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Hearts of Jesus and Mary- Dr. Mark Miravalle |
The Mediatrix of Mercy, The Triumph of Divine Mercy,
and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart
by
Dr. Mark Miravalle
The
following address was given at the International John Paul II
Divine Mercy Symposium, in Washington, D.C., January 25, 1999.
In his 1987 Marian encyclical,
Redemptoris Mater, Pope John Paul II used a new title for
the Blessed Virgin Mary, which unfortunately has been
fundamentally ignored. Our Holy Father stated that our Blessed
Virgin Mary “also has the specifically maternal role of
Mediatrix of Mercy at Our Lord Jesus’ coming.” In this
single title is contained the two greatest spiritual movements
initiated by heaven for the twentieth century: the Triumph of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Triumph of Divine Mercy.
Can we not see in this title both the
reference to the critical intercession of the Mother of God in
our own times, and at the same time a profound complimentarity
with the messages of Blessed Faustina and Divine Mercy?
I would like to discuss this title,
“Mediatrix of Mercy,” under two aspects: firstly, it’s
theological foundations, and secondly, it’s prophetic context.
In regards to its theological foundations, how can we call Our
Lady the “Mediatrix of Mercy”? On what basis can we call her
“Mediatrix if, seemingly, Scripture speaks of only one
Mediator? With regard to this title’s prophetic dimension, in
what manner does the Mother of Jesus and Our Mother exercise
this title and role for humanity in our present historical
moment? Does it fit in with the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart
in the year we find ourselves, this last year of the twentieth
century? What special cry and what special source and
instrument of grace is it for us at this critical moment for the
Church and for the world today?
Let us first examine the theological
foundations for the title Mediatrix of Mercy. It is important
to establish from the beginning that Mary’s role as Mediatrix is
a result of unique participation in the acquisition of the
graces of Calvary, for which she received from the Church the
title “Co-redemptrix.” It is the Church that has given Our Lady
this title, and our present Holy Father, following the precedent
of previous Papal Magisteriums, has referred to this role of Our
Lady on at least six documented occasions as the “Co-redemptrix.”
The prefix “co”, of course, never means “equal”, but always
means “with”, from the Latin root “cum”. The title means "the
woman with the Redeemer, not equal to the Redeemer.”
Our Lady is Mediatrix because she first
participates in the acquisition of graces of redemption as the
Co-redemptrix. The Papal Magisteriums has made it very clear
that every grace and gift given from Christ to humanity comes
through the mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the
omnium gratiarum, the Mediatrix of all graces and
gifts, which come from our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit,
because she first participated with our Lord as the Co-redemptrix
in acquiring those graces.
Sacred Scripture profoundly reveals the
role of our Blessed Mother as Co-redemptrix. At the
Annunciation, when Mary says “yes” to the angel and thereby
gives her fiat (ct Lk 1:38), she gives to the
Redeemer the instrument of redemption, his human body. In a
discussion I had with the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta
regarding the solemn papal definition of the co-redemptive role
of Our Lady, within the first two minutes of speaking, Mother
said, “Of course she is Co-redemptrix, of course. She gave
Jesus his body and the body of Jesus is what saved us.” I
replied, “Mother, that’s the difference between sanctity and
theology. You say in two minutes what it takes the theologians
three volumes to write.”
We can also look to the Presentation in
Luke 2:25ff, where in Simeon’s prophecy also identifies the
Mother of Jesus as a sign of contradiction. And any mother of a
sign of contradiction will most certainly have the vocation of
suffering. Simeon tells us that the child to be born of Mary
will be the cause of the rise and fall of many. He then gazes
at the mother and says, “your heart too will be pierced.” (Lk
2:25). Thus for thirty-three years the Mother with the Redeemer
ponders the works of Simeon that her child is born to die, the
child to which she alone gave flesh. Only one woman gave
carne to the Incarnation, gave flesh to the Word made flesh,
and the goal of this Incarnation was redemption and
co-redemption. If we were to summarize the single mission that
the Father gave to the Son and to the Woman, it is, as Galatians
tells us, a mission of redemption and co-redemption (Gal 4:4).
