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III
SOME OF THE TASKS AWAITING LOCAL CHURCHES
AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES IN PROMOTING DEVOTION
TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN
38.
After having commented on the recent crisis in devotion
to the Blessed Virgin and the overcoming of this crisis (Part I), and
having shown the way in which the life of Mary and religious life are
so profoundly in harmony (Part II), we wish to continue our reflection
pointing out some of the duties which, in our opinion, are incumbent upon
local Churches and religious institutes so as to promote devotion to the
Mother and Handmaid of the Lord.
You
bishops, our fathers and friends, you fellow religious, and all of you
brothers and sisters: please understand us. We are perfectly aware of
the fact that ours is a small voice but one that finds confidence in your
kind consideration and courage in our common love for the Virgin.
Studies
39. Deep knowledge
alone permits deep love. We therefore feel that the first task to be faced
in fostering the sound development of devotion to Mary among ourselves
and among the Christian people is to acquire a thorough knowledge of the
figure of the Virgin “in the mystery of Christ and of the Church” and
of her mission in the work of salvation. This task is perfectly in harmony
with the charism of our institutes and it is extremely useful, if not
indispensable, in our relationships
with the local Churches in which we carry out our service.
The Father who keeps the secrets
of the Kingdom hidden from the wise and learned and reveals them to children
(see Mt 11:25) can certainly lead those persons who entrust themselves
to him in filial simplicity to a thorough knowledge of Mary. But this
is a path which is reserved to the free gift of God. Most of us who are
called to bear witness to the figure of the Virgin in a society which
often fails to see her significance need to acquire a reflective knowledge
of Mary of Nazareth. This can only come about through rigorous and systematic
study, tailored to the conditions of each individual and adapted to the
various periods of formation.
40.We must be honest: many priests,
many religious and many other pastoral workers are still ill-informed
both as regards fundamental documents of the magisterium on the Blessed
Virgin and about the more significant developments that have taken place
in the various areas of Mariology which scholars have calmly accepted
for years.
This lack of information has many repercussions: preaching on the Virgin
has not been renewed and has not presented in an incisive manner the meaning
of the figure of Mary of Nazareth for contemporary men and women; essential
and irrevocable data of the magisterium and tradition risk not being accepted
because they are being taught in terms which are no longer current in
theological language; the guidelines and prospects set out in Lumen
gentium are finding difficulty in making headway; biblical sources
are being neglected and people are being nourished by the remnants of
pious traditions and uncertain visions; the wealth of our patristic heritage
is being ignored and people are repeating commonplaces coined in periods
of less theological rigour; contrasting positions based on mutual suspicion
are maintained with a kind of “hardness of heart” (the “conservatives”
and the “progressives” as was said in the not too distant past) when all
that is needed to dispel this is a calm and open examination of the data
of Sacred Scripture and holy tradition without preconceived ideas and
in the light of the magisterium; the ecumenical movement for its part
is suffering delays; there is still the lack of coordination, referred
to earlier, between the research of scholars and the urgent needs of pastors;
Mary of Nazareth is placed on the edge of life and devotion simply because
she is not known.
We
hope we have not painted too gloomy a picture of the situation. As we
have already indicated, this is limited to certain situations and to those
brothers and sisters who demonstrate a persistent and objective lack of
knowledge. But this is still a lack which is too widespread for those
like you and ourselves who share a common love for the Church and for
the Blessed Virgin.
41. In this connection, we Servants
of Mary, men and women, wish to express our gratitude and admiration for
those friars who, at the end of the l9th century when our Order was considerably
reduced in numbers, so boldly and farsightedly founded the Collegio Sant'Alessio
Falconieri in Rome (1896) and entrusted to it the task of fostering studies
on the Blessed Virgin. In so doing, they laid one of the most solid foundations
for the rebirth of the Order and provided it with the means it required
to serve the local Churches and the Apostolic See itself more effectively.
In 1901, the rector of the Collegio Sant' Alessio, Fra Alexis M. Lépicier,
professor of dogmatic theology at the Urbania University (future Prior
General and member of the College of Cardinals) published his Tractatus
de beatissima Virgine Maria Mater Dei, thereby restoring the place
and dignity of study of Our Lady in Roman scholastic circles.44
Fra
Alexis M. Lépicier's example was followed by several other friars
of whom we should like to mention Fra Gabriele M. Roschini (+ 1977)
who worked efficiently to foster thought and interest in Mariology. It
was from the Collegio Sant'Alessio that the “Marianum” Theological Faculty
eventually came into being. May we, at this point, express our gratitude
to Pius XII, John XXIII and Paul VI for their paternal concern and encouragement
of the development of our Faculty, to the extent of creating the Doctorate
in Theology with specialisation in Mariology (7 March 1965) and of honouring
the Faculty with the title “Pontifical” (1 January 1971).
Our
Order maintains the activities of the “Marianum” Faculty as its apostolic
service in the field of theological research. And the Faculty itself,
with its teaching structures, specialised Library and its reviewMarianum
which endeavours to make a contribution to Mariological discussions, is
committed to “promoting the knowledge, teaching and scientific and pastoral
progress of Christian thinking about the Mother of God, in accordance
with the Order's mission in the Church.”45
Before the local Churches, religious institutes and
men and women of culture, the teaching staff and students of the Faculty
wish to cooperate in a spirit of fraternity with scholars and others who
wish to share its institutional objectives.
42. It is precisely because of the
attention we devote to the study of Mariology that we are able to understand
that the contribution of our Order in this field is merely a humble offering
alongside that of many other religious institutes. Even knowing that this
wil1 be an incomplete list, we cannot fail to mention the work being carried
out by the Order of Friars Minor to whom is entrusted the direction of
the Pontificia Accademia Mariana Internazionale (Rome); the Conventual
Friars Minor who support the Accademia dell'Immacolata (Rome);
the Society of Mary (Marianists) who promote, among other things, the
Marian Library (Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A.); the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary who publish the prestigious review Ephemerides Mariologicae
(Madrid); the Salesians of St. John Bosco who created the Accademia
Mariana Salesiana (Rome); the Company of Mary (the De Monfort Fathers)
who established the Centro Mariano Monfortano in Rome and publish
the excellent magazine Cahiers Marials in Paris; the Marist Brothers
who founded the Marian Spirituality Centre in Belo Horizonte (Brazil);
the theologians belonging to the Benedictine, Jesuit and Dominican Orders,
the two Carmelite Orders and many other institutes who are present in
Mariological research through their publications; the Society of St. Paul
whose publications include so many works on Mariology. We must also mention
the way in which so many religious share in the activities of the Mariological
societies which abound in many countries and who frequently lead them.
