Blessed Virgin Mary

The Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to The Blessed Virgin, is a traditional title specifically used by Roman Catholics, Anglo-Catholics and others to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus. It carries with it a belief not merely in the virginity of Mary, but of her continuing role within the church and in the life of ordinary Catholics, for which Roman Catholicism in the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (21 November 1964) passed during the Second Vatican Council granted her the title Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. Colloquially she is often referred to as Our Lady or sometimes The BVM.

The Blessed Virgin Mary in Catholicism

Catholicism and Orthodoxy focus on Mary as a living person who can intercede with her Son, Jesus Christ, on behalf of humanity. From the beginning of the Church, Catholic theology has believed that Christ is the sole Mediator between God and Man (1 Tim 2:5). Yet as Ludwig Ott observes, "there is nothing to prevent others in a certain way (secundum quid) from being called mediators between God and man, in so far as they, by preparing or serving, cooperate in uniting men to God" (Bk III, Pt. 3, Ch. 3, §7) (emphasis added). Catholic theology proposes that Mary's willed obedience (Lk 1:38) is contrasted with Eve's disobedience (Gn 3:6), an idea with roots in the writings of the Church Fathers. Mary is not equal to Christ in Catholic theology. Nonetheless her role was pivotal, as emphasized by St. Jerome, St. Irenaeus inter A.D. 180–199 (see Jurgens §224), Tertullian c. A.D. 212 (see Jurgens §358) and others including herself in Scripture: "behold the handmaid of the Lord" (emphasis added). Mary is also described by St. Ambrose as "the prototype of the Church"http://www.marys-touch.com/truth/redeemer.htm.

Related Topics:
Orthodoxy - Jesus - Christ - Church Fathers - Redemption

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marian devotions play a key part in the ritual and liturgy of Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, through feast days, special prayers, and hymns. Her centrality has been stressed by popes and saints throughout the centuries. According to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153): " the gate of heaven, because no one can enter that blessed kingdom without passing through her" while St. Bonaventure (1221–1274) wrote: "As the moon, which stands between the sun and the earth, transmits to this latter whatever it receives from the former, so does Mary pour out upon us who are in this world the heavenly graces that she receives from the divine sun of justice."

Related Topics:
Liturgy - Catholicism - Eastern Orthodoxy - Feast days - Bernard of Clairvaux - 1090 - 1153 - Bonaventure - 1221 - 1274

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~