aroused 1550 years ago at Ephesus, we understand that the profession of faith also glorified the particular work of the Holy Spirit, the work composed of both the human conception and birth of the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit and, again by the power of the Holy Spirit, the holy motherhood of the Virgin Mary. 8

This motherhood is not only the source and foundation of all her exceptional holiness and her very special participation in the whole plan of salvation; it also establishes a permanent maternal link with the Church, as a result of the fact that she was chosen by the holy Trinity as the Mother of Christ, who is "the Head of the body, the Church." (Col 1:18) 8

Mother as birth giver:

[Creed] et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex maria Virgine, et homo factus est: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. The Council of Ephesus thus had a value that was above all Christological, for it defined the two natures in Jesus Christ, the divine and the human, in order to state exactly the authentic doctrine of the Church already expressed by the Council of Nicaea in 325, but which had been imperiled by the spread of certain formulas used in the Nestorian teaching. In close connection with these affirmations, the Council of Ephesus also had a soteriological significance, for it illustrated the fact that as the well-known axiom has it "what is not assumed is not saved." 3


Dominum et Vivificantem, 1986

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

"By the power of the Holy Spirit" there became man he whom the Church, in the words of the same Creed, professes to be the son, of the same substance as the Father: "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made": He was made man by becoming incarnate from the Virgin Mary." this is what happened when "the fullness of time had come." 49

Mother as birth giver:

Mary the Mother of Jesus 30

For the "fullness of time" is matched by a particular fullness of the self-communication of the Triune God in the Holy Spirit. "By the power of the Holy Spirit" the mystery of the "hypostatic union" is brought about - that is, the union of the divine nature and the human nature, of the divinity and the humanity in the one Person of the Word-Son. When at the moment of the Annunciation Mary utters her fiat, "Be it done unto me according to your word," (Lk 1:38) she conceives in a virginal way a man, the Son of Man, who is the Son of God. ... The Incarnation of God the Son signifies the taking up into unity with God not only of human nature, but in this human nature, in a sense, of everything that is "flesh;" the whole of humanity, the entire visible and material world. The Incarnation, then, also has a cosmic significance, a cosmic dimension. 50


Redemptoris Mater, 1987

Mother of Jesus Christ:

Mary the Mother of Jesus 30

For the "fullness of time" is matched by a particular fullness of the self-communication of the Triune God in the Holy Spirit. "By the power of the Holy Spirit" the mystery of the "hypostatic union" is brought about - that is, the union of the divine nature and the human nature, of the divinity and the humanity in the one Person of the Word-Son. When at the moment of the Annunciation Mary utters her fiat, "Be it done unto me according to your word," (Lk 1:38) she conceives in a virginal way a man, the Son of Man, who is the Son of God. ... The Incarnation of God the Son signifies the taking up into unity with God not only of human nature, but in this human nature, in a sense, of everything that is "flesh"; the whole of humanity, the entire visible and material world. The Incarnation, then, also has a cosmic significance, a cosmic dimension. 50

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Ephesus (431) ... the truth of the divine motherhood of Mary was solemnly confirmed as a truth of the Church's faith. Mary is the Mother of God (= Theotokos), since by the power of the Holy Spirit she conceived in her virginal womb and brought into the world Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is of one being with the Father. ... the dogma of the divine motherhood ... a seal upon the dogma of the Incarnation, in which the Word truly assumes human nature into the unity of his person, without cancelling out that nature. 4

One cannot think of the reality of the Incarnation without referring to Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word. 5

Mary is "full of grace," because it is precisely in her that the Incarnation of the Word, the hypostatic union of the Son of God with human nature, is accomplished and fulfilled. As the Council says, Mary is "the Mother of the Son of God." (LG 53) 9 [See also39]

For knowledge of the mystery of Christ leads us to bless his Mother, in the form of special veneration for the Theotokos. But this veneration always includes a blessing of her faith ... 27

Mother as birth giver:

[Luke] Mary is present as the mother who conceives Jesus in her womb, gives him birth and nurses him: the nursing mother referred to by the woman in the crowd. Thanks to this motherhood, Jesus, the Son of the Most High (cf. Lk. 1:32), is a true son of man. He is "flesh," like every other man: he is "the Word (who) became flesh." (cf. Jn. 1: 14) He is of the flesh and blood of Mary! (cf. Augustine) 20

[Cana] Mother of Jesus at the beginning of his public life 21

"... the Son of God took a human nature from her, that he might in the mysteries of his flesh free man from sin." (LG 55) 24
[See also 28]


Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday, 1988

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Dear Brothers: who more than we have an absolute need of a deep and unshakable faith - we, who by virtue of the apostolic succession begun in the Upper Room celebrate the sacrament of Christ's sacrifice? We must therefore constantly deepen our spiritual bond with the Mother of God who on the pilgrimage of faith "goes before" the whole People of God. 2

If John at the foot of the cross somehow represents every man and woman for whom the motherhood of the Mother of God is spiritually extended, how much more does this concern each of us, who are sacramentally called to the priestly ministry of the Eucharist in the Church! 3

The Second Vatican Council proclaims: "Through the gift and role of her divine motherhood, by which the Blessed Virgin is united with her Son,...she is also intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a 'type' of the Church in the matter of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ." [cf. LG 63] 4


The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988

Mother as birth giver:

She is the mother, who, accepting with faith the message of the Angel, conceived the Son of God in his human nature in her virginal womb through the action of the Holy Spirit and without the intervention of man; she brought him to birth, she fed him, tended him and educated him. (cf. LG 57,61) 7

Mother as educator:

and educated him (cf. LG 57,61) 7


To All Consecrated Persons, Marian Year, 1988

Mother as birth giver:

God came into the world and was born of her as the "Son of Man" in order to fulfill [sic] the eternal will of the Father who so loved the world. (cf. Jn 3:16) 22


Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

The Son, the Word, one in substance with the Father, becomes man, born of a woman, at "the fullness of time." 3

not just a matter here of God's words revealed through the Prophets; rather ... "the Word is truly made flesh." (cf. Jn 1:14). Hence, Mary attains a union with God that exceeds all the expectations of the human spirit. 3

The Virgin of Nazareth truly becomes the Mother of God. Council of Ephesus (431) 4

At ... Annunciation, by responding with her fiat, Mary conceived a man who was the Son of God, of one substance with the Father. Therefore she is truly the Mother of God, because motherhood concerns the whole person, not just the body, nor even just human "nature." In this way the name Theotokos - Mother of God - became the name proper to the union with God granted to the Virgin Mary. 4

With her fiat, Mary becomes the authentic subject of that union with God which was realized in the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, who is of one substance with the Father. 4

The biblical exemplar of the "woman" finds its culmination in the motherhood of the Mother of God. 19

