The Blessed Virgin Mary seems to be the sticking point for many Christians. Devotion to Mary is commonly thought of as an invention that flourished during the Middle Ages as seen in popularization of the Ave Maria and the Liturgy of the Hours. Other beliefs are that devotion to Mary is idolatrous or that it developed because she was easier or less scary than God (RFB, 47). Even Male argues that Marian devotion developed from "primitive" fold stories in order to fill in the details of her life. However, as we have learned in class, devotion to Mary was not a new invention but a continuation of the temple tradition that Mary lived out and perfectly embodied. Furthermore, devotion to Mary increased devotion to Jesus Christ as LORD because Mary offered to her devotees the most perfect example of a Christ-bearing life. Following Mary's perfect example was a way to more deeply contemplate the Incarnation, the moment of the salvation of humankind, which was possible only with, in, and through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Only with, in, and through Mary did God choose to allow reparations be made to humankind. If you wish to understand the Son, you must contemplate his Mother. If you wish to understand the Mother, you must contemplate her Son.
Since Christians knew that for God all things were possible, if it were God's will, He could become incarnate by Himself. God has no absolute need for Mary. Yet, God decided to work through her, who merited the mystery of the Incarnation by the grace of God. The world was unworthy of God's salvation, yet for God's love for the beauty of His most perfect creation - Mary - He providentially condescended to become incarnate in and through Mary with her consent. The Holy Spirit worked with, in and through Mary to bring forth the most wonderful Son of God. God united with Mary in one eternal sacrifice. All of the treasures that God has, He placed in Mary. After all, the blessed fecundity of Mary brought forth the Son of God by the Holy Spirit. Mary became the channel through which all God possessed became dispensed to humankind. She brought forth His Son and all members of the Church. It is in these members of the Church that Jesus Christ wants to become incarnate everyday! He wishes that all may possess Mary, Mother, Queen and Bride, for she brings the gift of Jesus Christ and builds him in all souls that implore her help! Mary is therefore the means of fashioning Christ's chosen ones for, in all mankind, only Mary can produce wondrous things.
Her power is so great that it appears to be the same as God's, yet she, a mere creature, is below Him in all things. Mary followed God in all things: Behold the handmaid of the LORD, be it done unto me according to thy word!
We have learned through our readings that the titles Mary deserves describe her as the Holy of Holies, the Holy City of God, that encapsulates all of the "celestial, terrestrial, built, and cultivated world" (RFB, 78). Therefore the beauty of Mary must have been astonishing and all of creation could witness it: all the orders of angels, humankind, creatures, and the cultivated world. Angels looked up to Mary and greeted her: Hail Mary, the LORD is with thee! Humankind sought her help, Ave Maria!, and were never left unaided since our penance pleased her and her beauty pleased the LORD. Even all of the creatures of the earth gave glory to God by their call in imitation of Mary's prayers and hymning. The buildings were created with knowledge she possessed fully. The cultivated world bloomed in imitation of her beauty and immaculate fecundity.
The most striking title for Mary is the Bride of the Bridegroom Christ. Regarding Mary as Bride seems like the highest title she could have because it elevates the love between her and Christ to the sacramental level. Although Mary is known to represent already the Holy of Holies and Jesus Christ is God, the holiness of the sacraments seems to super-elevate their love even higher, at least to me. The sacrament of marriage enjoins upon the consenting couple, which we know they are, this primary holy task: to procreate and educate Christian children to build up Christ's Church. We see this of course in Christ and Mary's most holy example, but which character should the Christian soul play in imitation? Both! But should Christians privilege one? Yes, the primary end of Christianity should always be Christ. So Christ should be the Christian's privileged model. So the Christian soul should primarily imitate the Bridegroom and espouse Mary in order to be fruitful through her whom all of God's treasures are placed. And so the children of the Church shall multiply!
The miracle stories of Mary that we read from Voragine emphasize repentance and devotional exercises such as the Ave Maria, general prayer and devotion to Mary, and the Liturgy of the Hours. These miracle stories also emphasize the dignity of devotion to Mary for it trumps a man's lack of education, past sin, and even cooperation with the devil. An uneducated monk is shown to be truly devout through a miracle, a thief repents of his sins, and Theophilus has his charter returned all with the help of Mary (Voragine). Whenever Mary witnesses true devotion, she advocates for the sinner with the love of a mother and pleads with Jesus who honors his Mother of Mothers.
Yet Mary's influence over her Son is not to the detriment of power of Jesus, for he is God. But Mary participates in His divine power. Even the devils are subject to Mary, and have no power over anyone who invokes her name (Voragine, 202). Mary could have no power over demons without the authority of God. She was given the authority to overcome the spiritual and bodily enemies of the Church by God (RFB, 57).
