Our Lady In Doctrine and Devotion,
by Fr. William Most
"XIII: Mediatrix of All Graces"
The term Mediatrix in itself could refer to either
objective or subjective redemption or both. It is
most usual to use it to refer only to subjective
redemption, i.e., the process of giving out the
fruits of the objective redemption, throughout all
centuries.
We must consider whether or not the term applies to
all graces or only to some. We will ask also about
the nature of the mediation: is it only by way of
intercession, or even by way of being a physical
instrument of all graces. There is no doubt the
title would be justified, and would apply to all
graces for certain, by her cooperation in acquiring
all graces on Calvary.
1) Leo XIII,
Encyclical, Supremi Apostolatus officio. Sept
1, 1883. ASS 16, 1883. 1113:
"We judge nothing more powerful and better for this
purpose than by religion and devotion to deserve
well of the great Mother of God, the Virgin
Mary, who is the treasurer (sequestra)
of our peace with God, and the mediatrix
(administra) of graces... ."
2) Leo XIII,
Encyclical, Superiore anno, August 30, 1884.
ASS 17, 1884. 49:
"... may He hear the prayers of those who beseech
through her, whom He Himself willed to be the
mediatrix (administram) of
graces."
3) Leo XIII,
Encyclical, Octobri mense adventante, Sept
22, 1891, ASS 24, 1891, 196:
"... it is right to say, that nothing at all of that
very great treasury of all grace which the Lord
brought us -- for 'grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ' [Jn 1. 17]- nothing is imparted to us
except through Mary, since God so wills, so that
just as no one can come to the Father except through
the Son, so in general, no one can come to
Christ except through His Mother."
4) Leo XIII,
Encyclical, Iucunda semper, Sept 8, 1984. ASS
27, 1894. 179:
"... when He [the Father] has been invoked with
excellent prayers, our humble voice turns to Mary;
in accordance with no other law than that law of
conciliation and petition which was expressed as
follows by St. Bernardine of Siena : 'Every
grace that is communicated to this world has a
threefold course. For by excellent order,
it is dispensed from God to Christ, from
Christ to the Virgin,
from the Virgin to us. '" (Internal
quote from S. Bernardine, Sermon on Nativity of
B. V. M. n. 6).
5) Leo XIII,
Encyclical, Adiutricem populi, Sept 5, 1895,
ASS 28, 1895, 130:
"For thereupon, by divine plan, she so began to
watch over the Church, so to be near and to favor us
as a Mother, that she who had been the
minister (administra) of
the mystery of human redemption, was
equally the minister (administra)
of the grace to be given from it for all time,
practically immeasurable power being given to
her."
6) Leo XIII,
Encyclical, Diuturni temporis spatium, Sept
5, 1898, ASS 31, 1898, 146:
"For from her, as in a must abundant conduit, the
drafts of heavenly graces are given: '... in her
hands are the treasures of the mercies of the Lord;
for God wills that she be the principle of all
good things. '"(internal quotes are from St.
John Damascene. Series I De Nativitate Virginis
and St. Irenaeus, Against Valentinus III.
33).
7) Leo XIII, Encyclical, Diuturni temporis
spatium, Sept 5, 1898, ASS 31, 1898, 147:
"'God wills her to be the principle of all
good things'" (citing St. John Damascene,
Series I De nativitate Virginis. )
8) Leo XIII,
Parta humano generi,
Apostolic Letter, Sept 8, 1901, ASS 34, 1901, 195:
"So may the most powerful Virgin Mother, who
once 'cooperated in love that the faithful
might be born in the Church', be even now the
means and mediatrix of our salvation."(Citing
St. Augustine, De sancta Virginitate 6).
9) St. Pius X,
Encyclical, Ad diem illum, Feb. 2, 1904, AAS
36, 1904. 453-54:
"Hence that never dissociated manner of life
and labors of the Mother and the Son... .
there stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother, not
merely occupied in looking at the dreadful sight,
but even rejoicing that 'her only Son was being
offered for the salvation of the human race; and so
did she suffer, with Him, that if it had been
possible, she would have much more gladly suffered
herself all the torments that her Son underwent'
[St. Bonaventure I. Sent. d, 48, ad Litt.
dub. 4. ]. Now from this common sharing of
will and suffering between Christ and Mary,
she 'merited to become most worthily the
Reparatrix of the lost world' [Eadmer, De
Excellentia Virginis Mariae, 9] and
therefore Dispensatrix of all the gifts which Jesus
gained for us by His Death and by His Blood...
