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The Five M's of Mary1 In addition to the four official teachings about Mary's personal attributes that all Catholics are bound to believe as articles of faith (Mother of God, Ever Virgin, Immaculately Conceived, and Assumed into Heaven), there are other aspects of Catholic belief about Mary that are helpful in understanding her role in God's plan and her relationship to the Church. One way of remembering these truths about Mary and the Church is to think of five of her attributes that begin with the letter "M": member, model, mother, mediatrix, and messenger.

The first three "M's" are mentioned in one paragraph of the chapter on Mary in the "Dogmatic Constitution of the Church" of the :

Therefore, she is also hailed as a pre-eminent and altogether singular member of the Church, and as the Church's model and excellent exemplar in faith and charity. Taught by the Holy Spirit, the honors her with filial affection and piety as teh most beloved mother...."

Mary as Member of the Church The Second Vatican Council included its discussion of Mary in the last chapter of Lumen Gentium in order to emphasize that Mary is a member, albeit "a preeminent and ...wholly unique member," of the church (see CCC 967).

This attribute of Mary is a reminder that however much we might rightfully honor and exalt Mary for her response to God and for her role in God's saving plan, she remains fully human. She is not to be adored by Christians as a goddess; she is a fully human servant of God whom he has favored through his mercy and grace. This fact can enable Catholics to identify more fully with Mary and to realize that the holiness and full consecration to God that she exhibited is something which is possible for every Christian. It is, in fact, the goal of the Christian life.

Mary as a Model Mary provides an ideal model for each individual Christian of a life of discipleship, consecration, and holiness. God calls each person to make the unconditional "yes" to him and to his will that Mary expressed at the and proceeded to live out until the end of her life. Catholics honor Mary because she is the model disciple, the perfect, most faithful follower of her Son, Christ. Thus, she is a model of true discipleship for each Christian.

Mary is not only a model for individual Christians, but also a model of the church as a whole. For example, the Church like Mary, is both virgin and Mother.

1Alan Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism, Chapter 11 Mary. and the New Covenant. and USCCB Catholic Catechism for Adults Chapter 12. The Church indeed...by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By preaching and baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged to her spouse. (LG 64)

The Church is called to be God's presence in the world through its faithfulness to the gospel and to following Jesus as he guides the church through the Holy Spirit. Mary manifested God's presence most perfectly by pondering the events and words that constituted her call, and by carrying out faithfully everything God asked of her. Because the church has not attained the perfection of discipleship that Mary attained, we continue to look to her as the best example of what we, as the church, are called by God to be and to do. Lumen Gentium states:

As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a model of the Church in the matter of faith, charity, and perfect union with Christ...the followers of Christ still serve to increase in holiness by conquering sin. And so they raise their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as a model of the virtues.....(LG 63)

This also serves as a key to understanding proper Christian devotion to Mary. As Lumen Gentium continues:

True devotion [to Mary] consists neither of sterile or transitory affection [I.e., warm or sentimental feelings about Mary], nor in a certain vain credulity [I.e., believing every pious statement or claim about her], but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to recognize the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love towards our mother and to the imitation of her virtues. (LG 67)

Mary as Mother From Christ's conception until his death, Mary was united to her Son in his work of salvation. From the Cross, Jesus entrusted his beloved disciple to Mary, telling him to see her as his own mother (Jn 19:27). When the Apostles and disciples gathered to pray after the Ascension of Jesus, Mary was with them praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Mary continues to pray before God for the Church and all humanity.

Like Mary, the Church has a maternal role, giving birth to people in Christ. The Church can never cease to look at Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ. The Church contemplates Mary's motherhood in order to fulfill her own calling to be mother of the members of Christ's Mystical Body, the Church. Also like Mary, the Church is virginal. The description of the Church as virginal is used here in the spiritual sense of the undivided heart and of fidelity in its most luminous form. God calls all the members of the Church to fidelity to the union with him begun at Baptism and continued in the other Sacraments.

Mary's Maternal Intercession as Mediatrix In our culture, there can be a discomfort with praying for Mary's intercession on our behalf. This seems to be a mediating role that crosses a line set out in the First Letter to Timothy: "For there is one God. / There is also one mediator between God and the human race, / Christ Jesus, himself human / who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tm 2:5). So Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator. Jesus alone is the Savior.

But this does not deny the possibility that Christ would permit others to share in his mediating role. Here on earth we routinely ask others for prayers. Instinctively, we turn to holy people for their prayers because they seem nearer to God. Why would we stop asking saints for their prayers after they die? If we believe they are in heaven, would not their prayers be even more effective?

From the earliest times, Christians have sought Mary's prayers and help. There has been the basic sense on the part of the Church that Mary continues in heaven to be concerned for the growth of all members of the Church into holiness and an intimate relationship with her Son.

Mary as Messenger Mary's role as messenger has become more prominent in recent times. This refers to the appearances, or apparitions, of Mary that have been reported by Catholics at various times throughout the church's history, and notably more often in the past 150 years.

