There has been talk among Catholics recently concerning the title of our
Lady as "Mediatrix". Below is a quote from a Catholic Encyclopedic
dictionary (1954) on the subject, followed by a chapter from a dogmatic
theology book (1930).
------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIATRIX OF ALL GRACES.
------------------------------------------------------------
MARIOLOGY
Chapter II, Section 1
a) Christ, who is our sole and natural Mediator, obtained the power of
mediation for His Blessed Mother by His death on the Cross. Hence to
acknowledge Mary as our mediatrix does not detract from the mediatorship of
Jesus, as most Protestants allege, but confirms that dogma and leads to a
higher estimation of it. As the fatherhood of God loses nothing through the
co-existence with it of an earthly fatherhood, and as the sovereignty of
mundane princes does not detract from, but rather emphasizes and confirms
the dominion of the almighty Ruler of heaven and earth, so the derived
mediatorship of the Blessed Virgin Mary does not derogate from but adds new
lustre to, that of her Divine Son. The former is subordinate to the latter
as an instrumental to a principal cause, and it stands to reason that the
mediatorial operation of Christ increases in the same measure in which it
employs the agency of mediate or instrumental causes and endows these with
efficiency.
1) Jesus Christ is our sole Mediator "per se".
2) The mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is entirely secondary and
subordinate to that of her Divine Son.
3) Since, however, Mary is. the Mother of God, her mediatorship
transcends that of all the angels and saints and consequently constitutes
an altogether unique privilege.
c) In consonance with these principles Fathers and theologians very
properly style our Lady "liberatrix, salvatrix, reparatrix, restauratrix,
reconciliatrix, and co-operatrix or socia Redemptoris." But it would be
wrong to call her "redemptrix", because this title obscures the important
truth that she herself was redeemed through the merits of Jesus Christ by
what theologians technically term preredemption. Even the title
"coredemptrix" had better be avoided as misleading. The titles "redemptrix"
and "coredemptrix" were never applied to the Blessed Virgin before the
sixteenth century; they are the invention of comparatively recent writers
(Castelplanio, Faber, P. Minges, O.F.M., and others).
2. DOGMATIC PROOF.
"Mary...stands at the foot of the Cross not merely as the mother of her
dying Son, but as the mother of Him who is the Redeemer of mankind. Hence
the Son, speaking in His capacity as Messias, addresses her as 'Woman.' The
time when, according to the prediction of the Protevangelium, the 'seed' of
the woman (taking the term in the sense of an individual person) was to
crush the head of the 'serpent,' is at hand. But we also observe how at
the very same moment the 'serpent' crushes the heel of this 'seed,' in that
Christ dies through the very instrumentality of that sacred manhood by
which we are redeemed. Beneath the Cross stands, among others, the mother
of this one 'seed,' who is Christ - she, the woman whom the Proto-Gospel
had already pointed out to humanity both as the mother of Jesus and the new
Eve or mother of all those to be endowed with supernatural life....And
henceforth Mary receives her spiritual 'seed.' Christ's words: 'Behold thy
son,' must be interpreted in accordance with this idea. Coming from the
Messias, it is a message of salvation for all the faithful who gather under
the Cross. Of all the Apostles called by Jesus....only one, 'the disciple
whom Jesus loved,' followed Him to the Cross, thus representing those that
were to be saved and for whom, as a price, the Precious Blood was shed."
We can show by still another argument that Mary's sublime office of
Deipara destined her to be the spiritual mother and consequently the
mediatrix of all Christians.
1) As the antithesis of Eve, Mary is the "mother of all the living" in a
manner similar to that in which her Divine Son, the "second Adam," who
crushed the serpent's head, is the spiritual leader of all those whom He
has redeemed by His passion and death. Eve was the mother of perdition for
all men (ianua mortis); Mary must consequently, "e contrario", be the
mother of salvation for all (ianua vitae). Or, in the words of St.
Irenaeus, "As Eve...was through her disobedience the cause of death to
herself and the entire human race, so Mary...through her obedience was the
source of salvation to herself and the whole human race." The same writer
says elsewhere: "If the former [Eve] was disobedient to God, the latter
[Mary] was persuaded to obey Him, in order that the Virgin Mary might be
the advocate of the virgin Eve." Bardenhewer comments on this passage as
follows: "Where the Latin translation has 'advocata', the Greek text most
probably had [greek omitted]. The term means "causa salutis" and has become
memorable by being incorporated into the liturgy of the Church (advocata
nostra)."
b) Our Lady is furthermore the mediator of mankind in Heaven, where she
effectively intercedes for the Church as a whole and for each individual
Christian in particular.