. But Mary as St. Bernard fitting
remarks [De Aquaeductu 4. ] is the 'channel'
or, even, the neck, through which the
body is joined to the head, and likewise
through which the head exerts its power and strength
on the body. ' For she is the neck of
our Head, by which all spiritual gifts
are communicated to His Mystical Body"' [St.
Bernardine of Siena, Quadrag. De Evangelio
aeterno, Sermo X, a. 3. c. 3. ]
10) St. Pius X,
Litterae Apostolicae, August 27, 1910, AAS 2, 1910,
901:
"We, to whom nothing is dearer than that the
devotion of the faithful towards the Virgin of
Lourdes, the treasurer [sequestra]
of all graces, be more and more
increased, think we should gladly assent to these
wishes."
11) Benedict XV,
Litterae Apostolicae, Inter Sodalicia,
March 22, 1918, AAS 10, 1918, 182: "... the fact
that she was with Him crucified and dying, was in
accord with the divine plan. For with her suffering
and dying Son, Mary endured suffering and almost
death. She gave up her Mother's rights over her Son
to procure the salvation of mankind, and to appease
the divine justice, she, as much as she could,
immolated her Son, so that one can truly affirm that
together with Christ she has redeemed the human
race. But if for this reason, every kind of
grace we receive from the treasury of the redemption
is ministered as it were through the hands of the
same Sorrowful Virgin, everyone can see that
a holy death should be expected from her, since it
is precisely by this gift that the work of the
Redemption is effectively and permanently completed
in each one... . further, there is a most
constant belief among the faithful, proved
by long experience, that as many as employ the
same Virgin as Patron, will not at all
perish forever."
12) Benedict XV,
Encyclical, Fausto appetente die, June 29,
1921, AAS 13, 1921, 334:
"For he [St. Dominic] knew well that
Mary... has such influence with her divine Son, that
He confers whatever of graces He confers on humans,
does so always with her as minister and
decision-maker [administra et arbitra]."
13) Pius XI,
Apostolic Letter, Galliam, Ecclesiae filiam,
March 2, 1922, AAS 14, 1922 186: "She, the Virgin
Mother, [is] the treasurer [sequestra]
of all graces with God."
14) Pius XI, Apostolic Letter, Exstat in
civitate, Feb. 1, 1924, AAS 16 1924, 152:
"It is clear that many Roman Pontiffs... have
stirred up devotion among the nations to the most
clement Mother, the Virgin Mary, the Consoler of the
afflicted, and the treasurer [sequestra]
of all graces with God."
15) Pius XI, Apostolic Letter, Cognitum
sane, Jan 14, 1926, AAS 18, 1926, 213:
"We, to whom nothing is dearer than that the
devotion of the Christian people be aroused more and
more towards the Virgin who is the treasurer
[sequestra] of all graces with God,
think we should grant these wishes."
16) Pius XI,
Encyclical, Ingravescentibus malis, Sept 29,
1937, AAS 29, 1927, 380:
"... we know also that all things are imparted
to us from God the Greatest and Best,
through the hands of the Mother of God."
17) Pius XII,
Encyclical, Mystici Corporis, June 29, 1943,
AAS 35, 1943, 248:
"May she, then, the most holy Mother of all the
members of Christ, to whose Immaculate Heart we have
confidently consecrated all people... ask earnestly
that most abundant streams of graces from the lofty
Head may flow down on all the members of the
Mystical body without interruption."
18) Pius XII,
Radio message to Fatima, Bendito seja, May
13, 1946, AAS 38, 19465, 266:
"... having been associated, as Mother and Minister,
with the King of martyrs in the ineffable work
of human Redemption, she is always
associated, with a practically measureless power,
in the distribution of the graces that derive
from the Redemption... . And her
kingdom is as vast as that of her Son and God, since
nothing is excluded from her dominion."