And lastly, we wish to recall the scholars of the Prelature of the Holy
Cross who publish the important review Scripta de Maria (Zaragoza).
Since
we understand the commitment of persons and means needed to maintain these
works, we would like to express our admiration and thanks to these brothers
and sisters and, if necessary, offer them our encouragement to continue
singlemindedly and rigorously with the work which has brought them great
esteem in the Church.
43. The importance of studies for
promoting devotion to the Blessed Virgin is such that one conclusion is
certain: we must everywhere foster the study of Mariology and the institutions
which make this study possible at all levels among the laity, religious,
and ministers of the Church. “Christology is also Mariology,” said a recent
document of the S. Congregation for Catholic Education.46
We can endorse this by adding that ecclesiology and pneumatology
are also Mariology.47
Anyone who considers the doctrinal issues relating to the figure of the
Woman whom our Eastern brothers and sisters call the “Crown of Dogma”
and the pastoral value which stems from genuine Marian devotion knows
that Mariology is a discipline which is worthy of the closest attention.
Proclamation
of the Word
44. The last words spoken by Jesus
to the eleven apostles, “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptise
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19 ),
indicate not an ending but a beginning: the beginning of the universal
mission of the Church. These words have been engraved on the heart of
the Church and throughout its history they have prompted, supported and
guided its missionary commitment. Throughout the centuries disciples of
the Lord, men and women, have felt the urgent need to proclaim the Good
News as did Paul: “Preaching the gospel is not the subject of a boast;
I am under compulsion and have no choice; I am ruined if I do not preach
it! ” (1 Cor 9:16).
Reflecting
on the missionary activity of the Church from our present point of view
- the responsibility of religious in promoting Marian piety - we have
to emphasise two facts:
—
First, the missionary endeavours of the Church
presently are carried out primarily by religious institutes. The Church
has entrusted this task to them and they have accepted it as a valid expression
of their institutional charism. In fact, there are few religious institutes
that do not have some missionary activity and many were formed with the
primary purpose of bringing the light of faith to those who still live
in darkness.
—
Second, many missionary institutes have a “Marian
reference” in their names; they place their work of evangelisation under
the protection of the Blessed Virgin and they openly state that in her
they find an example and inspiration for carrying out their specific apostolic
service.
In
our opinion, these two facts are significant: they reveal once more how
Mary is intimately tied to the mystery of Christ, the primary object of
evangelisation, and to the mystery of the Church, the active agent in
evangelisation. They demonstrate, too, how the Blessed Virgin in her role
as Mother and model anticipated the mission of the Church: to receive
and proclaim the Word.
The
first to be evangelised
and herself an evangeliser
45. The ultimate
reason for which Mary is honoured as the Guiding Star of evangelisation
48
is not devotional but strictly biblical. According to the scholars of
the Sacred Scriptures, some gospel episodes contain important indications
of Mary's relationship with the Church as model in its reception and proclamation
of the Word. Mary is the first person to be evangelised. The Virgin of
Nazareth, as future mother of the Messiah and personification of the Daughter
of Sion, is the first to receive the joyful Good News: the Holy Spirit,
the power of the Most High, will come upon her and she will bear the Saviour
of the nations (see Lk 1:26-38). With faith Mary receives this word of
the Lord and faith becomes “ in her case the gateway and path to divine
Motherhood.” 49
Mary
is the first person to evangelise. The word received into her inmost being
breaks out in proclamation, song and prophecy. In the hill country of
Judah, Mary, overshadowed by the Spirit and bearing the Word, proclaims
the great things done for her by the Almighty and brings the Saviour to
John (see Lk 1:39-56). In this episode, some exegetes note a distant echo
of the rejoicing at the news of the liberation of Jerusalem: “How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing
peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, 'Your
God is King! ”' (Is 52:7).
They
found the child with Mary his mother
46. In the
episode of the Magi who come from the East to offer homage to the Messiah
(see Mt 2:1-12), we see not only the call of all nations to the faith
but also the function of the Church following the example of Mary: to
present Christ to all peoples and to become a place of encounter with
him. It is probable that the evangelist Matthew, when writing the episode
of the adoration of the Magi, took inspiration from Isaiah 60:1-9, the
song which celebrates Jerusalem as centre of the universe; but in preparing
his account he made significant changes; Jerusalem, the City-Mother upon
whom the glory of the Lord shines (see Is 60:1-2), is replaced by Mary-Mother
on whose knees sits the Child; in place of the Lord to whom al1 the nations
offer homage (and who is already the Messianic King according to pre-Christian
Jewish texts) there is the child Jesus who receives the homage and adoration
of the Magi. In place of the kings and princesses who according to the
prophecy “bowing to the ground will worship you and lick the dust at your
feet” (Is 49:23; cf 60:14) and the rich merchants who arrive in Jerusalem
with caravans of camels “bearing gold and frankincense” (Is 60:6) there
are the Magi who “on entering the house, found the child with Mary his
mother; they prostrated themselves and did him homage; then they opened
their coffers and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh”
(Mt 2:11).
This
meeting and adoration, however, do not take place in the old Jerusalem
whose leaders rejected the Messiah (see Mt 2:3; 23:37-38) but in the “house”
of Bethlehem which seems to be an image of the Church. It is important
to note that according to Matthew when the Magi - the first fruits among
the pagans - open themselves to faith and encounter Jesus, they also see
Mary: “they found the child with Mary his mother” (Mt 2:11); the same
thing happens every time men and women come to Christ and enter his house,
the Church: they encounter him with Mary his mother.50
The
revelation at Cana
47. We have
already remarked on the importance of the risen Lord's words to the Eleven
regarding the Church's responsibility for evangelisation: “Go and make
disciples of all the nations....Teach them to carry out everything I have
commanded you” (Mt 28:19). It should be noted that these words are spoken
within the context of a “theophany”: the apparition to the Eleven in Galilee
on “the mountain to which Jesus had summoned them” (Mt 28:16).
The evangelist describes the scene following the pattern of the theophany
on the Sinai mountain where the Old Covenant was concluded (see
Ex 19:1-9).
