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Mary: Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate

by Mark I Miravale, S.T.D.

Chapter Two

MARY
MEDIATRIX WITH THE MEDIATOR
AND THE SANCTIFIER

Part 2

Papal Teachings on Jn 19:26 and the
Mediatrix of All Graces

The modern Vicars of Christ have continued and authoritatively confirmed with a dynamic consistency the rich and full understanding of the role of the Mother of Jesus as the universal mediatrix of all the graces of Redemption. The popes have made the revealed truth of Mary, Mediatrix of all graces, part of the authoritative teachings of the ordinary Magisterium, with particular emphasis on the universal nature of Mary's mediating participation with the one Mediator concerning all graces flowing from the Redemption.[175]

As we shall see, the Magisterium repeatedly teaches that since Mary uniquely participated with the Redeemer in the acquisition of every grace of the Redemption as Coredemptrix, for this reason, Mary has rightly been assigned by God to participate uniquely with the Mediator in the distribution of every grace that flows from the Redemption as Mediatrix)[176]

All graces come from the Cross (cf. Rom 3:24; Col 1:20), and Mary's unique participation in the distribution of all the graces of Redemption to her spiritual children (cf. Jn 19:26) does not hinder but, rather, fosters an awareness of and receptivity to the universality of grace that comes to the human family from the one Redeemer and Mediator.[177] The explicit papal teaching of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces, which represents an authentic interpretation of the Word of God both written and handed down,[178] is manifested in three centuries of Papal teaching and is repeated with an indisputable consistency and ever greater clarity.

Pope Benedict XIV describes the Mother of Jesus as being "like a celestial stream through which the flow of all graces and gifts reach the soul of all wretched mortals."[179] Pope Pius VII, pontiff at the beginning of the nineteenth century, summarized her role as universal mediatrix of graces in the expression, "Dispensatrix of all graces."[180]

Pope Pius IX contributes significantly more development in the papal teaching of Mediatrix of all graces. Pius IX specifies that God has committed to Mary the treasury of all graces for distribution to the human family, which includes every grace and all salvation, so that humanity may know that all graces come through Mary:

"For God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation."[181

He further refers to the Virgin Mother as; "...with her only-begotten Son, the most powerful Mediatrix and Reconciler of the world...."[182]

Pope Leo XIII provides a true abundance of Papal pronouncements[183] in official Magisterial documents concerning the doctrine of Mary, Mediatnx of all graces. For example, this pontiff refers to Mary as the "treasurer of our peace with God and dispensatrix of heavenly graces,"[184] as well as the one "through whom He has chosen to be the dispenser of all heavenly graces."[185]

In his encyclical letter, Octobri mense, Leo XIII establishes Mary as the mediatnx of every grace which our Lord acquired for humanity in the mystery of the Cross as the revealed design of Almighty God:

"It is right to say that nothing at all of the immense treasury of every grace which the Lord accumulated - for 'grace and truth come from Jesus Christ' (Jn 1:17) - nothing is imparted to us except through Mary....How great are the goodness and the mercy revealed in this design of God....Mary is our glorious intermediary; she is the powerful Mother of the omnipotent God...."[186]

Pope Leo XIII also officially quotes the formula for the transmission of grace and Mary's mediatorial role as given by St. Bernadine of Siena:

"Thus is confirmed that law of merciful mediation of which we have spoken, and which St. Bernadine of Siena thus expresses: 'Every grace granted to man has three degrees in order: for by God it is communicated to Christ, from Christ it passes to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.'"[187]

Pope St. Pius X provides a profound and developed Church teaching of Jn. 19:26 and Mary's universal mediation of grace in the monumental encyclical letter, Ad diem illum. St. Pius X spoke of the "ever united life and labors of the Son and the Mother" in the work of Redemption; the Mother who was "entirely participating in his passion," and who consequently became the "dispensatrix of all the gifts" acquired by the death of the Redeemer.[188] St. Pius further tells us:

"When the supreme hour of the Son came, beside the Cross of Jesus there stood Mary, his Mother....From the community of will and suffering between Christ and Mary 'she became most worthily the reparatrix of the lost world' and dispensatrix of all the gifts that our Saviour purchased for us by his death and his blood."[189]

St. Pius X moreover explains that the strict right of the distribution of grace resides with Jesus Christ alone, but that due to her intimate union of suffering with the Redeemer, the task of the distribution of grace has been given to Mary, Mediatrix:

"It cannot, of course, be denied that the dispensing of these gifts belongs by strict and proper right to Christ, for they are the exclusive fruit of his death, who by his nature is Mediator between God and man. Nevertheless, by this union in sorrow and suffering, as we have said, which existed between the Mother and the Son, it has been allowed to the august Virgin 'to be the most powerful mediatrix and advocate of the whole world with her divine Son.' This source, then, is Jesus Christ.. ..But Mary, as St. Bernard justly remarks, is the 'channel,' or, if you will, the neck by which the Body is joined to the Head and by which the Head sends power and strength through to the Body: 'For she is the neck of our Head by which He communicates to his Mystical Body all spiritual gifts.'"[190]

Pope St. Pius X once again clarifies that God alone is the source of all grace, and that Mary's role in this regard is limited to that of being the "principal minister" in distributing the graces of Redemption:

"We are thus, it will be seen, very far from declaring the Mother of God to be the authoress of supernatural grace. Grace comes from God alone. But since she surpassed all in holiness and union with Christ, and has been associated with Christ in the work of redemption, she...is the principal minister in the distribution of grace."[191]

Pope Benedict XV confirms that the reason Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces in distributing the fruits of redemption is because she was first the Coredemptrix in the acquisition of the heavenly gifts of grace at Calvary.