19) John XXIII,
Epistle to Cardinal Agaganian, Legate to Marian
Congress in Saigon, Jan 31, 1959, AAS 51, 1959, 88:
"For the faithful can do nothing more fruitful and
salutary than to win for themselves the most
powerful patronage of the Immaculate Virgin,
so that by this most sweet Mother, there may be
opened to them, all the treasures of the
divine Redemption, and so they may have
life, and have it more abundantly. Did not the
Lord will that we have everything through Mary?"
Discorsi II, 66: "From her hands hope for all
graces."
20) Vatican II,
Lumen gentium
§§61-62:
" [61]...
in suffering with Him as He died on the cross,
she
cooperated
in the work of the Savior, in an altogether singular
way, by obedience, faith, hope, and burning love, to
restore supernatural life to souls.
As a result she is our Mother in the order of grace.
[62.] This motherhood of Mary in the economy of
grace lasts without interruption, from the consent
which she gave in faith at the annunciation, and
which she unhesitatingly bore with under the cross,
even to the perpetual consummation of all the elect.
For after being assumed into heaven, she has not put
aside this saving function, but by her manifold
intercession, she continues to win the gifts of
eternal salvation for us. [15*] By her motherly
love, she takes care of the brothers of her Son who
are still in pilgrimage and in dangers and
difficulties, until they be led through to the happy
fatherland. For this reason, the Blessed Virgin is
invoked in the Church under the titles of
Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adiutrix, and Mediatrix.
[16*]
This however it to be so understood that it takes
nothing away, or adds nothing to the dignity and
efficacy of Christ the one Mediator. For no creature
can ever be put on the same level with the Incarnate
Word and Redeemer... ."
[ The text Fr. Most provides above, section 61,
reads so much better, IMO, than the following text
found at Vatican Web site:
…
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.
Section 62 ends with the following which is added
here as it makes clear why this is important :
… The Church does not hesitate to profess this
subordinate role of Mary.
It knows it through unfailing experience
… that encouraged by this maternal help they may
the more intimately adhere to the Mediator and
Redeemer.]
Comments:
[Vatican 2 – Correct Understanding, and
Infallible repeated teaching,
Protestant misunderstandings,
The Richness of God’s expression,
How God’s grace is dispensed]
1. We notice
Vatican II did not add the words "of all graces."
First,
they were
not needed,
since, as several of the papal texts point out, her
role in dispensation flows logically from her role
in acquiring all graces.
Second,
the real reason for not adding it,
and for putting the title Mediatrix in a list of
other titles
was the influence of Protestant observers,
who
had said in advance that if the Church calls her
Mediatrix, dialogue on the topic would be ended.
Cf. C Balic, "El Capitulo VIII de la Constitucion
'Lumen gentium' comparado con el Primer Esquema de
La B. Virgen Madre de la Iglesia" in Estudios
Marianos 27, 1966, p. 174.
Further, the Council itself added a note
[Supplementary
Note 16*]
on the above passage,
[section 62 in Vatican II’s, Lumen Gentium,]
in which it refers us to the texts of
Leo XIII,
Adiutricem populi,
St. Pius X,
Ad diem illum,
Pius XI,
Miserentissimus Redemptor (text
below), and
Pius XII,
Radio message to Fatima.
Leo XIII
in that text spoke of her, as we saw above, as
having "practically limitless power."
St. Pius X
said she was the "dispensatrix of all the gifts, and
is the "neck" connecting the Head of the Mystical
Body to the Members. But all power flows through the
neck.
Pius XII
said "Her kingdom is as vast as that of her Son and
God, since nothing is excluded from her dominion."
Still further,
no Council has the right to cancel previous papal
teaching,
especially when that teaching, on the ordinary
Magisterium level, is repeated.
For such repeated teaching is infallible.
2. The following papal texts cited above speak
in varied ways
of her as
Mediatrix of all graces:
Leo XIII,
especially texts
3 and 4:
"nothing at all of that great treasury of all
grace... is imparted to us except through Mary....
every grace has a threefold course...."
St. Pius X:
especially texts
9
and 10:
"Dispensatrix of all the gifts."
She is the
"neck"
of the Mystical Body.
Benedict XV text
12: "Whatever
of graces He confers.... always with her as minister
and decision-maker".
Pius XI, texts
13. 14. 15:
"treasurer of all graces".
Pius XII,
text
18:
"nothing is excluded from her dominion".
John XXIII, text
19:
"Did not the Lord will that we have everything
through Mary?"