Mother as birth giver:

[see Annunciation] 3
He spoke as the Son, joined to the Father by the eternal mystery of divine generation, and he did so while being at the same time the truly human Son of his Virgin Mother. 8 [See also 25]

Each and every time that motherhood is repeated in human history, it is always related to the Covenant which God established with the human race through the motherhood of the Mother of God. 19

Does not Jesus bear witness to this reality when he answers the exclamation of that woman in the crowd who blessed him for Mary's motherhood: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!"? Jesus replies: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it." (Lk 11:27-28) Jesus confirms the meaning of motherhood in reference to the body, but at the same time he indicates an even deeper meaning, which is connected with the order of the spirit: it is a sign of the Covenant with God who "is spirit." (Jn 4:24) This is true above all for the motherhood of the Mother of God. 19


Redemptoris Custos, St. Joseph, 1989

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Mary is the Lord's humble servant, prepared from eternity for the task of being the Mother of God. Joseph is the one whom God chose to be the "overseer of the Lord's birth," [Origen] the one who has the responsibility to look after the Son of God's "ordained" entry into the world, in accordance with divine dispositions and human laws. 8

Mother as birth giver:

"...she will bear a son, and you [Joseph] shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Mt 1:21)

The Son of Mary is also Joseph's Son by virtue of the marriage bond that unites them: "By reason of their faithful marriage both of them deserve to be called Christ's parents, not only his mother, but also his father, who was a parent in the same way that he was the mother's spouse: in mind, not in the flesh." [Augustine] 7


Veritatis Splendor, 1993

Mother as birth giver:

Until the time of his birth, she sheltered in her womb the Son of God who became man. 120

Mother as educator:

She raised him and enabled him to grow. 120


Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 1994

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Two thousand years ago the Son of God was made man by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Immaculate virgin Mary. 26

Mother as birth giver:

And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes .... (2:7) 2

Born of Mary the Virgin, he truly became one of us and, sin apart, was like us in every way. (GS 22) 4

[For year one, Jesus Christ, one of the Christological themes:]

a deeper understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation and of Jesus' birth from the Virgin Mary 40

The Blessed Virgin
who will be as it were "indirectly" present in the whole preparatory phase, will be contemplated in the first year especially in the mystery of her divine Motherhood. It was in her womb that the Word became flesh! The affirmation of the central place of Christ cannot therefore be separated from the recognition of the role played by his Most Holy Mother. 43


Evangelium Vitae, 1995

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

But the Church cannot forget that her mission was made possible by the motherhood of Mary, who conceived and bore the One who is "God from God", "true God from true God." Mary is truly the Mother of God, the Theotokos, in whose motherhood the vocation to motherhood bestowed by God on every woman is raised to its highest level. 103

Mother as Birth giver:

Mary's consent at the Annunciation and her motherhood stand at the very beginning of the mystery of life which Christ came to bestow on humanity. (cf. Jn 10:10) 102

Through her acceptance and loving care for the life of the Incarnate Word, human life has been rescued from condemnation to final and eternal death. 102

She is in fact the mother of the Life by which everyone lives. 102


Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 Fidei Depositum, 1992

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Mother of God (Mater Dei, Theotokos): 466, 467, 469, 495, 509, 529, 975, 1138 [BB]

461

Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh," (Jn 1:14) the Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation:

... but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:5-8)

466

For this reason the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh." (Ephesus: DS 251)

467

... He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God....

452

The name Jesus means "God saves." The child born of the Virgin Mary is called Jesus, "for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21): "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

456

With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."

469

The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother: ... The liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings: "O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who deigned for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary .... " (Troparion "O monogenes")

495

Called in the Gospels "the mother of Jesus, "Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my Lord." (Lk 1:43 et al) In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence, the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God." (Theotokos) (Ephesus: DS 251)

509

Mary is truly "Mother of God since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.

Mother as birth giver:

The Apostles' Creed: He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

The Nicene Creed: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

437 ...From the beginning he was "the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world," conceived as "holy" in Mary's virginal womb. ...(Jn 10:36, cf. Lk 1:35)

470 ...The Son of God...worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin. (GS 22 §2)

Mother as educator:

2599 The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin learned to pray in his human heart. He learned to pray from his mother, who kept all the great things the Almighty had done and treasured them in her heart. ... (cf. Lk 1:49; 2:19; 2:51)


Novo Millennio Ineunte, 2001

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

Yes, Jesus is true God and true man! Like the Apostle Thomas, the Church is constantly invited by Christ to touch his wounds, to recognize, that is, the fullness of his humanity taken from Mary, given up to death, transfigured by the Resurrection: "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side." (Jn 20:27) 21


Ecclesia in Oceania, 2001

In Jesus Christ, whom she nurtured in her womb, there is born a new world where justice and mercy meet, a world of freedom and peace. 53


Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2003

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

It can be said that the Rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter which discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church. 2

...the Rosary clearly belongs to the kind of veneration of the Mother of God described by the Council: a devotion directed to the Christological center of the Christian faith, in such a way that "when the Mother is honored, the Son ... is duly known, loved and glorified." (LG 66) 4

From Mary's uniquely privileged relationship with Christ, which makes her the Mother of God, Theotokos, derives the forcefulness of the appeal we make to her in the second half of the prayer [Hail Mary], as we entrust to her maternal intercession our lives and the hour of our death. 33

Mother as birth giver:

In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness.... When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she "wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger." (Lk2:7) 10

When in the Rosary we plead with Mary, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35), she intercedes for us before the Father who filled her with grace and before the Son born of her womb, praying with us and for us. 16


Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 2003

Mother as Theotokos (title) Mother of God:

The eschatological tension kindled by the Eucharist expresses and reinforces our communion with the Church in heaven. It is not by chance that the Eastern Anaphoras and the Latin Eucharistic Prayers honor Mary, the ever-Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God, the angels, the holy apostles, the glorious martyrs and all the saints. This is an aspect of the Eucharist which merits greater attention: in celebrating the sacrifice of the Lamb, we are united to the heavenly "liturgy' and become part of that great multitude which cries out: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev 7:10) 19

In a certain sense Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb for the Incarnation of God's Word. The Eucharist, while commemorating the passion and resurrection, is also in continuity with the incarnation. 55

At the Annunciation Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens sacramentally in every believer who receives, under the signs of bread and wine, the Lord's body and blood. ... In continuity with the Virgin's faith, in the Eucharistic mystery we are asked to believe that the same Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, becomes present in his full humanity and divinity under the signs of bread and wine. 55

Mother as birth giver:

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine! 59


Deus Caritas Est, 2005

Since Mary is completely imbued with the Word of God, she is able to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate. 41