"For with her suffering and dying Son, Mary endured suffering and almost death....One can truly affirm that together with Christ she has redeemed the human race....For this reason, every kind of grace we receive from the treasury of the redemption is ministered as it were through the hands of the same sorrowful Virgin...."[192]

Benedict XV further granted to the ordinaries of the world who petitioned for it, along with Belgium, permission to celebrate the Liturgical Office and Mass of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces.[193] "Let us come and adore Christ the Redeemer who has willed that we should have all good things through Mary," reads the invitatory prayer. But long before the Western liturgical feast of the Mediatrix of all graces, the liturgical celebrations of the East have possessed numerous references to Mary's universal mediation of grace. Mary is the "fountain of mercy,"[194] and "every help comes to the faithful through Mary;"[195] she is "Mediatrix of law and grace,"[196] and the "dispensatrix of his treasures and the universal Queen."[197] It is good to remember here that the Liturgy of the Church constitutes a certain incarnational doctrine embodied in ecclesial prayer, which presupposes the existence of a given doctrine before incorporating it into liturgical prayer. For "as we pray, so do we believe."[198]

Pope Pius XI continues the rich papal tradition of Mediatrix by recalling this universal mediatorial function of Mary with the Mediator in numerous Church teachings.

"We have nothing more at heart than to promote more and more the devotion of the Christian people towards the Virgin who is treasurer of all graces with God...."[199]

Moreover, Pius XI refers to the,

"...confiding in her intercession with Jesus, 'the one Mediator between God and man' (lTim 2:5), who wished to associate his own Mother with himself as the advocate of sinners, as dispenser and mediatrix of grace....[200]

In sum, Pius XI tells us that all that God gives to us is imparted through the mediation of Mary: "...We know that all things are imparted to us from God, the greatest and best, through the hands of the Mother of God."[201]

Pope Pius XII made his own, and the Church's, the classic expression of St. Bernard: "And since, as St. Bernard declares,' it is the will of God that we obtain all favors through Mary,' let everyone hasten to have recourse to Mary."[202] He re-affirms in another encyclical, "She teaches us all virtues; she gives us her Son and with him all the help we need, for 'God wished us to have everything through Mary."[203]

From Pope Pius XII, we once again see another expression in this consistent line of papal teachings on Calvary (cf. Jn 19:26) that Mary's universal mediation of graces comes from her Coredemptive role with the Redeemer:

"Having been associated, as Mother and Minister, with the King of Martyrs in the ineffable work of human Redemption, she remains always associated with him, with an almost measureless power, in the distribution of graces flowing from the Redemption."[204]

The Second Vatican Council gives the Church a great contribution in its explanation of Mary's mediation: a unique maternal participation in the salvific role of Jesus Christ the one Mediator (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5) by dispensing to us the "gifts of eternal salvation."[205]

"Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men originates not in any inner necessity but in the disposition of God. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. It does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ but on the contrary fosters it."[206]

For this reason, the Council tells us,

"The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary, which it constantly experiences and recommends to the heartfelt attention of the faithful, so that encouraged by this maternal help, they may the more closely adhere to the Mediator and Redeemer."[207]

Vatican II states that the Mother of Jesus is a mother to us in the order of grace because she uniquely cooperated in the saving work of the Redeemer:

"... shared her Son's sufferings as he died on the cross. Thus, in a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is mother to us in the order of grace."[208]

The Mediatrix is the Coredemptrix continuing in the work of salvation by the distribution of the gifts of eternal life merited at Calvary.[209]

The Council continues to say about Mary's maternal mediation:

"This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home."[210]

The gifts of eternal salvation can only come from Calvary and the redeeming work of the Saviour and Mediator (cf. Jn 19:26). Mary has been granted the task by Almighty God of "bringing us the gifts of eternal salvation", and is thereby rightly "invoked by the Church" as the "Mediatrix."[211] The footnote to the term, "Mediatrix" in the Council document Lumen Gentium refers to the several official teachings of the Magisterium of Mary's role as Mediatrix of all graces as previously taught by Pope Leo XIII,[212] Pope St. Pius X,[213] Pope Pius XI,[214] and Pope Pius XII.[215] The Council does not diminish, but rather assumes and confirms the rich and repeated papal tradition of the ordinary Magisterium about the Mediatrix of graces that has preceded it.

