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I. Introduction
52. Wishing in His supreme goodness and wisdom to effect the
redemption of the world, "when the fullness of time came, God sent
His Son, born of a woman, ..that we might receive the adoption of
sons".[451] "He for us men, and for our salvation, came down
from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin
Mary."[452] This divine mystery of salvation is revealed to us
and continued in the Church, which the Lord established as His
body. Joined to Christ the Head and in the unity of fellowship with
all His saints, the faithful must in the first place reverence the
memory "of the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and
Lord Jesus Christ".[453]
53. The Virgin Mary, who at the message of the angel received the
Word of God in her heart and in her body and gave Life to the world,
is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and
Mother of the Redeemer. Redeemed by reason of the merits of her Son
and united to Him by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with
the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God,
by which account she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the
temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace she
far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth. At the same
time, however, because she belongs to the offspring of Adam she is
one with all those who are to be saved. She is "the mother of the
members of Christ . . . having cooperated by charity that faithful
might be born in the Church, who are members of that Head."[454]
Wherefore she is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member of the
Church, and as its type and excellent exemplar in faith and charity.
The Catholic Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, honors her with
filial affection and piety as a most beloved mother.
54. Wherefore this Holy Synod, in expounding the doctrine on the
Church, in which the divine Redeemer works salvation, intends to
describe with diligence both the role of the Blessed Virgin in the
mystery of the Incarnate Word and the Mystical Body, and the duties
of redeemed mankind toward the Mother of God, who is mother of
Christ and mother of men, particularly of the faithful. It does
not, however, have it in mind to give a complete doctrine on Mary,
nor does it wish to decide those questions which the work of theologians
has not yet fully clarified. Those opinions therefore may be lawfully
retained which are propounded in Catholic schools concerning her, who
occupies a place in the Church which is the highest after Christ and
yet very close to us.[455]
II. The Role of the Blessed Mother in the Economy of Salvation
55. The Sacred Scriptures of both the Old and the New
Testament, as well as ancient Tradition show the role of the Mother
of the Saviour in the economy of salvation in an ever clearer light and
draw attention to it. The books of the Old Testament describe the
history of salvation, by which the coming of Christ into the world was
slowly prepared. These earliest documents, as they are read in the
Church and are understood in the light of a further and full
revelation, bring the figure of the woman, Mother of the Redeemer,
into a gradually clearer light. When it is looked at in this way, she
is already prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of victory over the
serpent which was given to our first parents after their fall into
sin.[456] Likewise she is the Virgin who shall conceive and bear
a son, whose name will be called Emmanuel.[457] She stands out
among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and
receive salvation from Him. With her the exalted Daughter of Sion,
and after a long expectation of the promise, the times are fulfilled
and the new Economy established, when the Son of God took a human
nature from her, that He might in the mysteries of His flesh free man
from sin.
56. The Father of mercies willed that the incarnation should be
preceded by the acceptance of her who was predestined to be the mother
of His Son, so that just as a woman contributed to death, so also a
woman should contribute to life. That is true in outstanding fashion
of the mother of Jesus, who gave to the world Him who is Life itself
and who renews all things, and who was enriched by God with the gifts
which befit such a role. It is no wonder therefore that the usage
prevailed among the Fathers whereby they called the mother of God
entirely holy and free from all stain of sin, as though fashioned by
the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature.[458] Adorned from
the first instant of her conception with the radiance of an entirely
unique holiness, the Virgin of Nazareth is greeted, on God's
command, by an angel messenger as "full of grace",[459] and to
the heavenly messenger she replies: "Behold the handmaid of the
Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word".[460] Thus
Mary, a daughter of Adam, consenting to the divine Word, became
the mother of Jesus, the one and only Mediator. Embracing God's
salvific will with a full heart and impeded by no sin, she devoted
herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her
Son, under Him and with Him, by the grace of almighty God,
serving the mystery of redemption. Rightly therefore the holy Fathers
see her as used by God not merely in a passive way, but as freely
cooperating in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience.
