Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary & Growth in Christian Life. Essay Contest

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary & Growth in Christian Life Essay Contest

Essay Contest Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary & Growth in Christian Life 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from Msgr. Michael J. Bransfield...3 Letter from Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson...5 Introduction...6 What Catholics Believe & Cherish About Mary: A Summary...8 SELECTIONS OF TEXTS ON MARIAN DEVOTION Catechism of the Catholic Church...11 Lumen Gentium...12 Marialus Cultus...14 Redemptoris Mater...18 Rosarium Virginis Mariae...20 Ecclessia de Eucharistia...22 Mary s Journey...24 2

Pope Pius IX, in defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, taught us a great deal not only about the special privileges God the Father bestowed upon the Virgin Mary but, more broadly, about his love for us in sending his Only Begotten Son as our Savior. Just as Mary was preserved from original sin by the merits of Jesus passion and death, we have received the fruits of his redemptive sacrifice in the sacramental grace of baptism. As in so many mysteries of faith, our understanding of God s plan of salvation and his relationship with mankind is made manifest through the Church s teaching about the Blessed Mother. For Catholics in the United States, Mary s title of the Immaculate Conception is especially significant, for it is under this designation that she was declared the patroness of our nation. Her sinless soul is a model for everyone striving to advance in holiness and grace. Moreover, her powerful maternal intercession is a great source of strength and consolation amid the trials and obstacles we face in seeking to abide by the Gospel of Christ and the Church s teachings. 3

As the Church marks the 150 th anniversary of the Immaculate Conception, there are many initiatives that call us to reflect on this sublime mystery of faith. This essay contest seeks not only to elicit the participants knowledge of the faith, but also to cause them to look carefully at how this understanding affects their own lives, and how we can draw closer to Christ through devotion to Our Lady. I am grateful to the Knights of Columbus for its generous support of this project, which seeks to imbue that faith more firmly, and enliven Marian devotion, in the lives of all the contestants. Reverend Msgr. Michael J. Bransfield Rector, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 4

Since its founding in 1882 in New Haven, Conn., the Knights of Columbus has had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As Mary is the Mother of the Church, so too is she the Mother of the Knights of Columbus, as our Order is entrusted to her maternal care under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This year is indeed a time of special grace for Catholics throughout the United States, as we celebrate the 150 th anniversary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Ever anxious to further understanding and devotion to the Blessed Mother, the Knights of Columbus is privileged to collaborate with the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in making this essay contest possible. We hope and pray that all those who participate will find by their studies increased devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Carl A. Anderson Supreme Knight Knights of Columbus 5

Introduction Growth in the Christian life means growth in holiness letting God s grace and life take greater and greater hold of our lives. To grow in the Christian life means living more and more by faith, hope and love. All this happens as we draw closer to the Father through his Son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God found in the Bible and in the teachings of the Church, the sacraments and the liturgy of the Church, and our connection with the Communion of Saints all these are the means and paths of Catholic Christians who want to grow in the Christian life, in God s holiness. We learn about the Christian life and holiness not just by thinking about them, through the world of ideas. Living and believing people, like our parents, teachers priests and members of our parish community, give a living example of what the Christian life means. They have initiated us and taught us how to accept the gift of God s holiness. This way of learning is very important for Catholic Christians. We profess our faith and say that we believe in an apostolic Church, a Church built on the foundation of the Apostles faith, a Church that passes on that faith from generation to generation. God uses believing people in the Church to draw each other more deeply into the mystery of his Trinitarian life as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 6

One person in the Church is of singular importance for all the followers of Jesus Christ. That is his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the first disciple of Jesus, the Mother of the Church, and the mother of all disciples. In a remarkable and unique way, she has guided believers throughout the centuries to her son, Jesus Christ. Through her example and intercession, countless believers have come to know the true path of the Christian life and growth in holiness. She continues to lead us and guide us today. This year s essay contest has as its theme Devotion to Mary & Growth in the Christian Life. This booklet is meant to help you reflect on this theme and to stimulate your thinking, as you prepare your essay. This booklet contains a summary of what Catholics believe and cherish about Mary followed by a selection of texts from official Church documents and the book Mary s Journey. May Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who always responded to the will of the Father, listened and wholeheartedly followed her Son, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, draw you more closely into the very life of God. 7