John Paul II and the Maternal
Mediatrix of All Graces
(Jn 19:26)

With particular eloquence and as a unique contribution, John Paul II teaches the doctrine of the universal motherhood of Mary in the order of grace,[216] the "Mediatrix of graces."[217]

John Paul describes Mary's new universal motherhood as Mediatrix in the order of grace as the final gift given by the Saviour to all humanity from Calvary:

"The gift of his mother was the final gift that he was giving mankind as the fruit of his sacrifice. It is a question then of a gesture intended to crown his redemptive work. Asking Mary to treat the beloved disciple as her son, Jesus invites her to accept the sacrifice of his death and, as the price of this acceptance, he invites her to take on a new motherhood. As the Saviour of all mankind, he wants to give Mary's motherhood the greatest range. He therefore chooses John as the symbol of all the disciples whom h6 loves, and he makes it understood that the gift of his mother is the sign of a special intention of love, with which he embraces all who want to follow him as disciples, that is, all Christians and all men....This universal motherhood in the spiritual order was the final consequence of Mary's cooperation in the work of her divine Son, a cooperation begun in the fearful joy of the Annunciation and carried through right to the boundless sorrow of Calvary."[218]

In another place, John Paul refers to the gift of a universal and spiritual mother conferred by the dying Saviour at Calvary as a means of receiving fresh life by the power of the cross, while also specifying the wish of our Redeemer to penetrate the suffering souls of the faithful through the heart of his Mother:

"The divine Redeemer wishes to penetrate the soul of every sufferer through the heart of his most holy Mother, the first and the most exalted of the redeemed. As though by a continuation of that motherhood which, by the power of the Holy Spirit had given Him life, the dying Christ conferred upon the ever Virgin Mary a new kind of motherhood - spiritual and universal - towards all human beings, so that each individual, during the pilgrimage of faith, might remain, together with her, closely united with Him unto the cross, and so that every form of suffering, given fresh life by the power of the cross, should become no longer the weakness of man but the power of God."[219]

This maternal mediation of Mary is universal, for it is a participation in the universal Redemption of the Mediator, and the distribution of the graces of Calvary which are likewise universal. As John Paul tells us,

"her motherly mediation 'emerges' from the definitive accomplishment of the Redeemer's Paschal Mystery. The Mother of Christ, who stands at the very center of this mystery - a mystery which embraces each individual and all humanity - is given as mother to every single individual and all mankind....And so this 'new motherhood of Mary' generated by faith, is the fruit of the 'new' love which came to definitive maturity at the foot of the Cross, through her sharing in the redemptive love of her Son."[220]

Mary's maternal mediation is based on her profound respect for the dignity of each human person as a transcendent being created in the very image of God. A mother sees and loves each child individually, not only collectively as a family. In the same way, the motherly Mediatrix sees and loves each human person as a child who is in need of the spiritual milk of sanctifying grace.

Although Mary's mediation is as universal as the graces of Redemption merited by the Saviour, as well as the humanity for which the Redeemer died, John Paul reminds us that this gift of Mary's motherhood in the order of grace remains a personal gift that Christ makes to each individual:

"The Redeemer entrusts his mother to the disciple, and at the same time he gives her to him as his mother. Mary's motherhood, which remains man's inheritance, is a gift: a gift which Christ himself makes personally to each individual."[221]

Pope John Paul II does not hesitate to teach as part of ordinary teachings of the Magisterium that the Mother of Jesus, in obedience to the Mediator's will,

"puts herself 'in the middle,' that is to say, she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother;"[222]

that Mary "also has that specifically maternal role of mediatrix of mercy at his final coming;"[223] and that Mary is rightfully invoked as the "Mediatrix of graces."[224]

In summary, we see the papal teachings regarding Jn 19:26 in reference to the Mother of Jesus as a repeated and confirmed pronouncement of Mary's election by Almighty God as the Mediatrix with the Mediator, distributing all the graces victoriously merited by the Redeemer on Calvary.

In God's mysterious application of the graces of redemption to all humanity at various times,[225] part of this mystery includes in a central way the mediating role of Mary, Mother of the Redeemer and the New Eve. [226] For all the graces of Redemption, regardless of the mysterious time of their distribution, came from the victory of Christ on the Cross. And it was Mary who uniquely participated with the Redeemer in the victorious conquest of salvation over the Serpent and sin [227] and, as maternal mediatrix, distributes the gifts of eternal life to the human family, restoring supernatural life to souls.[228] Mary's universal role in God's mysterious distribution of graces takes nothing away from the primacy of Jesus Christ, the one Mediator. Rather, the Mediatrix of all graces manifests the power and dignity of the one Mediator and Author of all graces, upon whom Mary's universal mediation entirely depends.[229]

By the victory of the Cross, Jesus takes his places as Lord (Dominus) and King of all nations and peoples. But because of Mary's participation in the victory of her Son, Jesus also makes his Mother, the Coredemptrix and Mediatrix, the Lady (Domina) and Queen of all peoples and nations.[230] For Mary is the true Lady and Mother of the King, and the victory of Jesus the King embraces all humanity [231] and beyond to the glories of heaven.