For, as St. Irenaeus says, she "being obedient, became the cause
of salvation for herself and for the whole human race."[461] Hence
not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert in their preaching,
"The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience;
what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, the Virgin Mary
loosened by her faith."[462] Comparing Mary with Eve, they call
her "the Mother of the living,"[463] and still more often they
say: "death through Eve, life through Mary."[464]
57. This union of the Mother with the Son in the work of salvation
is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to
His death it is shown first of all when Mary, arising in haste to go
to visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her belief
in the promise of salvation and the precursor leaped with joy in the
womb of his mother.[465] This union is manifest also at the birth
of Our Lord, who did not diminish His mother's virginal integrity
but sanctified it,[466] when the Mother of God joyfully showed
her firstborn Son to the shepherds and Magi. When she presented Him
to the Lord in the temple, making the offering of the poor, she heard
Simeon foretelling at the same time that her Son would be a sign of
contradiction and that a sword would pierce the mother's soul, that
out of many hearts thoughts might be revealed.[467] When the
Child Jesus was lost and they had sought Him sorrowing, His parents
found Him in the temple, taken up with the things that were His
Father's business; and they did not understand the word of their
Son. His Mother indeed kept these things to be pondered over in her
heart.[468]
58. In the public life of Jesus, Mary makes significant
appearances. This is so even at the very beginning, when at the
marriage feast of Cana, moved with pity, she brought about by her
intercession the beginning of miracles of Jesus the
Messiah.[469] In the course of her Son's preaching she
received the words whereby in extolling a kingdom beyond the
calculations and bonds of flesh and blood, He declared
blessed[470] those who heard and kept the word of God, as she was
faithfully doing.[471] After this manner the Blessed Virgin
advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her
union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with
the divine plan,[472] grieving exceedingly with her only begotten
Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, and
lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which she herself
had brought forth. Finally, she was given by the same Christ Jesus
dying on the cross as a mother to His disciple with these words:
"Woman, behold thy son".[473] [474]
59. But since it has pleased God not to manifest solemnly the
mystery cf the salvation of the human race before He would pour forth
the Spirit promised by Christ, we see the apostles before the day of
Pentecost "persevering with one mind in prayer with the women and
Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren",[475] and
Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already
overshadowed her in the Annunciation. Finally, the Immaculate
Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin,[476] on
the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into
heavenly glory,[477] and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the
universe, that she might be the more fully confimed to her Son, the
Lord of lords[478] and the conqueror of sin and death.[479]
III. On the Blessed Virgin and the Church
60. There is but one Mediator as we know from the words of the
apostle, "for there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the
man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all".[480]
The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes
this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For
all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates,
not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows
forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His
mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. In
no way does it impede, but rather does it foster the immediate union of
the faithful with Christ.
61. Predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence
which determined the incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of
God, the Blessed Virgin was in this earth the virgin Mother of the
Redeemer, and above all others and in a singular way the generous
associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought
forth and nourished Christ. she presented Him to the Father in the
temple, and was united with Him by compassion as He died on the
Cross. In this singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith,
hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back
supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order
of grace.
62. This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the
consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she
sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until The
eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not
lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession
continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.[481] By her
maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still
journey on earth surrounded by dangers and cultics, until they are led
into the happiness of their true home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin
is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix,
Adjutrix, and Mediatrix.[482] This, however, is to be so
understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the
dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.[483]
For no creature could ever be counted as equal with the Incarnate
Word and Redeemer. Just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in
various ways both by the ministers and by the faithful, and as the one
goodness of God is really communicated in different ways to His
creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not
exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a
sharing in this one source.
The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of
Mary. It knows it through unfailing experience of it and commends it
to the hearts of the faithful, so that encouraged by this maternal help
they may the more intimately adhere to the Mediator and Redeemer.
63. By reason of the gift and role of divine maternity, by which
she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with His singular
graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united
with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a
type of the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect union
with Christ.[484] For in the mystery of the Church, which is
itself rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands
out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virgin and
mother. [485] By her belief and obedience, not knowing man but
overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, as the new Eve she brought forth on
earth the very Son of the Father, showing an undefiled faith, not in
the word of the ancient serpent, but in that of God's messenger.
The Son whom she brought forth is He whom God placed as the
first-born among many brethren,[486] namely the faithful, in
whose birth and education she cooperates with a maternal love.
64. The Church indeed, contemplating her hidden sanctity,
imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father's will, by
receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By her
preaching she brings forth to a new and immortal life the sons who are
born to her in baptism, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of
God. She herself is a virgin, who keeps the faith given to her by
her Spouse whole and entire. Imitating the mother of her Lord, and
by the power of the Holy Spirit, she keeps with virginal purity an
entire faith, a firm hope and a sincere charity.[487]
65. But while in the most holy Virgin the Church has already
reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle, the
followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering
sin.[488] And so they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth
to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues. Piously
meditating on her and contemplating her in the light of the Word made
man, the Church with reverence enters more intimately into the great
mystery of the Incarnation and becomes more and more like her Spouse.