That is the purpose of the union of the Two Hearts, the Sacred
Heart of our Lord Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of our Mother
Mary.
The inestimable graces acquired by Jesus,
the New Adam, and secondarily by Mary, the New Eve, must then be
distributed to human hearts through Our Lady’s mediation as
Mediatrix. This is the continuation of Our Mother’s
co-redemptive role as the Mediatrix of All Graces.
The Papal Magisterium has repeatedly
taught that since Mary uniquely participated with the Redeemer
in the acquisition of every grace of redemption as Co-redemptrix,
for this reason, Mary has rightly been granted the role by the
Eternal Father, to participate uniquely with the Mediator in the
distribution of every grace that flows from the Redemption as
Mediatrix.
Let us then examine a brief example of
papal teachings on Our Lady’s role as Mediatrix of all graces:
1.
Leo XIII: – “ through whom [Christ] has chosen to be the
dispenser of all heavenly graces” (Jucunda semper,
1883); “It is right to say that nothing at all of the
immense treasury of every grace which the Lord accumulated – for
‘grace and truth come from Jesus Christ’ (Jn 1:17) -- nothing is
imparted to us except through Mary…”(Octobri Mense,
1891).
2. St. Pius X – “dispensatrix of all
the gifts” acquired by the death of the Redeemer (ad
diem illum, AAS 36, 1904, p.453); “…she became most
worthily the reparatrix of the lost world’ and dispensatrix of
all the gifts that our Savior purchased for us by his death and
his blood” (Ad diem illum, 1904;cf., Eadmer, De
Eccellentia Virginis Mariae, c.9); “For she is the
neck of our Head by which He communicates to his Mystical Body
all spiritual gifts” (Ad diem illum, 1904).
3. Pope Benedict XV: – “For with her
suffering and dying son, Mary endured
suffering and almost death…. One can truly
affirm that together with
Christ
she has redeemed the human race……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….(Apostolic Letter, Inter Sodalicia, AAS 10, 1918,
p. 182); Mass and Office of Mediatrix of all Graces approved
1921).
4. Pope Pius XI: – “the virgin who is
treasurer of all graces with God….(Apostolic letter,
Cognitum sane, AAS 18, p. 213); “….We know that all
things are imparted to us from God, the greatest and best,
through the hands of the Mother of God” (Encyclical Letter,
Ingravescentibus malis, AAS 29, 1937, p. 380).
5. Pope Pius XII: – “it is the will of
God that we obtain all favors through Mary,’ let
everyone hasten to have recourse to Mary” (Superiore anno,
AAS 32 1940, p. 145. For usage of same expression by Pius
XII, cf., AAS 45, 1953, p. 382); “She teaches us all virtues;
she gives us her Son and with him all the help we need, for ‘God
wished us to have everything through Mary” (Mediator Dei,
1947).
We especially find a particularly rich
contribution to the doctrinal teaching of Our Lady’s role as Co-redemptrix
and Mediatrix in the contemporary writings of John Paul II. In
fact, the Maternal Mediation of Mary is the subject of the
entire third part of His Holiness’ 1987 encyclical,
Redemptoris Mater (Mother of the Redeemer).
In part I, n. 21, the Pontiff
states:
“Thus there is mediation: Mary places
herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of its wants,
needs and sufferings. She puts herself ‘in the middle’,
that is to say, she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider,
but in her position as mother. She knows that, as such, she
can point out to her Son the needs of mankind and in fact, she
‘has the right’ to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of
intercession: Mary ‘intercedes’ for mankind” (R. Mater,
n. 21).
In our Holy Father’s 1 October 1997
Wednesday Audience, he reminds us:
“We recall that Mary’s mediation is
essentially defined by her Divine Motherhood. Recognition of her
role of Mediatrix is moreover implicit in the expression ‘our
Mother,’ which presents the doctrine of Marian mediation by
putting the accent on her Motherhood”.
By theological deduction therefore, one
can rightly say that the title “Mediatrix of Mercy” is
implicitly contained in the classic Marian title of “Mother of
Mercy”.