What Catholics Believe & Cherish About Mary: A Summary This section is a brief summary of what Catholic Christians believe and cherish about the Blessed Virgin Mary. For a more complete presentation see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, especially nos. 484-511, 963-975 and the book Mary s Journey. God chose Mary to be the mother of his son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel according to Saint Luke describes the angel Gabriel bringing God s invitation to Mary. This is called the Annunciation, the great announcement of the birth of the Savior of the human family, the Savior who would free us from sin and death. In response to God s call, Mary generously and wholeheartedly gives her loving assent by saying Let it be done to me according to your word. Traditionally, this response has been called her fiat, the Latin word for let it be done. Mary does not conceive Jesus with a human father. She conceives him as a virgin by the power of God s Holy Spirit. She remains a virgin always. That is why in Christian tradition she is called the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary. She gives birth to her child. She presents him in the temple of Jerusalem. She presents him to a waiting world as she holds him out to the Wisemen who came in search of the newborn King of the Jews. She protects him by fleeing to Egypt with him and his foster father, Joseph, when King Herod threatens to kill him. She cares for him as he grows in wisdom and grace in the town of Nazareth. 8

Mary is present to Jesus in his public ministry. As he begins his ministry and offers his first great sign, changing water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana, she is there. She is the one who tells the servants, Do whatever he tells you. She continues to speak that same message to the followers of Jesus today, Do whatever he tells you. Her whole life pointed to her son, Jesus Christ. Mary stands at the foot of the Cross. Jesus says to his beloved disciple, who represents all the disciples who would follow him, Behold, your mother. In those words, Jesus gives Mary to all of us who follow Jesus as our Mother. The last scene of Mary in the Bible is in the Acts of the Apostles. She is gathered in prayer with the Apostles waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the birth of the Church. She is the Mother of the Church who continues to pray and intercede for us. Across the years, the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has come to understand more clearly and affirm more surely certain privileges of Mary. These privileges belong to her because of her unique role in bringing Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, into the world. In her unique role, she represented the whole human family in accepting the Savior into the world. These privileges and truths are dogmas or sure teachings of the faith taught and professed by the Church. There are four principal dogmas. 9

The first is the virginal conception of Jesus. Mary conceived Jesus and brought him forth into the world as a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit. The second is that she is the Mother of God. This does not mean that she is before God. Rather, it means that she gave birth to Jesus who was true God and true man, one person who has both a human and a divine nature. In giving birth to him, she can truly be called Mother of God. The third dogma is her Immaculate Conception. This means that God prepared her for her great role by preserving her from original sin from the very first moment of her conception in view of the merits of her son, Jesus the Redeemer. She is, as we so often pray, full of grace. The fourth dogma is that of her Assumption into Heaven. At the end of her earthly life, God drew her to himself. He brought (assumed) her into Heaven body and soul. She shares in the fullness of redemption, body and soul, which we hope will be ours one day. We cherish Mary, because she is our mother who is watchful, attentive and protecting. She also intercedes or prays for us. And we depend on her prayers for us, as we often say Pray for us now and in the hour of our death. She also prays with us, especially in the Eucharist, when we join our worship on earth with the worship of Heaven. Mary offers us an example and a path of living out our discipleship of Jesus. Her free and complete surrender to God s will, her generous availability to whatever God asked of her, her sharing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus all these offer us a pattern for our discipleship. She is both a uniquely privileged person and someone like us, who helps us to live more and more fully in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. 10

