Marco Pappalardo - The Fathers of the Church on Mary

Marco Pappalardo

WITH MARIAN PRAYERSAND REFLECTIONS

Libreria Editrice Vaticana

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Washington, DC

For my mother

Just as the divine Maternity is the means through which Mary has an absolutely unique relationship with Christ and is present in the work of human salvation accomplished by Christ, so also it is above all from the divine Maternity that the relationships between Mary and the Church flow. This is because Mary is the Mother of Christ, who, as soon as he took on human nature in her virginal womb, united to himself as Head his mystical Body, the Church. So Mary, as Mother of Christ, is also to be held to be the Mother of all the faithful and pastors, meaning the Church.

After the publication of my previous books Advent and Christmas with the Church Fathers and Lent and Easter with the Church Fathers , I now intend simply to make known the thoughts of some Fathers of the Church on Mary, the Mother of Jesus. These will be thirty-one Marian reflections for a monthly meditation on the Holy Virgin. The writings of the Fathers are among the most important documents of the Churchs tradition in terms of the richness of their contents on different levels: spiritual, moral, dogmatic, and ascetic.

In March of 2007, the Holy Father Benedict XVI began a series of presentations on the Fathers of the Church in the Wednesday general audiences. The previous series had been dedicated to the Apostles. They are part of an ongoing, profound catechesis to present the Church through the life of men who were great figures of the first centuries of Christianity. Each time, the attention is focused on highlighting the originality and relevance of each Father, often known to few, so that instead they may be brought within reach of all.

This book, in the masterful footsteps of the Holy Father, is intended to get the Fathers out of the libraries or the patristic anthologies in order to present them to all, including to those who are not specialists, scholars, or enthusiasts. It is not a text for study, but is intended to be an instrument of accompaniment for personal and group meditation.

Those who wish to learn more about these extraordinary figures can seek out works of great value, extensive and rich collections, monumental volumes, and monographic texts, which are now easier and easier to find.

Every passage of this book is accompanied by an introduction written by the author, to set the stage for the contents and bring them up to date.

Marco Pappalardo

Pope Paul VI, Speech at the conclusion of the third session of Vatican Council II, (Libreria Editrice Vaticana: Vatican City, 1964).

Lets begin these reflections with a prayer to the Blessed Mother, that she may accompany us on the paths of life. Let us offer to her our hearts, needs, desires, dreams, burdens, pains, and joys of every day, certain that she will lead us to Christ, she who is the Mother of hope.

W e, too, turn to you today, Lady, Virgin and Mother of God, binding our souls to your hope as to the most solid and sure anchor. To you we consecrate our minds, souls, bodies, our whole selves, honoring you with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs as we are able, since we will never be able to perform such a task as it truly deserves.... But you, Good Lady, Mother of the Good Lord, help us and steer our destinies wherever you wish; quell the violence of our base passions and guide us, once the storm has been calmed, into the tranquil harbor of the divine will, considering us worthy of the beatitude to come, of that kindly light that radiates from the vision of the Word of God who took flesh from you. To him, together with the Father and the most holy and good and life-giving Spirit, be glory, honor, power, majesty, and magnificence, now and ever and unto the ages of ages! Amen.

It is not recommendations and contacts that matter in the Gospel, not even ancestry! It is not enough to go to Mass every Sunday to set our consciences at ease, nor is making pilgrimages and processions of all kinds enough to obtain a place in heaven! In the Our Father, we ask that his will and not ours be done, not as defenseless and submissive persons, but as beloved and blessed children. Mary, who was a mother, certainly kept in her heart the fact that she was a daughter loved by God in a special way, obedient to his will and to his Word.

W hen Jesus, who was talking with his disciples, was told that his mother and brothers were outside, he said: Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? And, stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said: Here are my brothers, because whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, my sister, and my mother. So that means Mary, too, because she did the will of the Father. This is what God praised in hernot so much the fact that she had generated the flesh of his Son from her flesh as the fact that she did the will of the Father.

The Old Testament is full of figures, images, and prophecies in which the Magisterium, the Fathers of the Church, its doctors and saints all, recognize the proclamation of her who gave to the world the awaited Messiah. From Genesis to the book of the prophet Isaiahpassing through the historical and wisdom books and then to the last prophetsprefigurations and other proclamations relative to the Virgin Mother of the Savior run through all the texts of the Old Testament.

B lessed are you, Mary, because in you the enigmas and mysteries announced by the prophets have found their solution. Moses depicted you in the burning bush and in the cloud, Jacob in the ladder, David in the ark of the covenant, and Ezekiel in the closed and sealed door. And behold, in your giving birth today all of those mysteries have been fulfilled. Praise to the Father who has sent his only-begotten Son, born of Mary, freeing us from error and glorifying her memory on earth and in heaven. Blessed are you, Mary, who have conceived him. Blessed you who have given birth to him. Blessed you who have nourished him who nourishes all. Blessed you who have borne in your womb the Mighty One, who in his power bears the world and governs all.... Blessed are you, because with your milk you nourished God, who in his mercy has become small in order that the wretched may become great.

Marys yes is the special measure of all our yeses to the Lord. Her adherence to Gods plan becomes a model for our participation in the divine plan in this world. Mary was the daughter of her son, and we will be regenerated in his mercy as children if we live our daily lives in praise of the Most High and in service to our brothers and sisters.

T urn your eyes to Mary! When Gabriel came to her and began to speak with her, she asked, How can this be? And the servant of the Holy Spirit replied to her, saying, It is easy for God, because for him all is possible. And she, believing firmly in what she had heard, said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. And immediately the Word descended, hovered over her, entered and inhabited her without her noticing anything. And so she conceived him without suffering anything; and he became a child in her womb, while the whole world was full of him.... So when you hear about the birth of God, remain in silence: let Gabriels words be imprinted on your spirit! Nothing is too difficult for that supreme majesty who lowered himself to be born among us and from us.