Referring to the Blessed Virgin’s
co-redemptive role, that it is Mary who in fact
“enfleshed” the mission of the world’s redemption through her
free and active co-operation, her “co-working,” John Paul
recently pondered yet again this dimension in his 18 September
1996 Audience:
For Mary, dedication to the person and
work of Jesus means...co-operation in his work of salvation.
Mary carries out this last aspect of her dedication to Jesus
‘under Him,’ that is, in a condition of subordination, which is
the fruit of grace. However this is true co-operation, because
it is realized ‘with Him’ and, beginning with the Annunciation,
it involves active participation in the work of redemption.
‘Rightly therefore,’ the Second Vatican Council observes, ‘the
Fathers see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as
freely co-operating in the work of man’s salvation through faith
and obedience. For, as St. Irenaeus says, she ‘being obedient,
became the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human
race (Adv. Haer. III, 22, 4).
A year later, in the Holy Father’s Wednesday
Audience of April 9, 1997,
he explained how this co-operation of the Blessed Virgin in the
redemption is “unique and unrepeatable”:
However, applied to Mary, the term
“co-operator” acquires a specific meaning. The collaboration of
Christians in salvation takes place after the Calvary event, whose
fruits they endeavor to spread by prayer and sacrifice. Mary,
instead, co-operated during the event itself and in the role of
mother; thus her co-operation embraces the whole of Christ’s saving
work. She alone was associated in this way with the redemptive
sacrifice that merited the salvation of all mankind. In union with
Christ and in submission to Him, she collaborated in obtaining the
grace of salvation for all humanity.
The Blessed Virgin’s role as co-operator has
its source in her divine motherhood. By giving birth to the one who
was destined to achieve man’s redemption, by nourishing Him,
presenting Him in the temple and suffering with Him as he died on
the Cross, ‘in a wholly singular way she co-operated ... in the work
of the Saviour’ (Lumen Gentium, n. 61). Although God’s call to
co-operate in the work of salvation concerns every human being, the
participation of the Saviour’s Mother in humanity’s Redemption is a
unique and unrepeatable fact.
In another Wednesday Audience, after
explaining the Blessed Virgin’s “intimate participation in Jesus’
entire life,” the Holy Father paused to reflect on the Virgin’s
participation at Calvary:
However, the Blessed Virgin’s association
with Christ’s mission reaches its culmination in Jerusalem, at the
time of the Redeemer’s Passion and Death....The Council stresses the
profound dimension of the Blessed Virgin’s presence on Calvary,
recalling that she ‘faithfully persevered in her union with her Son
unto the Cross’ (Lumen Gentium, n. 58), and points out that this
union ‘in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of
Christ’s virginal conception up to his death’ (ibid., n. 57).
With our gaze illumined by the radiance of the
Resurrection, we pause to reflect on the Mother’s involvement in her
Son’s redeeming Passion, which was completed by her sharing in his
suffering.
Therefore, it must be underscored that the
Maternal Mediation of Mary is not a “new doctrine,” but a
firmly
established revealed truth consistently taught by the Papal
Magisterium.
It should also be noted that the title
“Mediatrix of Mercy” is a species aspect of her genus role as
“Mediatrix of all graces,” as God’s greatest gift in the order of
grace is none other than His mercy.
Let us now turn to an objection to Marian
mediation that resurfaces particularly in various ecumenical arenas
concerning the classic Pauline text of 1 Tim 2:5: “For there is one
God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus.” Although the overall context of the passage in which the
verse occurs highlights the value of human “supplications, prayers,
intercessions” from the faithful (cf. v. 1-4), nonetheless the “one
Mediator” reference is interpreted by some in the sense of
‘exclusivity’, as a mandate prohibiting any other subordinate
mediation within, and in service to, the one mediation of Jesus
Christ.
Of true value is the observation of Anglican
theologian John Macquarrie, in reference to the 1 Tim 2 objection
raised by many like Protestant ecclesial bodies in opposition to the
subordinate Marian Meditation:
The matter cannot be settled by pointing to
the dangers of exaggeration or abuse, or by appealing to isolated
texts of scripture such as 1 Timothy 2:5, or by the changing
fashions in theology and spirituality, or by the desire not to say
anything that might offend one’s partners in ecumenical dialogue.
