The Church Mediates Mary and Mary Mediates for the Church1

Description: The , birth, parents, and are not recorded in Sacred Scripture. In tradition, the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of Mary on September 8, claims her parents as Sts. and Anne, and has infallibly declared her Immaculate Conception and Assumption through Papal teachings. In this presentation we will discuss the role of Scripture, Tradition, and the mediation of the Church for our knowing about Marian teachings. We will conclude with Mary as intercessor for us and as an image/icon of the Church.

I. The , the Church, and Mary A. The Church decides on Scripture and Scripture builds the Church 1. The canon 2. The Apocryphal books 3. Scripture is inspired and inerrant. 4. Public revelation = the definite revelation in Christ; a. private revelations

B. The Blessed Virgin Mary in Scripture 1. Foreshadowed in the Old Testament: Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Michah 5:2-3; a. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium article 55. 2. Mary in the New Testament: a. The , Luke 1:26-38; The Visitation, Luke 1:39-56; The Nativity, Luke 2:4-20; The Presentation, Luke 2:22-38; The Finding of Jesus in the Temple, Luke 2:41-52 3. Matthew, John, Revelation

C. Mary in the early Church Fathers 1. Frescos of the catacombs, 2. St. Justin Martyr d. 165; St. Irenaeus of Lyons, d. 202; St. Ephraem the Syrian, d. 373; St. Gregory Nazianzen, d. 389; St. Ambrose d. 397; St. Jerome d. 420;

D. The Ecumenical , 431 1. Mary is declared the Mother of God against Nestorius who held that Mary was the Christotokos the mother of the Christ (the man Jesus). 2. St. Cyril, ‘what Jesus does as man he does as God.’ a. Theandric action and the hypostatic union

II. Marian dogmas in official Catholic teaching A. The Mother of God (see D.1) B. The Immaculate Conception, Pius IX 1854 Ineffabilis Deus C. The ever-virginity of Mary, Lateran Synod 649 D. The Assumption, Pius XII 1950 Munificentissimus Deus

1 Presentation by Dr. Steven J. Meyer, S.T.L., S.T.D., Assistant Professor of Theology for the University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, TX. Given on September 8, 2019 St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, Humble TX.

III. Apocryphal texts, private revelations and Sts. Joachim and Anne in Tradition A. Canonical Scriptures > than private revelations and non-canonical ancient writings B. The witness of the Fathers 1. St. Epiphanius (d. 403) 2. St. Augustine (d. 430) C. The Apocryphal texts 1. Histories of the twelve tribes of Israel 2. Pseudo-Matthew 3. “Infancy Gospels” in Arabian, Syrian, and Armenian traditions 4. Passages about St. Joseph 5. Passages about the passing of Mary D. Private Revelations 1. Anne-Catherine Emmerich

IV. Liturgical celebrations A. Solemnity B. Feast C. Memorial D. Optional memorial

V. Conclusion: The Church and Mary; Mary and the Church A. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) and Mary 1. Mary is a member of the Church and redeemed by Christ. 2. Mary is a and intercedes for us, the members of the Church.

“For John Paul II, Mary is the primary patroness of the advent of the new millennium. As the mother of Christ she is preeminently an advent figure—the morning star announcing the rising of the Sun of Righteousness. Like the moon at the dawn of a new day, she is wholly bathed in the glory of the sun that is to come after her. Her beauty is a reflection of his.”…

“The Blessed Virgin Mary has inspired art, poetry, devotion, and theology in manifold ways over the centuries, fulfilling her own prediction, “All generations will call me blessed.” 2

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2 Avery Dulles, “Mary at the dawn of the new millennium” in Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures 1988—2007 (New York: Fordham University Press, 2008) p. 248