For Mary, who since her entry into salvation history unites in
herself and re-echoes the greatest teachings of the faith as she is
proclaimed and venerated, calls the faithful to her Son and His
sacrifice and to the love of the Father. Seeking after the glory of
Christ, the Church becomes more like her exalted Type, and
continually progresses in faith, hope and charity, seeking and doing
the will of God in all things. Hence the Church, in her apostolic
work also, justly looks to her, who, conceived of the Holy Spirit,
brought forth Christ, who was born of the Virgin that through the
Church He may be born and may increase in the hearts of the faithful
also. The Virgin in her own life lived an example of that maternal
love, by which it behooves that all should be animated who cooperate in
the apostolic mission of the Church for the regeneration of men.
IV. The Cult of the Blessed Virgin in the Church
66. Placed by the grace of God, as God's Mother, next to her
Son, and exalted above all angels and men, Mary intervened in the
mysteries of Christ and is justly honored by a special cult in the
Church. Clearly from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored
under the title of Mother of God, under whose protection the faithful
took refuge in all their dangers and necessities.[489] Hence
after the Synod of Ephesus the cult of the people of God toward Mary
wonderfully increased in veneration and love, in invocation and
imitation, according to her own prophetic words: "All generations
shall call me blessed, because He that is mighty hath done great
things to me".[490] This cult, as it always existed, although
it is altogether singular, differs essentially from the cult of
adoration which is offered to the Incarnate Word, as well to the
Father and the Holy Spirit, and it is most favorable to it. The
various forms of piety toward the Mother of God, which the Church
within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine, according to the
conditions of time and place, and the nature and ingenuity of the
faithful has approved, bring it about that while the Mother is
honored, the Son, through whom all things have their being [491]
and in whom it has pleased the Father that all fullness should
dwell,[492] is rightly known, loved and glorified and that all
His commands are observed.
67. This most Holy Synod deliberately teaches this Catholic
doctrine and at the same time admonishes all the sons of the Church
that the cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed
Virgin, be generously fostered, and the practices and exercises of
piety, recommended by the magisterium of the Church toward her in the
course of centuries be made of great moment, and those decrees, which
have been given in the early days regarding the cult of images of
Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the saints, be religiously
observed.[493] But it exhorts theologians and preachers of the
divine word to abstain zealously both from all gross exaggerations as
well as from petty narrow-mindedness in considering the singular
dignity of the Mother of God.[494] Following the study of
Sacred Scripture, the Holy Fathers, the doctors and liturgy of the
Church, and under the guidance of the Church's magisterium, let
them rightly illustrate the duties and privileges of the Blessed
Virgin which always look to Christ, the source of all truth,
sanctity and piety. Let them assiduously keep away from whatever,
either by word or deed, could lead separated brethren or any other into
error regarding the true doctrine of the Church. Let the faithful
remember moreover that true devotion consists neither in sterile or
transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds
from true faith, by which we are led to know the excellence of the
Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love toward our mother
and to the imitation of her virtues.
V. Mary the sign of created hope and solace to the wandering people
of God
68. In the interim just as the Mother of Jesus, glorified in body
and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is
to be perfected is the world to come, so too does she shine forth on
earth, until the day of the Lord shall come,[495] as a sign of
sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on earth.
69. It gives great joy and comfort to this holy and general Synod
that even among the separated brethren there are some who give due honor
to the Mother of our Lord and Saviour, especially among the
Orientals, who with devout mind and fervent impulse give honor to the
Mother of God, ever virgin.[496] The entire body of the
faithful pours forth instant supplications to the Mother of God and
Mother of men that she, who aided the beginnings of the Church by her
prayers, may now, exalted as she is above all the angels and saints,
intercede before her Son in the fellowship of all the saints, until
all families of people, whether they are honored with the title of
Christian or whether they still do not know the Saviour, may be
happily gathered together in peace and harmony into one people of God,
for the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.
Each and all these items which are set forth in this dogmatic
Constitution have met with the approval of the Council Fathers. And
We by the apostolic power given Us by Christ together with the
Venerable Fathers in the Holy Spirit, approve, decree and
establish it and command that what has thus been decided in the Council
be promulgated for the glory of God.
Given in Rome at St. Peter's on November 21, 1964.
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