"The Virgin Mary in the Intellectual and Spiritual Formation": Letter from the Congregation for Catholic Education (Rome, March 25, 1988)
Summary of the First Part
 |
| The Virgin Mary in our Formation |
By Brother Daniel Asu Agbor
Introduction
The Second Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of 1985 exactly 20 years after Vatican II was aimed at drawing the attention of Catholics to the four major constitutions of the council, namely: Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes, Sacrosanctum Concilium and Dei Verbum. Blessed Pope John Paul II stated vividly that the Marian Year is always an opportunity to circulate the devotion to Our Lady, to read and to reflect on the mysteries of her life in relation to her Son and the church. To accomplish the wish of the Holy Father, the Congregation for Catholic Education sent this letter to theological departments of schools of higher learning, seminaries and religious schools obliging the faithful to keep promoting the devotion, knowledge of our Lady and her piety even after the Marian Year.
The Virgin Mary: An Essential Datum of the Faith and Life of the Church
History has gone several miles to show how the church’s teachings and understanding of God attests to her faith and submissiveness to the Virgin Mary and to her maternal role in the history of our salvation. The Doctrinal Controversies of Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431), and of Chalcedon (451) on the both Christological and Mariological aspects are of help to bringing us to this dogmatic fact, love for our Lady. Furthermore, the dogmatic Bull of Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus of December 8, 1854, Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus of Pius XII (November 1, 1950) and the dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium (November 21, 1964) chapter VIII, series of Encyclicals and Exhortations all aims at reawakening the Mariological consciousness in the church today. This sacred synod, while expounding the tradition, Scriptures and the doctrine of the Church in which the divine redeemer brings about our salvation, brings to light the role of Mary in the mystery of the Incarnate Word and the Mystical Body, and the duties of the redeemed towards the Mother of God, who is the mother of Christ and mother of the brothers and sisters of her son. The mother of the Lord must not be treated passively rather she must form an integral part of our faith because of her undying and loving affiliation with the Church. Mary’s faith prepared her into a fertile soil for evangelization, receiving the gospel message she took it to Elizabeth and to the Church because God through the Holy Spirit she was immune from original sin. Her faith and love for her son whom she brought up in love, service, journeying with him to the foot of the cross till death. Mary today invites us to love and do the will of her son. Mary, who was in the glory of God, was rewarded at the end of her life with her material body taken up to heaven at the end of her life. Taking a cursory look at the sphere of dogmatic theology, we can say with certainty that Mariology has helped the Church resolving the doubts where surrounding the virginal and immaculate conception of our Lady and bringing us to a close range of mutual dialogue with our Catholic brethrens of the Orthodox tradition. Mary is a mother and a sister who is ever present, journeying with the pilgrim church in faith and in spirit seeking for our salvation. Consoling and inspiring the church to keep faith until the end of time.
This is a wonderful work from Daniel; and the courageous effort which he has put in the summary shows a great mastery of the letter. In fact, from the rich nature of the summary, I am enriched with the insight on how the Church throughout the ages has expressed her love and respect to Mary. It is because the role and the “yes” Mary professed to God marked a decisive impression to humanity. Therefore, by her cooperation with God, Mary brought to an end the seal of the salvation history. She also continues to play a vital impact in the life and mission of the Church. Again, I may attest that Mary deserves a title, “Queen of all Religions”, because in Mary I see a means through which inter-religious and ecumenical dialogues could be fostered among people. In all the major religions of the world like Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the decisive role of Mary remains indisputable and history remains indebted to her cooperatrix in the plan of salvation. In reading through this summary, I come to conclude that if one wants to discover how to relate with God, our Blessed Virgin Mary possesses the qualities and fulfills the conditions necessary for a good Christian life and a total self-giving to the Triune God. She is a model, exemplar on how to relate with God. I now affirm that a proper knowledge of Mary and the understanding of her role in the salvation history will help us to appreciate the redemptive work of Christ and God’s self-communication and revelation to humanity. A proper understanding of Mary is a key to the knowledge and imitation of Christ; Ad Iesum per Mariam – Jesus through Mary. And a genuine respect for Mary shows a great love for the Church.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the Blessed Virgin in the history of salvation cannot be over-emphasized. This summary of the work on the place of the Blessed Virgin in the intellectual and spiritual formation shows clearly that the church has never taken a passive stand on the role of the Blessed Virgin in the salvation of humanity. All the Mariological documents produced in the different councils in the church give us a clear understanding that She plays a vital role in the mission of her son, Christ. As it is pointed our in this letter, the Blessed Virgin continues to play a vital role in the life of every Christian so that she can lead all to the glory of her Son. It is however disheartening that much has not been done by theologians over the years to give the Blessed Virgin a necessary attention in the intellectual and spiritual formation of all Christians, especially seminarians. However, the fact that the Congregation for Catholic Education is now calling on theologians today to develop this aspect of theology that has not been given much attention is commendable. I am personally challenged to reflect more on the significance of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of every christian and to be an informed crusader of Mariology.
ReplyDelete