Mary and Ecumenism : Accepting Abundance

The theological language in encyclicals can seem cumbersome, but there are always very important, simple, messages they elaborate. Briefly, here are what the main documents say about the relationship between Mary and ecumenism. The simple message is helpful for anyone trying to evangelize.

Mary is Mother of the Church. Toward the end of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI officially bestowed a new title to Mary, that of ?Mother of the Church? in the dogmatic constitution,?Lumen Gentium?(Light of the Nations), promulgated in 1964. He articulated that Mary is not only the Mother of Christ, and therefore the Mother of God as acknowledge since the fifth century, but she is also the mother of all men, and particularly of the faithful. She is the Mother of the Mystical Body of Christ. She is Our Blessed Mother.

There are eight chapters in?Lumen Gentium, and the Marian chapter is the last. The document is principally an ecumenical one, concerned with unity, not only of the Church, but of the entire human race. It is significant that the motherhood of Mary is stressed because this motherhood has a relationship to the ecumenical movement. Anyone can understand the significance of the word ?mother.? Mothers unite families, mothers are nurturing, mothers instruct and correct.?Mothers bring new life.

The Church is also a mother. She is a person, a living thing.?In the ecumenical encyclical?Ecclesiam Suam, issued earlier in the same year as?Lumen Gentium, Pope Paul VI explained that ?the Church was founded by Jesus Christ to be the?loving mother?of the whole human family and minister to its salvation.? (1) Marian teachings are presented as ecumenical, calling the Virgin Mary the ideal of Christian perfection, a ?most loving teacher.? (57) Christians are encouraged to nurture a devotion to the Blessed Virgin because she is the model of Christian perfection, mirror of true virtue, and pride of our humanity. The visible pilgrim Church, as mother on earth, is growing toward perfection, and every member has a duty to strive for sanctity and to evangelize.

This was an echo of Pope Leo XIII?s words in 1896 when he promulgated an encyclical,?Satis Cognitum, that addressed the unity of the Church and heresies denying that unity. Pope Leo XIII?s encyclical addressed those who have left the ?flock,? stressing the need for evangelization to bring back to the fold ?sheep that have strayed.? His encyclical, like other ecumenical exhortations, was a command for unity. (Benediction) Pope Leo XIII pleads with those who have left the Church to ?come back to their most loving Mother,? even if the assent of faith seems to be a burden. He reminds that any such perceived burden is not the will of man, but the will of God, and that with the help of grace, the ?yoke is sweet? and the ?burden light.?

What is the message in these pleas for unity and motherly relationships and example??When you evangelize, consider what a loving mother might say to a lost child she longs to be united with.

• Would she speak differently to different children? Or make proclamations that fall on deaf ears?
• Would she stand firm on truth and lead them toward it? Or disregard the truth to appease them?
• Would she remain obedient? Or foster independence, criticism, defiance, and arrogance?
• Would she found internal relationships on love? Or promote dissension and relativism?

The ecumenical movement requires a New Evangelization. It requires clarity about methods for dialogue. In seeking to achieve some clarity, Pope Paul VI articulates four concentric circles as the focus for dialogue, dividing humanity into a series around the central point of the Catholic Church, the innermost circle. The closest concentric circle to the Catholic one is the community of other Christians, followed by other religions who believe in the One God, and, farthest out, the community of mankind, including non-believers, non-religious, and atheists. (ES, 97-113)

The role of Mary as Mother of the Church, Mother of Christ, Mother of Jesus, and Mother of the Savior of Mankind can be overlaid with each of these concentric circles to demonstrate how Mary is our loving teacher and exemplar. It inspires a deeper insight into what the Church is and how she, a mother herself, is drawing all people home.?Four essays will follow that deal with each circle, showing the relationship between Mary and ecumenism.

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Tags: atheism, Ecclesiam Suam, ecumenism, featured, Lumen Gentium, Mary, Satis Cognitum

Category: Doctrine, Ecumenism, Theology

Source: http://www.acceptingabundance.com/mary-and-ecumenism/

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