Unthinking enthusiasts may have elevated Mary to a position of
virtual equality with Christ, but this aberration is not a
necessary consequence of recognizing that there may be a truth
striving for expression in words like Mediatrix and
Coredemptrix. All responsible theologians would agree that
Mary’s co-redemptive role is subordinate and auxiliary to the
central role of Christ. But if she does have such a role, the more
clearly we understand it, the better.
The proper understanding of the “Christ the
one Mediator” text of 1 Tim 2:5 presupposes a critical and
fundamental distinction: that the one and perfect mediation of Jesus
Christ does not prevent or prohibit, but rather provides
and calls for a sharing and participation by others in a
subordinate and secondary fashion in this one perfect mediation of
the Lord. Sacred Scripture reveals, in the context of several
parallels, not only the possibility but in fact the obligation of
Christians to participate in that which is in the first place
exclusively true of Jesus Christ. We have for example, the one
Sonship of Jesus Christ. There is only one true begotten Son
of the Father, he who is the Logos, the Word who became
flesh. At the same time, we are called to become adopted
sons of God (cf. 2: Cor 5:17; 1 Jn 3:1; Jn 1:12; Gal 2:20; 2 Pet
1:4). Adopted sonship is a participation in the one Sonship of Jesus
Christ. Another scriptural example is the one Priesthood of Jesus
Christ. Hebrews makes reference to the uniqueness and singularity of
Jesus Christ, the “high priest” (cf. Heb 3:1; 4:14; 5:10), who alone
as Priest and Victim is offered “for the sanctification of us all”
(cf. Heb 10:10). At the same time, all Christians are called in
different levels and degrees to participate in the one Priesthood of
Jesus Christ, whether that be the ordained ministerial priesthood
or the royal priesthood of the laity as discussed by the Council.
Furthermore, the Second Vatican Council
substantially establishes the legitimacy of subordinate mediation as
a participation in the perfect mediation of Jesus Christ, while
confirming the fruit of subordinate mediation as a manifestation of
that which is uniquely true and dependent upon the “one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (cf. 1 Tim 2:5):
No creature could ever be counted along with
the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of
Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the
faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different
ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the
Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold
cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source (Lumen
Gentium, n. 62).
What then of Maternal Mediation? How does the
Mother of Jesus uniquely participate in the one Mediation of the
Lord? In regard to Mary Mediatrix and her unique sharing in the
one mediation of Jesus Christ, Pope John Paul II tells us in his
Wednesday audience of October 1, 1997:
“Mary’s maternal mediation does not obscure
the unique and perfect mediation of Christ. Indeed, after calling
Mary ‘Mediatrix’, the Council is careful to explain that this
‘neither takes away anything from nor adds anything to the dignity
and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator’ (Lumen Gentium,
n.62)....In addition, the Council states that ‘Mary’s function as
Mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation
of Christ, but rather shows its power’ (Lumen Gentium, n.60).
“Therefore, far from being an obstacle to the
exercise of Christ’s unique mediation, Mary instead highlights its
fruitfulness and efficacy....In proclaiming Christ the one mediator
(cf. 1 Tim 2:5-6), the text of St. Paul’s Letter to Timothy excludes
any other parallel mediation, but not subordinate mediation. In
fact, before emphasizing the one exclusive mediation of Christ, the
author urges ‘that supplications, prayers, intercessions and
thanksgivings be made for all men’ (2:1). Are not prayers a form of
mediation? Indeed, according to St. Paul, the unique mediation of
Christ is meant to encourage other dependent, ministerial forms of
mediation. By proclaiming the uniqueness of Christ’s mediation, the
Apostle intends only to exclude any autonomous or rival mediation,
and not other forms compatible with the infinite value of the
Saviour’s work.
“In fact, ‘just as the priesthood of Christ is
shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and
as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his
creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not
exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold co-operation which is
but a sharing in this one source’ (Lumen Gentium, n.62)....In
truth, what is Mary’s maternal mediation if not the Father’s gift to
humanity?”
