The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Dionisio Miranda SVD- University of San Carlos, Cebu City
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – August 15
In 2005, the International Symposium on Marian Co-redemption held in Fatima, asked Pope Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma. They urged him to proclaim Mary as the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, specifying this as being “co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.”
By declaring Mary the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the Pope would not be saying anything new about her, only clarifying her role in salvation, according to its proponents. These roles of the Blessed Virgin as our spiritual mother have always been part of our Catholic tradition. As Our Lady of Fatima, for example, she shows herself as a merciful mother, ready to intercede for us in our gravest needs, eager to intercede as a mother to bring us closer to Jesus. And as our world continues to be increasingly secularized, it is only fitting that Mother of Christ should be invoked to lead the new evangelization of the third millennium—as co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate.
Others object that the Church has no particular need for a new teaching on Mary at this time, and advocates readily concede that there is nothing novel in the proposal. They admit that the core teaching is actually very ancient; that it was reaffirmed by Vatican II (See LG 57, 58, 61, 62), and that “co-redemptrix” was already a favorite theme of John Paul during his pontificate. In good theology Mary’s maternal role is always understood in complete dependency on Jesus and as a human participant with the redeemer in the work of salvation. Magisterially, when Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as a dogma in 1854, he explained that a dogmatic statement would add greater light and appreciation of the doctrine, leading to its “perfection.” That, insist its advocates, is what this definition would do for Our Lady’s spiritual motherhood—it would add nothing new, but it would provide greater appreciation, understanding, and clarity of the existing truth.
The technical terms of co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate as specifications of Mary’s general role as our spiritual mother should not be too difficult for the ordinary Christian to comprehend. Whatever her title, Mary is basically a mother who suffered with Jesus for us, a mother who comes to nourish us with the graces of Jesus, and a mother who intercedes for us in our needs. She is a mother who suffers, nourishes, and pleads for her people—all at a spiritual level, to be sure. It is doubtful that the ordinary Christian regards Mary as a goddess, as someone equal with her divine son. Clearly she participated as a human in the historic act of redemption in a way absolutely and completely dependent on Jesus. That explains the closeness, intimacy, and affection implied in the title often given her, as “Mama Mary.” It is also in light of that affection, I would suggest, that we are to read this discussion on an extra title for our blessed Mother.
