Throughout history Roman Catholic Mariology has been influenced by a number of saints who have attested to the central role of Mary in God's plan of salvation. The analysis of Early Church Fathers continues to be reflected in modern encyclicals.
While the Marian teachings of some saints may have been virtually unknown during their own life, they have influenced the Church centuries later. An example is Saint Louis de Montfort who was a priest for only 16 years and had but a handful of followers upon his death at the beginning of the 18th century, yet influenced four popes, namely Leo XIII, Pius X, Pius XII and John Paul II who chose his personal motto Totus Tuus based on Montfort's influence.
One of the earliest images of Mary in Christian tradition is that of the "New Eve". Irenaeus of Lyons (circa 140–202) is perhaps the earliest of the Church Fathers to develop a thorough Mariology. In his youth he had met Polycarp other Christians who had been in direct contact with the Apostles. Following Romans 5, his analysis is both scriptural and Christological. presenting Christ as the "New Adam". Irenaeus expands upon the thought of Justin Martyr (100–165), and illustrates the distinction between Eve and Mary in both Adversus haereses (Against Heresies) and in Demonstratio Apostolicae Praedicationis (Proof of the Apostolic Preaching).[1]
Saint Ambrose of Milan (339–397) Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church was one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the Fourth Century. A student of Simplician, the virginity of Mary and her role as Mother of God were central to his views on Mary.[4] He portrayed the Mother of God "as devoid off any defect or imperfection, radiant with exception greatness and holiness."[5]
In 390 he defended the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, rejected by Jovinian. He also disputed the teaching of Bonosus of Sardica that Mary had other children after Jesus, citing John 19: 25-26 and arguing that if that were so, Jesus would not have entrusted his mother to John. He addressed this further in De Institutione Virginis.[1]
Augustine of Hippo
The cultus of Mary was not as strong in North Africa during the time of Augustine (354–430) as compared with that of recent martyrs. Augustine died the year before the Council of Ephesus in 431 declared Mary to be the Mother of God, which prompted a more in depth consideration of Mary's role. He did not develop an independent Mariology, but his statements on Mary surpass in number and depths those of other early writers.[6] His main themes are discussed in De santa virginitate (“On holy virginity”), where he explains that, like the church, Mary is both virgin and mother, both physically and spiritually.[7]
Augustine said that Mary was more blessed in accepting faith in Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ.[8] Augustine’s interest in Mary’s maternity was Christ-centred and underscored both the full humanity and full divinity of Christ.[7]
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria (412–444) presided over the Third Ecumenical Council held in 431 at Ephesus which defined it as an article of faith that Mary was truly the Mother of God. This arose from an apparent Christological dispute pitting Cyril against Nestorius of Constantinople.[9]
Veneration of Mary as “Theotokos” (God bearer) supported the doctrine of the incarnation, and Christ's status as equal to the God the Father. Cyril believed that Nestorius' preference for the term “Christotokos” (Christ-bearer) undermined this and suggested that Christ was distinct persons: one fully human and born of Mary, the other fully divine and not subject to birth or death.[10] The Council endorsed the name "Theotokos", which in the West is translated as Mother of God.
Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the influential churchmen of his time. In the "Sermon on the Sunday in the Octave of the Assumption" Bernard of Clairvaux described Mary's participation in redemption.[11] Bernard's Praises on the Virgin Mother" was a small but complete treatise on Mariology.[12]
When the storms to temptation burst upon you, when you see yourself driven upon the rocks of tribulation, look at the star, call upon Mary. When swallowed by pride or ambition, or hatred, or jealousy, look at the star, call upon Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look at the star, call upon Mary. If troubled on account of the heinousness of your sins, distressed at the filthy state of your conscience, and terrified at the thought of the awful judgment to come, you are beginning to sink into the bottomless gulf of sadness and to be swallowed in the abyss of despair, then think of Mary. In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name leave thy lips, never suffer it to leave your heart.[13]
In 1953, on the eighth centenary of Bernard's death, Pope Pius XII issued the encyclical Doctor Mellifluus on St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
Hildegard of Bingen
The texts of Hildegard of Bingen "presents the most complex Mariology of Medieval German women writers."[14] While following the traditional juxtaposition of Eve and Mary, in the illustrated Scivias, Adam is depicted as listening to the tempter, and thus bears equal blame.[14] Of the sixty-three songs in Hildegard's Symphonia, sixteen focus on the role of Mary in salvation history,[14] the most dedicated to any one figure.[15] In Hildegard’s Mariology, Mary assumes the status of an essential, active partner in the plan of redemption. A second characteristic Marian theme, is that of the Virgin Mother healing the brokenness brought into the world by the first mother, Eve.[15] Hildegard belongs more to the Romanesque than the Gothic Age. Untouched by a new affective style of piety that friars will popularize across Europe, Hildegard’s Mary, like her overall spirituality is monastic.[16]
Saint Dominic
A popular legend holds that Dominic received the Rosary from Mary. Although widely believed to have made use of the Rosary in working for the conversion of the Albigensians, the canonization Acts of Saint Dominic emphasize his frequent praying of the plainsong hymn Ave Maris Stella. The Rosary remains a unique part of the charism of the Order of Preachers.[17]
Anthony of Padua
The many sermons of Saint Anthony of Padua (1195–1231) on the Virgin Mary reflect his belief in various Marian doctrines that were declared as dogmas centuries after his death. He reflected on the Assumption of Mary and referring to Psalm 132 argued that, just as Jesus had risen up to Heaven, so did Mary.[18] He also supported Mary's freedom from sin and her Immaculate Conception.[19][20] Given that Anthony was one of the best educated and articulate of the early Franciscans, he was treated as a Doctor of the Church by his order, even before the title was granted to him in 1946.