Therefore, we can rightly say that the Blessed
Virgin Mary shares like no other creature, angel or saint, in the one
mediation of Jesus Christ, and thus is rightly and uniquely referred to
as the “Mediatrix” (Lumen Gentium, n. 62). Mary in a way all her
own — beyond all other creatures — participates in 1 Tim 2:5, because of
her unique co-redemptive participation in the acquisition of grace with
and under Jesus as the New Eve that consequently results in her unique
mediatorial task in the distribution of the graces of Calvary. John
Paul explains in Redemptoris Mater:
Mary entered, in a way all her own, into
the one mediation ‘between God and men’ which is the
mediation of the man Christ Jesus (cf. 1 Tim 2:5)...we must say
that through this fullness of grace and supernatural life she was
especially predisposed to cooperation with Christ, the one Mediator
of human salvation. And such cooperation is precisely this
mediation subordinated to the mediation of Christ...In Mary’s
case we have a special and exceptional mediation...
In sum, it is abundantly clear from the
Magisterial teachings of the Church that Our Lady is the Co-redemptrix
who uniquely shares in the one mediation of Christ in acquiring the
fruits of the Redemption, and as a result she uniquely participates in
that selfsame perfect mediation of Christ as Mediatrix of the graces of
the Redemption; and that this theologically constitutes the basis for
her universal role as “Mediatrix of Mercy”; and as “Advocate” (or
principal Intercessor) for all God’s people.(cf. Lumem Gentium, n. 62)
What then of the prophetic dimension of the
title, “Mediatrix of Mercy?” How does the private revelation of
Divine Mercy and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
prophesied at Fatima, unite in this one title: “Mediatrix of
Mercy”? What does this title say to us at this point of human
history?
I would suggest that these two great
movements, the Triumph of the Divine Mercy and the Triumph of the
Immaculate Heart, which are not man-made but heaven-made, have a
supernatural complimentarity. Let us examine a few examples.
Firstly, let us look at the theology of the prayer that we find in
both of these movements. Note the similarity in theology between the
following prayers given at Fatima and to Blessed Faustina.
During the 1916 preparatory apparitions from
the angel of Portugal to the three children, the following prayer
was revealed:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the
world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference
with which He himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits
of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of
You the conversion of poor sinners.”
And from our Merciful Lord to
Blessed Faustina we the revealed Chaplet Prayer:
“Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and
Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus
Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”
What is the common theological foundation of these
two revealed celestial prayers? Firstly, there is a foundation of
Eucharistic reparation, which comes in several forms. Eucharistic
reparation is first and foremost in the form of the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass offered by the ordained priest, and Eucharistic Adoration. But
note in these two heavenly movements for this century that there is a
further dimension of Eucharistic reparation, a dimension which also
extends to the laity. In the exercise of their royal priesthood, the
laity offers already consecrated hosts, the Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ to appease the justice of the Eternal
Father.
The Father looks down and sees the sins of
humanity. He first sees the priest, the one set aside to offer the
Sacrifice, the one who offers the Eucharist in continuation of the
sacrifice of Calvary. The Father looks down and sees, amidst the
ubiquitous sin of darkness of the world, these shoots of light, the
Sacrifice of the Mass offered by our priests. And because of the
mystical lights breaking the darkness of sin, the Father does not
respond in justice, which is also a part of His nature, but rather He
responds in mercy. That is why Fulton Sheen often quipped that if the
priest does not understand, first and foremost, that he is one set aside
to offer the Sacrifice for the people, he will forever have an identity
crisis. This is the pre-eminent task of the priest, to offer the
Sacrifice so that mercy is the response of the Father rather than
justice.
Secondly, and most especially in the twentieth
century, it is also the laity who are called —not to consecrate, which
is beyond their power — but to offer the already consecrated Eucharistic
Jesus to the Father in reparation for sin. We do that for the sake of
his sorrowful Passion, his Passion in Eucharistic form, as it already
exists consecrated in the tabernacles of the world. The offering of the
laity (in a way similar to the Sacrifice of the Redeemer that is gained
by the maternal and lay sacrifice of the Coredemptrix at Calvary) is not
going to have the same spiritual efficacy as the priestly Sacrifice, but
it will be a corollary, an association of the priest and the laity
offering the Eucharistic Jesus to the Father so that he will respond in
mercy rather than justice.
