The Mother of the Lord: Virgin Mary

This article concerns the students of Mariology, Marian and Mariological Studies, Rectors of Mariah Shrines and those who are interested in the future of Marian devotion. Problems that arise as for the study Mary in the Church, and the possible solutions have been dealt with, with authority by the learned of the Pontifical Academy. Efforts are made to throw light and provide interpretations to many controversial matters to pave way for future theological developments. This article throws light on Virgin Mary from the point of view of the inquisitives of the new millennium.

Spiritual solutions are tendered for sociological issues like violence, genocide, materialism, drug addiction and other negative tendencies. Social movements to achieve solidarity and mutual cooperation are well with their responsibilities but they have their limitations. The scopes of secular reformation and rehabilitation projects may not appeal to the inner world of an individual. The change has to be within, and towards this end Marian theology will be of immense assistance to the people. It has to be understood in tandem with contemporary theological currents. Other branches of theological inquiry - soteriology, pneumatology, and ecclesiology come to the fore here.

Mary is prompt in responding to the prayers of the believers. She invariably exercises the virtues to their full capacity, and gives love in abundance. She is always willing to please God through all her actions. She understands His full will as she is ever in His presence. When confronted with sin, she always stands by the side of the believers to strengthen their sagging spirits through her love. She prays with her devotees.

Catholics believe that Mary represents the Ark of the New Covenant. This is in tandem with their belief about Mary's Perpetual Virginity.

"Cenacle" represents the upper room where Jesus' apostles prayed together with Mother Mary. Holy Spirit made the strong presence there. Our Lady gives the call to gather again with her cenacle of prayer hoping for the Holy Spirit to appear again.

Mary has the special relationship with the Trinity and that confers on her a special dignity not available to any other creature. She has the gift of the sublime grace. That in no way affects Mary's special relationship with each one of us. She has the full power to co-operate in the process of salvation of humankind. This is the greatest gift of love to her by God. God has conferred on her this special grace for the welfare of human beings.

The Incarnation of the Word "by the power of the Holy Spirit, from the Virgin Mary":

(1) The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Chapter VIII, The Role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the Mystery of Christ and the Church, 1964.

(2) The Apostolic Exhortation; of Pope Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, 1974.

(3) The Encyclical of Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater, 1967.

The first one details the doctrine to be followed by the Universal Church, the second and third outline the points for reconciliation with the Orthodox. Two reasons are tendered. The unity problems cropped up with the Church universal with the separation of the Eastern and Western churches; next, these churches have common ground on Mary pertaining to doctrine and in liturgical practices. So, the possibility of reconciliation between them is an attainable reality. The breach between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is not insurmountable, according to the scholars on Orthodox Church. The former gives importance on the doctrinal aspects and the Eastern Church emphasizes devotion and liturgical worship. Mary's Immaculate Conception is also the point of contention. The disagreement narrows down to the conception of Original Sin.

The Gift and Sign of Mary's Immaculate Conception: Mary the perfectly redeemed divinity is the role model for Christians that gives them constant hope in their quest to challenge sin and death and reach up to the throne of God, where Mary is ever present. The hairsplitting arguments between christiotypical traditionalists and those holding ecclesiotypical points of view will in no way negate the supreme importance of Mary. This issue is contentious but it also states the in-exhaustiveness of the mysteries surrounding various aspects of Mary.

The question of Mary's death remains unsolved. Strong arguments and counterarguments engulf the solutions to this question. Did Mary assume body and soul into heaven before or after hear death? The dogmatic view point takes one to the conclusion that on completing her divinely ordained task, she assumed her body and soul in to heaven. Death is the natural course that a human body has to follow, as death is considered to be a transformation. Does it hold well in the case of Mary also?-this is the moot question. Did death mean to her freedom from fear and obscurity brought about by sin? Different interpretations of death come to the fore here to challenge each other. One, death is not a punishment; the second, death is not escape from material reality; third, death is not the end but a new beginning. As for Christ, life and death are not undone by sin. Considering in this light, Mary is the perfect Christian and the noblest role model to follow.