In
Matthew's mind, the mountain of the apparition in Galilee (Mt 28:16-20)
is the Sinai of the New Covenant. Jesus, glorified by the Father, is given
the titles and prerogatives of the Lord of the Old Testament: universal
dominion (see Mt 28:18b-19a; Ex 19:5d); adoration (see Mt 28:17a; Ex 3:12;
29:1, 9-11); the revelation of a new Law (“... everything I have commanded
you” in Mt 28:20a and “... all that the Lord had ordered him”
in Ex 19:7b).
It
follows that the commitment taken on by the people of Israel with regard
to the Law of the Lord (“Everything the Lord has said, we will do,” Ex
19:8) now becomes the vocation and prerogative of the new people of God
formed around Jesus and made up of disciples from al1 nations: “Go and
make disciples of all nations....Teach them to carry out everything I
have commanded you” (Mt 28:19a,20a).
As
some exegetes note, the “revelation at Cana” (see Jn 2 :1 - 12) was also
written with the “ theophany of Sinai” in mind (see Ex 19:1-9). It would
be difficult not to see the special affinity which exists among the promise
of Israel (“Everything the Lord has said, we will do” in Ex 19:8), the
command of the risen Lord to the Eleven (to teach disciples to carry out
al1 that he had commanded in Mt 28:20a) and the words addressed by Mary
to the servants at the wedding at Cana (“Do whatever he tells you” in
Jn 2:5b).
What
John places on the lips of the Mother, Matthew presents as a task
given by Christ to the apostles, to the Church: Mary and the Church
are united in leading men and women to obedience to the gospel of Christ.
Both Mary and the Church refer back to the only Law that saves: the words
of Jesus (see Jn 6:68).
With
Mary awaiting the Spirit
48. In this
reflection on “Marian devotion and the proclamation of the Word” we must
consider one other text, Acts 1:13-14, which describes the apostles together
with “some women...and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers” (Acts
1:14), awaiting the fulfillment of the Lord's promise: “Within a few days
you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5; see Lk 24:49).
It
has often been pointed out that the same evangelist, Luke, wrote the Gospel
of the Infancy of Jesus (the first two chapters of the third gospel)
which is a fundamental document on the Word made flesh and also the Gospel
of the Infancy of the Church (Acts of the Apostles) which is a precise
description of the spreading of the Word (see Acts 6:7): from Jerusalem,
to Samaria, to the ends of the earth. It seems that Luke saw an important
parallelism between the events of the Annunciation-Visitation (third gospel)
and those of Pentecost and the spreading of the Word (Book of Acts): the
Word-Spirit first received in private (by Mary in the house in Nazareth
and by the apostolic community in the “upstairs room” [see Acts 1:13]
of a house in Jerusalem) must be proclaimed, by the power of the Spirit,
well beyond domestic walls: to all generations without limits of time
or space.
For
her part, Mary - upon whom the Holy Spirit, the power of the Most High
(see Lk 1:35 ), had descended - felt the need to proclaim the “ great
things ” the Almighty had done for her; she left the house in Nazareth
and went into the hill country to a town of Judah (see Lk 1:39). On the
day of Pentecost, the apostles upon whom the “power from on high” (Lk
24:49) had descended and who were “filled with the Holy Spirit” began
to speak in foreign tongues (Acts 2:4) to “devout Jews of every nation
under heaven” (Acts 2:5); they left their seclusion and strengthened by
the Spirit announced openly the work of salvation accomplished by God
in the death and resurrection of Christ (see Acts 2:14-39; 4:3 1 ).51
Mary
and the Church are at the service of the Word. For both, “the works of
God are to be made known with due honour” (Tb 12:11). But here again,
the Virgin Mother Mary preceded the Virgin Mother Church: the faith, openness
to the Spirit, gratitude, courage and concerned solicitude of the first
will be examples for the latter, committed until the end of time to making
known to all nations “God's manifold wisdom...in accord with his age-old
purpose, carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph 3:10-11).
* * *
49. In light of the
relationship which exists between the mission of the Virgin and the proclamation
of the Word, it is not difficult, brothers and sisters, to arrive at certain
pastoral conclusions:
—
It is not possible to exclude Marian piety from missionary endeavours.
An enlightened devotion to Mary must make us aware of the serious and
urgent problems related to the proclamation of the Word; it must urge
us to take on the attitudes of Mary of Nazareth in relationship to the
Word: full acceptance in faith which does not end in personal possessiveness
but which expresses itself in zealous proclamation.
—
It is necessary that the expressions of our Marian devotion be permeated,
more than they are presently, by themes related to the evangelising mission
of the Church.
—
We must use to advantage the missionary methodology which brought excellent
results in the past and clearly present the unique role of Mary in the
history of salvation from the very beginning of the proclamation of the
faith.
—
It is necessary that in our work of evangelisation, we reproduce the attitude
of the Church towards each of its apostolic works: looking to the Virgin
who “ in her life... has been a model of that motherly love with which
all who join in the Church's apostolic mission for the regeneration of
mankind should be animated.”52
Fidelity
to the liturgical reform
50. Our General Chapter
is coming to an end as the Church is preparing to commemorate the twentieth
anniversary of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium promulgated
on 4 December 1963. That document had a tremendous effect on the life
of the Catholic Church of the Latin Rite: from it came the post-conciliar
liturgical reform which must be considered one of the greatest ecclesial
events of the twentieth century.
Our Order lived this reform intensely: with joy, with hope and with tension.
Our
mention of the liturgical Constitution is not merely commemorative. We
refer to it because we believe that its principles are valid and effective
and need only to be implemented. The Constitution has permitted the renewal
of our liturgy and our Marian devotion: its important article 103 had
a significant effect on Chapter I of our Constitutions.53
The document is important, too, because it is impossible to speak about
Marian piety without placing it in the wider liturgical context.
Popular
piety
51. Before
beginning our reflection on the relationship between Marian devotion and
the liturgy, we have to make some mention of popular piety. It has at
times been scorned and been cause for serious reservations; for example,
popular piety was described as one of the “places” in which a dangerous
separation of religion and faith could occur.
In
the 1960's popular piety was the object of numerous studies and was discussed
by various episcopal conferences and the bishops of Rome. From these studies
and discussions has come a consensus on the nature of popular piety and
its value: “It manifests a thirst for God that only the simple and the
poor can experience; it makes persons capable of generosity, sacrifice
and even heroism when the faith has to be witnessed; it creates an acute
sense of the fundamental attributes of God: fatherhood, providence, loving
and constant presence; it gives rise to interior attitudes rarely seen
to the same degree: patience, the meaning of the cross in daily life,
detachment, openness to others, devotion.”54
But popular piety does have its limits and its risks.