Mary, Virgin and Mother, shows us what love is and whence it draws its origin and its constantly renewed power. 42


Lumen Fidei, 2013

In the Mother of Jesus, faith demonstrated its fruitfulness; when our own spiritual lives bear fruit we become filled with joy, which is the clearest sign of faith’s grandeur. 58

We can say that in the Blessed Virgin Mary we find something I mentioned earlier, namely that the believer is completely taken up into his or her confession of faith. Because of her close bond with Jesus, Mary is strictly connected to what we believe. As Virgin and Mother, Mary offers us a clear sign of Christ’s divine sonship. 59

Mary’s true motherhood also ensured for the Son of God an authentic human history, true flesh in which he would die on the cross and rise from the dead. 59


Evangelii Gaudium, 2013

Mother as Birth giver

Mary, who brought him into the world with great faith, also accompanies “the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus” (Rev 12:17). 285


Laudato Si', 2015

Mary, the Mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and pain for this wounded world. 241

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MOTHER AS THEOTOKOS (TITLE) MOTHER OF GOD

Lumen Gentium, 1964

Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ [Canon of the Roman Mass] 52

acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer 53

and the duties of the redeemed towards the Mother of God, who is mother of Christ 54

the role of the Mother of the Savior in the plan of salvation 55

most holy Mother of God who was involved in the mysteries of Christ 66

Mother of Our Lord and Saviour [honor given] 69

gift and role of her divine motherhood, by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer 63

Christi Matri Rosarii, 1968

to pray the Mother of God (title) 13

acceptable to the Mother of God (title) 15

Mother of God (title) 19

the Virgin Mother of God (title) 20

most high Mother of God (title) 22

Signum Magnum, 1967

the revered Mother of God (title) 1

Council of Ephesus in the year 431 hailed Mary as Theotokos, that is, as the "Mother of God." 2

the Virgin Mother of God (title) 4, 5

"God's most holy Mother, who took part in the mystery of Christ," [LG 66] 5

[venerate] Mary as the Mother of God's Son 35

Creed, Paul VI, 1968

We believe that the Blessed Mother of God.... [see ftn 20] 15

Basic Teaching for Catholic Education (USA), 1973

[Concept is included in the title of the article: "MARY, Mother of God"]

special veneration due to Mary - Mother of Christ

Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973

The holy Child to be born of Mary will be not only the promised Messiah, but God made man. 24

"If we are to confess that Emmanuel is truly God, we must also confess that the Holy Virgin is Theotokos (Mother of God); for she bore according to the flesh the Word of God made flesh." [Cyril of Alexandria] 64

At Ephesus, in 431 A.D., the divine motherhood was defined in defense of the divinity of the Son of Mary. The title, "Mother of God" became a permanent part of the creeds and liturgies of the entire Church. 106

Christ is at the center of our faith; but He did not come among men without the Theotokos. Nor is He in glory now without His Mother, Theotokos still. 109

Marialis Cultus, 1974

[liturgy]
- January 1:[liturgical celebration of, one of four Marian solemnities in revised liturgy] 5, 6
[new theme]

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 11
- March 25: of the Virgin, who becomes Mother of God. 6

Mother of the Son of God, and therefore beloved daughter of the Father and Temple of the Holy Spirit (LG 53) 56

In the other revised liturgical books also expressions of love and suppliant veneration addressed to the Theotokos are not lacking. 14

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. 15

Sharing the Light of Faith (USA), 1979

[Included in title of the article: "MARY, Mother of God"] 106

While it is neither possible nor desirable to establish a rigid order to dictate a uniform method for the exposition of content, certain norms or criteria guide all sound catechesis.... In practice this means recognizing a certain hierarchy of truths: ... 47

Redemptor Hominis, 1979

We can say that the mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her "fiat." From then on, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced and continues to embrace with inexhaustible love.

For that reason her heart must also have the inexhaustibility of a mother. Final paragraph.

Catechesi Tradendae, 1979

What kind of catechesis would it be that failed to give their full place to man's creation and sin; to God's plan of redemption and its long, loving preparation and realization; to the incarnation of the Son of God; to Mary, the Immaculate One, the Mother of God, ever Virgin, raised body and soul to the glory of heaven, and to her role in the mystery of salvation....

Subtitle: "Integrity of Content" 30

Dominum et Vivificantem, 1986

"By the power of the Holy Spirit" there became man he whom the Church, in the words of the same Creed, professes to be the son, of the same substance as the Father: God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made.: He was made man by becoming "incarnate from the Virgin Mary." This is what happened when "the fullness of time had come." 49

Redemptoris Mater, 1987

Mother of Jesus Christ

How can we probe the mystery of their intimate spiritual union? 21[the difference between John and the Synoptics]

In these texts Jesus means above all to contrast the motherhood resulting from the fact of birth with what this "motherhood" (and also "brotherhood") is to be in the dimension of the Kingdom of God, in the salvific radius of God's fatherhood. In John's text, on the other hand, the description of the Cana event outlines what is actually manifested as a new kind of motherhood according to the spirit and not just according to the flesh, that is to say Mary's solicitude for human beings, her coming to them in the wide variety of their wants and needs. 21

Ephesus (43:) ... the truth of the divine motherhood of Mary was solemnly confirmed as a truth of the Church's faith. Mary is the Mother of God (= Theotokos), since by the power of the Holy Spirit she conceived in her virginal womb and brought into the world Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is of one being with the Father. ... the dogma of the divine motherhood ... a seal upon the dogma of the Incarnation, in which the Word truly assumes human nature into the unity of his person, without cancelling out that nature. 4

One cannot think of the reality of the Incarnation without referring to Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word. 5

Mary is "full of grace," because it is precisely in her that the Incarnation of the Word, the hypostatic union of the Son of God with human nature, is accomplished and fulfilled. As the Council says, Mary is "the Mother of the Son of God...." (LG 53) 9 [See also 39]

For knowledge of the mystery of Christ leads us to bless his Mother, in the form of special veneration for the Theotokos. But this veneration always includes a blessing of her faith .... 27

Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday, 1988

Dear Brothers: who more than we has an absolute need of a deep and unshakable faith - we, who by virtue of the apostolic succession begun in the Upper Room celebrate the sacrament of Christ's sacrifice? We must therefore constantly deepen our spiritual bond with the Mother of God who on the pilgrimage of faith "goes before" the whole People of God. 2

If John at the foot of the cross somehow represents every man and woman for whom the motherhood of the Mother of God is spiritually extended, how much more does this concern each of us, who are sacramentally called to the priestly ministry of the Eucharist in the Church! 3

The Second Vatican Council proclaims: "Through the gift and role of her divine motherhood, by which the Blessed Virgin is united with her Son,...she is also intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a 'type' of the Church in the matter of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. [cf. LG 63] 4

Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988

The Son, the Word, one in substance with the Father, becomes man, born of a woman, at "the fullness of time." 3

not just a matter here of God's words revealed through the Prophets; rather ... "the Word is truly made flesh" (cf. Jn 1:14). Hence, Mary attains a union with God that exceeds all the expectations of the human spirit. 3

The Virgin of Nazareth truly becomes the Mother of God. [Council of Ephesus (431)] 4

At ... Annunciation, by responding with her "fiat," Mary conceived a man who was the Son of God, of one substance with the Father. Therefore, she is truly the Mother of God, because motherhood concerns the whole person, not just the body, nor even just human "nature." In this way the name "Theotokos" - Mother of God - became the name proper to the union with God granted to the Virgin Mary. 4

With her "fiat," Mary becomes the authentic subject of that union with God which was realized in the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, who is of one substance with the Father. 4 The biblical exemplar of the "woman" finds its culmination in the motherhood of the Mother of God. 19

Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 1994

Two thousand years ago the Son of God was made man by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. 26

Evangelium Vitae, 1995

But the Church cannot forget that her mission was made possible by the motherhood of Mary, who conceived and bore the One who is "God from God," "true God from true God." Mary is truly the Mother of God, the Theotokos, in whose motherhood the vocation to motherhood bestowed by God on every woman is raised to its highest level. 103

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994  Fidei Depositum, 1992

Mother of God (Mater Dei, Theotokos): 466, 467, 469, 495, 509, 529, 975, 1138 [BB]

461 Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh," (Jn 1:14) the Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation: ... but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:5-8)

466 ... For this reason the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh." (Ephesus: DS 251)

467 ... He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God. ...

452 The name Jesus means "God saves." The child born of the Virgin Mary is called Jesus, "for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21): "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

456 With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."

469 The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother: ... The liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings: "O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who deigned for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever - virgin Mary ... " (Troparion "O monogenes")

495 Called in the Gospels the mother of Jesus,"Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as the mother of my Lord." (Lk 1:43 et al) In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence, the Church confesses that Mary is truly a Mother of God." (Theotokos) (Ephesus: DS 251)

509 Mary is truly "Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.

Ecclesia in Oceania, 2001

In his infinite love for the world, God gave his only Son to be God-with - us. Emptying himself to become like us, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary in simplicity and poverty. 5

In you, the reign of God has dawned, a reign of grace and peace, love and justice, born from the depths of the Word made flesh. 53

Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002

It can be said that the Rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter which discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church. 2

...the Rosary clearly belongs to the kind of veneration of the Mother of God described by the Council: a devotion directed to the Christological center of the Christian faith, in such a way that "when the Mother is honored, the Son ... is duly known, loved and glorified." (LG 66) 4

From Mary's uniquely privileged relationship with Christ, which makes her the Mother of God, Theotokos, derives the forcefulness of the appeal we make to her in the second half of the prayer [Hail Mary], as we entrust to her maternal intercession our lives and the hour of our death. 33

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MOTHER AS BIRTH-GIVER

Lumen Gentium, 1964

when the Son of God has taken human nature from her 55

Mother of Jesus [predestined, enriched for her role] 56

Mother of Jesus [in heaven...image of Church] 68

Mother of the Redeemer 55

gracious mother of the divine Redeemer [predestined mother, generous associate and humble handmaid] 61

conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ 61

gave birth on earth to the very Son of the Father [through her faith and obedience] 63

the Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first born among many brethren (Rom 8:29). 63

[Mother of Life] "gave Life to the world" 53

[Mother of Life] "Mother of Jesus who gave to the world the Life that renews all things" 56

enduring with her only begotten Son 58

Christi Matri Rosarii, 1968

Mother of Christ 1

for she is the mother of Our Saviour 14

Signum Magnum, 1967

"Mother of God and of the Redeemer," [LG 53] 5

she is the mother of Jesus Christ and His closest associate in "the new economy...when the Son of God takes on human nature from her in order to free men from sin by the mysteries of His flesh"; [LG 55] 8

Creed, Paul VI, 1968

...He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was made man: equal therefore to the Father according to His divinity, and inferior to the Father according to His humanity,(11: Symbolum Quicumque, DS 76) and Himself one, not by some impossible confusion of His natures, but by the unity of His person (12: Ibid.). 11

We believe that Mary is the Mother, who remained ever a Virgin, of the Incarnate Word, our God and Savior Jesus Christ [cf. Conc. Ephes., DS 251-252]. 14

Recurrens Mensis October, 1969

It is the humble Virgin of Nazareth who became Mother of "the Prince of Peace," (Is 9:5) of Him who was born under the sign of peace, [Lk 2:14) and who proclaimed to the whole world: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Mt 5:9) 7

General Catechetical Directory, 1971

the mystery of Christ the Incarnate Word, who was born of the Virgin Mary [hierarchy of truths] 43

being his [the Lord's] Ever-Virgin Mother 68

the Church...venerates in a most special way Christ's Mother 68

Mother of Jesus 78

Basic Teaching for Catholic Education (USA), 1973

The "ever-virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God," [Footnoted: 106 First Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass]

Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973

Because of her divine maternity, Mary stands in a unique relationship with her Savior and her Son. 5

She brought forth on earth the Father's Son...whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren.... (LG 63) 5

We honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God. 8

The new dispensation is established. This occurred when the Son of God took a human nature from her, that He might in the mysteries of His flesh free man from sin." [Paul VI, Nov. 21, 1964, pp. 137-138] 15

In the strength of her faith, Mary consents to the merciful Father's invitation, and in the power of the Spirit becomes the Mother of Jesus, Son of God in human flesh. 33

Mother of Jesus [by consenting] (LG 56) 55

She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ. (LG 61) 80

"The ever - virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God." (Eucharistic Prayer I) 89

Mother of Jesus 105, 106

Marialis Cultus, 1974

[liturgy]
- Christmas: "brought the Savior into the world" (Eucharistic Prayer I) 5

- March 25: of the Word, who becomes "Son of Mary" (Mk. 6:3) 6

she who "believing and obeying ... brought forth on earth the Father's Son. ..." (LG 63) 19

Sharing the Light of Faith (USA), 1979

the mystery of Christ the incarnate Word, who was born of the Virgin Mary 47

[belief in Mary as] virgin mother 78

In taking on human flesh through the ever-virgin Mary 87

The "ever-virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God," [Footnoted: 45 Roman Ritual, First Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass.] 106

special love and veneration due her as mother of Christ 106

Dominum et Vivificantem, 1986

Mary the Mother of Jesus 30

For the "fullness of time" is matched by a particular fullness of the self-communication of the Triune God in the Holy Spirit. "By the power of the Holy Spirit" the mystery of the "hypostatic union" is brought about - that is, the union of the divine nature and the human nature, of the divinity and the humanity in the one Person of the Word-Son. When at the moment of the "annunciation Mary utters her fiat: "Be it done unto me according to your word," (Lk 1:38) she conceives in a virginal way a man, the Son of Man, who is the Son of God. ... The Incarnation of God the Son signifies the taking up into unity with God not only of human nature, but in this human nature, in a sense, of everything that is "flesh"; the whole of humanity, the entire visible and material world. The Incarnation, then, also has a cosmic significance, a cosmic dimension. 50

