Pope John Paul II's Teaching on Marian Coredemption by Arthur Burton Calkins
At greater length and more often than any of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II has dealt with the theme of collaboration in the work of redemption. In fact, in the course of the present series of Marian catecheses which he is giving, he has been highlighting creaturely cooperation in the history of our salvation. [1] Further, he has devoted an extensive Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris, precisely to the Christian and redemptive meaning of human suffering. In that notable document, as in so many other places, he has underscored both the unique and never to be equalled suffering of the God-man by which we are redeemed and also the value of the sufferings of the members of his Mystical Body. These latter were given classic expression by Saint Paul in his Letter to the Colossians: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col. 1:24). A cursory glance at the index of biblical citations in the Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II will indicate the capital importance which the Pope attaches to this Pauline text and how its exposition has become a hallmark of his pontificate. A. Coredemption What the Pope has been doing and continues to do in emphasizing (1) man's collaboration in the redemption and (2) the redemptive value of human suffering is, in effect, to trace out a theology of coredemption. Commenting on Colossians 1:24 in Salvifici Doloris #24, the Pope says:
B. Marian Coredemption While the Pope does not use the word "coredemption" here, he nonetheless delineates one of its fundamental features as a sharing in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of the world's redemption. I have used the term "Marian coredemption" in the title of this presentation precisely to indicate that collaborating in the work of salvation and sharing in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body the Church is meant to pertain to all of us, even if it pertains to Mary in a pre-eminent degree. This is brought out clearly by Father Jean Galot, S.J.:
The point about coredemption as a general category and Marian coredemption as the pre-eminent instance of it is brought out beautifully by the Pope himself in Salvifici Doloris #25:
The two citations from Salvifici Doloris already help us to hold in tension the dynamic truths which underlie Marian coredemption. On the one hand "The sufferings of Christ created the good of the world's Redemption. This good in itself is inexhaustible and infinite. No man can add anything to it." On the other hand "Mary's suffering [on Calvary], beside the suffering of Jesus, reached an intensity which can hardly be imagined from a human point of view but which was mysteriously and supernaturally fruitful for the Redemption of the world." Thus the Pope strikes that careful balance which is always a hallmark of Catholic truth: he upholds the principle that the sufferings of Christ were all sufficient for the salvation of the world, while maintaining that Mary's suffering "was mysteriously and supernaturally fruitful for the Redemption of the world." This is an axiom which may be discovered in the lives of the saints of every era of the Church's history from the days of the apostles to our own. Unfortunately, from the time of the Reformation Luther and his followers have put so much emphasis on "God alone", "Christ alone", "Scripture alone", "faith alone" and "grace alone" as to undercut effectively any discourse about cooperation in the work of the redemption. Hence the very mention of coredemption or Marian coredemption is enough to send up mile-high warning signals among our Protestant brothers and sisters as well as among many in our own household of faith. Hence it is very instructive to find that the same Pope John Paul II, who has so consistently spoken of the need for ecumenical collaboration, dialogue and sensitivity,[5] has also forged ahead in delineating the role of Mary as Coredemptrix. II. A Matter of Terminology The term Coredemptrix usually requires some initial explanation in English and in other modern languages because often the prefix "co-" immediately conjures up visions of complete equality. For instance a co-signer of a check or a co-owner of a house is considered a co-equal with the other signer or owner. Thus the first fear of many is that describing Our Lady as Coredemptrix puts her on the same level of her Divine Son and implies that she is our Redeemer in the same way that He is, thus reducing Jesus "to being half of a team of redeemers".[6] In the Latin language from which the term Coredemptrix comes, however, the meaning is always that Mary's cooperation or collaboration in the redemption is secondary, subordinate, dependent on that of Christ -- and yet for all that -- something that God "freely wished to accept ... as constituting an unneeded, but yet wonderfully pleasing part of that one great price"[7] paid by His Son for the world's redemption. As Mark Miravalle points out:
A. Historical Precedents The use of the term Coredemptrix may be traced back to at least the fourteenth century. [9] It appeared in official documents issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites and that of the Holy Office at the beginning of the twentieth century [10] and was employed on a number of occasions by Pope Pius XI.[11] On the one hand one might argue against the use of the term Coredemptrix [12] because of the possible confusion which might result from it and propose Pius XII's term of predilection, alma socia Christi (beloved associate of Christ) in its stead. [13] On the other hand it is equally arguable that there is no other word which places the participation of the Mother of God in our redemption in such sharp and bold relief. [14] B. Second Vatican Council A rather forceful argument brought up against the use of this term is that it was specifically avoided by the Second Vatican Council. It is, indeed, true that the term was not used in any of the official documents promulgated by the Council [15] and, undeniably, "ecumenical sensitivity" was a prime factor in its avoidance. [16] The concept, however, was nonetheless conveyed. Thus the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium speaks of Mary as "under and with him [Christ], serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of Almighty God" [sub Ipso et cum Ipso, omnipotentis Dei gratia, mysterio redemptionis inserviens] and as "freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation" [humanæ saluti cooperantem] (#56). The document further speaks of the "union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation" [cum Filio in opere salutari coniunctio] (#57) and of how she
Likewise the Council Fathers state that Mary
In his general audience address of 13 December 1995 Pope John Paul II, who himself was one of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, offers us a very interesting commentary on the desire of some of the Fathers for extensive conciliar treatment and the possible definition of Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix:
In effect, while the Council avoided the use of the term Coredemptrix, it did nonetheless deal forthrightly with the topic of Mary's collaboration in the work of the redemption, as we have already seen and will see again. In this way it provided a firm basis for the Pope's own teaching on Mary's coredemptive role. Monsignor Brunero Gherardini very perceptively points out that, with or without the use of the term Coredemptrix, the Protestant observers at the Council recognized just as readily the Catholic position on Mary's participation in the redemption. The great majority of those who adhere to the Reformed tradition see any human collaboration in the work of man's salvation, however secondary and subordinate, as contrary to Luther's principle of solus Christus and thus "a robbery from God and from Christ". [18] Hence it should be clear that we are dealing here with more than just the possible justification of the term Coredemptrix, but, in fact, with a fundamental datum of Catholic doctrine regarding man's cooperation in the work of salvation, a matter which will not be facilely dealt with in ecumenical dialogue by simply substituting one word or phrase with another which seems more neutral. [19] C. Usage of the Term by John Paul II Given this recent history, it is of no little significance that without fanfare, but quite publicly, John Paul II has rehabilitated the word Coredemptrix and has used it or a cognate form at least five times in published statements, not to mention his numerous references to the concept which this term represents. Let us quickly review his usage of Coredemptrix. [20] 1. In his greetings to the sick after the general audience of 8 September 1982 the Pope said:
2. On the Feast of his patron saint, Charles Borromeo, in 1984 the Pope offered these thoughts in his Angelus address in Arona: To Our Lady -- the Coredemptrix -- St. Charles turned with singularly revealing accents. Commenting on the loss of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple, he reconstructed the interior dialogue that could have run between the Mother and the Son, and he added, "You will endure much greater sorrows, O blessed Mother, and you will continue to live; but life will be for you a thousand times more bitter than death. You will see your innocent Son handed over into the hands of sinners ... You will see him brutally crucified between thieves; you will see his holy side pierced by the cruel thrust of a lance; finally, you will see the blood that you gave him spilling. And nevertheless you will not be able to die!" (From the homily delivered in the Cathedral of Milan the Sunday after the Epiphany, 1584). [22] 3. On 31 January 1985, in an address at the Marian shrine in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he spoke thus:
In the above text we have a fine illustration of the various ways in which Mary's collaboration in the redemption is described by the Pope, culminating in his reference to her "role as Coredemptrix". It should be noted that he presents Mary's coredemptive role here with reference to Paul's statement, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20) and also with reference to the mystery of her Heart. 4. On 31 March 1985, Palm Sunday and World Youth Day, the Pope spoke in this vein about Mary's immersion in the mystery of Christ's Passion:
5. Likewise in commemorating the sixth centenary of the canonization of St. Bridget of Sweden on 6 October 1991 he said:
In a completely natural way and without calling undue attention to his use of the word Coredemptrix, the Pontiff has simply resumed the use of terminology which has been employed in the liturgy and by theologians since the late Middle Ages [26] and which was also utilized by the magisterium, and specifically by Pope Pius XI earlier in this century. [27] Pope John Paul II has done much more, however, than to simply rehabilitate the use of a word; he has consistently drawn out the manifold aspects of Mary's coredemptive role, as we have already begun to see. I would now like to illustrate how he has done this (1) in terms of Mary's unique collaboration in the work of redemption and (2) in terms of her active participation in the sacrifice of Calvary by which we are redeemed. III. Mary's collaboration in the work of redemption First, a word about the concept of Mary's collaboration in the work of redemption. We have already seen how the Second Vatican Council developed this idea. The Pope himself devoted the greater part of a general audience to a broad overview of this topic and its historical development on 25 October 1995. That significant catechesis will provide a kind of framework for our presentation of the thought of Pope John Paul II on this topic. Here is how he introduces it:
In the course of this very instructive catechesis the Pope sketches in some of the major historical insights into Mary's cooperation in the redemption which have unfolded in the course of the centuries, concluding with the assertions of the Second Vatican Council in this regard. We have already cited passages from Lumen Gentium #56. Let us return a moment to that paragraph which gives us the precise language of the Second Vatican Council on Mary's collaboration in the work of redemption:
This conciliar teaching about how Mary devoted herself totally to the person and work of her Son [30] has been a consistent motif in the Marian magisterium of Pope John Paul II and has provided a firm foundation for his teaching on Marian coredemption. A. Associate of the Redeemer In a notable general audience address given on 4 May 1983 the Holy Father said this:
We ought to note carefully some of the points that the Pope makes in this discourse: (1) Mary is the woman who was "associated in a unique way in the work of mankind's reconciliation with God" and hence she is (2) "the highest model of cooperation in the work of salvation". (3) Her "Yes" at the moment of the Annunciation "signified ... [her] commitment to service of the mystery of the Redemption". (4) While "Redemption was the work of her Son," nonetheless "Mary was associated with it on a subordinate level". We notice that the third and fourth of these assertions obviously echo the passage of Lumen Gentium #56 cited above. But it may be further noted that the first assertion about Mary's unique association in the work of mankind's reconciliation with God is also a faithful reflection of Lumen Gentium #61's statement that she "was the gracious mother of the divine Redeemer here on earth, and above all others and in a singular way the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord". Finally, it might also be argued that the second assertion about Mary as the highest model of cooperation in the work of salvation follows readily from Lumen Gentium #53 which declares that Mary "is hailed as pre-eminent and as a wholly unique member of the Church, and as its type and outstanding model in faith and charity". B. The New Eve Another way in which Pope John Paul II finds a foundation in Lumen Gentium to illustrate Mary's coredemptive role is in terms of the Eve/Mary correlation developed in paragraph #56 which states:
His catechesis on Mary's collaboration in the work of our redemption of 25 October 1995 further highlights the fundamental importance of the insight of Saint Irenaeus [33] on Mary's collaboration in the work of redemption:
On 22 June 1994 in his general audience address the Holy Father, reflecting on the text of Genesis 2:4-25, made these comments on Mary as the New Eve [35], "the first ally of God":
One ought to heed the careful way in which the Pope describes the unique role that Mary played in salvation history: she "cooperated in the development of Jesus' mission" and "in his work of redemption"; even more, she "intervened in a super-eminent and humanly unthinkable way in the history of humanity, and with her consent, contributed to the transformation of all human destiny". Indeed, her human collaboration in the work of salvation has no parallel, but that, of course, does not keep her from being "the perfect model for those who seek to be united with her Son in his saving work for all humanity". [37] One should pay particular attention to the Pope's use of the term "ally" in the above quotation. He calls Mary "God's first ally," la prima alleata di Dio. In the original Italian in which he made this reflection one can perhaps more readily make the connection between this word and the word alleanza which means covenant or alliance. With her fiat Mary, speaking on behalf of all humanity, has entered into a covenant with God, the new covenant which will be sealed in the blood of Jesus. Let us listen to how the Supreme Pontiff went on to develop this idea in his general audience address of 24 January 1996 in which he was commenting on the verse from Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmity between you and the woman":