Acts 1:4 - The Holy Spirit and the Mediatrix of all Graces

After humanity received its universal mother and mediatrix at the foot of the cross, Mary continued her maternal role with the early disciples of the Resurrected Lord. As our Holy Father explains, Mary was also

"...left by her Son as Mother of the infant Church: 'Behold your mother'. Thus there began to develop a special bond between this mother and the Church. For the infant Church was the fruit of the Cross and Resurrection of her Son. Mary, who from the beginning had given herself without reserve to the person and work of her Son, could not but pour out upon the Church, from the very beginning, her maternal self-giving. After her Son's departure, her motherhood remains in the Church as maternal mediation: interceding for all her children, the Mother cooperates in the saving work of her Son, the Redeemer of the world."[232]

The motherly Mediatrix was present with the infant Church in the Upper Room, which was to receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor and Sanctifier (cf. Jn 14:26; 16:12; 1Pet 1:2). But beyond being one among the rest, the presence and prayers of Mary Mediatrix had a singularly efficacious effect in interceding for the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Second Vatican Council tells us:

"We see the apostles before the day of Pentecost 'persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with his brethren (Acts 1:14), and we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her at the Annunciation."[233]

The words of the Council refer to this ever profound union of the Third person of the Holy Trinity with the Mother of Jesus, both of whom from the beginning of the work of the Redeemer and Mediator have experienced an intimate communion and spousal relationship. The Council refers to the

"Blessed Virgin Mary who under the guidance of the Holy Spirit made a total dedication of herself for the mystery of the redemption of men."[234]

From the moment of Mary's immaculate entry into human existence, she was in profound union with the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, from which her fullness of grace flowed. [235] It was the Holy Spirit, who mysteriously overshadowed the obedient Virgin in his providential mission at the Annunciation that immediately led to the Word becoming flesh for our redemption (cf. Lk 1:35,38; Mt 1:18; Gal. 4:4-5). The Virgin "was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit....That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit"(Mt. 1:18,20).

When Mary's visitation to Elizabeth effected the sanctification of the unborn Baptist, the presence of the Holy Spirit was immediately manifested for

"...Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'" (Lk 1:41-42).

It was the Holy Spirit who inspired Elizabeth to pay proper recognition to the Mediatrix and the fruit of her womb.

This intimate union of the Spirit and the Bride (cf. Rev 22:17) is again manifested at the Presentation of the infant Lord in the temple, where the Holy Spirit inspired Simeon to enter the temple and inform the Virgin Coredemptrix that, "a sword will pierce your own heart, too" (Lk 2:25, 27, 35). This communio of Spirit and human Spouse must ultimately lead to the cross, for their union is unconditionally dedicated to the salvific mission of the Redeemer and Mediator. John Paul II refers to Mary's self-abandonment at Calvary through the all-pervading presence and power of the Holy Spirit:

"How completely she 'abandons herself to God' without reserve, 'offering the full assent of the intellect and the will' to him whose 'ways are inscrutable' (cf. Rom 11:33)! And how powerful too is the action of grace in her soul, how all-pervading is the influence of the Holy Spirit and of his light and power!"[236]

So too, after the price of Redemption had been paid and its fruits still to be dispensed, the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit and the maternal mediation of Mary rightly continues in intimate union. The spousal work of the Spirit and the Mediatrix in distributing the graces of redemption must continue "until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect."[237] For it is the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, and Mary, the Mediatrix, who began the New Covenant work of salvation by bringing the world its redeemer at the Annunciation; and it will be the Spirit and the Mediatrix who will jointly accomplish the full aspect of the redemption of humanity in distributing the graces of eternal life to the People of God, a salvific task of mediating God's grace and mercy that will end only at the final and glorious coming of the victorious Lord and "King of the nations" (Rev. 15:3).[238]


The Spirit and the Mediatrix in the Distribution of Graces

From the East, Theophanes of Nicaea recognized the sublime union of the Holy Spirit and the Mother of Jesus in the distribution of the graces of redemption:

"She receives wholly the hidden grace of the Spirit and amply distributes it and shares it with others, thus manifesting it....The Mother [Mary] ...is the dispenser and distributor of all the wondrous uncreated gifts of the divine Spirit, which makes us Christ's brothers and coheirs, not only because she is granting the gifts of her natural Son to his brothers in grace, but because she is bestowing them on these as her own true sons, though not by ties of nature but of grace."[239].

