THE VIRGIN MARY IN INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL FORMATION
(Letter of the Congregation for Catholic Education)
Summary of Part II by Brother Eric Akinboboye
Mariology is alive and active in relevant questions in doctrinal and pastoral matters. It is however necessary that the study of Mariology attend to rigorous research that is conducted in line with scientific criteria. As a theological discipline, Mariology relies on Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Tradition as its foundation. The study of the Sacred Scripture must be the soul of Mariology and the Sacred Tradition is essential to research in Mariology because the study of Tradition shows how particularly fruitful in quality and quantity is the Marian patrimony of the various liturgies and of the Fathers of the church. The Magisterium too has the responsibility of guiding the truth of any research into the study of Mariology. Due to the importance of the Virgin in the history of salvation and in the life of the people of God, it will be unthinkable for the teaching of Mariology to be obscured today. It is therefore necessary that it should be given its just place in the seminaries and theological faculties. The study of Mariology will consist of a systematic treatment that will be: a) organic, meaning, inserted adequately in the program of studies of theological curriculum; b) complete – the person of the Virgin should be considered in the whole history of salvation: her relation to God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Sacraments and man; c) suited to the various types of institution and the level of students (seminarians), teachers of Mariology, catechists and animators of Marian piety. With this, teaching of Mariology will be devoid of one-sided presentations of the figure and mission of Mary and sound teaching will be a stimulus for a deep research into the sources of Revelation and the documents.
Every centre of theological study therefore must make plan in its Ratio studiorum for the teaching of Mariology. The teachers of Mariology should be properly prepared and qualified. The study of Mariology has a precious contribution to make to pastoral life: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, subordinated to worship of divine Savior, has great pastoral effectiveness and constitutes a force for renewing Christian living. Mariology also contributes to the work of evangelization. Mariological research, teaching and pastoral service promote the authentic Marian piety which should characterize the life of every Christian, especially seminarians. In underlining the value of Marian piety in the formation of seminarians as recommended by Vatican II, the Congregation for Catholic Education requests seminarians to have a fervent love for the Virgin Mary. It also noted that there is nothing better than true devotion to Mary to introduce one to the joy of believing. The congregation also demands of seminarians that they must: a) acquire a complete and exact knowledge of the doctrine of the Church about the Virgin Mary so that they can distinguish between true and false devotions, authentic doctrines from deformations; b) nourish an authentic love for the Mother of the Savior and Mother of Mankind which is expressed in genuine forms of devotion and is led to the imitation of her virtues; c) develop the capacity to communicate such love to the Christian people through speeches, writing and example so that Marian piety may be promoted and cultivated. The advantages of adequate Mariological formation then include: 1) On the intellectual level – the truth about God, Man, Christ and the Church are understood the more in understanding the truth about Mary; 2) On the spiritual level – such information will help a Christian to welcome the Mother of Jesus and bring her into everything that makes up his inner life; 3) On the pastoral level – the Mother of the Lord will be strongly felt as a presence of grace among the Christian people. It must be kept in mind therefore that the study of Mariology holds as its ultimate aim the acquisition of a sound Marian Spirituality, an essential aspect of Christian spirituality.
The summary of the second part of the letter which was diligently and articulately done by Eric shows me the practical suggestions given by the Congregation in studying Mariology. This is a summary to be commended of in its preciseness and simplicity. In reading this summary, I have grown in knowledge concerning the impact the scientific study of Mary should play in my priestly formation. I continue to ask myself, how dispose am I in studying Mary in my Theological studies. But, this syllogism said it all: Just as the Sacred Scripture is the soul of Theology; And Mariology is a branch of Theology; then the Sacred Scripture should be the soul of Mariology. Therefore, I may argue that, the ignorance of the Word of God (Scripture and Tradition) is the ignorance of Mary. In fact, for us to do justice to Theology with its diversified disciplines, the knowledge of Mary is necessary and essential. In a nutshell, the one to help us to understand Theology is Mary. Mariology is an aid to the understanding of other “…logies” we have in Theology. As Thomas Aquinas said that the best and the humblest Theology is when we learn to put our knees on the ground; that is in prayer; I may add that the easiest way to do “God-Talk” is when we comprehend the role and mission of Mary (through Mariology) in our history. Theological studies will be incomplete without Mariology. Theology without Mariology is a threat to the Church’s future. If we are pro-Theology, we must automatically become pro-Mariology. But, seeing all the impacts of Mariology as stipulated in the summary, I still have one concern, “How far has Mariology being incorporated and assimilated in the Theological studies in Africa for the future priests?” It is because; I am convinced that a priest who is ignorant of Mary and her role in the salvation history is as well ignorant of the role of Christ to humanity and the role of the Church in today’s society.
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