“It is frequently open to penetration by various distortions of religion,
even superstition. Often it remains at the level of cultic action without
an authentic commitment in faith.”55
52. In the context of popular piety,
the faithful easily understand the bond that exists between Christ and
Mary. With simplicity they venerate Our Lady as the Immaculate Mother
of God; with joy they recognise her as Mother of all and enjoy their relationship
with her as an affectionate one between mother and child. They are keenly
aware of the meaning of Mary's poverty and suffering; they learn patience
and gentleness from her but they know that Mary during her life was a
strong woman who was not on the side of the powerful. The faithful know
that the Mother of Jesus is kind and lives with her son in heaven and
they therefore seek her intercession and aid with confidence; they therefore
love to celebrate her feasts, go on pilgrimage to her shrines and sing
in her honour.
53. We religious often come into contact
with cultures different from those of our native countries. When this
happens and we are faced with popular Marian devotion, we must assume
an attitude of respect and esteem for the “ culture” in which the devotion
is rooted. It is necessary then to understand both the cultural roots
which support the “popular” (in the sense of “this particular people”)
image of Mary and the cultural expressions with which it is manifested.
Only in this way can the values of popular Marian devotion be brought
to light and the work of “purification” be accomplished; this “purification”
is desired by all but often it is not done or is done in the wrong way:
rejecting everything and consequently confusing individuals and humiliating
the culture of a people.
In
the specific area of Marian piety, rather than opposing the liturgy to
popular piety we must foster mutual and fruitful exchange. In this way
the liturgy can channel with clarity and prudence the vitality and values
of popular piety; for its part, the religion of the people, because of
its symbolic and expressive richness, can supply the liturgy with stimuli
and material for creativity.56
54. Strictly tied to the discussion
of popular Marian piety, though not identical to it, is the subject of
pious Marian exercises (there are, in fact, some exercises thet are so
erudite that they have no popular roots).
Almost
ten years ago the Apostolic See offered religious a clear invitation to
renew the exercises of Marian piety: “It is now up to episcopal conferences,
to those in charge of local communities and to the various religious congregations
prudently to revise practices and exercises of piety in honour of the
Blessed Virgin, and to encourage the creative impulse of those who through
genuine religious inspiration or pastoral sensitivity wish to establish
new forms of piety.” 57
Besides the invitation, orientations, criteria and principles able to
give new life to these pious exercises were offered.58
It
seems to us that we must ask ourselves how this invitation has been accepted.
What has been done ? We do not have sufficient information to offer an
adequate answer. Certainly, some institutes wisely renewed the expressions
of their own Marian piety but the impression remains that in the greater
number of cases this has not been done. But the invitation remains valid,
without time limits, and can be accepted at any time.
We cannot enter into the problem of the complex
coexistence of pious exercises and liturgical actions. We limit ourselves
to two observations:
—
We do not believe that our devotional practice has been sufficiently affected
by the conciliar norm that states that pious exercises “should be so drawn
up that they harmonise with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred
liturgy, are in some way derived from it, and lead the people to it, since
in fact the liturgy by its very nature is far superior to any of them.”
59
We ask ourselves if our “pious Marian exercises” always respond to this
norm. Are they an introduction, an echo or a prolongation of liturgical
actions? Unfortunately, one has the impression that these exercises flourish
on the fringes of the liturgy.
—
In our opinion, the future of pious Marian exercises will greatly depend
on their quality and their ability to accept valid forms from the past
and, even more, to respond to the new needs which continuously emerge
in the life of the Church.
—
There is a legitimate distinction between popular religious devotion and
liturgy. But this must not be taken so far as to exclude a 'popular' dimension
for liturgy, leaving it intentionally or not as an elitist expression
of cult. This would be against the intrinsic nature of liturgy, which
must be essentially 'popular', belonging, that is, to the entire People
of God and adapted to the variety of its members.
Marian
piety in the liturgy
55. Since we now want
to speak directly about “ liturgy and Marian piety” it seems necessary
to remind ourselves that the liturgy is the natural and most appropriate
environment for venerating the Mother of the Lord. On many occasions and
in many ways liturgical celebrations are themselves ritual memorials of
the Blessed among women.
a. In the worship of the Blessed Trinity. In the celebration of
the divine mysteries, the veneration of the Blessed Virgin flows into
and almost loses itself in the worship we offer to the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. In this worship, the beautiful voice of Mary is joined
to our unworthy voices in order to glorify with us the glorious Trinity.
b. In the celebration of the Paschal Mystery. In carrying out liturgical
actions, Marian piety is immersed in the celebration of the Paschal Mystery
and becomes a waiting for the gift of the Spirit. Every authentic liturgical
celebration is, in various ways and degrees, a making present of the Paschal
event of the Lord and the pouring forth of the grace of the Spirit.
c. In the history of salvation. In the liturgy,
Marian piety finds its most appropriate setting: the history of salvation
condensed and lived by the Church in the sign of the liturgical year.
In this way, in the annual celebration of the mystery of Christ from Advent
to the Parousia, the memorial of Mary is at times a prophetic proclamation
in the words, figures and events of the Old Testament; at other times
it commemorates active presence of the mother together with her son in
events of great salvific importance (Incarnation-Christmas-Epiphany and
Easter-Pentecost); finally, the memorial at times becomes a dynamic projection
towards the final realities which have already been accomplished in Mary.
d. In listening to the Word. In liturgy, Marian piety encounters
the divine Word. The celebration of the sacred mysteries through the power
of the Spirit is the most privileged context for proclaiming and interpreting
the biblical texts related to Mary of Nazareth. Since in the Bible every
text is related to all the others and because in the cyclic rhythm of
each year ancient interpretations are joined to new insights, the Marian
texts are seen in the light of all of revelation.
e. In the Communion of Saints. In the liturgy, Mary
is not celebrated in isolation but within the Communion of Saints. She
appears as vitally linked to those who came before her, the patriarchs
and prophets; to the apostles and other biblical witnesses; to the martyrs,
virgins and innumerable disciples who have witnessed to Christ through
the centuries. In this context, the Blessed Virgin appears as a daughter
of Adam, our sister and the mother of disciples; her image takes on its
proper proportions, her mission is emphasised in what makes it unique
and exclusive, and her relationship to the Church is presented from a
variety of viewpoints. We will say even more: the entire cosmos is linked
to Christ, everything comes from him (see Jn 1:2; Col 1:16), by him and
in him everything has been saved, and everything must return to him so
that he can offer it to the Father (see 1 Cor 15:23-28). For the liturgy,
Mary is a small part of the cosmos which the Spirit has already returned
to Christ: she is definitively united to Christ “ the first born of every
creature” (Col 1:15 ), but she is tied, too, to all the rest of creation
which the Spirit is leading back to Christ through the very celebration
of the sacred mysteries.
f. In awaiting the Parousia. In the celebration of the holy mysteries
Marian piety acquires an essential dimension of the liturgy: the eschatological.