In these appearances, Mary usually present a prophetic message. The message is sometimes directed toward an individual or local church, but sometimes Mary's words are intended for the whole church or for a large segment of the church.

How does the Catholic church view these apparitions of Mary and their accompanying messages? The church does not require its members to believe in the authenticity of any apparitions or particular messages, since these are private revelations. As John Paul II explained in an address at Fatima, on May 13, 1982:

The Church has always taught and continues to proclaim that God's revelation was brought to completion in Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of that revelation, and that "no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of the Lord" (LG 4). The Church evaluates and judges private revelation by the criterion of conformity with that single public revelation.

Therefore, private revelations, such as appearances of Mary, must conform fully to the standard of public revelation that comes from Jesus Christ if they are to be accepted and heeded.

It is noteworthy that recent have visited and preached at sites of Mary's reported appearances, including Lourdes, France and Fatima, Portugal, and that the messages of Mary presented at these and other sites have been judged by the Catholic Church to be in full conformity with biblical teaching and authentic Catholic tradition. Numerous miracles have also been confirmed at some of these sites, such as a multitude of medically verified physical healing at Lourdes and elsewhere. Just as God sent angels as messengers of his Word in the Old Testament, it appears that he has chose this age to speak particular words of encouragement, instruction, and warning through Mary.

Most of the reported appearances of Mary in recent times have followed the same , biblically based pattern. Mary appears to simple, humble, and usually poor people. The appearances are accompanied by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifesting itself by the good fruit of joy, thanksgiving, worship, and praise of God, and deepened trust in the Lord even in the midst of persecution or oppression. Often healing and other miracles accompany such apparitions.

The effects of such apparitions of Mary and her messages have been profound. Mary's appearance to a poor Mexican peasant, Juan Diego, in 1531, as , led to the conversion to Christianity of an estimated eight million native people within seven years. Thousands of people who have visited Lourdes since her appearances there to Bernadette Soubirous have been healed and turned to Jesus Christ.

In 1917, Mary appeared to three children (ages 7 to 10) at Fatima, Portugal, and called for prayer, especially the , and for consecration of Russia to her immaculate heart. She warned, "If my requests are heard, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will spread her errors throughout the entire world, provoking wars and persecution of the Church..." (McGrath, "", in A Woman Clothed with Sun, 175-212). At the time, Russia was a poor country torn by civil war, and this prediction seemed almost laughable. Yet history has proven it true. Mary's appearance at Fatima reminds Christians that the things we do now, and our prayers and faith, have consequences for our own salvation and for that of the world. Pope John Paul II stated in his homily at Fatima on May 13, 1982:

If the Church has accepted the message of Fatima, it is above all because that message contains a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth and call of the gospel itself.

"Repent, and believe in the Gospel!" (Mark 1:15): these are the first words that the Messiah addressed to humanity. The message of Fatima is, in its basic nucleus, a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel....

Conclusion Catholics are encouraged to foster a proper devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. We honor her, as God honors her, for her special role in his plan of salvation. We imitate her as the spiritual mother that Jesus has given to each Christian and to his church, and we continually ask her, as our mother to pray and intercede for us before the throne of God. Mary's role in God's plan may be best summed up in the phrase: "To Jesus through Mary." She can never be seperated from her Son, as she lives by faith in Him and is now united with Him forever in the glory of heaven. As the Catechism summarizes our faith:

What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illuminates in turn its faith in Christ. (CCC 487)

Mary should have a special place in the life of each Christian. As Pope Paul VI taught, "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship." (Luke 1:48; Marialis Cultis, 56) Although the form of our relationship with Mary may differ somewhat from person to person, the Catholic Church recommends certain forms of honor and devotion, especially the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel" (see CCC 971), prayed either individually or in families and groups. The Catholic Church also calls for observance of the feast of Mary that occur throughout the church year, such as the feasts of the Assumption (August 15th), the (December 8th), and the Mother of God (jan 1st). Through a proper relationship and devotion to Mary, Catholics (and all Christians) will grow ever deeper in love with God and their following of her Son, Jesus Christ.

From the Catechism:

1. What is the role of Mary's faith in the plan of salvation? The Virgin Mary "freely cooperat[ed] in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience" (LG, no. 56). She uttered her yes "in the name of all human nature" (St. , Summa Theologiae, III, 30, 1). By her obedience she became the , the mother of all the living. (CCC, no. 511)

2. Does Mary intercede on our behalf? This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly. . . . Taken up into heaven she did not lay aside this saving office, but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. (CCC, no. 969, citing LG, no. 62)

3. How does the Church honor Mary? The Church rightly honors the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. "From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title Mother of God, whose protection the faithful take refuge together in all their perils and needs. . . . This cult . . . differs essentially from the cult of adoration, which is offered equally to the Incarnate Word and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it is most favorable to it" (LG, no. 66). The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary. (CCC, no. 971)**

*A cult is defined as a system of religious and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.