Pieta, Michelangelo
Courtesy wikipedia
Courtesy wikipedia
Mary is Always Timely and In Vogue
by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
In the rapid acceleration of change in our cyber age we are reminded of placing
Mariology in the historical context of our own time.
As Pope Benedict XVI continues to promote a new and more careful reading of
Vatican II, he emphasizes that the advancement of knowledge, research and piety in
regard to the Blessed Virgin Mary must also be permanent since the exemplary value
and the mission of Mary of Nazareth are permanent. The Mother of the Lord is a
“datum of divine revelation” and a “maternal presence” always operative in the life of
the Church (Redemptoris Mater). He directs us not to lose sight of the importance of
chapter eight of Lumen Gentium and its doctrinal synthesis about Mary in the context
of the mystery of Christ and of the Church, for it stresses that the Mother of the Lord is
not a peripheral figure in our faith and in the panorama of theology. Rather she
participates intimately in the history of salvation and “in a certain way unites and
mirrors within herself the central truths of the faith.” The Congregation for Catholic
education expounded on this at length in The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual
Formation
A Mariology detached from history and couched only in metaphysical terms is too
abstract to be interesting and meaningful. We need a Mariology based on revelation
and viewed through the magisterium, a Mariology that has something worthwhile to say
about the great ecclesial and social concerns of our day. Such a Mariology touches
the centrality of the Paschal Mystery, the primacy of the Word, the context of salvation
history, new evangelization, Mary’s importance as the model for a disciple,
ecumenism, the role of women in the Church, the conflict between a culture of death
and a culture of life, the assaults on the integrity of creation, the struggle against hunger
and oppression, the pursuit of peace, and other questions of consequence.
Our today is fast becoming tomorrow. The future seeks enlightenment and wants to
avoid disorientation. It seeks a guide whose reins are in the hands of God. The
eternal Word became man and entered history. He permeated history with his
presence and directed it irreversibly toward our eternal destiny. Our future will be
dominated by Christ. Pope John Paul II reminded us that, “Among creatures no one
knows Christ better than Mary. No one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of
his mystery better than his Mother.”
To assert Christ’s presence is to affirm the simultaneous presence of Mary, the woman
who is indissolubly united to Christ, in his birth and in his death, in history and in glory.
The Mother’s role is absolutely subordinate to that of the Son. There is an infinite
distance between the Divine Person of the Incarnate Word and the human person of
Mary of Nazareth. But this union is nonetheless real, unbreakable, and ordained by
God. Who dares to oppose God’s plan?
John Paul II emphatically explains that “Among all believers she is like a mirror in which
are reflected in the most profound and limpid way the ‘mighty works of God’ ”
(Redemptoris Mater), which theology has the task of illustrating. Consequently, the
dignity and importance of Mariology derive from the dignity and importance of
Christology, from the value of ecclesiology and pneumatology, from the meaning of
supernatural anthropology and eschatology. Mariology is closely connected to these
facets of theology.
In the future Marian studies will continue to cultivate doctrinal and existential insights
into Mary’s manifold presence in the life of the Church. The indissoluble union between
Christ and his Mother, and Mary’s vital relationship to other members of the Mystical
Body reveal the unfounded nature of attempts to detach Mariology from other branches
of theology. To belittle, demean, or underestimate the importance Marian study is to
betray a gross misunderstanding not only of Mariology, but also of Christology and
ecclesiology.
The ultimate aim of the study of Mariology is the acquisition of a sound Marian
spirituality, an essential aspect of Christian spirituality. To pursue the fullness of
Christ taught by St. Paul is to know the mission which God has entrusted to the Virgin
Mary in the history of salvation and in the life of the Church, and to take her as “mother
and teacher of the spiritual life” (Marialis Cultus). The result in one’s life in the Church
will be a union with her in striving to express the radical message of the Good News.
Some continue to view Mariology as peripheral to the study of theology. Rigorous
academic research will demonstrate the groundless nature of this persistent prejudice.
The delicacy of any question connected to Mariology will require that extra effort we
often mention. Do not separate the Mother from the Son. Jesus and Mary are
inextricably bound. Mariology is alive and well.
Pope John Paul II reminded us that “Among creatures, no one knows Christ better than
Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his
Mother.”
Used with permission, courtesy Br. John Samaha, S.M., Marianist Brother
Mariology in the historical context of our own time.