Here the Pope presents us with a marvelous penetration of the Protogospel in the light of the Church's millennial tradition. He clearly identifies Mary as the "woman" of Genesis and thus "the New Eve". He further defines her as "God's perfect ally and the devil's enemy," the "Cooperator of the Redeemer". The entire exposition places strong emphasis on Mary's coredemptive role which is "to contribute to changing humanity's destiny, co-operating through her maternal mission in God's victory over Satan". In this context her Immaculate Conception is seen not merely as a personal adornment, but a removal from Satan's domination precisely so that she can be fully "associated with her Son's saving work ... in the fight against the spirit of evil". There are many more texts of John Paul II which treat explicitly to Mary's collaboration in the work of redemption and which could be referred to, but it is obviously impossible to cite them all in such a presentation. Hence I have striven to present those texts which I believe to be most representative of his thought in this area and which illustrate it most clearly. I propose to follow the same procedure in the following section of this paper. IV. Mary's active participation in the sacrifice of Calvary It might be said that our treatment of Mary's collaboration in the work of redemption in the previous section has been somewhat general or generic, nonetheless it has helped to establish a fundamental rationale for understanding Marian coredemption. Now we can move on to consider the apex of Our Lady's coredemptive activity, her participation in the Passion and Death of her Son. First, we turn for orientation to a very important text from the Second Vatican Council, one which Pope John Paul II cites with frequency, Lumen Gentium #58:
Without a doubt this is the Council's most explicit affirmation of Mary's coredemptive role. The text speaks explicitly of Mary's loving consent to the immolation of Jesus, the victim of the sacrifice of Calvary. This highly evocative and theologically rich conciliar teaching concludes with a footnote which refers us to a text from the Servant of God Pope Pius XII's magisterial Encyclical Letter Mystici Corporis of 29 June 1943. The text referred to in that footnote deserves our careful attention:
Whereas the conciliar text speaks of Mary's loving consent to the immolation of the victim, the text of Pius XII speaks of her offering of the victim "to the Eternal Father together with the holocaust of her maternal rights and motherly love". What must be clearly understood in both cases is that the primary consent to the immolation is that of Jesus himself and the primary offering is that of Jesus himself. Nonetheless, what both of these texts affirm is the deliberate and active role of Mary who wills the offering of Jesus as a victim and hence makes the offering in union with him in the definitive act of the renunciation of her own will. In the exposition which follows we will see how John Paul II has made this magisterial teaching his own and enriched it with his own unique insights and perspectives. Returning once again to the very significant catechesis which the Holy Father gave on 25 October 1995 on the historical development of the doctrine of Marian coredemption, let us resume his commentary on the great insight of Saint Irenaeus regarding Mary's contribution to the work of salvation:
Mary's abiding union with Jesus "in every deed, attitude and wish" is a datum that the Church would come to grasp ever more clearly with the passage of time as she continued to ruminate on the person and role of Mary under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. John the Geometer seems to have been the first to have left us written reflections on the inseparable bond between Jesus and Mary in the work of our salvation. He explicitly states that "The Virgin, after giving birth to her Son, was never separated from him in his activity, his dispositions, his will."[43] This obviously implies Mary's willing assent to the sacrifice of her Son. A. Her Offering of the Victim In his review of some of the most significant historical developments in the Church's understanding of Marian coredemption in his masterful catechesis of 25 October 1995, the Pope presents us the teaching of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux [44] and his disciple, Arnold of Chartres [45], on Mary's "offering of Christ" to the Father:
Here we reach the highest stage of the theology of the coredemption, the understanding that Mary offers Jesus, the victim of the sacrifice, to the Father. This, of course, does not at all take away from the fact that Jesus himself is the primary priest of the sacrifice. Rather it is an acknowledgement that Mary is a co-offerer of the sacrifice along with Jesus himself,[47] just as all members of the faithful present at Mass are co-offerers of the sacrifice along with the priest who acts in persona Christi. [48] Here is how the Pope explained the matter in an Angelus address of 5 June 1983, the Feast of Corpus Christi:
Let us note that the Pope links Mary's offering of Christ with her offering of herself. Again, this follows from the theology of the Mass: the faithful are called to offer themselves to the Father in union with their offering of Christ. On 7 December 1983 in his general audience address the Holy Father linked Mary's offering of Christ to her Immaculate Conception:
Hence we can say that, even though on an entirely subordinate level, Mary's offering, like Christ's, is a perfect offering, totally pure. In this she is a model for all the faithful. On Saint Joseph's Day in 1995 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Castelpetroso the Pope made these comments:
Note here the Pope's theological precision: he speaks of Mary offering the Son to the Father, but further qualifies the Son as he "who sacrificed himself for our salvation". Mary's offering of Christ always implies his own offering of himself. In his Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitæ of 25 March 1995 he links Mary's offering of Jesus to her fiat and to her spiritual maternity:
This passage also subtly evokes the text of Revelation 12:17 which refers to "the rest of the offspring" of "the Woman clothed with the sun" (Rev. 12:1): while Mary gave birth to Jesus in a painless way, her intense sufferings in union with Jesus on Calvary were the birth pangs by which she "begets as her children all those who become [his] disciples". This truth is magnificently synthesized in the preface of the second Mass of "Mary at the Foot of the Cross" published in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
I have already cited twice in the course of this presentation the Pope's clear assertion that "Having suffered for the Church, Mary deserved to become the mother of all her Son's disciples, the mother of their unity." [54] B. Her Offering of Herself Consciously and deliberately saying "yes" to the bloody sacrifice of him who was the very center of her life had to be the most difficult assent that Mary ever made. We have seen that Pope John Paul II consistently maintains that this "yes" was the drawing out of all of the implications of the "yes" of Mary at the Annunciation. The joyful fiat spoken to the Angel Gabriel becomes on Calvary the reason why the Pope could say in Guayaquil on 31 January 1985:
The above assertion may seem shocking and highly audacious to some, but we note that in his text the Pope supplies us with his point of reference. It is Saint Paul's Epistle to the Galatians 2:20 where he asserts "I have been crucified with Christ". If Paul could say this of himself, is there not all the more reason to say this of Mary on Calvary? Obviously the Pope thinks so because he did so again in an extemporaneous address to youth in Vicenza, Italy on 8 September 1991:
Here we find the Pauline terminology of coredemption applied to Mary's sacrifice of "her very self, her heart, her motherhood" in a way that is at once original and striking. Again, speaking to youth, this time on 9 May 1993 in the sports stadium in Agrigento, Sicily the Holy Father spoke of Our Lady's self-offering in this way:
In this final quote the Pope deftly speaks of the offering of Mary as united to the offering of Christ. Without taking away at all from the fact that the sacrifice of Christ is more than sufficient for the salvation of the world, the Pope's statement indicates that our salvation has effectively come about through the sacrificial offering of Christ to which is joined the self-offering of Mary. [58] V. The Sacrifice of her Maternal Heart In effect, all of Pope John Paul's teaching on Mary's collaboration in the work of the redemption and her active participation in the sacrifice of Calvary can be recapitulated in terms of his teaching on the sacrifice of Mary's maternal Heart. Taking his lead from Lumen Gentium #58, which itself summarizes the Church's millennial tradition on Mary's union of will with the sacrifice of Jesus, the Pope has developed a veritable theology of the Heart of Mary as Coredemptrix. [59] Here is a brief, but significant salutation to Our Lady from his homily at a Mass for men and women religious on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in 1979:
In his Encyclical Letter Dives in Misericordia of 30 November 1980 he accentuated the theme again, even to the point of straining the norms of grammatical construction:
Mary's heart has been enlarged, so to speak, by entering into that "divine dimension of the redemption effected on Calvary" and sealed with the sacrifice of her consent, her "definitive fiat. In the following excerpt from his general audience address of 4 May 1983 the Pope equates the sacrifice of Mary's heart with her union of will with that of Jesus:
Further, the Pope often explains Mary's spiritual maternity as deriving precisely from her union on Calvary with the will of her Son for the salvation of the world as he did in the general audience address of the following week, 11 May, 1983:
In his Letter of 8 September 1986 to Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, President of the International Symposium on the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary [64] the Pope declared:
In this passage the Pope by explicit allusion to the prophecy of Simeon in Luke 2:25 and to the text of John 19:34 emphasizes the union of the hearts of Jesus and Mary in suffering "in completion of his salvific work". After the International Theological Symposium on the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the Pope made these significant comments:
This time we note that it is the Pope himself who underscores how Our Lady's Immaculate Heart symbolizes "her central role in the redemptive mission of her Son," that is, her role as Coredemptrix. Let us conclude our exploration of papal texts on the sacrifice of Mary's maternal heart with an excerpt of a homily which the Holy Father gave on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows 1987 in the Los Angeles Coliseum:
Once again we find the familiar themes, the reference to Luke 2:35 and to Lumen Gentium #58, but this time in terms of "the agony in the heart of the Mother". The Pope frequently refers to Mary's loving consent "to the immolation of the victim", but here he helps us to grasp that there was an agony in Mary's Heart analogous to the agony in the Heart of Jesus. Even if there is an infinite distance between the heart of a creature and the Heart of the Creator, there is also a similarity which is brought to perfection in shared suffering. Is this not a profound way of speaking of the mystery of Marian coredemption? VI. Some Conclusions While I have striven to be as comprehensive as possible in organizing, presenting and analyzing the teaching of Pope John Paul II on Marian coredemption, I cannot claim that this study is exhaustive for at least three reasons: (1) I have not cited every text which I have found on this topic; (2) I recognize that there are still other texts which have thus far escaped my notice and (3) more importantly, it is quite likely that the Pope has not said his last word on this matter. Nonetheless what I have presented here comprises, I believe, a remarkably consistent body of doctrine which represents a development or unfolding of the doctrine of Marian coredemption as the Church has come to understand it. It is not that the Holy Father has broken entirely new ground in this area, but rather that he has consolidated the teaching of his predecessors and has continued to refine it with his own unique insights. I venture here to draw some conclusions on the basis of my research. 1. This investigation should give the lie to the platitude -- too readily accepted in many theological and Mariological circles -- that since the Second Vatican Council it is no longer appropriate to speak of Mary as Coredemptrix or of the coredemption. The Holy Father shows us that neither the word, which must always be properly understood, nor the concept, which he always presents with clarity, is out of date. If the subject of Marian coredemption has regained respectability after a long postconciliar "dark night", this is due in no small measure to the vigorous and persistent teaching of Pope John Paul II. 2. It seems highly probable that no other Pope has made so many references to the Heart of the Mother of God or treated this mystery at such length and depth. For him the mystery of Mary's cooperation in the Redemption, of her compassion, is expressed par excellence by her Heart. He has clearly shown himself to be an exponent of devotion to -- even more -- of the spirituality of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary for the entire Church. 3. Applying to the Pope's teaching on Marian coredemption the three criteria supplied by Lumen Gentium #25 for ascertaining the ordinary mageristerium of the Roman Pontiff: (1) the character of the documents in which the teaching occurs [sive indole documentoruum], (2) the frequent repetition of the same doctrine [sive ex frequenti propositione eiusdem doctrinæ] and (3) the manner of speaking [sive ex dicendi ratione], especially because of the frequency and consistency with which the Pope proposes this doctrine, I believe that it must be recognized as constituting a significant component of his ordinary magisterium.[68] Specifically, it does not seem to me that at this point a Catholic is free to deny that Mary has collaborated intimately in the work of the redemption wrought by her Son or that she has made an altogether unique contribution to that work. 4. While Mary's role as Coredemptrix is unique because of her unique relationship to Christ, she is nonetheless the perfect human prototype of collaborating in the work of salvation and sharing in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body the Church (Col. 1:24). She is, in the words of Pope John Paul II "the highest model of cooperation in the work of salvation". [69] Hence not only does the consideration of her coredemptive role elucidate her greatness and her title to the highest honor that may be given to a human being (hyperdulia), but it also illuminates the role and call of all Christians. As "on Calvary ... Mary's suffering, beside the suffering of Jesus, reached an intensity which can hardly be imagined from a human point of view but which was mysteriously and supernaturally fruitful for the Redemption of the world," and as "Her ascent of Calvary and her standing at the foot of the cross together with the beloved disciple were a special sort of sharing in the redeeming death of her Son," [70] so can the suffering of every member of the Mystical Body bear fruit for the Redemption of the world. Laus Cordibus Jesu Virginisque Matris Eius
KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS
[1] Cf. his treatment of women as "protagonists of salvation history" in his general audience address of 27 March 1996, OR 28 marzo 1996, p. 4 [ORE 1435:3]. [2] Inseg VII/1 (1984) 307 [St. Paul Editions 37-38]. [3] Jean Galot, S.J., "Maria Corredentrice: Controversie e problemi dottrinali," La Civiltà Cattolica 145 (1994, quaderno 3459-3460) 215 (my trans). [4] Inseg VII/1 (1984) 308-309 [St. Paul Editions 40-41]; except for "by her whole life", emphasis my own. [5] One has only to examine recent documents such as the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente of 10 November 1994, the Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen of 2 May 1995 and the Encyclical Letter Ut Unum Sint of 25 May 1995 to find evidence of his vigorous support of these initiatives. [6] Eamon R. Carroll, O.Carm., Understanding the Mother of Jesus (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1979) 93. [7] William G. Most, "Reparation to the Immaculate Heart," Cross and Crown 8 (1956) 139. [8] Mark I. Miravalle, S.T.D., Mary: Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate (Santa Barbara, CA: Queenship Publishing, 1993) xv. [9] Cf. Juniper B. Carol, O.F.M., "Our Lady's Coredemption," Mariology 2 (Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1957) 398-400. [10] AAS 1 (1908) 409; 5 (1913) 364; 6 (1914) 108. [11] Cf. Carol, "Our Lady's Coredemption," 384; ibid., De Corredemptione Beatæ Virginis Mariæ: Disquisitio Positiva. Franciscan Institute Publications. Theology Series, no. 2 (Civitas Vaticana: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1950) 527-530; Salvatore M. Perrella, O.S.M., I «Vota» e i «Consilia» dei Vescovi Italiani sulla Mariologia e sulla Corredenzione nella Fase Antipreparatoria del Concilio Vaticano II (Roma: Edizioni «Marianum», 1994) 148-149. [12] For an overview on the origin, diffusion and the status quæstionis on the use of the term up to 1969, cf. Gabriele M. Roschini, O.S.M., Problematica sulla Corredenzione (Roma: Edizioni "Marianum", 1969) 14-23. [13] Cf. Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani Secundi, Vol. I, Pt. IV (Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1971) 108; Problematica 75; Theotokos 54. [14] Cf. the masterful handling of the objections by Carol, "Our Lady's Coredemption," 422-424. [15] In Theotokos 308 Father O'Carroll informs us that 54 Bishops at the Council wished a conciliar pronouncement on Mary as Coredemptrix, 36 sought a definition and 11 a dogma of faith on this matter. Cf. Perrella 246-247. [16] The Prænotanda of the original conciliar schema on Our Lady says: Omissæ sunt expressiones et vocabula quædam a Summis Pontificibus adhibita, quæ licet in se verissima, possent difficulius intelligi a fratribus separatis (in casu a protestantibus). Inter alia vocabula adnumerari queunt sequentia: «Corredemptrix humani generis» [S. Pius X, Pius XI] ... Acta Synodalia, Vol. I, Pt. IV, 99. Cf. Gabriele M. Roschini, O.S.M., Maria Santissima nella Storia della Salvezza Vol. II (Isola del Liri: Tipografia M. Pisani, 1969) 111-112. [17] OR 14 dicembre 1995, p. 4 [ORE 1421:13]. [18] Brunero Gherardini, La Madre: Maria in una sintesi storico-teologica (Frigento [AV]: Casa Mariana Editrice, 1989) 281. Cf. also Gherardini, Dignitas Terræ: Note di mariologia agostiniana (Casale Monferrato [AL]: Edizioni Piemme, 1992) 67, 84-85. [19] Cf. Roschini, Maria Santissima nella Storia della Salvezza II:113. [20] For the sake of consistency in usage I have regularly capitalized the word Coredemptrix and spelled it without a hyphen. The translations in the weekly English edition of L'Osservatore Romano [ORE] have varied with regard to capitalization and have regularly rendered it Co-redemptrix. [21] Maria, pur concepita e nata senza macchia di peccato, ha partecipato in maniera mirabile alle sofferenze del suo divin Figlio, per essere Corredentrice dell'umanità. Inseg, V/3 (1982) 404 [my trans.]; emphasis my own. [22] Alla Madonna -- la Corredentrice -- San Carlo si rivolge con accenti singolarmente rivelatori. Inseg VII/2 (1984) 1151 [ORE 860:1]; emphasis my own. [23] Crucificada espiritualmente con el Hijo crucificado, contemplaba con caridad heroica la muerte de us Dios, «consintiendo amorosamente en la inmolación de la Víctima que Ella misma había engendrado». ... Habiendo sufrido por la Iglesia, María mereció convertirse en la Madre de todos los discípulos de su Hijo, la Madre de su unidad. Efectivamente, el papel corredentor de María no cesó con la glorificación del Hijo. Inseg VIII/1 (1985) 318-319 [ORE 876:7]; emphasis my own. [24] Al desiderio del Redentore faccia generoso riscontro il desiderio nostro, auspice Maria, la Corredentrice, alla quale eleviamo con piena effusione la nostra preghiera. Inseg VIII/1 (1985) 889-890 [ORE 880:12]; emphasis my own. [25] La invocò come Immacolata, Addolorata e Corredentrice, esaltandone il ruolo singolare nella storia della salvezza e nella vita del popolo cristiano. Inseg XIV/2 (1991) 756 [ORE 1211:4]; emphasis my own. [26] Cf. René Laurentin, Le Titre de Corédemptrice: Étude historique (Rome: Edizioni «Marianum», 1951); Carol 398-409. [27] Cf. Perrella 144-149. [28] OR 26 ottobre 1995, p. 4 [ORE 1414:11]; emphasis my own. [29] I have altered the word order of the translation found in Flannery 416. [30] For an indication of how this theme is reflected in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, cf. my article, "Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate in the Contemporary Roman Liturgy," Foundations 57-59. [31] Inseg VI/1 (1983) 1135-1136 [ORE 783:1]; emphasis my own. [32] #56 (Flannery 416). [33] For