SELECTIONS OF TEXTS ON MARIAN DEVOTION Catechism of the Catholic Church 2030 It is in the Church, in communion with all the baptized, that the Christian fulfills his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of God containing the teachings of the law of Christ. From the Church he receives the grace of the sacraments that sustain him on the way. From the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns in it the authentic witness of those who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual tradition and long history of the saints who have gone before him and whom the liturgy celebrates in the rhythms of the sanctoral cycle. 2617 Mary s prayer is revealed to us at the dawning of the fullness of time. Before the incarnation of the Son of God, and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, her prayer cooperates in a unique way with the Father s plan of loving kindness: at the Annunciation, for Christ s conception; at Pentecost, for the formation of the Church, his Body. In the faith of his humble handmaid, the Gift of God found the acceptance he had awaited from the beginning of time. She whom the Almighty made full of grace responds by offering her whole being: Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word. Fiat [ let it be done ]: this is Christian prayer: to be wholly God s, because he is wholly ours. 11

Dogmatic Constitution of the Second Vatican Council On the Church (Lumen gentium) 65 But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached the perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle (cf. Eph. 5:27), the faithful still strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. And so they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues. Devoutly meditating on her and contemplating her in the light of the Word made man, the Church reverently penetrates more deeply into the great mystery of the Incarnation and becomes more and more like her spouse. Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary, in a way, unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the faith: and when she is the subject of preaching and worship she prompts the faithful to come to her Son, to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father. Seeking after the glory of Christ, the Church becomes more like her lofty type, and continually progresses in faith, hope, and charity, seeking and doing the will of God in all things. The Church, therefore, in her apostolic work too, rightly looks to her who gave birth to Christ, who was thus conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that through the Church he could be born and increase in the hearts of the faithful. In her life the Virgin has been a model of that motherly love with which all who join in the Church s apostolic mission for the regeneration of mankind should be animated. 12

68 [T]he Mother of Jesus in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10), a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God. 13

Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Paul VI For the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Marialis cultus) 11 When the liturgy turns its gaze either to the primitive Church or to the Church of our own days it always finds Mary. In the primitive Church she is seen praying with the apostles; in our own day she is actively present, and the Church desires to live the mystery of Christ with her: Grant that your Church which with Mary shared Christ s passion may be worthy to share also in his resurrection. She is also seen represented as a voice of praise in unison with which the Church wishes to give glory to God: with her [Mary] may we always praise you. And since the liturgy is worship that requires a way of living consistent with it, it asks that devotion to the Blessed Virgin should become a concrete and deeply-felt love for the Church, as is wonderfully expressed in the prayer after Communion in the Mass of September 15: that as we recall the sufferings shared by the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may with the Church fulfill in ourselves what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 21 Mary is not only an example for the whole Church in the exercise of divine worship but is also, clearly, a teacher of the spiritual life for individual Christians. The faithful at a very early date began to look to Mary and to imitate her in making their lives an act of worship of God and making their worship a commitment of their lives. As early as the fourth century, St. Ambrose, speaking to the people, expressed 14

the hope that each of them would have the spirit of Mary in order to glorify God: May the heart of Mary be in each Christian to proclaim the greatness of the Lord; may her spirit be in everyone to exult in God. But Mary is above all the example of that worship that consists in making one s life an offering to God. This is an ancient and ever new doctrine that each individual can hear again by heeding the Church s teaching, but also by heeding the very voice of the Virgin as she, anticipating in herself the wonderful petition of the Lord s Prayer Your will be done (Mt. 6:10) replied to God s messenger: I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me (Lk. 1:38). And Mary s yes is for all Christians a lesson and example of obedience tot he will of the Father, which is the way and means of one s own sanctification. 35 the Virgin Mary has always been proposed to the faithful by the Church as an example to be imitated, not precisely in the type of life she led, and much less for the socio-cultural background in which she lived and which today scarcely exists anywhere. She is held up as an example to the faithful rather for the way in which, in her own particular life, she fully and responsibly accepted the will of God (cf. Lk. 1:38), because she heard the word of God and acted on it, and because charity and a spirit of service were the driving force of her actions. She is worthy of imitation because she was the first and the most perfect of Christ s disciples. All of this has a permanent and universal exemplary value. 15