As Pope Benedict XVI continues to promote a new and more careful reading of
Vatican II, he emphasizes that the advancement of knowledge, research and piety in
regard to the Blessed Virgin Mary must also be permanent since the exemplary value
and the mission of Mary of Nazareth are permanent. The Mother of the Lord is a
“datum of divine revelation” and a “maternal presence” always operative in the life of
the Church (Redemptoris Mater). He directs us not to lose sight of the importance of
chapter eight of Lumen Gentium and its doctrinal synthesis about Mary in the context
of the mystery of Christ and of the Church, for it stresses that the Mother of the Lord is
not a peripheral figure in our faith and in the panorama of theology. Rather she
participates intimately in the history of salvation and “in a certain way unites and
mirrors within herself the central truths of the faith.” The Congregation for Catholic
education expounded on this at length in The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual
Formation
A Mariology detached from history and couched only in metaphysical terms is too
abstract to be interesting and meaningful. We need a Mariology based on revelation
and viewed through the magisterium, a Mariology that has something worthwhile to say
about the great ecclesial and social concerns of our day. Such a Mariology touches
the centrality of the Paschal Mystery, the primacy of the Word, the context of salvation
history, new evangelization, Mary’s importance as the model for a disciple,
ecumenism, the role of women in the Church, the conflict between a culture of death
and a culture of life, the assaults on the integrity of creation, the struggle against hunger
and oppression, the pursuit of peace, and other questions of consequence.
Our today is fast becoming tomorrow. The future seeks enlightenment and wants to
avoid disorientation. It seeks a guide whose reins are in the hands of God. The
eternal Word became man and entered history. He permeated history with his
presence and directed it irreversibly toward our eternal destiny. Our future will be
dominated by Christ. Pope John Paul II reminded us that, “Among creatures no one
knows Christ better than Mary. No one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of
his mystery better than his Mother.”
To assert Christ’s presence is to affirm the simultaneous presence of Mary, the woman
who is indissolubly united to Christ, in his birth and in his death, in history and in glory.
The Mother’s role is absolutely subordinate to that of the Son. There is an infinite
distance between the Divine Person of the Incarnate Word and the human person of
Mary of Nazareth. But this union is nonetheless real, unbreakable, and ordained by
God. Who dares to oppose God’s plan?
John Paul II emphatically explains that “Among all believers she is like a mirror in which
are reflected in the most profound and limpid way the ‘mighty works of God’ ”
(Redemptoris Mater), which theology has the task of illustrating. Consequently, the
dignity and importance of Mariology derive from the dignity and importance of
Christology, from the value of ecclesiology and pneumatology, from the meaning of
supernatural anthropology and eschatology. Mariology is closely connected to these
facets of theology.
In the future Marian studies will continue to cultivate doctrinal and existential insights
into Mary’s manifold presence in the life of the Church. The indissoluble union between
Christ and his Mother, and Mary’s vital relationship to other members of the Mystical
Body reveal the unfounded nature of attempts to detach Mariology from other branches
of theology. To belittle, demean, or underestimate the importance Marian study is to
betray a gross misunderstanding not only of Mariology, but also of Christology and
ecclesiology.
The ultimate aim of the study of Mariology is the acquisition of a sound Marian
spirituality, an essential aspect of Christian spirituality. To pursue the fullness of
Christ taught by St. Paul is to know the mission which God has entrusted to the Virgin
Mary in the history of salvation and in the life of the Church, and to take her as “mother
and teacher of the spiritual life” (Marialis Cultus). The result in one’s life in the Church
will be a union with her in striving to express the radical message of the Good News.
Some continue to view Mariology as peripheral to the study of theology. Rigorous
academic research will demonstrate the groundless nature of this persistent prejudice.
The delicacy of any question connected to Mariology will require that extra effort we
often mention. Do not separate the Mother from the Son. Jesus and Mary are
inextricably bound. Mariology is alive and well.
Pope John Paul II reminded us that “Among creatures, no one knows Christ better than
Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his
Mother.”
Used with permission, courtesy Br. John Samaha, S.M., Marianist Brother
Legion of Mary - Diocese of Phoenix, AZ
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| Mary is Always Timely and in Vogue: The Future of Marian Doctrine and Devotion Brother John M. Samaha, S.M. |
Annunciation,
Francesco Albani
Francesco Albani
Madonna & Christ Child,
Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban Perez, c.
1655-1660
Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban Perez, c.
1655-1660
Madonna and Child,
Raphael, 1504
Raphael, 1504
| About the author: Brother John is the youngest of four children born to Lebanese immigrant parents in San Francisco, CA. He entered the Society of Mary (Marianists) after graduation from high school, and has been a Marianist over 60 years with degrees from the Marianists' University of Dayton and the Catholic University of America. Teaching assignments included elementary, secondary, and adult education in California, Washington, and abroad in Lebanon. Upon retirement he continued to be active in adult religious education and served as an adjunct volunteer at The Marian Library and International Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton. Active member and past officer of the Mariological Society of America and Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Currently residing at the Marianist Center in Cupertino, CA, where he continues his interest in teaching by writing articles on a variety of religious topics, especially those concerning our Blessed Mother and the Eastern Catholic Churches. |