Later in the West, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort expounds on the cooperation between the Spirit and the Mediatrix in the distribution of all graces. The Holy Spirit has communicated to Mary, his human spouse, all his heavenly gifts intended for humanity, and the Holy Spirit has willed to distribute the graces of redemption only through the virginal hands of Mary:

"To Mary, his faithful spouse, God the Holy Ghost has communicated His unspeakable gifts; and He has chosen her to be the dispenser of all He possesses, in such wise that she distributes to whom she wills, as much as she wills, as she wills and when she wills, all His gifts and graces. The Holy Ghost gives no heavenly gift to men which He does not have pass through her virginal hands. Such has been the will of God, who has willed that we should have everything through Mary."[240]

God the Holy Spirit is the divine trinitarian member with specific mission of the Father to "sanctify the Church forever" (cf. Jn 20:22; Rom 15:16; 1Pet 1:2).[241] But the Holy Spirit has chosen to perform his divine act of sanctification, which flows from the cross of Christ,[242] only through the mediation of his human but glor~fied spouse, Mary, through whom the Author of all graces was first mediated to the world by the power of the same Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35; Mt 1:18, 20). The Holy Spirit, as a divine person, and Mary, as an exalted human person, were given one unified mission from the Father after Calvary: both were sent to take the ineffable graces from the sacrifice of the Redeemer and to sanctify and transform the face of the earth by generously dispensing the gifts of eternal life to the human family.

The eminent nineteenth century theologian M. J. Scheeben offers a most valuable contribution in explaining this most intimate cooperation between the Spirit and the Mediatrix in this work of personal sanctification. Scheeben compares the intimate working of Mary with the Holy Spirit as analogous to the way the humanity of Christ is an instrument of his sacred divinity:

"The distinguishing mark of her person [Mary] as bride of Christ is conceived fully in her capacity of bearer and temple of the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the foundation for this special power and dignity of her activity must be traced to this capacity of her person....Mary is the organ of the Holy Spirit, who works in her in the same way that Christ's humanity is the instrument of the Logos. And this in a more complete and distinctive sense than can be the case in other created beings."[243]

Scheeben thereby refers to the Mother of Jesus as the "dynamic and authoritative organ of the Holy Spirit."[244] The sanctifying activity of the Mediatrix must rightly be traced to her mission as the human instrument of the Holy Spirit in their one, unified mission of sanctification given by the Father. This understanding and model of Mary as the human instrument of the Holy Spirit in the distribution of graces, comparable to the humanity of Christ as human instrument of the Word, is a monumental breakthrough in understanding the mysterious distribution of graces by the Spirit and the Mediatrix.

In recent times, the contribution of St. Maximilian Kolbe offers the Church the more complete pneumatology and mariology necessary for a solid understanding of the sublime unity and role of the Holy Spirit and Mary in the mysterious distribution of the graces of redemption.[245]

St. Maximilian also uses the example of the inseparable union between the divine nature and human nature in the one divine person of Jesus Christ to express the ineffable union between the Holy Spirit and Mary. This union is the theological basis of why, as St. Maximilian states, the Holy Spirit has chosen to act only through the mediation of Mary:

"The Holy Spirit is in Mary after the fashion, one might say, in which the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word, is in his humanity. There is, of course, this difference: in Jesus there are two natures, divine and human, but one single person who is God. Mary's nature and person are totally distinct from the nature and person of the Holy Spirit. Still, their union is so inexpressible, and so perfect that the Holy Spirit acts only by the Immaculata, his spouse...."[246]

With the true distinction between the natures and persons of the Holy Spirit and Mary, St. Maximilian does not hesitate to say that Mary is in a certain sense the "incarnation" of the Holy Spirit. This is an effort to convey theologically this most sublime union of the Spirit and the Mediatrix.

"The third Person of the Blessed Trinity never took flesh; still, our human word 'spouse' is far too weak to express the reality of the relationship between the Immaculata and the Holy Spirit. We can affirm that she is, in a certain sense, the 'incarnation' of the Holy Spirit."[247]

Just as the Second Vatican Council refers to Mary as the "sanctuary of the Holy Spirit,"[248] a concrete human vessel where the Sanctifer uniquely and profoundly dwells, so, too, the words of St. Maximilian describing Mary as in a certain sense the incarnation of the Holy Spirit bespeak the total dwelling, spiritually and bodily, of that Spirit who never actually took on flesh, but who filled and sustained the Virgin from the moment of her Immaculate Conception.[249]

The Holy Spirit is the divine sanctifier and the distributor of the graces of the redemption. As St. Maximilian explains,

"By the power of the redemption wrought by Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms the souls of men into temples of God; he makes us adoptive children of God and heirs of the heavenly kingdom, as St. Paul declares: 'But you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God' (1 Cor 6: 11)....Similarly, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians we read that the distribution of graces depends on the will of the Holy Spirit...(l Cor 12:7-11)."[250]

And the divine Sanctifer, sent by the Father at the price of the redemption by the Son, fulfills his mission of earthly sanctification only through the spousal mediation of Mary Mediatrix of all graces, a supernatural activity which is based on their ineffable and providential union. As St. Maximilian confirms,

"The union between the Immaculata and the Holy Spirit is so inexpressible, yet so perfect, that the Holy Spirit acts only by the Most Blessed Virgin, his Spouse. This is why she is the mediatrix of all graces given by the Holy Spirit. And since every grace is a gift of God the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit, it follows that there is no grace which Mary cannot dispose of as her own, which is not given to her for this purpose."[251]

It is because of such monumental insights into the mystery of the Mother of Jesus that St. Maximilian Kolbe is designated by Pope John Paul II as "the Apostle of a New Marian Era:"

"He has appeared in our times as a prophet and an apostle of a new 'Marian era'....This mission... 'classified him', as Paul VI stated in his homily at his beatification, 'among the great saints and clairvoyant minds that have understood, venerated and sung the mystery of Mary."[252]

The Holy Spirit is inexpressibly united to Mary, who is the spouse and human instrument of the Holy Spirit in their one, unified mission of sanctification. Since all the graces of redemption come through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit acts only through the Mediatrix, then Mary is again rightly seen as the mediatrix of all the graces of redemption given to the human family.