Liturgy is, in fact, irrepressible projection towards the “final realities”;
it is vigilant expectation of the Lord who came, comes today and will
come again. In the liturgy, one frequently hears the last entreaty of
Revelation: “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rv 22:20). Viewed from this eschatological
perspective, the Blessed Virgin appears as Mary of the threefold Advent:
she awaited the coming of the Messiah in the fullness of time which for
her coincided with her giving birth (the birth of Christ); she awaited
the coming of the Spirit which was accomplished in the Pentecost event
(birth of the Church); she awaited the glorious coming of Christ which
for her was realised in the assumption of her virginal body and soul into
heaven (birth of Mary to heavenly life).
56. In light of the liturgy's extraordinary
capacity to place the expressions of veneration of Mary in an effective
and meaningful context, one can understand the conciliar exhortation to
foster “the cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin”;
60
and on the contrary, one cannot understand the lack of
attention given to the liturgy by many persons working in the pastoral
field who want to foster Marian piety. We would like, brothers and sisters,
to fully explain our thought about this matter : the present reawakening
of Marian devotion could prove to be a deviation if it ignores the liturgical
framework.
We
would like to express our adherence to two proposals advanced by some
bishops and various scholars:
—
The first is that in the Roman liturgy of the Easter Triduum explicit
reference be made in a discreet and prudent way to one of its intrinsic
elements: the participation of the mother in the passion of her son.61
This is in conformity with the very nature of liturgy which
is the celebration of salvific events in their entirety; it is in conformity
with the gospel account (see Jn 19:25-27) which is understood by many
exegetes to be a biblical statement of the spiritual motherhood of Mary;
it conforms to liturgical tradition if one considers the particular celebrations
of the Byzantine Rite and other Eastern rites;62
finally, it responds to the expectations of
the faithful. Not to accept this desire could
lead to accentuating the distance between liturgy and popular piety in
precisely those areas where possible and legitimate exchange is hoped
for.
—
The second proposal is that the particular character of the Fifty Days
of Easter be maintained. In the liturgical ordering of the days that fall
between the two outpourings of the Spirit (see Jn 20:19-23 and Acts 2:1-12),
this is the time of the Paraclete: the reverberation and prolongation
of the mysteries celebrated during the most Sacred Night, the contemplation
of the risen Christ and his glory at the right hand of the Father, the
living memorial of the Pentecost event. During Easter Time, Marian devotion
must not even indirectly serve as an occasion to distract the attention
of the faithful from these saving mysteries. It must, if anything, demonstrate
the power of Christ's Resurrection and the gift of the Spirit that are
operative in Mary. It is to be hoped that the Easter liturgy, following
the lead of the biblical accounts (see Acts 1:14) can develop in the context
of worship the mysterious relationship existing among the Spirit, the
Church and Mary.63
Silence
of the Blessed Virgin
and liturgical silence
57. With
these notes we have certainly not exhausted the description of the complex
relationships between “liturgy and Marian piety.” We only wanted to demonstrate
the necessity of remaining faithful to the spirit of the liturgy and the
principles of the reform promoted by Vatican Council II. Precisely to
remain faithful to the liturgical reform we want to speak briefly about
something it emphasised: the value of silence in manifestations of Marian
devotion, both liturgical and extraliturgical.64
We are urged to do this by the spiritual profile of the Blessed
Virgin, the authentic nature of liturgy and the genuine style of religious
life.
58. The style of the Blessed Virgin.
We are of the opinion that expressions of devotion to Mary should have,
so to speak, the same style as the Blessed Virgin: a style marked by listening,
silence and reflection.
The
Fathers of the Church liked to say that the eternal Word was generated
from the infinite silence of God and, further, that from the silence of
the Virgin's heart there came the word fiat, the human premise
of the incarnation of the Word. The double mention of Mary's reflective
silence (see Lk 2:19, 51b) has been the object of diligent study by contemporary
exegetes and of loving attention by spiritual men and women of all times.65
These texts offer profound insights into the interior life of the
Blessed Virgin. In her silence, she appears as the woman of wisdom who,
in light of the Paschal event, remembers and keeps before her, interprets
and compares, the words and facts of the birth and infancy of her son,
questions herself about the meaning of obscure phrases overshadowed by
the cross (see Lk 2:34-35; 48-50) and accepts the silences of God with
her own adoring silence. In silence, the heart of the Blessed Virgin appears
as the ark inwhich the “memories” of God's interventions in the
history of Israel are conserved; it is the place where the times
of “before” (of Adam, of Abraham, of David) are recalled in reflection
and flow together, and where the time “ after” (Christ and the Church)
begins; it is the earth in which good seed has been sown and will
bear much fruit; it is the coffer in which sayings which the Spirit
will gradually make clear to the Virgin herself and to the Church are
treasured and in which the law of the Lord is held as light and norm for
life.
59. The value of the Blessed Virgin's
reflective attitude as a model in the Church's task of penetrating the
Word has already been well expressed: “the 'mute Mother of the silent
Word'...prefigured that long ceaseless effort of memory and intense rumination
which constitutes the heart of the Church's Tradition.”66
But we can extend this value as model to the celebration of the divine
mysteries: here, the Church proclaims the Word of God, but it can be vitally
understood only in attentive listening and penetrating reflection; here,
the Church celebrates the events of our salvation behind the veil of sacred
signs, but this veil can be lifted only if the mind is open to Mystery,
the will is one with the plan of God, the voice is in harmony with the
heart.67
60. In the liturgy, silence is not
inactivity, but rather a structural element of celebration: it favours
the concentration that leads to personal prayer; it permits the oration
of the one presiding to truly and authentically become the prayer of the
entire assembly; it facilitates assimilating the Word proclaimed and listening
to the voice of the Spirit. Silence is the sacred environment conducive
to adoration and praise of God: Tibi silentium laus according to
a biblically rooted prayer.68
But there is more: liturgical celebration is celebration “in the Spirit”
and silence - a biblical and liturgical sign of the Paraclete
69
- is a way to communion with the Spirit operative in the divine mysteries,
and, through him, to communion with the participants in the worshipping
assembly.