the Pope's appreciation of Irenaeus as a Father of the Church and a theologian, cf. his discourse to the professors and students of the Catholic University of Lyons of 7 October 1986, cf. Inseg IX/2 (1986) 946-956 [ORE 962:16-18]. On Irenaeus' contribution to Mariology, cf. Theotokos 189-191 and also François-Marie Léthel, O.C.D., Connaître l'amour du Christ qui surpasse toute connaissance: La théologie des saints (Venasque: Éditions du Carmel, 1989) 61-62, 72-73, 77-79, 80-89, 97-104. [34] OR 26 ottobre 1995, p. 4 [ORE 1414:11]; except for titles, emphasis my own. [35] For an indication of how the liturgical development of this theme, cf. my article, "Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate in the Contemporary Roman Liturgy," Foundations 55-57. [36] ORE 1347:11; except for the word "new" in the first paragraph, emphasis my own. [37] ORE 1399:3. [38] OR 25 gennaio 1996, p. 4 [ORE 1426:11]; emphasis my own. [39] Flannery 417 (alt.). [40] AAS 35 (1943) 247-248 [Our Lady: Papal Teachings, trans. Daughters of St. Paul (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1961) #383]. [41] On John the Geometer's contribution to Mariology, cf. Theotokos 203-204. [42] OR 26 ottobre 1995, p. 4 [ORE 1414:11]; except for titles, emphasis my own. [43] Theotokos 204. [44] On Saint Bernard's contributions to Mariology, cf. Theotokos 75-76. [45] On Arnold of Chartres' contributions to Mariology, cf. Theotokos 51. [46] OR 26 ottobre 1995, p. 4 [ORE 1414:11]; except for titles, emphasis my own. [47] Cf. Colman E. O'Neill, O.P., Meeting Christ in the Sacraments, (Staten Island, N. Y.: Alba House, 1991; rev. ed. Romanus Cessario, O.P.) 221-231. [48] On the distinction between the manner in which priests and the faithful offer the divine victim in the Mass, Cf. Pius XII's Encyclical Letter Mediator Dei of 20 November 1947, AAS 39 (1947) 553-555 [Pierre Veuillot (ed.), The Catholic Priesthood According to the Teaching of the Church: Papal Documents from Pius X to Pius XII (1939-1954) (Dublin: Gill and Son, 1957), Book I, Vol. 2, #229-232] and Meeting Christ in the Sacraments 209-214. [49] Inseg VI/1 (1983) 1447 [ORE 788:2]; emphasis my own. [50] Inseg VI/2 (1983) 1265 [ORE 813:1]; emphasis my own. [51] ORE 1384:3; emphasis my own. [52] AAS 87 (1995) 520 [ORE 1385:XIX]; emphasis my own. [53] Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Vol. I: Sacramentary (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1992) 117; original Latin text in Collectio Missarum de Beata Maria Virgine I (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1987) 49; emphasis my own. [54] He said it first in his general audience address of 11 May 1983: Avendo sofferto per la Chiesa, Maria meritò di diventare la madre di tutti i discepoli di suo Figlio, la madre della loro unità [Inseg VI/1 (1983) 1202; ORE 784:1] and then again in his address at the Marian shrine in Guayaquil, Ecuador on 31 January 1985: Habiendo sufrido por la Iglesia, María mereció convertirse en la Madre de todos los discípulos de su Hijo, la Madre de su unidad [Inseg VIII/1 (1985) 319; ORE 876:7]. [55] Inseg VIII/1 (1985) 318-319 [ORE 876:7]; emphasis my own. [56] Inseg XIV/2 (1991) 530 [ORE 1207:4 (alt.)]; emphasis my own. [57] Inseg XVI/1 (1993) 1136 [ORE 1292:7]; final emphasis my own. [58] For further testimony to this theme of the united sacrifice of Jesus and Mary in the magisterium and in the liturgy, cf. my article, "Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate in the Contemporary Roman Liturgy," Foundations 66-68. [59] Cf. my article, "The Heart of Mary as Coredemptrix in the Magisterium of Pope John Paul II" in S. Tommaso Teologo: Ricerche in occasione dei due centenari accademici (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana "Studi Tomistici #59," 1995) 320-335. [60] Inseg II/1 (1979) 345 [Messages 350]. [61] Inseg III/2 (1980) 1511 [St. Paul Editions 30]. [62] Inseg VI/1 (1983) 1137 [ORE 783:1]; emphasis my own. [63] Inseg VI/1 (1983) 1202 [ORE 784:1]; emphasis my own. The Pope spoke these same words on 31 January 1985, in an address at the Marian shrine in Guayaquil, Ecuador; cf. reference to footnote 23. [64] On the concept of the "alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary" cf. Arthur Burton Calkins, Totus Tuus: John Paul II's Program of Marian Consecration and Entrustment (New Bedford, MA.: Academy of the Immaculate "Studies and Texts," No. 1, 1994) 281-282 and also "The Alliance of the Two Hearts and Consecration," Miles Immaculatæ XXXI (Luglio/Dicembre 1995) 389-407. [65] Miles Immaculatæ 23 (1987) 42-43. [66] Inseg IX/2 (1986) 698, 699-700 [ORE 959:12]; emphasis in second paragraph my own. [67] [Inseg X/3 (1987) 542-543, 544 [ORE 1007:3]. [68] This is the same procedure that I applied in my book, Totus Tuus, in order to establish the magisterial value of Pope John Paul II's teaching on Marian consecration, cf. Totus Tuus 266-269. [69] Inseg VI/1 (1983) 1135 [ORE 783:1]. [70] Salvifici Doloris #25, [Inseg VII/1 (1984) 309; St. Paul Editions 40-41].
The above paper first appeared in Mark I. Miravalle, S.T.D., (ed.), Mary Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate, Theological Foundations II: Papal, Pneumatological, Ecumenical (Goleta, CA: Queenship Publishing Company, 1997) Copyright ©; 1996 Mark I Miravalle, S.T.D. All rights reserved Version 21st 2002 |