Our Holy Father's love for Mary is remarkable in both in its generosity and its depth. His first act as pope was to visit St Mary Major's to show his filial love to her and ask her blessing. His vigil for Syria before the ancient image of Salus Populi Romani seemed to avert a threatened invasion. We think also of his words during his consecration of the world before the statue from Fatima on October 17th. His own personal devotion to Our Lady 'untier of knots' places him in a Marian tradition of the richest and most ancient heritage.
It is, however, his last words in the recent apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium that are noteworthy for us in the parish (emphasis mine):
"At that crucial moment, before fully accomplishing the work which his Father had entrusted to him, Jesus said to Mary: “Woman, here is your son”. Then he said to his beloved friend: “Here is your mother” (Jn 19:26-27). These words of the dying Jesus are not chiefly the expression of his devotion and concern for his mother; rather, they are a revelatory formula which manifests the mystery of a special saving mission. Jesus left us his mother to be our mother. Only after doing so did Jesus know that “all was now finished” (Jn 19:28). 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, also accompanies “the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus” (Rev 12:17)".
On one level, there seems nothing new here; this is all traditional stuff. For those with eyes to see, however, Pope Francis has taken a significant step along a path begun by Bl. Pope John Paul, but curiously sidestepped by Pope Benedict. He has taken up the Conciliar motif of Our Lady as 'Mother in the order of grace' (Lumen Gentium 61) and perhaps he will develop it...
...Will Pope Francis will be the one to draw this to its conclusion and proclaim a fifth and final Marian dogma? By formally proposing to all the faithful that Mary is Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate, he would: 1) clear up all apparent ambiguity in the eyes of other Christians concerning Mary's true place, 2) reveal the true nature of Our Lady's agency as a model for all Christians and 3) unlock her maternal power for the world by effectively directing all people to her maternal mediation. It would in turn have a historical impact that echoes and even surpasses that of the preceding four Marian dogmas: "The papal definition of Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate will bring great graces to the Church." (Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
This is of note to us in the parish through the significance of our patronal title. The Holy Father's words quoted above provide a useful summary of the meaning of "Our Lady of All Nations".
...Will Pope Francis will be the one to draw this to its conclusion and proclaim a fifth and final Marian dogma? By formally proposing to all the faithful that Mary is Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate, he would: 1) clear up all apparent ambiguity in the eyes of other Christians concerning Mary's true place, 2) reveal the true nature of Our Lady's agency as a model for all Christians and 3) unlock her maternal power for the world by effectively directing all people to her maternal mediation. It would in turn have a historical impact that echoes and even surpasses that of the preceding four Marian dogmas: "The papal definition of Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate will bring great graces to the Church." (Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
This is of note to us in the parish through the significance of our patronal title. The Holy Father's words quoted above provide a useful summary of the meaning of "Our Lady of All Nations".
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