As a Doctor of the Church the views of Saint Anthony of Padua on the Virgin Mary shaped the Mariological approach of a large number of Franciscans who followed his approach for centuries after his death.[21]
Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena, a third order Dominican, began almost all of her more than 300 letters with, "In the name of Jesus Christ crucified and of gentle Mary”. For Catherine, the Incarnation is the beginning of the redemption.[22] The city of Siena was dedicated to Mary in 1260, and Catherine absorbed the its ambient spirituality. She adopted the custom of dedicating Saturday to Mary and recommended praying the Little Office off the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Saint Petrus Canisius (1521–1597) taught that while there are many roads leading to Jesus Christ, Marian veneration is the best. Canisius tried to show a practical rationale for Marian devotion and defended it against opposing Protestant arguments. His sermons and letters document a clear preoccupation with Marian veneration.[24] His lasting contribution to this "applied mariology" are his three catechisms, which he published in Latin and German, and which became widespread and popular in Catholic regions. Under the heading "prayer" he explains the Ave Maria, (Hail Mary), as the basis for Catholic Marian piety.[25] Less known are his Marian books, in which he published prayers and contemplative texts.
He is credited with adding to the Hail Mary the sentence Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. This sentence appeared for he first time in his catechism of 1555.[26] It was eleven years later included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566.
"Petrus Canisius provided a classical defence of the whole Catholic mariology against Protestantism", as judged three hundred years later by a leading Catholic theologian.[27]
Robert Bellarmine
While Robert Bellarmine daily prayed the Rosary and the Little Office, he had a particulars devotion to the Immaculate Conception. Pope Pius XII quotes Bellarmine in the 1950 apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus, promulgating the dogma of the Assumption.[28]
Jean Eudes organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical sources relating to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and promoted them with the approbation of the Church. The feast of the Holy Heart of Mary was celebrated for the first time in 1648, and that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1670. The Mass and Office proper to these feasts were composed by Saint Jean Eudes in 1668, briefly preceding Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque in establishing the devotion to the Sacred Hearts. He composed various prayers and rosaries to the Sacred Hearts. His book "Le Cœur Admirable de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu" is the first book ever written on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts.[31][32][33]
Louis de Montfort
Saint Louis de Montfort (1673–1716), was an effective defender of Mariology against Jansenism whose True Devotion to Mary synthesizes many of the earlier saints' writings and teachings on Mary. Saint Louis de Montfort's approach of "total consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary" had a strong impact on Marian devotion both in popular piety and in the spirituality of religious institutes. Pope John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the pontiff's personal motto "Totus Tuus" was inspired by Saint Louis' doctrine on the excellence of Marian devotion and total consecration, which he quoted:
Since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be consecrated to Jesus Christ."
In an address to the Montfortian Fathers, the pontiff also said that his reading the saint's work The True Devotion to Mary was a "decisive turning point" in his life.
Saint Louis de Montfort's book The Secret of the Rosary has been widely read by Catholics worldwide for over two centuries and is one of the earliest works to strengthen the devotional components of modern Mariology.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1787) a Doctor of the Church, wrote The Glories of Mary, Marian Devotions, Prayers to the Divine Mother, Spiritual Songs, Visitations to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Virgin Mary, The True Spouse of Jesus Christ, and other writings. He was of great influence on Mariology during the Age of Enlightenment. His often ardent Marian enthusiasm contrasts with the cold rationalism of the Enlightenment. Liguori promoted a maximalist Mariology and expressed the belief in the general mediation of grace through Mary. This work was used by preachers. Mainly pastoral in nature, his Mariology rediscovers, integrates and defends the Mariology of Augustine and Ambrose and other fathers and represents an intellectual defence of Mariology in the eighteenth century.[34]
Liguori also promoted the doctrine of the bodily Assumption of Mary into Heaven, arguing that Jesus would not have wanted his mother's body corrupted in flesh, for that would have been a dishonour, given that he had himself been born of the Virgin, and hence Mary must have been assumed into Heaven.[35]
In 1915, while still in seminary, Saint Maximillian Kolbe (1894–1941) and six other students started the Militia Immaculatae to promote the Immaculate Conception, partly relying on the 1858 messages of Our Lady of Lourdes. He argued that since Mary is Immaculate, by her very nature she is the perfect instrument of the Holy Spirit in the mediation of all graces, given that "every grace is a gift of the Father through his Son by the Holy Spirit".
Like Louis de Montfort, Kolbe emphasized the renewal of the baptismal promises by making a total consecration to the Immaculata, which he considered the most perfect means of achieving unity with Jesus.[38][39][40]
Kolbe later founded the monastery of Immaculate City and continued publishing Militia Immaculatae in multiple languages, which eventually reached a circulation of 750,000 copies a month, until it was stopped when Kolbe was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he volunteered to die in place of another prisoner. Kolbe's efforts in promoting consecration to the Immaculata made him known as the "Apostle of Consecration to Mary".[36][41]
^Haffner, Paul. The Mystery of Mary, 2004 ISBN 0-85244-650-0 page
^Huber, Raphael Mary, St. Anthony of Padua: Doctor of the Church Universal, 1948 ISBN 1-4367-1275-0 p. 31
^Huber, Raphael M. “The Mariology of St. Anthony of Padua,” in Studia Mariana 7, Proceedings of the First Franciscan National Marian Congress in Acclamation of the Dogma of the Assumption, October 8–11, 1950 Burlington, Wisconsin
^Kleinhenz, Christopher. Medieval Italy: an encyclopedia, Vol. 1, 2003 ISBN 0-415-93930-5 p. 40
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