Redemptoris Mater, 1987

[Luke] Mary is present as the mother who conceives Jesus in her womb, gives him birth and nurses him: the nursing mother referred to by the woman in the crowd. Thanks to this motherhood, Jesus, the Son of the Most High (cf. Lk. 1:32), is a true son of man. He is "flesh," like every other man: he is "the Word (who) became flesh." (cf. Jn. 1: 14) He is of the flesh and blood of Mary! (Cf. Augustine) 20

[Cana] Mother of Jesus at the beginning of his public life 21

"... the Son of God took a human nature from her, that he might in the mysteries of his flesh free man from sin." (LG 55) 24

The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988

[See also 28]
She is the mother, who, accepting with faith the message of the Angel, conceived the Son of God in his human nature in her virginal womb through the action of the Holy Spirit and without the intervention of man; she brought him to birth, she fed him, tended him and educated him. (cf. LG 57,61) 7

To All Consecrated Persons, Marian Year, 1988

God came into the world and was born of her as the "Son of Man" in order to fulfill the eternal will of the Father who "so loved the world" (cf. Jn 3:16)
22

Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988

[see Annunciation] 3

He spoke as the Son, joined to the Father by the eternal mystery of divine generation, and he did so while being at the same time the truly human Son of his Virgin Mother. 8 [See also 25]
Each and every time that motherhood is repeated in human history, it is always related to the Covenant which God established with the human race through the motherhood of the Mother of God. 19

Does not Jesus bear witness to this reality when he answers the exclamation of that woman in the crowd who blessed him for Mary's motherhood: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!"? Jesus replies: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it." (Lk 11:27-28) Jesus confirms the meaning of motherhood in reference to the body, but at the same time he indicates an even deeper meaning, which is connected with the order of the spirit: it is a sign of the Covenant with God who "is spirit." (Jn 4:24) This is true above all for the motherhood of the Mother of God. 19

Veritatis Splendor, 1993

Until the time of his birth, she sheltered in her womb the Son of God who became man. 120

Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 1994

And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes .... (2:7) 2

Born of Mary the Virgin he truly became one of us and, sin apart, was like us in every way. (GS 22) 4

[For year one, Jesus Christ, one of the Christological themes:]
a deeper understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation and of Jesus' birth from the Virgin Mary 40

The Blessed Virgin who will be as it were "indirectly" present in the whole preparatory phase, will be contemplated in the first year especially in the mystery of her divine Motherhood. It was in her womb that the Word became flesh! The affirmation of the central place of Christ cannot therefore be separated from the recognition of the role played by his Most Holy Mother. 43

Evangelium Vitae, 1995

Mary's consent at the Annunciation and her motherhood stand at the very beginning of the mystery of life which Christ came to bestow on humanity. (cf. Jn 10:10) 102

Through her acceptance and loving care for the life of the Incarnate Word, human life has been rescued from condemnation to final and eternal death. 102

She is in fact the mother of the Life by which everyone lives. 102

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 Fidei Depositum, 1992

The Apostles' Creed: He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

The Nicene Creed: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
437 ... From the beginning he was "the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world," conceived as "holy" in Mary's virginal womb. ... (Jn 10:36, cf. Lk 1:35)

470 ...The Son of God...worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin. (GS 22) 2

Ecclesia in America, 1999

Thus, by making Mary “full of grace” (Lk 1:28) from the very beginning, God prepared her for the realization in her of God's supreme encounter with human nature: the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation. 13

Novo Millennio Ineunte, 2001

Christianity is a religion rooted in history! It was in the soil of history that God chose to establish a covenant with Israel and so prepare the birth of the Son from the womb of Mary "in the fullness of time." (Gal 4:4) 5

At the same time, along with the memory of the birth of the Son, how could the memory of the Mother be missing? 11

Ecclesia in Oceania, 2001

In Jesus Christ, whom she nurtured in her womb, there is born a new world where justice and mercy meet, a world of freedom and peace. 53

Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002

In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness.... When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she "wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger." (Lk2:7) 10
When in the Rosary we plead with Mary, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35), she intercedes for us before the Father who filled her with grace and before the Son born of her womb, praying with us and for us. 16

Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 2001

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine! 59

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MOTHER AS EDUCATOR

Signum Magnum, 1967

No human mother can limit her task solely to the procreation of new human beings; she must also undertake the task of nourishing them and educating them. So it is with the Blessed Virgin Mary. 9

Catechesi Tradendae, 1979

By a unique vocation, she saw her Son Jesus "increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favor." (cf. Lk 2:52) As He sat on her lap and later as He listened to her throughout the hidden life at Nazareth, this son, who was "the only Son from the Father," "full of grace and truth,: was formed by her in human knowledge of the Scriptures and of the history of God's plan for His people, and in adoration of the Father. (cf. Jn 1:14; Heb 10:5; S. Th., III, Q. 12, a. 2: a. 3, ad 3.) 73

The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988

and educated him (cf. LG 57,61) 7

Veritatis Splendor, 1993

She raised him and enabled him to grow. 120

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 Fidei Depositum, 1992

2599 The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin learned to pray in his human heart. He learns to pray from his mother, who kept all the great things the Almighty had done and treasured them in her heart.... (cf. Lk 1:49; 2:19; 2:51

Pastores Gregis, 2003

…  the Bishop shares the call to holiness proper to all the faithful. He must therefore cultivate a life of prayer and profound faith, and put all his trust in God, offering his witness to the Gospel in docile obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and maintaining a particular filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the perfect teacher of the spiritual life. 13

The Bishop will also find support for his spiritual life in the maternal presence of the Virgin Mary, Mater spei et spes nostra, as the Church invokes her. The Bishop will therefore nourish an authentic and filial devotion to Mary, and feel himself called to make her fiat his own, re-experiencing and re-appropriating each day Jesus' entrusting of Mary at the foot of the Cross to the Beloved Disciple, and of the Beloved Disciple to Mary (cf. Jn 19:26-27). The Bishop is also called to reflect the unanimous and persevering prayer of Christ's disciples and Apostles with his Mother in preparation for Pentecost. This icon of the nascent Church manifests the indissoluble bond uniting Mary and the successors of the Apostles (cf. Acts 1:14).