A CATHOLIC DICTIONARY
by Donald Attwater
The Blessed Virgin Mary in her aspect of dispenser
of the graces bestowed on human kind by the Holy Ghost through the merits
of the crucified Christ. Having co-operated in the Incarnation and the
Redemption by her motherhood and by her sufferings at the foot of the
cross, our Lady merits to co-operate as channel for the graces flowing
therefrom. In 1921 Pope Benedict XV granted to the dioceses of Belgium,
and to any other diocese asking for it, permission to celebrate a Mass in
honor of our Lady under this title, on May 31.
by the Right Reverend Msgr. Joseph Pohle, Ph.D., D.D.
Mary's Secondary Mediatorship
I. STATE OF THE QUESTION.
In calling the Blessed Virgin "mediatrix" we do
not mean to deny that Jesus Christ is our sole Mediator. The mediation of
Mary rests entirely upon that of her Divine Son and would be utterly
ineffective without it.
b) This must be our guiding principle in defining the mediatorship of
Mary. Unfortunately, theologians, ascetic writers, and preachers have not
always used due caution in this matter. Some have attributed to the Blessed
Virgin Mary certain honorary titles which are apt to obscure the dogmatic
teaching of the Church in regard to the sole mediatorship of Our Lord. We
are perfectly willing to allow for rhetorical exaggeration; but zeal for
the honor of the Blessed Virgin should not lead theologians to neglect
their plain duty of safeguarding the Person and the work of the Redeemer.
The following three propositions may serve as guiding principles in this
matter:
There is another class of honorary titles sometimes applied to Mary,
which imply the exercise of priestly functions, e. g., "sacerdotissa,
consacerdotissa", or high priestess. These, too, should be avoided, for the
Blessed Virgin was not commissioned to perform sacerdotal functions, nor
did she ever claim hierarchic rights. The safest course is to follow the
approved usage of the Church (e. g., in the "Salve Regina" and the Litany
of Loreto), which agrees with that of the Fathers and all sober-minded
Scholastics, and to interpret occasional exaggerations and symbolic
appellations in accordance with the dogmatic teaching of the Church.
d) The term which most appropriately and comprehensively describes our
Blessed Lady's part in the Redemption is undoubtedly "mediatrix", which is
sanctioned by primitive Christian usage and embodies all that can be said
on the subject.
The Blessed Virgin Mary deserves to be called by the
ancient traditional title of "mediatrix" for two reasons. First, because
she co-operated in a unique manner in the Redemption, and secondly, because
she is our powerful intercessor in Heaven.
a) By voluntarily assuming the office of Deipara, Mary made possible the
Incarnation and consequently our Redemption. The importance of this fact is
pointed out by St. Jerome: "After the Virgin conceived in her womb and gave
birth to her Son, the curse was wiped out; death [came upon the human race]
through Eve, life through Mary." St. Ambrose teaches that the
sanctification of John the Baptist in his mother's womb was due to the
mediatorship of Mary.
The Blessed Virgin, furthermore, incalculably advanced the salvation of
mankind by her virtuous life. As virgin, mother, and wife she furnishes a
brilliant example of all virtues. The female sex in particular is indebted
to her for its liberation from the contemptible state into which it had
fallen. We can form an idea of the moral value of her life if we consider
what would probably be the condition of the human family and civil society
in general without her. The welfare of both family and State depends on the
purity of woman. Millions of men as well as women owe the victory they have
gained over the demon of impurity to the example of her who is the ideal
virgin and mother.
Lastly, the Blessed Virgin may be said after a fashion to have
co-operated in the atonement, because she formed the Divine Victim in her
chaste womb, prepared Him for the slaughter, and, standing beneath the
Cross, offered Him up for the salvation of mankind. This fact justifies the
attribution to her of the honorary title of "diacona sacrificii". The
spiritual martyrdom which she suffered at the foot of the Cross earned for
her the twofold title of "Queen of Martyrs" and "Help of Christians." This
thought deserves to be developed a little more fully.
We need but consider Mary's ardent love for her Divine Son, the
excruciating tortures He suffered, and the terrible blasphemies to which
she was compelled to listen, to appreciate the agony that pierced her soul
during our Lord's dolorous passion and death. Simeon's prophecy: "A sword
shall pierce thy soul" was so literally fulfilled under the Cross that St.