61. Silence has always been considered
a characteristic element of monastic-religious life and an especially
effective means in the journey toward identification with Christ. There
is no monastic rule or constitutional text that does not make reference
to the importance of silence. In legislative texts we find, for example,
that “we must seek in the silence of our cells to deepen our knowledge
of self, to free ourselves from selfishness and to grow in that love for
God and creatures which is the goal of our religious pilgrimage.”70
The contemporary magisterium of the Church, however, affirms that “the
search for intimacy with God involves the truly vital need of a silence
embracing the whole being, both for those who must find God in the midst
of noise and confusion and for contemplatives.”71
Therefore, the silence which religious must never abandon in their various
activities must surround them even more when they participate in the sacred
liturgy.
62. From these various suggestions
we can draw a two-fold conclusion:
—
The Virgin of silence and attentive listening represents an invitation
to internalise the Word and celebrate the liturgy by entering into mystery.
—
We men and women religious are called upon to give to our Marian celebrations
a tone and a style that favour reflective silence; to wrap them, so to
speak, in that holy sign of silence which allows intimate presence to
the transcendent, attentive listening to the whispering of the Spirit,
and personal experience of the presence of the Word.
The
way of beauty
63. Discussing the ways in which we
religious can contribute to qualitative rather than quantitative promoting
of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, we wish to indicate another which is
not new, but rather is part of our “ family heritage”:
—
To make of Marian devotion a holy time and an opportunity favourable to
the contemplation of uncreated Beauty, God, of his divine-human splendour,
Christ, and of the principal work of the Spirit of Beauty, the Virgin
Mary.
—
To make of Marian devotion an environment favourable to the festive gathering
of all the expressions of artistic creation.
64. God, living and holy, is supreme
Beauty. His word is poetic, that is, creative: from nothing he draws out
being, from chaos, harmony, from darkness, light; the works of his hands
are “beautiful and good” according to the fullest sense of the term used
in the biblical account of creation (see Gen 1 :9, 12, 25, 31 ); 72
and when, through his Holy Spirit, he speaks to men and women
in their own language, his word is itself poetry and often takes the most
brilliant literary forms.
We
would like to pause to contemplate the beauty of Christ, brothers and
sisters, but our reflection must be brief. We limit ourselves to contemplation
of his beauty in its essence as the reflection of the Father's glory and
the representation of his being (Heb 1:3) and in the splendour of the
light that surrounds it (see Mk 9:2-3). Following the lead of the holy
Fathers of the Church, we recall that the praise given to Wisdom is to
be referred to Christ: “fairer than the sun” (Wis 7:29) and “the refulgence
of eternal life, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of
his goodness” (Wis 7:26). The same is true of the praise of the features
of the Loved One which cause the Bride to exclaim, “Ah, you are beautiful,
my lover” (Sg 1:16) and of the celebration of the appearance of the messianic
king: “fairer in beauty are you than the sons of men, grace is poured
out upon your lips, thus God has blessed you forever” (Ps 44 [45]:3).
65. Before the heavenly beauty manifest
in the Blessed Virgin, the Christian is gripped by wonder: “O pure and
holy Virgin, how can I find words to praise your beauty?” the liturgy
asks.73
Not
without emotion, every year in the office of Holy Thursday we read an
ancient text, the Easter homily of St. Melito of Sardis (+ c. 190)
which describes Christ as “the mute lamb, the slain lamb, the lamb born
of Mary, the fair ewe.” 74
With joy, we recall that our brothers and sisters of the East who
are so sensitive to the mystety of beauty call the Holy Spirit the divine
Artist and hold that the masterpiece “icon” of God is the glorious Theotokos.
Gregory Palamas (+ 1359) wrote: “Wanting to create the image of
absolute beauty and manifest to angels and mortals the power of his art,
God truly made Mary totally beautiful. In her he brought together the
individual beauty distributed among other creatures and set her up as
the adornment of all beings, visible and invisible. ”
75
Coming to our own times in the Latin Church, we can listen to the voice
of the Bishop of Rome, PaulVI (+ 1978); as is well known, he invited
students of Mariology not to ignore “the way of beauty.”76
He saw in Mary “a masterpiece of human beauty, not seen as a formal model,
but as realised in her intrinsic and incomparable capacity to express
the Spirit in the flesh, the divine likeness in the human face, invisible
beauty in bodily form.” 77
Serious
ascetic commitment
66. At this
point we must add some observations to complete our reflection.
First
of all, it is necessary to dispel every perplexity about the nature of
the via pulchritudinis: it is not an intellectual exercise nor
is it a path reserved only to refined or cultured persons.
The
“way of beauty” is a serious ascetic commitment: Filocalia or “love
of beauty” is the significant title of one of the most well-known ascetical
books of the Christian East. The discovery and enjoyment of beauty presuppose
the victory within ourselves (often with great effort) of truth over falsehood,
goodness over evil, love over hatred; they imply overcoming divisions
and healing wounds so that our inmost selves reflect unity and harmony.
Beauty
is the splendour of goodness and truth. Therefore Mary is beautiful:
when she accepts the wil1 of God with humble heart (bonitas) and
truthful word (veritas) and lets herself be possessed by the Spirit
of peace; when, in her womb, unity is restored between God and humanity,
earth and heaven; when, with her simplicity and humility, she destroys
ancient deceitfulness and foolish pride.
Mary
is beautiful because the Spirit has taken her from the dominion
of sin; the title of All Holy One typical of the Eastern tradition and
that of Tota pulchra of the Roman liturgy describe the same reality
and have the same motivation: in Mary there is no trace of sin.78
The
“way of beauty” is a path of enlightenment and a search for clarity; it
is a struggle against sin in which the Fathers of the Church and the liturgy
see the greatest ugliness; it is a progressive liberation from sin and
increasing penetration of the truth and sanctity of God. For all these
reasons the “way of beauty” becomes the “way of salvation.”