Summary

The Mother of Jesus, through her obedient fiat at the message of the angel, mediated to the world the Author and Source of all graces (cf.
Lk 1:26-38). Mary's role as motherly Mediatrix of the graces of redemption was outlined at the Visitation to Elizabeth, which led to the sanctification of the unborn Baptist (cf. Lk 1:39-45); and at the wedding of Cana, where the Mediatrix interceded for the first miracle and the public ministry of the Mediator (cf. Jn 2:1-11).

The role of universal Mother and Mediatrix of graces for humanity was fully established at the Cross with the words of the dying Saviour in giving to humanity his own mother as the final gift of his redemptive sacrifice (cf. Jn 19:25-27). Here Mary is granted the role of Mediatrix of all graces, to distribute all the graces of the redemption, which definitively begins after her glorious Assumption into heaven. [253]

The task of the Mediatrix in distributing all the graces of redemption is performed in intimate union with the Holy Spirit, the divine Sanctifier (cf. Lk 1:35; Lk 2:25,27; Acts 1:4; Rev 22:17). Mary is the human instrument of the Holy Spirit in the mission of sanctification, and the Spirit wills to distribute all his heavenly gifts of grace, which were merited by the Redeemer on the Cross, only through the Mediatrix, his exalted human spouse.

We see then that the doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces is present in the Word of God, written and handed down, as well as consistently taught by the Church's Magisterium and experienced in the prayer and liturgical life of the People of God. The Church has already recognized in her rich ecclesial life that the Mother of Jesus is the Mediatrix of all graces, and she rightly teaches that "it is the will of God that we obtain all favors through Mary."[254]


FOOTNOTES


175. For example, cf. Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758), Op. Omnia, V. 16, ed. Prati,
1846, p. 428; Pope Pius IX,
Ubi primum, 1849; Pope Leo XIII, Octobri rnense,
1891, Pope St.Pius X,
Ad illum diem, etc. The pertinent texts of these and several
other Magisterial teachings on the universal nature of Mary's mediation of all
graces will immediately be given in the main body of the text.

176. For example, cf. Pope St. Pius X, Ad ilium diem, 1904; Pope Benedict XV, Inter Solidicia, 1918; Pope Pius XII, AAS 38, 1946, p. 266; John Paul II, L'Osservatore Romano, Issue n. 20, 1983.

177. Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 60.

178 Cf. Vatican Council II, Dei Verbum, n. 9, 10.

179. Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758), Op. Omnia, v. 16, ed., Prati, 1846, p. 428.

180. Pope Pius VII (1800-1823), Ampliatio privilegiorum ecclesiae B.M. Virginis ab angelo salutatae in coenobio Fratrum Ordinis Servorum B. M. V. Florentiae, A.D., 1806; in J. Bourasse, Summa aurea..., v. 7, Pans, 1862, col. 546.

181. Pope Pius IX (1846-1878), Encyclical Letter, Ubi Primum, 1849.

182. Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854.

183. Cf. Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) in the following encyclical letters: Supremi Apostolatus officio, 1883, ASS 16, 1113; Superiore Anno, 1884, ASS 17, 49; Jucunda Semper, 1 884, ASS 27,179; Octobre Mensi, 1891 , ASS 24, 196; Adjutricem populi, 1895, ASS 28, 130; Diuturni temporis spatium, 1898, ASS 31, 146; Apostolic Letter, Parta humano generi, 1901, ASS 34, 195. The immediately following citations from these documents by Leo XIII will be cited by only the magisterial document title and date.

184. Pope Leo XIII, Supremi apostolatus, 1883.

185. Pope Leo XIII, Superiore anno, 1884.

186. Pope Leo XIII, Octobri Mense, 1891.

187. Pope Leo XIII, Jucunda Semper, 1894; cf. St. Bernardine of Siena, Serm. in Nativit. B.V.M., n. 6.

188. Pope St. Pius X, Ad diem illum, AAS 36, 1904, p.453.

189. Pope Pius IX, Ad diem illum, 1904; cf., Eadmer, De Excellentia Virginis Mariae, c. 9.

190. Pope St. Pius X, Ad diem illum, 1904; cf., St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Serm. de temp., in Nativ. B. V. de Aquaeductu, n. 4; St. Bernadine of Siena, Quadrag., de Evangelio aeterno, Serm. X, a3, c.3.

191. Pope St. Pius X, Ad diem illum, 1904. For further reference of Pope St. Pius X on the Mediatrix of all graces, cf. Litterae Apostolicae, AAS 2, 27 August 1910, 901.

192. Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922), Apostolic Letter, Inter Sodalicia, AAS 10, 1918, p. 182. For other papal references to Mediatrix of all graces by Benedict XV, cf. Encyclical Letter, Fausto appetente die, AAS 13, 1921, p. 334; Letter to Cardinal
Gasparri,
AAS 10, 27 April 1917, p. 182; Allocution at Decree Reading for
Canonization of Joan of Arc, Actes de Benoit XV
, v. 2, 1926, p. 22; Letter to
American Hierarchy concerning the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception,
AAS
11. 1919, p. 173.

193. Cf. La Vie Diocèsaine, v. 10, 1921, pp. 96-106, Rescript of the Sacred Congreganon of Rites, 12 January 1921. Based on the Mass and Office of Mediatrix of all Graces of 1921, the Congregation for Divine Worship approved a Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Mediatrix of Grace in 1971, cf., Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, v. 1, Sacramentary, Catholic Book Co., New York, 1992. The new liturgy refers to Mary as the "treasure-house of all graces", Entrance antiphon, p. 223.

194. Byzantine Liturgy, cf. S. Salaville, Marie dans la liturgie byzantine ou grec-slav, in Maria. Etudes surla Sainte Vierge, ed. H. Du Manoir, S.J., v. 1, Paris, 1949, p. 303.

195. Coptic Liturgy, cf., Kitab al ebsallyati wa al Turwhat, Cairo, 1913, p. 131.

196. Armenian Liturgy, cf., V. Tekeyan, La Mère de Dieu dans la liturgie armenienne, in Maria. Etudes surla Sainte Vierge, ed. H. du Manoir, S.J., v. 1, Paris, 1949, p. 359.

197. Chaldean Liturgy, cf. A.M. Massonat, O.P., Marie dans la liturgie chaldéenne, in Maria. Etudes sur la Sainte Vierge, ed., H. du Manoir, S.J., v. 1, Pans, 1949, p. 348.

198. Cf. Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, AAS 39, 1947,; cf., C. Gumbinger, O.EM.Cap., Mary in the Eastern Liturgies, Mariology, v.1, p 185; cf. A. Robichaud, S.M., Mary, Dispensarrix of All Graces, Mariology, v. II, p.436; "Lex orandi, lex credendi".

199. Pope Pius XI (1922-1939), Apostolic Letter, Cognitum sane, AAS18, p. 213.

200. Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Letter, Miserentissimus Redemptor, AAS 20,1928, p. 178.

201. Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Letter, Ingravescentibus malis, AAS 29, 1937, p. 380. For other references by Pius XI to Mediatrix of graces, cf., Apostolic Letter, Galliam Ecclesiae filiam, AAS 14, 1922, p. 186; Apostolic Letter, Exstat in civitate, AAS 16, 1924, p. 152.

202. Pope Pius XII (1939-1957), Superiore anna, AAS 32, 1940, p. 145. For usage of same expression by Pius XII, cf., AAS 45, 1953, p. 382,

203. Pope Pius XII. Mediator Dei, 1947.

204. Pope Pius XII, Radio message to Fatima, 13 May 1946, AAS 38, p.266. For other references to Mediatrix of graces by Pius XII, cf., Mystici Corporis,MS 35, 1943, p. 248; L'Osservatore Romano, April 22-3, 1940, p. 1; Decree of Sacred Congregation of Rites on Canonization of Louis M. de Montfort, AAS 34, 1942, p. 44. In this last reference, Pius XII recognizes the miracles for the canonization of de Montfort, and the decree reads: "Gathering together the Tradition of the Fathers, the Doctor Mellifluus [St. Bernard of Clairvaux] teaches that God wants us to have everything through Mary. This pious and salutary doctrine all theologians at the present time hold in common accord." This 1942 decree confirms the presence of the doctrine of Mediatrix of all graces both in the Tradition of the Church, as well as in the common consensus of theologians.

205. Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 62.

206.Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n, n. 60.

207. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 62.

208. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 61.

209. Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 62.

210. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 62.

211. Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 62.

212. Pope Leo XIII, Adjutricem populi, 1895.

213. St. Pius X, Ad diem illum, 1904.

214. Pope Pius XI, Miserentissimus, 1928.

215. Pope Pius XII, Radio message, 13 May 1946, AAS 38, p.268.

216. Cf. Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, ns. 21-24; Ch. III, Maternal Mediation, ns. 38-45.

217. Pope John Paul II, Christ is our Way, Mary our Sure Guide, Papal Address at Orte, Italy, 17 September 1989, L'Osservatore Romano, 2 October1989, p. 3.

218. Pope John Paul II,
Mary's Motherhood acquired at the Foot of the Cross, Papal Address at General Audience, 11 May 1983, L'Osservatore Romano, Issue n.20, 1983, p.1.

219. Pope John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris, n. 26.

220. Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, n.23.

221. Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, n. 45.

222. Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, n. 21.

223. Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, 11. 41.

224. Pope John Paul II, Christ is our Way, Mary our Sure Guide, Papal Address at Orte, Italy, 17 September 1989, L'Osservatore Romano, 2 October 1989, p. 3.