The holy Mother of God will consequently be the Bishop's teacher in listening to the word of God and promptly putting it into practice, as a faithful disciple of the one Teacher, in firm faith, confident hope and ardent charity. As Mary was the ''memory'' of the incarnation of the Word in the first Christian community, so the Bishop must preserve and pass on the living Tradition of the Church, in communion with all the other Bishops, in union with, and under the authority of, the Successor of Peter. 14

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HANDMAID, ASSOCIATE, COOPERATRIX

Lumen Gentium, 1964

handmaid of the Lord, Lk 1:38 [consenting to the word of God] 56

associated herself with his sacrifice 58

generous associate and humble handmaid
committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God's saving will, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of Almighty God 56

freely cooperating not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience 56

This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death. 57

cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in giving back supernatural life to souls. 61

Mense Maio, 1965 

Mary most holy is [Jesus: "the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort's" (2 Cor 1:3)] appointed steward and
generous bestower of the treasures of His mercy. 10

Signum Magnum, 1967

celebration accorded to the humble "handmaid of the Lord" [Lk 1:38] [Ephesus 431] 2

was accorded a special "role... in the mystery of the Incarnate Word and the mystery of the Mystical Body," [LG 54] that is, "in the economy of salvation." [LG 55] 5

She is the mother of Jesus Christ and His closest associate in "the new economy...." 8

She participated in her Son's sacrifice for our redemption in such intimate fashion that he designated her the mother not only of John the Apostle but also - it seems legitimate to say this - of the human race, which he somehow represented. [LG 58; Leo XIII] 10

From that moment [Annunciation: she as handmaid] devoted herself wholly to serving not only her heavenly Father and the Incarnate Word, but also the whole human race, inasmuch as she had come to realize that Jesus would free his people... 17

the Lord's humble handmaid [then and now] one of loving service 19

United wholeheartedly with her Son...she lived a life of total dedication. 20

most faithful handmaid of the Lord 21

was her Son's associate in restoring supernatural life to souls [see LG 61] 29

Creed, Paul VI, 1968

continues...cooperating 15

General Catechetical Directory, 1971

She "summons the believers to her Son and to his sacrifice, and to love for the Father." (LG, 65; note: LG uses the word "prompts" and the context meant is the liturgy) 68

Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973

We recognize her unique and exalted role in the redemption her Son brought to men. 8

Kept free from original sin, she was able to give herself wholeheartedly to the saving work of her Son. 18

By accepting the Annunciation, she became intimately associated with all the saving mysteries of Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection. 18

Embracing God's saving will with a full heart and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her Son. (LG 56) 55 [See also 69]

Through her life of faith on earth, and now through her union with the risen Christ, the Mother of Jesus is the supreme example of loving association with the Savior in His mission of redeeming mankind. (LG 62) 66 [See also 81]

The Gospels provide few details of Mary's life; but they do delineate a remarkable portrait of the woman who gave herself wholeheartedly to her Son and His mission in perfect faith, love and obedience. 69

What Mary began on earth in association with the saving mission of Jesus, she continues still, in union with the risen Christ. 69

always one with her Son's purposes ( PO 18) 69

handmaid of the Lord 106

His [the priest's] distinct calling to be fellow worker with Christ bears a resemblance to Mary's unique association in the saving work of Jesus. 120

Her humble circumstances left little choice but to accept what life brought, but her splendid obedience made her an associate of her Son's saving work. 126

From the time of the Annunciation, she was the living chalice of the Son of God made man. 131

Marialis Cultus, 1974

March 25: a commemoration of the Blessed Virgin's free consent and cooperation in the plan of redemption. 6

Presentation of the Lord (February 2). Blessed Virgin was intimately associated as the Mother of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh. 7

[liturgy, doctrinal theme] Mary's cooperation in the work of her Son 11

[love for the Church] as is wonderfully expressed in the prayer after Communion in the Mass of September 15: ".... 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." 11

[liturgical movement, see above] worthy Associate of the Redeemer 15 handmaid of the Lord [see Daughter of the Father] 21

the associate of the Redeemer, who already shares fully in the fruits of the Paschal Mystery, the prophetic fulfillment of her own future [the Church] 22

"What is given to the handmaid is referred to the Lord; thus what is given to the Mother re-dounds to the Son; .... and thus what is given as humble tribute to the Queen becomes honor rendered to the King." (S. Ildephonsus) 25

Gaudete in Domino, 1975

associated in an eminent way with the sacrifice of the innocent Servant.

Dives in Misericordia, 1980

At the same time, [as she received mercy] still in an exceptional way, she made possible with the sacrifice of her heart her own sharing in revealing God's mercy. This sacrifice is intimately linked with the cross of her Son ...Her sacrifice is a unique sharing in the revelation of mercy, that is, a sharing in the absolute fidelity of God to his own love, to the covenant that he willed from eternity and that he entered into in time with man, with the people, with humanity; it is a sharing in the revelation that was definitively fulfilled through the cross. 9

through her hidden and at the same time incomparable sharing in the messianic mission of her Son, was called in a special way to bring close to people that love which he had come to reveal: the love that finds its most concrete expression vis-a-vis the suffering, the poor, those deprived of their own freedom, the blind, the oppressed and sinners, just as Christ spoke of them in the words of the prophecy of Isaiah 9

It was precisely this "merciful" love, which is manifested above all in contact with moral and physical evil, that the heart of her who was the Mother of the crucified and risen One shared in singularly and exceptionally--that Mary shared in. 9

Ephesus, 1550th Anniversary, 1981

the first cooperator with the power of the Almighty 3

The most Blessed Virgin is she who, by the overshadowing of the power of the Trinity, was the creature most closely associated with the work of salvation. 3

"Embracing God's saving will with a full heart and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her Son" and "the holy Fathers see her as used by God not merely in a passive way, but as cooperating in the work of human salvation through free faith and obedience." [LG 56] 4

consented to be the handmaid of the Lord. 5

This link [with the Church] was revealed especially beneath the cross, where she, "enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, associated herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart... She was given by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross as a Mother to his disciple, with these words: 'Woman, behold your son!'" [LG 58] 8

Redemptoris Donum, 1984

Among all persons consecrated unreservedly to God, she is the first. She-the Virgin of Nazareth-is also the one most fully consecrated to God, consecrated in the most perfect way. Her spousal love reached its height in the divine Motherhood through the power of the Holy Spirit. She, who as Mother carries Christ in her arms, at the same time fulfills in the most perfect way His call: "Follow me." And she follows Him-she, the Mother-as her Teacher of chastity, poverty and obedience. 17