37 The reading of the divine Scriptures, carried out under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and with the discoveries of the human sciences and the different situations in the world today being taken into account, will help us to see how Mary can be considered a mirror of the expectations of the men and women of our time. Thus, the modern woman, anxious to participate with decision-making power in the affairs of the community, will contemplate with intimate joy Mary who, taken into dialogue with God, gives her active and responsible consent, not the solution of contingent problems, but to that event of world importance, as the Incarnation of the Word has been rightly called. The modern woman will appreciate Mary s choice of the state of virginity, which in God s plan prepared her for the mystery of the Incarnation, was not a rejection of any of the values of the married state but a courageous choice which she made in order to consecrate herself totally to the love of God. The modern woman will note with pleasant surprise that Mary of Nazareth, while completely devoted to the will of God, was far from being a timidly submissive woman or one whose piety was repellent to others; on the contrary, she was a woman who did not hesitate to proclaim that God vindicates the humble and the oppressed, and removes the powerful people of this world from their privileged positions (cf. Lk. 1:51-53). The modern woman will recognize in Mary, who stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, a woman of strength, who experienced poverty and suffering, flight and exile (cf. Mt. 2:13-23). These are situations that cannot escape the attention of those who wish to support, with the Gospel 16

spirit, the liberating energies of man and of society. And Mary will appear not as a Mother exclusively concerned with own divine Son, but rather as a woman whose action helped to strengthen the apostolic community s faith in Christ (cf. Jn. 2:1-12), and whose maternal role was extended and became universal on Calvary. These are but examples which show clearly that the figure of the Blessed Virgin does not disillusion any of the profound expectations of the men and women of our time but offers them the perfect model of the disciple of the Lord 17

Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church (Redemptoris Mater) 5 I wish to consider primarily that pilgrimage of faith in which the Blessed Virgin advanced, faithfully preserving her union with Christ. In this way the twofold bond which unites the Mother of God with Christ and with the Church takes on historical significance. Nor is it just a question of the Virgin Mother s life-story, of her personal journey of faith and the better part which is hers in the mystery of salvation; it is also a question of the history of the whole People of God, of all those who take part in the same pilgrimage of faith. The Council expresses this when it states in another passage that Mary has gone before, becoming a model of the Church in the matter of faith, charity, and perfect union with Christ. This going before as a figure or model is a reference to the intimate mystery of the Church, as she actuates and accomplishes her own saving mission by uniting herself as Mary did the qualities of mother and virgin. She is a virgin who keeps whole and pure the fidelity she has pledged to her Spouse and becomes herself a mother, for she brings forth to a new and immortal life children who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God. 6 All this is accomplished in a great historical process, comparable to a journey. The pilgrimage of faith 18

indicates the interior history, that is, the story of souls. But it is also the story of all human beings, subject here on earth to transitoriness, and part of the historical dimension. In the following reflections we wish to concentrate first of all on the present, which in itself is not yet history, but which nevertheless is constantly forming it, also in the sense of the history of salvation. Here there opens up a broad prospect, within which the Blessed Virgin Mary continues to go before the People of God. Her exceptional pilgrimage of faith represents a constant point of reference for the Church, for individuals and for communities, for peoples and nations and, in a sense, for all humanity. It is indeed difficult to encompass and measure its range. 19

Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II On the Most Holy Rosary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae) 10 The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger (Lk. 2:7) Thereafter Mary s gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave him. At times it would be a questioning look, as in the episode of the finding in the Temple: Son, why have you treated us so? (Lk. 2:48); it would always be a penetrating gaze, one capable of deeply understanding Jesus, even to the point of perceiving his hidden feelings and anticipating his decisions, as at Cana (cf. Jn. 2:5). At other times it would be a look of sorrow, especially beneath the Cross, where her vision would still be that of a mother giving birth, for Mary not only shared the passion and death of her Son, she also received the new son given to her in the beloved disciple (cf. Jn. 19:26-27). On the morning of 20

Easter hers would be a gaze radiant with the joy of the Resurrection, and finally, on the day of Pentecost, a gaze afire with the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14). 14 Christ is the supreme Teacher, the revealer and the one revealed. It is not just a question of learning what he taught but of learning him. In this regard could we have any better teacher than Mary? From the divine standpoint, the Spirit is the interior teacher who leads us to the full truth of Christ (cf. Jn. 14:26; 15:26; 16:13). But among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery than his Mother. 15 In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation in Mary s company of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ s life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. In this regard Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: Just as two friends, frequently in each other s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience, and perfection. 21

Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II On the Eucharist in its Relationship to the Church (Ecclesia de Eucharistia) 54 Mysterium fidei! If the Eucharist is a mystery of faith which so greatly transcends our understanding as to call for sheer abandonment to the word of God, then there can be no one like Mary to act as our support and guide in acquiring this disposition. In repeating what Christ did at the Last Supper in obedience to his command: do this in memory of me!, we also accept Mary s invitation to obey him without hesitation: Do whatever he tells you (Jn. 2:5). With the same maternal concern which she showed at the wedding feast of Cana, Mary seems to say to us: Do not waver; trust in the words of my Son. If he was able to change water into wine, he can also turn bread and wine into his body and blood, and through this mystery bestow on believers the living memorial of his passover, thus becoming the bread of life. 55 In a certain sense Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb for the Incarnation of God s Word. The Eucharist, while commemorating the passion and resurrection, is also in continuity with the incarnation. At the Annunciation Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens sacramentally in every believer who receives, under the signs of bread and wine, the Lord s body and blood. 22

As a result, there is a profound analogy between the Fiat [Let it be done] which Mary said in reply to the angel, and the Amen which every believer says when receiving the body of the Lord 57 Experiencing the memorial of Christ s death in the Eucharist also means continually receiving this gift. It means accepting like John the one who is given to us anew as our Mother. It also means taking on a commitment to be conformed to Christ, putting ourselves at the school of his Mother and allowing her to accompany us. Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist. 23

Mary s Journey by Father Louis J. Cameli pp. 110-112 The Church s journey of faith with Mary has included more than a journey leading to the formulation of doctrines [ that she is the Mother God, that she conceived Jesus virginally and remained a virgin, that she was conceived immaculately, that she was assumed into heaven]. The faith journey of the Church also reaches into the very human dimension of feelings, especially feelings of being attached or united By the word devotion we mean the overall feeling that people have toward Mary The word devotion comes from the Latin verb sese devovere, meaning to commit oneself, or to vow oneself. Our own experience of devotion agrees with the idea of commitment. Being devoted to someone or something means committing yourself to a person or cause or ideal. But devotion involves more than commitment; it usually carries with it a sense of attachment. Perhaps the best way to understand devotion, then, is to see it as a committed attachment. Because it involves commitment, devotion implies some personal investment on our part. Because it involves attachment, devotion includes feelings, especially feelings of closeness 24

Although devotions to Mary have varied widely according to time, place, and culture, they all express the same underlying sense of committed attachment. The Church s journey of faith involves more than growing in its understanding of Mary or in its feelings of attachment to her. It also involves developing a sense of value about Mary that can open possibilities for daily living. In other words, because the Church values Mary as a woman of great faith, and as the mother of all Jesus disciples, it recognizes that she is worthy of being imitated. This means that we look upon Mary as a model person in the family of faith. She embodied what believing in Jesus Christ is all about and expressed that belief in her life and her action. She is, there, the great example of holiness. p. 119 Mary and the saints serve as models for living out the mystery of Christ. God s plant o bring all things under the headship of Christ unfolds in Jesus life, teaching, death, and resurrection. Although the mystery of Christ is one, there are countless possibilities for living it out, possibilities that vary with time, place, culture, and personal temperament. In fact, the history of the Church is the story of people journeying in faith and realizing the many possibilities for living out the one mystery of Christ. 25

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Louis J. Cameli, Mary s Journey (Allen, TX: Thomas More Publishing/Christian Classics, 2003). Available through the bookstore of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. 26

December 8, 2004, marks the 150 th anniversary of the solemn proclamation of the dogma of Mary s conception without the stain of original sin. In preparation for this anniversary, a Year of the Immaculate Conception is being observed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. This essay contest provides high school seniors across the nation with a meaningful way to participate in this joyous celebration of Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church. SPONSORED BY THE BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION AND THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS SUPREME COUNCIL