Redemptoris Mater

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For the papal chapel, see Redemptoris Mater Chapel. For the international missionary seminaries, see Redemptoris Mater (seminary).
Redemptoris Mater
Latin
for 'Mother of the Redeemer'
Encyclical of Pope John Paul II
Coat of arms of Pope John Paul II
Signature date 25 March 1987
SubjectThe Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church
Pages95
Number6 of 14 of the pontificate
Text
 
Part of a series on the
Mariology
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Redemptoris Mater (

Mariology
.

Background

Redemptoris Mater, which the Pope called his "reflection on the role of Mary in the mystery of Christ and on her active and exemplary presence in the life of the Church"[1] was promulgated by John Paul II in connection with the Marian year declared for 1987/88.

Contents

The encyclical starts by discussing the special place of the

Blessed Virgin Mary
in the plan of salvation and continues to focus on Mary's role in the Mystery of Christ in Part I of the encyclical.

Part II discusses Mary's role as the Mother of God at the centre of the Pilgrim Church. "The Mother of that Son, therefore, mindful of what has been told her at the Annunciation and in subsequent events, bears within herself the radical "newness" of faith: the beginning of the New Covenant."[2] This is built on later in Part III where Pope John Paul II confirmed the title, Mother of the Church, proclaimed by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964. This encyclical states:

Mary embraces each and every one in the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church's model.

Part III also deals with Maternal Mediation and the role of the Virgin Mary as a Mediatrix. The pontiff said:

Thus there is a mediation: Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts herself "in the middle," that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that as such she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she "has the right" to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary "intercedes" for mankind.

The Pope notes the special honor in which Mary is held by the Orthodox Church and the ancient Churches of the East, and mentions the extensive artistic tradition which depicts her as the god-bearing Theotokos; the Hodegetria, "she who shows the way"; and the Eleusa, or Virgin of Tenderness.

Influences

This encyclical reflects the influence of Saint

Totus Tuus
) in this encyclical, saying that:

I would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teachers of this spirituality, the figure of
Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort
who proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments.

The seeds of this encyclical may be traced to the statement by

Saint Louis de Montfort and that:[3][4]

"Then I understood that I could not exclude the Lord's Mother from my life without neglecting the will of God-Trinity"

In the conclusion to the encyclical the pontiff stated: "The Church sees the Blessed Mother of God in the saving mystery of Christ and in her own mystery".

See also

References

  1. ^ Pope John Paul II (March 25, 1987), Redemptoris Mater, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, §1
  2. ^ Redemptoris Mater 1987, §17.
  3. ISBN 1-59471-028-7
    page 30
  4. ^ Pope Reveals Mary's Role in His Life

External links

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