In sum, it is a heavenly appeal for the offering
of the Eucharistic Lord in atonement and reparation for the sins of the
world, and an exercise of the priests and the laity in bringing to the
Father the Passion and the Eucharistic presence of his Son by all
Christ’s faithful.
We find another complimentarity between the
Triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the Triumph of Divine Mercy in many
inspired Diary references of Blessed Faustina to the Motherly Mediation
of Mary in the order of grace. Clearly manifest from the opening pages
of the Diary, we have numerous revealed examples of the salvific role of
the Mediatrix of Mercy.
In Notebook I, n. 11, p. 7, it is
the Mother of God as Advocate who guides Sister Faustina to shelter:
“When I got off the train and saw that all
were going their separate ways, I was overcome with fear. What am I
to do? To whom should I turn, as I know no one? So I said to the
Mother of God, “Mary, lead me, guide me.” Immediately I heard these
words within me telling me to leave the town and to go to a certain
nearby village where I would find a safe lodging for the night. I
did so and found in fact that everything was just as the Mother of
God told me.”
Notebook I, n. 20, p. 11 refers to
Our Lady’s Mediation of grace to souls in Purgatory:
“I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in
Purgatory. The souls call her “The Star of the Sea.” She brings them
refreshment.”
The union of human suffering with the
suffering Heart of the Co-redemptrix can be seen from Notebook I, n.
25, p. 14:
“During the night, the Mother of God visited
me, holding the Infant Jesus in Her arms. My soul was filled with
joy, and I said, “Mary, my Mother, do You know how terribly I
suffer?” And the Mother of God answered me, I know how much you
suffer, but do not be afraid. I share with you your
suffering, and I shall always do so.”
We also see our Lady’s mediation of grace and
advocacy for nations is manifest in Notebook I, n. 33, p 18:
“I was to make this novena for the intention
of my Motherland. On the seventh day of the novena I saw, between
heaven and earth, the Mother of God, clothed in a bright robe. She
was praying with Her hands folded on Her bosom, Her eyes fixed on
Heaven. From Her Heart issued forth fiery rays, some of which were
turned toward Heaven while the others were covering our country.
Our Lady’s mediation of the special grace of
purity for Sister Faustina as found in Notebook I, n. 40, p.21:
“...and [Jesus] said to me, I give you eternal
love that your purity may be untarnished and as a sign that you will
never be subject to temptations against purity. Jesus took off His
golden cincture and tied it around my waist. Since then I have never
experienced any attacks against this virtue, either in my heart or
in my mind. I later understood that this was one of the greatest
graces which the Most Holy Virgin Mary had obtained for me, as for
many years I had been asking this grace of Her. Since that time I
have experienced an increasing devotion to the Mother of God. She
has taught me how to love God interiorly and also how to carry out
His holy will in all things. O Mary, You are joy, because through
You God descended to earth [and] into my heart.
Further reference to Our Lady’s mediation of
grace by Blessed Faustina, occur in Notebook I, n. 315, p. 144, “Mother
of grace, teach me to live by [the power of] God”.
In Notebook I, n. 330, p. 149, we read: “I
heard a few of the words that the Mother of God spoke to him [i.e.,
my confessor] but not everything. The words were: I am not only the
Queen of Heaven, but also the Mother of Mercy and your
Mother.”
From Notebook I, n. 564, p. 238: “[Mary] said
to me, ‘You give Me great joy when you adore the Holy Trinity for
the graces and privileges which were accorded Me.’ And further:
“...I went into the chapel to break the wafer, in spirit, with my
loved ones, and I asked the Mother of God for graces for them”
(Notebook I, n. 182, p. 101).
Lastly, Blessed Faustina entrusts her very
life to Our Lady as we read in Notebook I, n. 79, p. 41:
“O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer You my
soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I
place everything in Your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with Your
virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and
body. Defend me with Your power against all enemies, and especially
against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue. O
lovely lily! You are for me a mirror, O my Mother!”