Again, since a doctrine repeatedly taught on the
Ordinary Magisterium level is
infallibly taught
- so many repetitions of this doctrine mark it as
infallible.
3. Protestants object, saying that there is only
mediator: 1 Tim 2:5. But they fail to make
distinctions.
There is only one
1) who is such by very nature, having both divine
and human natures;
2) whose work is necessary;
3) who depends on no one else for power. She differs
on all three counts. Her whole ability to do
anything comes entirely from her Son, and hence we
are not contradicting LG §62 which says no creature
can be ever counted together with Him."As we said,
we reply that her whole ability comes from Him.
Really, the Father did not need her at all, except
that if He decreed the incarnation, He necessarily
decreed a Mother: she was and is that Mother. But
everything else in which He has employed her is not
needed.
Yet:
1) if we recall the alternatives of redemption, it
is clear that the
Father wants everything to be as rich as possible,
so that He will not stop with something lesser if
there is more than can be done.
Really, the
incarnation in a palace, without death, would have
been infinite in merit and satisfaction,
as we saw above.
2) Further the principle of
St. Thomas
helps here. In I. 19, 5. c. Thomas says that
it pleases God
to have one thing in place to serve as a title or
reason for granting something further, even though
that title does not move Him.
It is His love of all goodness and good order that
leads Him to act this way.
Hence too, even though Calvary earned infinite
forgiveness and graces, the
Father wills to provide titles for giving out these,
in the Mass. Even though He did not need even our
Lady, yet He willed to employ her. Even though there
is no need of any other saints, in objective or
subjective redemption, yet
He wills to add them - all to make everything, every
title, as rich as possible.
4. LG speaks of her as taking care of all her
children. We are extremely numerous, but yet not
infinite in number. Therefore, we are not too
numerous for her to see and care for. For her
capacity for that infinite vision of God is in
proportion to her love on earth, so great that Pius
IX, as we saw, said it was so great that "none
greater under God can be thought of, and no one but
God can comprehend it."
5. What is the nature of her mediation? Surely, she
works by way of intercession. But theologians have
also asked: Is she also a physical instrument of
grace?
Many today, influenced by Protestantism, tend to
speak of grace merely as favor, and so say grace is
not a thing given.
But that would
imply Pelagianism,
the heresy that says that we can be saved by our own
power.
For if God merely sits there and smiles at me, and
gives me nothing, that would mean that I had to do
it by my own power.
So even if one uses the word favor, this must
always be in mind.
But
St. Thomas Aquinas
holds that the sacraments are physical instruments
of grace (III. 62. 4).
Then the priest giving absolution would be a
physical instrument of grace. So all the more she
would be such an instrument.
If she is, then the course of grace is this: grace
begins in the divine nature, passes through the
Sacred Humanity of Christ (a physical instrument),
then through Mary (also a physical instrument) and
then, if a sacrament is being given, through it as a
physical instrument also. This seems to be precisely
the sense of the text of Leo XIII, Iucunda semper,
cited above. It fits well with the words of St. Pius
X in Ad diem illum and some other texts we
have already cited.
End Quote of Fr. William Most
Fr. Most probably meant to include the following as
it is referenced in Supplemental Note 16*
Pope Pius XI
- Miserentissimus Redemptor
21. …
And now lastly may the most benign Virgin Mother of
God smile on this purpose and on these desires of
ours; for since she brought forth for us Jesus our
Redeemer, and nourished Him, and
offered Him as a victim by the Cross, by Her mystic
union with Christ
and His very special grace She likewise became and
is piously called a
reparatress.
… who whereas He is the "one mediator of God and
men" (1 Timothy ii, 5), chose to make His
Mother the advocate of sinners, and the minister and
mediatress of grace,
as an earnest of heavenly gifts …
Encyclical -
Miserentissimus Redemptor (Reparation to the Sacred
Heart) May 8, 1928
Pope Pius XI –
31. Let, therefore, this year the Feast of the
Sacred Heart be for the whole Church one of holy
rivalry of reparation and supplication. …
Let them pray to Him, interposing likewise the
powerful patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mediatrix of all graces,
for themselves and for their families, for their
country, for the Church …”
Encyclical Caritate Christi Compulsi (On
the Sacred Heart)
May 3, 1932)
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