The decree of Vatican II on Mary adopted a cautious and studied approach. The high-pitched devotion of the believers for Mary could not be sidetracked at the time of arriving at conclusions. When emotions are attached to devotion, decision making process is rendered tough. The decree helped to check the euphoria related to the worship Mary. The reason for this could be the fulfillment of the secular, motivated desires of the devotees through prayers offered at the altar of Mary. From Reformation onwards, writings on Mary flooded the counters with various elaborations and exaggerations. The growth of the feminist movement was also the contributing factor for the popularity of Mary worship.

The concerns shifted from religious to secular, particularly the role of women in the liturgical practices of the Church and its administration. There has been a big leap in the opportunities for women in the economic, political social and educational spheres. With the advent of industrial revolution, religion and religious practices were pushed to the backseat and more participation in women in religious rituals would perhaps reverse this trend, it was hoped.

No authentic details are available as for the death of Mary. The two traditions differ on the place of her death, whether it is Jerusalem ort Ephesus. According to one story on the day of her death Virgin Mary was lying on a couch in her cottage at Ephesus. She had lived her full span of her life and awaiting her impending death, Apostles had assembled near her couch. They held a service and she gave up her body in their presence, which was later anointed by Peter. The coffin was later taken to the cave and she was buried there.

The Assumption is that God is merciful and benevolent. The world is governed as per His wisdom and he has his own secret purpose of running its affairs. The sorrows and joys of people are ordained by Him. All things work together even though they seem to move in different directions. Pontificate has varied responsibilities and duties and it has to take care of varied issues. Even though there are many negativities flourishing all around, the following of Virgin Mother of God is increasing daily. The Blessed Mother is performing her maternal duties.

The aim of Biblical Foundation is to make efforts to restore the biblical foundations for the family, church and society. To defend the truths revealed in Christianity for centuries, and now facing threat from various types of social evils. The final goal is to bring the entire world under biblical foundations.

If you are a Christian, you are as good as a saint and have been deputed by God for a definite purpose. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the giver of grace and ordains peace. He gives every type of spiritual blessings.

Human body has its origin in God, so believe Catholics. The Theology of the Body is based on that belief. Theological anthropology is based on the premises that like the body of Jesus Christ, all bodies will be resurrected, transformed and taken into the glory of the heavens. Bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the latest manifestation of the Catholic theology relating to the body. Mary is both-a human being as well as Mother of God. One who doubts this assumption has fallen away from the true Catholic faith.

This refers to Assumption (Eschatological Image) of Mother Mary. She has assigned duties in the ongoing work of redemption whose final goal is to bring all things in heaven and on earth under the fold of Christ's leadership. Glory to her Assumption (Divine Praises)! Fullness of her Body is worthy of praise. She is the Immaculate Mother of God. She is the guiding spirit for the world to be perfected. She is the sure hope and solace for the believers. Her image is spotless.

This is a thanksgiving prayer to Virgin Mother of God. She is the most beloved Mother of the believers. She works for the good of the faithful. She retains the mysteries of Christ in the heart of the believers. She inspires to meditate in silence. In times of trials and tribulations Mary stands by the devotees of Lord.

The recitation if the Apostle's Creed expresses his belief in communion of saints which means he agrees for the fellowship with people with a common belief and purpose. Parishioners hail their blended parish the Communion of Saints.

What is "the communion of saints"? This indicates the belief that all believers as members reposing faith in Christ have communion with Him to receive his blessings, treasures and gifts. These gifts refer to the secular needs as well for supporting the standard of living and standard of life of humankind. Philanthropically inspired activities and social welfare measures are part of the communion.

Amongst Catholics, the mediation role of Mary is given full credence. This is the important reason for the worship of Mary getting more and more popularity. She is believed to intercede for her devotees and represent their cases. Some Christian organisations dispute this power, not as a matter of individual condemnation of Mary, but based on the general principle of not having divine authority to intercede on behalf of the believers. Does Christ need someone as the intermediary? They believe that Christ is the sole Meditator.

I now revert to the mediating role of Mary. Catholic tradition supports this viewpoint solidly. Their role in no way will diminish the importance of Jesus Christ as the mediator with God. It rather enhances the greatness of God, how he is the final authority of delegation of powers. This is an act benevolence of God to create more authorities to enable the believers to access the divine path more conveniently and easily. Mary is eminently suited to assume the responsibilities as the mediator and there won't be a better individual to share the responsibility. Therefore, she is the divine Mother, who showers her grace on the believers.