A further dynamic complimentarity between the
Triumph of Divine Mercy and Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is
the undeniable urgency of both heavenly calls. It would
be a grave error to “demythologize the historical reality and
transmission of urgency contained in both these supernatural
movements.” Without question, then, the Diary gives vivid and
consistent universal testimony to the mission of the Mediatrix of Mercy.
Both messages manifest an authentic celestial and historical urgency, an
urgency of peace and an urgency of mercy, but nonetheless urgency. The
following is the fundamental message from Our Lady of the Rosary at
Fatima, with one prophetic promise that “in the end my Immaculate Heart
will triumph”:
“Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor
of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end
of the war; for she alone can save it.... Sacrifice yourselves for
sinners; and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice: ‘My
Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in
reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’
You have seen Hell — where the souls of poor sinners go. To save
them God wants to establish throughout the world the devotion to my
Immaculate Heart. If people will do what I will tell you, many souls
will be saved, and there will be peace. The war is going to end. But
if they do not stop offending God, another and worse war will break
out in the reign of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an
unknown light, know that is the great sign that God gives you, that
He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war,
hunger, and persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father. To
forestall this, I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia to my
Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First
Saturdays. If they heed my request, Russia will be converted, and
there will be peace. If not, she shall spread her errors throughout
the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church; the good
will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various
nations will be annihilated; in the end, my Immaculate Heart shall
triumph” (July 13, 1917).
Many of us are aware of the fact that when the Holy Father
was shot on May 13, 1981, on the anniversary of the first message of Fatima,
after the bullet was removed from his abdomen, the Holy Father asked that the
bullet be brought and molded into part of the crown of Our Lady of Fatima. So
clearly does he attest his life to the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima! Thus
we see in Fatima a message of urgency, of conversion, and of Eucharistic
reparation, all conditional upon man’s response.
The urgency of the message of Divine Mercy is manifested not only in the obvious
expressions from1 private revelation of Blessed Faustina, but also from our Holy
Father’s 1982 encyclical on Divine Mercy, Dives in Misericordia. In this
encyclical, also little noticed, the Holy Father warns of the potential new
flood due to the contemporary sins of humanity:
“however, at no time and in no historical
period — especially at a moment as critical as our own — can the
Church forget the prayer that is a cry for the mercy of God amid the
many forms of evil which weigh upon humanity and threaten it....Like
the prophets, let us appeal to that love which has maternal
characteristics and which, like a mother, follows each of her
children, each lost sheep, even if they should number millions, even
if in the world evil should prevail over goodness, even if
contemporary humanity should deserve a ‘new flood’ on account of its
sins....And if any of our contemporaries does not share the faith
and hope which lead me, as a servant of Christ and steward of the
mysteries of God, to implore God’s mercy for humanity in this hour
of history, let him at least try to understand the reason for my
concern. It is dictated by love for man, for all that is human and
which, according to the intuitions of many of our contemporaries, is
threatened by an immense danger.... The mystery of Christ...also
obliges me to proclaim mercy as God’s merciful love.... It likewise
obliges me to have recourse to that mercy and to beg for it in this
difficult, critical phase of the history of the Church and of the
world, as we approach the end of the second millennium” (Dives in
Misericordia, n. 15).
This, of course, is where we historically find ourselves
in the final year of the second millennium.
What then constitutes the relationship
between the Triumph of Divine Mercy and the Triumph of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary? The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary has as its primary goal the mission to open hearts to the gift
of Divine Mercy, and therefore the Triumph of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, properly understood, coincides with the Triumph of
Divine Mercy. The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary essentially serves the Triumph of Divine Mercy, as the Triumph
of the Immaculate Heart serves to open, prepare and sustain human
hearts to and with the gift of Divine Mercy from the
Sacred and Merciful Heart of Our Lord. This will lead us to the
“Era of peace,” the Eucharistic Reign of the Sacred Heart, a time
when the mercy of the Heart of Jesus is in fact accepted by the
human heart, the awaited and promised “New Springtime for the
Church.” It is Mary, Mediatrix of Mercy, who will, through the
Triumph of her Immaculate Heart, mediate to the world the graces of
Divine Mercy and the Reign of the Sacred Heart upon the earth.