Fidelity
to the Word
67. It should be pointed
out that the “way of beauty” when faithful to the Word permits the harmonious
integration of the gospel description of Mary and the dogmatic statements
that refer to her. As Paul discovered in Jesus “born of a woman and born
under the law” (Gal 4:4) the new Man (see 1 Cor 15:45) and the Lord of
glory (see 1 Cor 2:8) so, too, the Church has seen in Mary of Nazareth,
the humble woman, the new Woman prepared by God for Christ and all humanity.
In Mary, the “real woman” and the “ideal woman” coincide. Supported by
the faith, the Christian sees in Mary the realisation of his or her loftiest
religious and human ideals:
—
in her and in her Immaculate Conception, humanity is seen as restored
to its original innocence and beauty and the symbol of the “virgin earth”
finds its fulfillment;
—
in her and in her faithfulness to God, the spiritual summit of Israel
is seen in the image of the unbroken Covenant;
—
in her and in her openness to the Spirit, one contemplates the ideal of
discipleship and sees the clearest outline of the dialogue between God
and humanity, the harmonious relationship of nature and grace;
—
in her and in her virginal maternity, one sees the realisation of the
ideals of faithful Bride, perfect Virgin and fecund Mother; one admires
an impossible desire become real: the union of the glory of virginity
with the joy of motherhood;79
and one is amazed to- see in the offspring of this maternity the
realisation of another wonder: God in humanity and humanity in God;
—
in her and in her natural devotion, one sees fulfilled the hope of every
person wounded by pain and evil: to find again the embrace of a mother
who accepts, understands and restores; -
—
in her and in her glorious Assumption, the Christian contemplates the
fulfillment of the most intimate hope, overcoming death in life, and perceives
a sign of “hope accesible to all.”80
68. This “image” of the Blessed Virgin
is not, as is sometimes said, the result of unconscious externalisation
of the deep aspirations of humanity nor is it the fruit of a systematic
Christianisation of pagan myths; it is an “icon” designed by the Spirit
to illustrate a gift of God to humankind. It is an easily understood demonstration
of the way in which God who made man and woman in his own image (see Gen
1:26-27) responds to the needs of their hearts. Finally, this image is
a transcription of the facts of Sacred Scripture in the language of faith
and poetry.
In
this field, brothers and sisters, we must beware of literary fiction which
separates itself from the Word and remains sterile and deceptive. But
we must also appreciate, as did the Fathers of the Church, poetic vision
supported by faith and directed toward the Word. This vision, both intuitive
and penetrating, becomes poetry which allows the faithful to hear the
nuances hidden in the divine Word.
69. It seems important to emphasise
again that “Mary as image” does not keep for herself the vision and the
words directed towards her; she refers them to “Christ as image,” to “Church
as image,” to the divine Artist:
—
To Christ, the only perfect “image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), the
only one who achieves perfect harmony.
—
To the Church, because “Mary as image” is an anticipation of the “Church
as image” which God designs and completes in the course of salvation history.
In this way, looking towards the image of Mary, Mother of the Light, is
extended to looking towards the “Woman clothed with the sun” (see Rv 12:1),
the Church which brings forth the members of the total Christ. In the
same way, vision directed towards Mary, the Virgin Bride resplendent in
beauty, continues in the contemplation of the heavenly Jerusalem, the
Church “coming down out of heaven from God, beautiful as a bride prepared
to meet her husband ” (Rv 21:2 ).
To
the divine Artist, since every disciple of the Lord, who is accustomed
to deducing from the beauty of creation the inexpressible beauty of the
Creator, in contemplating the mysterious beauty of Mary will be led to
glorify the unfathomable beauty of God.
70. Finally, it seems that we religious,
because of our tradition, must actively cooperate in the effort to put
into practice some of the demands of the via pulchritudinis:
—
the reevaluation of symbolic language and biblical poetics, the fostering
of poetic vision and artistic taste, the use of intuition and the speedy
reconciliation of art with faith - in this way, the “mystery of worship”
will once again enrich artistic expression;
—
the elimination from the signs through which we express our Marian piety
(such as places, words, songs, colour) of all that is ugly and unoriginal,
repetitious and false.
The
way of sons and daughters
71.
We said, brothers and sisters, that the “way of beauty” is not a path
reserved to specialists; it is “a way accessible to all, even the simple,”
81
above all to the pure in heart who grasp the beauty “of the
lilies of the field” and with Jesus understand that “not even Solomon
in all his splendour was arrayed like one of these” (Mt 6:29). We would
add that it is a path to be preferred by religious whom St. Augustine
described at the end of his Rule as “lovers of spiritual beauty.”82
Finally,
the “way of beauty” is the “way of sons and daughters.” Children, because
of a shared experience of life and of love, discover in their mother signs
of profound beauty which remain hidden to others. Since, together with
Jesus “the first born of many brothers” (Rom 8:29) we call Mary “mother”
(though in different ways), we think we can make our own the words of
B1. Amadeus of Lausanne (+ 1159) who has the Son say in praise
of his Mother: “'You are all beautiful, my mother, and there is no blemish
in you' (Sg 4:7). You are beautiful, he tells her: beautiful in thought,
beautiful in word, beautiful in action; beautiful from birth until death;
beautiful in the virginal conception , beautiful in your divine maternity,
beautiful in the sufferings of my passion, beautiful above all in the
splendor of my resurrection.” 83
Choice
of the poor
72. Christ
is our true and supreme wealth and the most abject misery is being without
Christ. Before him and the demands of the Kingdom, everything is of secondary
importance - father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters,
wealth and even life itself (see Lk 14:26, 33). Anyone who places any
one of these values before the supreme value - Christ and his Kingdom
- cannot be a disciple of the Lord. Since attachment to wordly goods hardens
the heart to the point of being closed even to the person of Christ himself
(see Lk 18:18-27) and makes it insensitive to the needs of our brothers
and sisters (see 1 Jn 3:17; Jas 2:14-16; Lk 16:19-21), one can well understand
why the gospel and the letters of the apostles so insistently and firmly
warn disciples to be aware of the danger of placing wealth at the centreof
their lives. For when this happens, one falls into a serious form of idolatry:
in place of God, the Love which is poured out in human hearts (see Rom
5:5), one adores the idol of gold and silver, “ill gotten wealth” (see
Lk 16:9), which is sterile and closed in dark selfishness. One can well
understand why the apostle warns: “Love of money is the root of all evil”
(1 Tim 6:10).