On a different note, as was pointed out in class, some of the miracle stories were seen to be unnecessarily hard on Jews, but I would like to make the argument that they were not hard on Jews as such, but hard on Anti-Christ behavior that even the Christians were guilty of. Recall the story where a Jewish boy is thrown into the fire by his father because the child partook of the Eucharist. The father is killed by Christians because his actions were Anti-Christ - he attempted to murder a partaker of the Eucharist. The father this story is not hated or attacked for being Jewish, if that were so, even the child would be killed for "defiling" the Eucharist. The reason the father is killed is not because he is simply a Jew, but because he attempted to kill a child for consuming the Eucharist. The actual body and blood of the LORD Jesus Christ were inside of the child; to burn the child would be to burn Christ. Anti-Anti-Christ is the theme of these stories, not hatred of Jews qua Jews. Jews are redeemed and blessed with miracles once they accept Christ in these stories. The Christians are held to the same standards.
Another argument for these stories to be understood as anti-Anti-Christ is that the villain in the majority of these stories is a Christian who acts Anti-Christ in some way. All of the villains are redeemed insofar as they repent and properly glorify God.
The most striking title for Mary is the Bride of the Bridegroom Christ. Regarding Mary as Bride seems like the highest title she could have because it elevates the love between her and Christ to the sacramental level. Although Mary is known to represent already the Holy of Holies and Jesus Christ is God, the holiness of the sacraments seems to super-elevate their love even higher, at least to me. The sacrament of marriage enjoins upon the consenting couple, which we know they are, this primary holy task: to procreate and educate Christian children to build up Christ's Church. We see this of course in Christ and Mary's most holy example, but which character should the Christian soul play in imitation? Both! But should Christians privilege one? Yes, the primary end of Christianity should always be Christ. So Christ should be the Christian's privileged model. So the Christian soul should primarily imitate the Bridegroom and espouse Mary in order to be fruitful through her whom all of God's treasures are placed. And so the children of the Church shall multiply!
The miracle stories of Mary that we read from Voragine emphasize repentance and devotional exercises such as the Ave Maria, general prayer and devotion to Mary, and the Liturgy of the Hours. These miracle stories also emphasize the dignity of devotion to Mary for it trumps a man's lack of education, past sin, and even cooperation with the devil. An uneducated monk is shown to be truly devout through a miracle, a thief repents of his sins, and Theophilus has his charter returned all with the help of Mary (Voragine). Whenever Mary witnesses true devotion, she advocates for the sinner with the love of a mother and pleads with Jesus who honors his Mother of Mothers.
Yet Mary's influence over her Son is not to the detriment of power of Jesus, for he is God. But Mary participates in His divine power. Even the devils are subject to Mary, and have no power over anyone who invokes her name (Voragine, 202). Mary could have no power over demons without the authority of God. She was given the authority to overcome the spiritual and bodily enemies of the Church by God (RFB, 57).
On a different note, as was pointed out in class, some of the miracle stories were seen to be unnecessarily hard on Jews, but I would like to make the argument that they were not hard on Jews as such, but hard on Anti-Christ behavior that even the Christians were guilty of. Recall the story where a Jewish boy is thrown into the fire by his father because the child partook of the Eucharist. The father is killed by Christians because his actions were Anti-Christ - he attempted to murder a partaker of the Eucharist. The father this story is not hated or attacked for being Jewish, if that were so, even the child would be killed for "defiling" the Eucharist. The reason the father is killed is not because he is simply a Jew, but because he attempted to kill a child for consuming the Eucharist. The actual body and blood of the LORD Jesus Christ were inside of the child; to burn the child would be to burn Christ. Anti-Anti-Christ is the theme of these stories, not hatred of Jews qua Jews. Jews are redeemed and blessed with miracles once they accept Christ in these stories. The Christians are held to the same standards.
Another argument for these stories to be understood as anti-Anti-Christ is that the villain in the majority of these stories is a Christian who acts Anti-Christ in some way. All of the villains are redeemed insofar as they repent and properly glorify God.
Art: Lorenzo Monaco, "Virgin and child with six angels", 1415-1420.
Excellent point about the role of the Jews in the stories of Mary's miracles. It would have been good to have some other examples to illustrate your point that it is devotion *to* Mary and her Son that is at issue, rather than punishment of the Jews as Jews. Are there stories in which Mary was just as harsh with Christians who did not honor her? Another question: how do the miracle stories relate to the titles of Mary that you highlight? Is the Mary of the stories the same Mary of the praises? (Yes—but how?) The stories have been one of the great stumbling blocks for scholars: Mary seems so capricious in the miracles that she performs, as if her relationship to God does not matter. But clearly it must! There is also implicit here a huge question about the relationship between devotion and virtue—worth exploring! RLFB
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