With the example of Blessed Virgin Mary, one can learn how personal the concept of devotion is. Over the ages devotion to her has grown considerably. Formerly, the Church was engaged in work and worship of Christ. Subsequently it was declared by the church authorities that Mary was truly the Mother of God, contributed to assure the divinity of the Lord, and that contributed to solidify the belief of the faithful Christians on Mother Mary.

Strong devotion to the Blessed Mother of God is a world-wide phenomenon. This led to the growth of ritualism in the form of festivals. Earlier, there was only one liturgical feast of Mary, related to Purification. This was celebrated in a few places. Soon, the number of feasts increased. Some very important ones are: Mary's bodily Assumption to heaven (6th century), the Conception of Mary (7th century). In fact the love Mother Mary worked as the uniting factor with all the Branches of Christianity.

Blessed Virgin Mary commands devotion of Churches, East and West. Liturgical devotion is part of traditions of both the Churches. Roman Liturgical Calendar gives the details of her important days as per Roman Catholic Church. The total numbers of festivals for our Lord are fourteen and thirteen for Our Lady. Five of our Lord, relate to our Lady as well. Some of the feasts are solemnities. They are the Assumption, The Immaculate Conception and the Mother of God. Two command festive rank. They are Visitation and the Birth of Mary. Three ordinary memorials are celebrated: Our Lady of the Rosary, the Queenship and the Presentation. Four optional memorials are celebrated: Our Lady of the Snows and the Saturday Mass to Our Lady, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Our Lady of Lourdes.

But the faithful won't stop here and Mother Mary continues to be worshipped beyond the scope of liturgical services. These form part of individual and collective devotions. Such procedures of worship have the approval of the Vatican which has recognised and put the seal on the progressive trends in the types of devotion. The Marian-centered Life (Vita mariaforme),

Marian devotion has some exclusiveness, though it is the integral part of the Church. Vatican Council II in its decree on the Church Lumen Gentium, set the precise guidelines for the doctrine and practice of Marian devotion. The backgrounder information to this directive was the enthusiasm and constant increase in the following and demand for promotion Marian themes and practices. This was a democratic demand of the inquisitive devotees of Mary, and the Church did not find anything wrong in the demand as such. But the basic character of Christian teaching and practices must continue and no harm should reach the existing style of religious living mode. That was the concern of the Church. The Council stood divided in its opinion and a strong opinion persisted that a separate decree on Mary, the Mother of God should be issued. Suggestions were put forth to treat her role as mediatrix in the history and growth of the Church, as a truth divinely revealed. The final decision of the Council Fathers was to set for the teachings of Mary and on Mary in the 8th chapter of the decree on the Church. It constitutes an astute presentation of the Church's teaching on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and the Church

Mariology is not an independent part of the rich tradition of Christianity. It doesn't own an independent status. It is part and parcel of Christian cosmology and all other branches of theology. It is not an object of faith, but its fructification.

Each group of prayers concludes with an individual prayer addressed to Mary. Whatever is the prayer, it ends with mention of the hailing, Mary the Virgin Forthbringer of God.

An icon of Mary is not a visual representation and it is not meant for devotional purposes. No teaching or inspiration from it is expected. But it has a profound spiritual meaning. It is a point where heaven and earth meet. It is hailed as the channel of divine grace. The icon is the mirror of divine revelation, a wordless beauty. Many miracles are attributed to the icons of Mary.

The liturgical year include classified Marian commemorations. Four of them fall under the category of major feasts. Some lesser Marian feasts are also celebrated.

Industrial and internet revolutions and women taking on employment in a big way have given rise to varied expectations amongst women. The field of religion is also influenced by this. Private life and family life and family structures have undergone vital changes. Radio, television and computers have invaded our home life. The society has a liberated woman in front of it. Women are seen actively in all important fields from education to military. But these changes have in no way affected the belief systems of the people in relation to Mary. She is venerated with all the more sincerity. Mary encompasses domains of life of both men and women and her divine status is that of the Mother.

The Virgin Mary holds the mirror reflecting the great works of God, to which the scholars of theology offer illustrious explanations. The veneration of Mary pervades the whole gamut of Church. Its dimensions are vast and they relate to the fundamental Christian life and to the Christian experience. Her greatness for the Christians is self-evident and requires no emphasis and it is essentially an issue of heart and faith.