73. Jesus did not condemn the goods
of this world in themselves. But in contrast to the forms of life dominated
by the thirst for wealth, he chose for himself a life marked by a radical
poverty. The event of the Incarnation itself, in which the Word took on
the “form of a servant” (Phil 2:7), is seen as a mystery of poverty and
kenosis. When the apostle wrote to the Corinthians, he explained the ultimate
meaning of Christ's poverty. “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ:
that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that by his
poverty you may become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). We do not have to look far in
the gospels to discover Christ's poverty; it springs to our eyes at once.
He was born in poverty (see Lk 2:7), lived in poverty (see Lk 9:58), and
died in poverty (seeMk 15:24); he made the proclamation of the Good News
to the poor the sign by which to recognise the coming of the Messianic
Kingdom (see Lk 7:22); he proclaimed the poor in spirit blessed, saying
that theirs was the Kingdom of Heaven (see Mt 5:3); he wanted the heralds
of the Kingdom not to acquire gold, silver, copper or a bag for their
journey (see Mt 10:9-10).
74. Likewise, the
gospel account of the life of the Mother of Jesus reveals her as a poor
woman, whose life was marked by a twofold poverty: poverty in the sociological
sense, and poverty in the sense of the Kingdom. Both merged harmoniously
in her.
75. Mary's
sociological poverty immediately stands out for one who reads the gospels:
Mary was born poor in the despised region of Galilee - the semi-pagan
“Galilee of the gentiles” (Mt 4:15) - at Nazareth, an obscure hamlet that
counted for nothing in the history of Israel (see Jn 1 :46; 7:52); she
was betrothed to Joseph, a simple carpenter (see Lk 1 :27; Mt 13:55);
she gave birth to her son in a grotto-stable and placed him “ in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn” (Lk 2:7); she redeemed
him with the offering of the poor (see Lk 2:24); when her son was persecuted
by the powerful, she had to flee into a foreign land where she experienced
the hardships of exile (see Mt 213); and after returning to Nazareth,
she lived the life of the poor for many years in obscurity; during the
public life of her son, nothing altered her state as a simple woman of
the people while her participation in the mystery of the “sign of contradiction”
increased; she felt the hostility of her fellow citizens towards her son:
“ they rose up and put him out of the city and led him to the brow of
the hill...that they might throw him down” (Lk 4:29); she realised that
even her relatives could not understand: “his family went out to take
charge of him, for they sald, 'He is out his mind...”' (Mk 3:21 ); she
lived through the drama of her son's death, crucified between “two criminals,
one on the right, and one on the left” (Lk 23:33).
76.
But Mary stands out most of all because of the intense manner in which
she lived the spirituality of the “poor of the Lord.” The Blessed Virgin
“stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope
for and receive salvation from him.” 84
This because she was a woman delighted to serve the Lord (see Lk
1:38,46-48), faithful in observance of the Law (see Lk 2:22-24,27,39),
open to the will of God (Lk 1:38); she was concerned about Elizabeth in
offering her aid, rejoicing with her for the gift of motherhood and proclaiming
the gratuity of God's gifts (see Lk 1:39-56) She was a woman who was blessed
for her faith (see Lk 1:55), blessed for the fruit of her womb (see Lk
1:42), exemplary for her confidence in the fulfillment of the promises
made to the Fathers (see Lk 1:45). She was the woman of the sanctifying
greeting (see Lk 1:40-41, 44), of the hymn of gratitude (see Lk 1:46-55),
of the decisive word (see Lk 1:38, Jn 2:5), of silent reflection (see
Lk 2:19, 51b). She was the woman who shared the fate of her people (see
Lk 1 :54); she stood by the meek in heart - Simeon and Anna, the shepherds
and the wise men who had come from afar - and by the oppressed (see Lk
1:52 -53; Mt 2: 16- 18); she was attentive to the needs of her neighbour
(see Jn 2:3), and concerned for the new community of Jesus' disciples
(seeJn 2:1-12; Acts 1:14). She was the woman of the humble, simple heart
that trusts in God (see Lk 1:48) and, having received mercy, she proclaimed
the mercy of the Lord and exalted his liberating power (see Lk 1:51-53).
77. We know that the
credibility of local Churches and religious institutes depends to a great
extent on the authenticity of their witness to evangelical poverty. No
one is dispensed from this witness; all the disciples of the Lord are
called to it, though in different ways. We religious know that “on this
point...our contemporaries question [us] with particular insistence.”85
After contemplating the gospel figure of Mary,
the “poor woman,” we feel that it, too, urgently invites us to take a
clear stand in favour of the poor and to make a serious effort to live
a sober life, free of possessions and power, sharing the sufferings of
real poverty.
As far as Marian devotion in concerned, our reflection
has led us to conclude that if devotion to the Blessed Virgin is not to
be lost in abstractions or be restricted to the purely individual sphere,
it must be presented with the content of the gospel message of poverty.
In other words, it must be an opportunity for us to preach to the sociologically
rich and the sociologically poor the sole evangelium paupertatis,
namely, the subordination of the goods of this world to the values of
the Kingdom and the essential destination of these goods to human service
and development. Marian devotion must proclaim the message of the Magnificat
and the beatitudes by rejecting every “compromise with any form of social
injustice” 86
and by denouncing every form of oppression of the poor;
it must be a moment of prayer that lifts discouraged hearts to God “who
raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap”
(Ps 113 [112]:7) and who listens to the “cry of the poor” (Job 34:28)
which is “more pressing than ever [because on personal distress and collective
misery.” 87
Our devotion must be a warning not to present certain social
situations as “ the will of God” when they are merely the effect of the
sin of humankind.
Mary of Nazareth has preceded us in this
worshipful attitude of faith in God and denunciation of injustice. Her
hymn of thanksgiving is by no means a proclamation of earthly messianism,
or a cry for social revolution; but neither is it a disembodied prayer.
It is a song of liberation springing from faith, a recalling of God's
interventions in history, a word spoken in the name of “those who neither
passively accept the adversities of their personal and community lives,
nor are simple victims of 'alienation', as is said today, but rather those
who proclaim with her that God is the 'avenger of the hamble', and where
necessary, the One who 'casts down the powerful from their thrones.' ''
88
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