Bernardine of Siena was able to say without exaggeration: "The pain
suffered by the Blessed Virgin was so intense that if it were divided among
her fellowcreatures, they would all die on the spot. The Blessed Virgin
Mary, standing beneath the Cross, suffered all this for us, and thus became
our mother and was declared to be such by her crucified Son Himself." It
is the teaching of many Scholastics since St. Anselm that our dying
Saviour, when He uttered the memorable words "Woman, behold thy
son....Behold thy mother," committed His Blessed Mother to the entire
human race in the person of St. John, and appointed her the spiritual
mother of all His brethren. Bishop Schaefer interprets this touching scene
as follows:
2) St. Paul teaches that we become spiritual brethren of Christ by
Baptism. If this is true, then those who are baptized are "eo ipso" also
spiritual children of Mary.
3) The Redemption was conditioned upon the consent of the Blessed Virgin
to become the mother of God. The physical birth of our Saviour meant the
moral regeneration of all mankind. Consequently Mary became our spiritual
mother when she consented to become the mother of God.
4) The ideal woman must be conceived as sharing in the Saviour's
affection for all men. Mary is the spiritual mother of mankind also through
the love she bears for all.
1) This belief dates back to primitive times and is exemplified by many
pictures found in the Roman catacombs. The "Memorare," often erroneously
ascribed to St. Bernard, is a medieval pendant of the famous [greek
omitted] of the Greek Church. To form a correct idea of the nature of
Mary's celestial intercession we must remember that it differs essentially,
and not only in degree, from the heavenly "interpellatio Christi." Our
Lord intercedes for us as the royal High Priest, Mary as a loving mother.
Their intercession differs both as to nature and power in precisely the
same way in which the Godman differs from the Deipara.
2) The intercession of the Blessed Virgin is naturally far more powerful
than that of the other saints, for while they are friends of God, she is
His Mother. "She is the mediator between us and Christ," says St.
Bonaventure, "even as Christ is the mediator between us and God." For this
reason, too, her mediation is universal, whereas that of the Angels and
Saints is limited in scope. From this point of view there is justification
in the probable, though not strictly theological opinion of St. Alphonsus
Liguori, so hotly contested by Muratori, that our Divine Saviour bestows
His graces on mankind through His Blessed Mother, who may therefore be
truly called "dispensatrix omnium gratiarum." It is in this same sense
that St. Bernard refers to her as the "uberrimus gratiarum aquaeductus,"
and Suarez says: "Therefore the Church prays more frequently and, as it
were, in a higher manner to the Blessed Virgin Mary than to the other
saints." St. Bernardine of Siena teaches that "every grace which is
communicated to this world has a threefold origin: it flows from God to
Christ, from Christ to the Virgin, and from the Virgin to us." In the
light of this probable teaching, (which cannot, however, be positively
proved from the Fathers), we must judge the titles applied to the Blessed
Virgin in the Litany of Loreto and also certain rather extravagant eulogies
that occur in the writings of the Fathers. It must always be borne in mind
(i) that the dispensation of graces through the agency of our Lady is not a
necessary condition of salvation but a free divine ordinance, and (ii) that
the manner by which she obtains graces for us is simply and solely her
maternal intercession, based upon the merits of Jesus Christ.
A Catholic may confidently ask Mary for her powerful intercession without
ever entertaining the foolish apprehension that there is danger of
offending Christ by addressing Him through His Blessed Mother. The dogmatic
teaching of the Church is too clear to allow any intelligent Catholic to
believe that the Blessed Virgin is able to accomplish anything without her
Son. In its last analysis, therefore, every prayer addressed to Our Lady is
addressed to Christ, i.e., God.
3) In this as in so many other things the Church herself carefully guides
the faithful both by word and example. She directs her liturgical prayers
sometimes to the tri-une God, sometimes to Jesus Christ, and then again to
the Blessed Virgin Mary, but invariably emphasizes her belief in Christ as
the sole Mediator by concluding with the words: "through Christ our Lord."
Despite the forbearance with which she tolerates certain excesses and
extravagances, the Church will never allow an exaggerated cult of the
Virgin to obscure the dignity and majesty of Christ. This is plainly
apparent from the condemnation of a certain novel representation of the
Madonna and Child called "Domina Christi," and the rejection of the
new-fangled title "Queen of the Heart Of Jesus."