Dominum et Vivificantem, 1986

The Virgin Mary, who "had conceived by the Holy Spirit," (cf. Lk 1:35) sensed this [the interior availability which comes from faith] even more clearly, when she pondered in her heart the "mysteries" of the Messiah, with whom she was associated. (cf. Lk 2:19, 51) 16

Redemptoris Mater, 1987

If they lift their eyes to her from their earthly existence, they do so because "the Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren (Rom. 8:29),(LG 63) and also because "in the birth and development" of these brothers and sisters "she cooperates with a maternal love." (LG 63) 6

"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Lk.1:38). ... The mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished when Mary uttered her fiat: "Let it be to me according to your word," which made possible, as far as it depended upon her in the divine plan, the granting of her Son's desire. 13

In faith she entrusted herself to God without reserve and "devoted herself totally as the handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her Son." (LG 56) 13

Although through faith she may have perceived in that instant that she was the mother of the "Messiah-King," nevertheless she replied: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Lk. 1:38) 15

"suffering deeply with her only-begotten Son and joining herself with her maternal spirit to his sacrifice, lovingly consenting to the immolation of the victim to whom she had given birth," in this way Mary "faithfully preserved her union with her Son even to the Cross." (LG 58) 18

Ss the messianic mission of her Son grew clearer to her eyes and spirit, she herself as a mother became ever more open to that new dimension of motherhood which was to constitute her "part" beside her Son. Had she not said from the very beginning: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word"? (Lk. 1:38) 20

By the design of divine Providence, the mother who nourished the divine Redeemer, Mary became "an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's humble handmaid," who "cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls." (LG 61)22 [See also 39; LG 62] "generous companion" 38

[handmaid's decision] Mary consents to God's choice, in order to become through the power of the Holy Spirit the Mother of the Son of God. ... this consent to motherhood is above all a result of her total self-giving to God in virginity. Mary accepted her election as Mother of the Son of God, guided by spousal love, the love which totally "consecrates" a human being to God. By virtue of this love, Mary wished to be always and in all things "given to God," living in virginity. The words "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord" express the fact that from the outset she accepted and understood her own motherhood as a total gift of self, a gift of her person to the service of the saving plans of the Most High. And to the very end she lived her entire maternal sharing in the life of Jesus Christ, her Son, in a way that matched her vocation to virginity. 39

[united in] first coming, so through her continued collaboration with him she will also be united with him in expectation of the second 41

Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday, 1988

Let us also take Mary as Mother into the interior "home" of our priesthood. For we belong to the "faithful in whose rebirth and development" the Mother of God "cooperates with a maternal love." (LG 63) 6

The Mother of God, who (as the Council teaches) cooperates, with a mother's love, in the rebirth and the training of all those who become brothers of her Son - who become his friends - will do everything in her power so that they may not betray this holy friendship. So that they may be worthy of it. 6

The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988

She is the faithful handmaid who "devoted herself totally... to the person and work of her Son, serving under him and with him, the mystery of redemption." (LG 56) 7

She is the cooperatrix with the Redeemer: "She conceived, brought forth and nourished Christ. She presented him to the Father in the Temple, and was united with him in suffering as he died on the cross. In an utterly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the Saviour's Work of restoring supernatural life to souls." (LG 61, cf. 56, 58) 7

To All Consecrated Persons, Marian Year, 1988

These thoughts concerning the consecration of the person through the profession of the evangelical counsels keeps us constantly within the sphere of the Paschal Mystery. Together with Mary, let us seek to be sharers in this death which brought forth fruits of "new life" in the Resurrection: a death like this on the Cross was infamous, and it was the death of her own Son! 17

But precisely there, at the foot of the Cross, "where she stood, not without a divine plan," (LG 58) did not Mary realize in a new way everything that she had already heard on the day of the Annunciation? Precisely there, precisely through "the sword which pierced her soul" (cf. Lk 2:35), through an incomparable "kenosis of faith," (RM 18) did not Mary perceive completely the full truth about her motherhood? 17

Precisely there, did she not definitively identify herself with that truth, "rediscovering her soul," the soul which, in the experience of Golgotha, she had to "lose" in the most painful way for the sake of Christ and the Gospel? 17

It is precisely into this complete "rediscovery" of the truth about her divine motherhood which became Mary's "part" from the moment of the annunciation that there fit Christ's words on the Cross, the words referring to the Apostle John, referring to a man: "Behold, your son!" (cf. Jn 19:26) 18

Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988

She who is "full of grace" feels the need to express her personal relationship to the gift that has been revealed to her, saying: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord." (Lk 1:38) ... In the expression "handmaid of the Lord," one senses Mary's complete awareness of being a creature of God. The word "handmaid," near the end of the Annunciation dialogue, is inscribed throughout the whole history of the Mother and the Son. [the Son who has come to serve (Mk 10:45)] 5

From the first moment of her divine motherhood, of her union with the Son ... Mary takes her place within Christ's messianic service. (cf. RM 38-41) [to serve means to reign] 5

"The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the firstborn among many brethren (cf. Rom 8:29), namely, among the faithful. In their birth and development she cooperates with a maternal love." (LG 63) 22

Redemptoris Custos, St. Joseph, 1989

[Incarnation] This is precisely the mystery in which Joseph of Nazareth "shared" like no other human being except Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word. He shared in it with her; he was involved in the same salvific event; he was guardian of the same love, through the power of which the eternal Father "destined us to be his sons through Jesus Christ." (Eph 1:5)1

Together with Mary, Joseph is the first guardian of this divine mystery. Together with Mary, and in relation to Mary, he shares in this final phase of God's self-revelation in Christ. 5

Veritatis Splendor, 1993

Mary is also mother of mercy because it is to her that Jesus entrusts his church and all humanity. At the foot of the cross, when she accepts John as her son, when she asks, together with Christ, forgiveness from the Father for those who do not know what they do (cf. Lk 23:34), Mary experiences, in perfect docility to the Spirit, the richness and the universality of God's love, which opens her heart and enables it to embrace the entire human race. Thus Mary becomes mother of each and every one of us, the mother who obtains for us divine mercy. 120

and she accompanied him in the supreme act of freedom which is the complete sacrifice of his own life. By the gift of herself, Mary entered fully into the plan of God who gives himself to the world. 120

Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 1994

The Virgin Mary responded to God's call with complete openness: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord." (Lk 1:38) 54

Evangelium Vitae, 1995

The one who accepted "Life" in the name of all and for the sake of all was Mary, the Virgin Mother; she is thus most closely and personally associated with the Gospel of life. 102

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994  Fidei Depositum, 1992

[Handmaid, see also 148, 510]
494 ... obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible": "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." (Lk 1:28-38; cf. Rom 1:5) Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace .... (cf. LG 56)

964 Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; (LG 57) it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:

Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son." (LG 58); cf. Jn 19:26-27)

973 By pronouncing her fiat at the Annunciation and giving her consent to the Incarnation, Mary was already collaborating with the whole work her Son was to accomplish. She is mother wherever he is Savior and head of the Mystical Body.