The Triumph of Divine Mercy and the Triumph of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary seek this self-same goal. What then
is the key to unlock the inestimable graces of the Triumph of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, which leads to the Triumph of Divine Mercy
in the hearts of humanity? Many Marian cardinals, bishops, priests
and lay leaders worldwide believe, as I do, that it will be the
papal proclamation of the whole truth of Our Lady in her role as the
Mother of all Peoples, the Co-redemptrix, the Mediatrix of Grace and
Mercy, and the Advocate.
Critical to understanding the necessity of
this Papal definition of Our Lady’s maternal Mediation is
understanding the basic principle of God’s providence with regard to
respect for human freedom. Why would a papal proclamation of a dogma
be necessary for the full release of graces and mercy from the
Immaculate Heart of Mary?
God, the Abba Father, does not force his grace
upon us. God has tremendous respect for human freedom and the
freedom of the human heart, and his grace is only given when it is
petitioned for, and it is only received when the heart has been
opened to it. This is also true regarding the salvific role of the
Mother of Mercy. Her titles are her works. When we call the Blessed
Mother the Mediatrix of Mercy, that is not just an honorary title;
it is a function that she performs for the Mystical Body, and until
we fully acknowledge that title, she cannot fully exercise
that function for her family.
Thus, there exists a true theological
foundation, that until the Holy Father freely makes the proclamation
on the highest level of truth, the Blessed Mother will not have the
freedom to fully exercise her titles and their functions as
the Coredemptrix, the Mediatrix of all graces, the Advocate for the
human family, intercede for the much awaited Triumph of Her
Immaculate Heart, which leads to the Triumph of Divine Mercy. As one
author put it, God awaited the yes, the fiat of a woman to
bring the world His Son, and now the Woman awaits the fiat of
one man, the Vicar of Christ, to bring the world the inestimable
graces of the Triumph of Her most Immaculate Heart.
In sum, then, we can see that the Eternal
Father, who is rich in mercy does not force His grace upon us, but
rather requires our fiat to receive His graces. And, therefore,
until the Church freely and fully acknowledges Our Lady’s roles as
the Mother of All Peoples, the “Mother Suffering” (the Co-redemptrix),
the “Mother nourishing” (the Mediatrix of all Graces and Mercy), and
the “Mother pleading” (the Advocate), then Our Mother will not be
able to fully exercise these mediational roles for the Church and a
world in desperate need for a New Pentecost from the Spirit through
the Bride.
The need for this great Marian Dogma to
initiate the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart is being petitioned for
by over 530 bishops, inclusive of 44 cardinals, and nearly 5 million
Catholic faithful are praying and petitioning for this papal
proclamation. Of course, as to time and appropriateness of this
papal proclamation, we completely submit to the decision of our
Totus Tuus and Divine Mercy pope, Pope John Paul II.
Let us, therefore, heed the call of Heaven for
the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, leading to the Triumph of
Divine Mercy. Let us use the powerful supernatural instruments of
Rosary, Chaplet, Eucharistic Adoration, and reparational offerings
to atone for the ubiquitous sins of humanity. Let us pray for the
proclamation of the whole truth about Mother of all Peoples, freeing
her to fully mediate the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of Mercy and
Grace, and Advocate, for the Church and world today. And let us be
icons of Divine Mercy and the Immaculate Heart, doing our individual
small parts, fulfilling the prophecy that “all generations will call
me blessed,” (Lk 1:48) leading to the Triumph of Divine Mercy, the
Eucharistic reign of our Lord Jesus, a New Springtime for the
Church.
 Dr.
Mark I. Miravalle, S.T.D., Mariology and Spiritual Theology
professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville and President of the
International Catholic movement, Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici (Voice of
the People for Mary Mediatrix). Besides being one of the most respected
Mariologists in the world, he is an accomplished author, a prolific
writer of numerous articles, a sought-after lecturer and an ordained
permanent deacon in his Diocese.
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
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