May 08, 2014
by Dr. Robert Fastiggi
What does Mary teach me about happiness and hope?
How, though, is the Blessed Mother the cause of our joy?
A Special Grace
Mary's role as a source of joy and hope is rooted in salvation history. Vatican Council II, in Lumen Gentium no. 55, links Mary with the Old Testament's Daughter of Zion who rejoices because the King of Israel, the Lord is in the midst of his people (cf. Zeph 3:14-15). In Mary, the entire hope of the people of Israel is fulfilled because she is the Virgin Mother of Emmanuel, God with us (cf. Mt 1:23; Is 7:14).
Mary is blessed because of her faith. She believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled (Lk 1:45). In gratitude to God, she exclaims, My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; and my spirit rejoices in God my savior (Lk 1:4647).
God's salvific power over Mary, writes Pope Pius IX, was manifested at the first instant of her conception, when, by the singular grace and privilege of almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, she was preserved immune from all stain of original sin (Ineffabilis Deus, Denz.-H, 2803). This special grace of God is testified by Mary when she says, God who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name (Lk 1:49).
Without Spot or Wrinkle
Mary's Immaculate Conception is the initial fulfillment in salvation history of God's words to the serpent in Genesis 3:15, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. Mary is at enmity with the Devil because she was predestined from eternity to be the Mother of God by that same decree of divine providence which determined the Incarnation of the Word (Lumen Gentium, no. 61). Satan never had any control over Mary because she was ever adorned with the splendors of a most perfect holiness and entirely immune from the stain of original sin (Ineffabilis Deus, Denz.-H, 2801).
Mary's perfect holiness is a sign of hope and optimism for all the faithful. She is a living example of what God, who is mighty, can do to a human creature.
Vatican Council II teaches that in the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle (Lumen Gentium, no. 65). While we strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin (cf. Eph 5:27), we turn our eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community as the model of virtues (ibid.)
Leaping for Joy
From Scripture we see that Mary not only rejoices in God her Savior (Lk 1:47), but she also causes joy in John the Baptist, who leaps in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, at the sound of Mary's greeting (Lk 1:41, 44). Just as King David danced with joy before the Ark of the Covenant (2 Sm 6:14-16), so the infant John leaps for joy in the presence of Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant.
Mary is the cause of our joy because God ineffable . . . from the beginning and before the ages chose and ordained a mother for his only begotten Son (Ineffabilis Deus, Denz.-H, 2800). She is the cause of our joy because she reversed the disobedience of the first Eve. Just as the first Eve cooperated with Adam in bringing death and condemnation to the human race, so Mary, the New Eve, freely cooperated in the work of human salvation through faith and obedience (Lumen Gentium, 56).
As St. Irenaeus writes, She, being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human race (Adv. Haer. III, 22, 4; cited in Lumen Gentium, no. 56).
Representing the Human Race
The Blessed Virgin is the cause of our joy became she freely consented to being the handmaid of the Lord (Lk 1:38). As the Lord's handmaid, however, Mary was not a mere passive instrument. As Pope Leo XIII taught,
The eternal Son of God, about to take upon himself our nature for the saving and ennobling of man and about to consummate thus a mystical union between himself and all mankind, did not accomplish his design without adding there the free consent of the elect Mother, who acted in some way in the role of the human race itself, according to the illustrious and most true opinion of St. Thomas: Through the Annunciation, the consent of the Virgin, in the place of all human nature, was awaited. Octobri Mense, Denz.-H, 3274; cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, q. 30, a.1
When Mary said to the angel, Let it be done to me according to thy word (Lk 1:38), she spoke on behalf of the entire human race. As St. Louis de Monfort (16731716) writes, God the Holy Spirit formed Jesus Christ in Mary but only after having asked her consent through one of the chief ministers of his court (True Devotion to Mary, 16).
Icon of Womanhood
Pope Francis concludes his recent apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, with a beautiful prayer to Mary, whom he calls the star of the new evangelization and Mother of the living Gospel. The Holy Father finds in the Blessed Mother a model of joy and hope. He reminds us that Mary brought joy to John the Baptist, making him exult in the womb of his mother (cf. Lk 1:44), and, brimming with joy, she herself sang of the great things done by God (Lk 1:49).
Mary is also the cause of our joy and a sure sign of hope because she is our spiritual Mother. Pope Francis speaks of Mary as Jesus' gift to his people (no. 285). He reminds us that,
At the foot of the cross, at the supreme hour of the new creation, Christ led us to Mary. He brought us to her because he did not want us to journey without a mother, and our people read in this maternal image all the mysteries of the Gospel. The Lord did not want to leave the Church without this icon of womanhood, Mary, who brought him into the world with great faith, and also accompanies the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus (Rev 12:17). Evangelii Gaudium, no. 285
Save Us from Every Danger
We should give thanks to Jesus for the gift of his mother who is our mother, as well. Mary is a cause of our joy and a sure sign of hope in the power of Christ over sin and death. The ancient prayer to Mary, Sub Tuum Praesidium, dating from around 300 AD, manifests hope in Mary's powerful intercession in the face of dangers and needs. The prayer reads,
We turn to you for protection, Holy Mother of God. Listen to our prayers and help us in our needs. Save us from every danger, glorious and blessed Virgin.
This confidence in Mary is also manifested in the medieval hymn, Salve Regina (eleventh or twelfth century), which speaks of Mary as Mother of mercy (Mater misericordiae) and our hope" (spes nostra). Mary is a sure sign of hope because she leads us to the fruit of her womb, Jesus.
As the Mother of the living Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 288), Mary gives us joy, hope, and confidence that one day we will join her in proclaiming forever: God, who is mighty, has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Dr. Robert Fastiggi
Dr. Robert Fastiggi is professor of systematic theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.