Letter to Women, Beijing Conference, 1995

Mary called herself the "handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38). Through obedience to the word of God she accepted her lofty, yet not easy vocation as wife and mother in the family of Nazareth. Putting herself at God's service, she also put herself at the service of others: a service of love. Precisely through this service Mary was able to experience in her life a mysterious, but authentic "reign." It is not by chance that she is invoked as "queen of heaven and earth." The entire community of believers thus invokes her as their "queen." For her, "to reign" is to serve! Her service is "to reign!" 10

Vita Consecrata, 1996

Every mission begins with the attitude expressed by Mary at the annunciation: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." (Lk 1:38) 18

Having lived with Jesus and Joseph in the hidden years of Nazareth, and present at her Son's side at crucial moments of his public life, the Blessed Virgin teaches unconditional discipleship.

Ecclesia in America, 1999

12 Trusting in the help of Mary, the Church in America desires to lead the men and women of the continent to encounter Christ.

Ecclesia in Oceania, 2001

Through Christ's Cross and Resurrection, God has reconciled the world to himself, and he has made the Lord Jesus the Prince of Peace for every time and place. May Mary, Regina Pacis, help the peoples of Oceania to know this peace, and to share it with others! At the dawn of the Third Christian Millennium, may true justice and harmony be God's gift to Oceania and to all the nations of the world! 53

She has been a wondrous helper in all the Church's efforts to preach and teach the Gospel in the world of the Pacific. 53

We look to you that we may see your Son, our Lord. We lift our hands that we may have the Bread of Life. We open wide our hearts to receive the Prince of Peace. 53

Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002

As we contemplate each mystery of her Son's life, she invites us to do as she did at the Annunciation: to ask humbly the questions which open us to the light, in order to end with the obedience of faith: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38). 14

Blessed Bartolo Longo saw them [chain of beads] also as a "chain" which links us to God. A chain, yes, but a sweet chain; for sweet indeed is the bond to God who is also our Father. A "filial" chain which puts us in tune with Mary, the "handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38) and, most of all, with Christ himself, who, though he was in the form of God, made himself a "servant" out of love for us (Phil 2:7). 36

When we repeat the name of Jesus - the only name given to us by which we may hope for salvation (cf. Acts 4:12) - in close association with the name of his Blessed Mother, almost as if it were done at her suggestion, we set out on a path of assimilation meant to help us enter more deeply into the life of Christ. 33

"Beginning with Mary's unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the Holy Mother of God, centering it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries." (CCC 2679) 16


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DISCIPLE

Lumen Gentium, 1964

In the course of her Son's preaching she received the words...he declared blessed those who heard and kept the word of God (cf. Mk 3:35; Lk 11:27f.) as she was faithfully doing. (cf. Lk 2:19; 51) 58

Signum Magnum, 1967

For this holy Virgin, who always adapted herself to God's will, was the first to merit the words of praise that Christ spoke to his followers: "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother." [Mt 12:50] 23

Behold Your Mother (USA), 1973

As a perfect disciple, the Virgin Mary heard the Word of God and kept it, to the lasting joy of the messianic generations who call her blessed. 78

Deeper Biblical insights have increased our awareness of Mary as the model of faithful discipleship; but [also her present intercession] 81

As a believing disciple of Jesus, Mary can be called daughter of the Church, and our sister as well. For, like us, she has been redeemed by Christ, although in an eminent and privileged way. (Paul VI, Feb 2, 1965) 114

Marialis Cultus, 1974

She is worthy of imitation because she was the first and the most perfect of Christ's disciples. 35

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. 37

Catechesi Tradendae, 1979

She in turn was the first of His disciples. She was the first in time, because even when she found her adolescent Son in the temple she received from Him lessons that she kept in her heart. (cf. Lk 2:51) She was the first disciple above all else because no one has been "taught by God" (cf. Jn 6:45) to such depth. She was "both mother and disciple," as St. Augustine said of her, venturing to add that her discipleship was more important for her than her motherhood. (cf. Sermo 25, 7; PL 46, 937-938) 73

Redemptoris Mater, 1987

[Mary continued to hear and ponder; she grew in knowledge of her spiritual motherhood.] Thus in a sense Mary as Mother became the first "disciple" of her Son, the first to whom he seemed to say: "Follow me," even before he addressed this call to the Apostles or to anyone else (cf. Jn. 1:43). 20

"handmaid of the Lord" remained throughout her earthly life faithful to what this name expresses. In this she confirmed that she was a true "disciple" of Christ, who strongly emphasized that his mission was one of service: the Son of Man "came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mt. 20:28) In this way Mary became the first of those who, "serving Christ also in others, with humility and patience lead their brothers and sisters to that King whom to serve is to reign." (LG 36) [See also glory of serving] 41

The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation, 1988

She is the disciple who, during the preaching of Christ "received his praise when, in extolling a kingdom beyond the calculations of flesh and blood, he declared blessed (cf. MK 3:35; LK 11:27-28) those who heard and kept the word of God, as she was faithfully doing." (cf. LK 2:19,51) (LG 58) 7

Because she is the "perfect follower of Christ." (Marialis Cultus, 35) .... 21

Vita Consecrata, 1996

the practice of the evangelical counsels ... in imitation of ... Mary of Nazareth, the first disciple, who willingly put herself at the service of God's plan by the total gift of self 18

Having lived with Jesus and Joseph in the hidden years of Nazareth, and present at her Son's side at crucial moment of his public life, the Blessed Virgin teaches unconditional discipleship and diligent service. 28

Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002

Another mystery of light is the first of the signs, given at Cana (cf. Jn 2:1- 12), when Christ changes water into wine and opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers. 21


Lumen Fidei, 2013

In her the faith journey of the Old Testament was thus taken up into the following of Christ, transformed by him and entering into the gaze of the incarnate Son of God. 58

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OTHER

Letter to Women, Beijing Conference, 1995

The maternal "reign" of Mary consists in this. She who was, in all her being, a gift for her son.... 10

Vita Consecrata, 1996

Consecrated life looks to her as the sublime model of ... union with the Son [based on LG 53]. 28

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© This material has been compiled by M. Jean Frisk and Danielle M. Peters, S.T.D.
Copyright is reserved for The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute.
Most recently updated in 2019.

All About Mary includes a variety of content, much of which reflects the expertise, interpretations and opinions of the individual authors and not necessarily of the Marian Library or the University of Dayton. Please share feedback or suggestions with marianlibrary@udayton.edu.

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