The Blessed Virgin Mary: Co-Redemptrix and Parish of the Assumption Adult Faith Formation, Advent 2020 Rev. Ryan Amazeen

• Co-redemptrix o Mary uniquely participated in the redemption of the human race, which effected by His passion and death o Mary as the “New Eve”

▪ Fall of the human race: disobedience of Adam and Eve • Adam and Eve loved themselves more than God and disobeyed Him

▪ Christ as the New Adam: “For if by that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many. And the gift is not like the result of the one person’s sinning. For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal. For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ. In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:15-19) • Disobedience and contempt for God in Adam :: Obedience and love for God in Jesus

▪ So, Christ is new Adam :: Mary is New Eve • Since man and woman involved in the fall, so a man and a woman involved in the recapitulation – Mary’s love and obedience reverses Eve’s hate and disobedience • “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” (Lumen Gentium 56) • “Mary, being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race." 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" (Lumen Gentium 56, quoting St. ) • “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” (LG 56) o Mary’s participation in the redemption of the human race is completely subordinated and dependent upon the redemption that Jesus won on the Cross

▪ Mary only contributes to the redemption in that she is united to Jesus, especially in His passion

▪ Mary’s union with Christ is unique because she is His mother; this union continued all the way, and especially, to the Cross

▪ “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, 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” (LG 58) o Remember, our sufferings can contribute to the world’s redemption when we unite them to Jesus’ sufferings; we participate in Jesus’ work of redemption

▪ Well, same is true with Mary, but even MORE so ▪ Mary united her sorrow and anguish of seeing her Son suffer to His very sufferings • But her participation in Christ’s sufferings was UNIQUE; she was His mother, and united to Him more closely than anyone else • Also, the intensity of her love; she is without sin, so her love was immense

• Mediatrix o “All the graces which flow from the redemption of Jesus Christ are granted to the human family through the motherly intercession of Mary” (Vox Populi) o What is a mediator? “Properly speaking, the office of a mediator is to join together and unite those between whom he mediates: for extremes are united in the mean [medio]” (St. Thomas Aquinas, ST III, q. 26, a. 1)

▪ Christ is the one mediator between God and humanity • “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6a)

▪ Others participate in Christ’s mediation – this is where the Church identifies Mary in her role as mediatrix o Church defines her mediation in terms of her motherhood

▪ “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 on 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” (LG 61)

▪ “Mary’s mediation is intimately linked with her motherhood. It possesses a specifically maternal character, which distinguishes it from the mediation of the other creatures” (St. John Paul II, 38)

▪ “This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the 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. 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. 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” (LG 62)

▪ To summarize, by her divine motherhood, we received the author of all grace, Jesus Christ. We still receive grace through her maternal intercession • She was the “channel” by which the author of grace came to us; she is the “channel” by which grace still comes to us • “It was only through Mary that God the Father gave His Only- begotten to the world…it was only Mary who merited [this treasure] and found grace before God by the force of her prayers and the eminence of her virtues. The world was unworthy, says St. Augustine, to receive the Son of God directly from the Father’s hands. He gave Him to Mary in order that the world might receive Him through her. The Son of God became man for our salvation; but it was in Mary and by Mary” (St. Louis de Monfort, True Devotion to Mary, 16) o Mary’s mediation does NOT dimmish or add anything to Christ’s mediation; Mary is only our mediator because she participates in Christ’s role as the one mediator

▪ “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” (LG 62) o Mary’s role as mediatrix, her “salvific influence,” exists because God wanted it to!

▪ “For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure” (LG 60) o Ultimately, God is the author and giver of all grace; Mary is the conduit by which He gives it

▪ She intercedes for us, pleading for the grace; God gives it to us through her hands

▪ “It is the will of God that we obtain all favors through Mary" (St. Bernard) ▪ “God the Son has communicated to His Mother all that He acquired by His life and His death, His infinite merits and His admirable virtues; and He has made her the treasurer of all that His Father gave Him for His inheritance. It is by her that He applies His merits to His members, and that He communicates His virtues, and distributes His graces. She is His mysterious canal; she is His aqueduct, though which He makes His mercies flow gently and abundantly” (St. Louis de Monfort, True Devotion to Mary, 24) o Mary’s desire is that all her children cling more faithfully to her divine Son; this is the objective of Mary’s role in redemption and the dispensing of grace. • TO JESUS THROUGH MARY