225. When we say that all graces are distributed through the mediation of Mary, we must still distinguish her modes of mediation. Mary's willed distribution of graces to humanity (we are not here including the angelic realm) definitively begins after her glorious Assumption into heaven. Before her Assumption, we talk of Mary's distribution of graces in a more general manner, that is, that, due to her participation in the obtaining of the graces of redemption as Coredemptrix, Mary indeed mediates in regards to all graces, since all the graces of redemption come from the Cross. Therefore, regarding both graces distributed before Mary's Assumption and the graces immediately conferred in the sacraments, Mary can still be said to have a mediating role in each and every grace of redemption through her role as Coredemptrix, participating in the acquisition of all the graces of Calvary, as what may be called a final cause.

226. Cf. St. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, 1, 3, c. 22, n. 4; PG 7, p. 958-959.

227. Cf. Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854.

228. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, ns. 61, 62.

229. Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 60.

230. Cf. Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, Ad Reginam caeli, AAS 46,1954, pp. 633-636.

231. Cf. Pope John Paul II, Mary's Motherhood acquired at the Foot of the Cross, Papal Address at General Audience, 11 May 1983, L'Osservatore Romano, Issue n.20, 1983, p. 1.

232. Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, n. 40.

233.Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 59.

234. Vatican Council II, Presbyterorum Ordinis (Decree on the Ministry and Life of
Priests), 1965, n. 18.

235. Cf. Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854; Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Marialis Cultus, 1974, n. 26.

236. Pope John Paul II,
Redemptoris Mater, n. 18

237. Cf. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 62.

238. Cf. Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, n. 41.

239. Theophanes of Nicaea (d. 1381), Serm. in SS Deiparam, ed. M. Jugie, A.A.,
Lateranum, Nova Series, Rome, 1935,1,51; cf. M. O'Carroll, C.S. Sp.,
Theotokos:
A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mar
y, Delaware, 1982, p. 340-1. For a Patristic summary of the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary,
cf. Pope Paul VI,
Marialis Cultus, n. 26.

240. St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716), True Devotion to Mary, n.25.

241. Cf. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Dominum et Vivificantem, n. 25.

242. Cf. Pope John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem, ns. 3, 11,14.

243. M.J. Scheeben,
Mariology, tr. T. Geukers, St. Louis, Herder, 1946, v. II, p.185.

244. M. J. Scheeben, Mariology, v. II, p. 186.

245. St. Maximilian Kolbe's Theology of the Holy Spirit and Mary is contained in letters, lectures, and diaries, much of which is still unpublished at this time. The heart of his Marian contribution can be found in H. M. Manteau-Bonamy, O.P., Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit, tr. by Richard Amandez, F.S.C., from the French original, La Doctrine mariale du Pere Kolbe, Esprit-Saint et Conception Immaculee, Libertyville, II, Franciscan Marytown Press, 1977; cf. S. Ragazzini, O.F.M. Conv., L'Immacolata e lo Spirito Santo, La spiritualita e l'apostolato mariano del Servo di Dio P. Massimiliano M. Kolbe dei frati Minori Conventuali in Ephemerides Mariologicae, Madrid, 10,1960, pp. 223-255; Aim Higher: Marian Thoughts of St. Maximilian Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv., Ndola, Zambia, Mission Press, 1976; Stronger Than Hatred: A Collection of Spiritual Writings, New York, New York City Press, 1988; Piacentini, Ernesto, OFM Conv, Immaculate Conception: Panorama of the Marian Doctrine of Blessed Maximilian Kolbe, tr.,Donald Kos, OFM Conv., Kenosha, WI, Franciscan Marytown Press, 1975.

246. St. Maximilian Kolbe, Letter to Fr. Salezy Mikolajczyk, 28 July 1935, as found in Manteau-Bonamy, Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit, p. 41.

247. St. Maximilian Kolbe, Conference 5 February 1941, as found in Manteau-Bonamy, Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit, p. 50.

248. Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n. 53.

249 Cf. Manteau-Bonamy, Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit, p. 50-52.

250. St. Maximilian Kolbe, Miles Immaculatae, I, 1938, Manteau-Bonamy, Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit, p. 90.

251. St. Maximilian Kolbe, Letter to Father Mikolajczyk, 28 July 1935. ManteauBonamy, Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit, p. 99.

252. Pope John Paul II, Mary's Sanctity in the Order of Salvation, Immaculate Conception Homily at St. Mary Major's Basilica, 8 December 1982, L' Osservatore Romano, Issue n. 50, 1982, p. 1,4.

253. For a brief explanation of the modes of Mary's distribution of the graces of redemption, cf. footnote 118 in this same chapter. Cf. also section of papal commentary on how absolutely all the graces of redemption are dispensed through the mediation of Mary, as it appears earlier in this chapter.

254. Cf. Pope Pius XII, Superiore anno, AAS 32,1940, p. 145; Mediator Dei, 1947.




The above section first appeared in Mary: Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate by Mark I Miravale, S.T.D. and is reproduced with the kind permission of Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici.

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Version: 30th December 2002


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