| Signum
Magnum
Letter on the Blessed Virgin Mary
His Holiness Pope Paul VI
Promulgated on May 13, 1967
To
the Catholic bishops of the world.
Venerable brothers, health and apostolic blessings.
THE GREAT SIGN which the Apostle John saw in heaven, "a woman clothed
with the sun," [1] is interpreted by the sacred Liturgy, [2] not
without foundation, as referring to the most blessed Mary, the mother
of all men by the grace of Christ the Redeemer.
The memory, venerable brothers, is still vivid in our mind of the great
emotion we felt in proclaiming the august Mother of God as the spiritual
Mother of the Church, that is to say, of all the faithful and of the sacred
pastors, as the crowning of the third session of the Second Vatican Council,
after having solemnly promulgated the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.
[3] Great also was the happiness of numerous Council Fathers, as well
as of the faithful, who were present at the sacred rite in St. Peter's
basilica and of the entire Christian people scattered throughout the world.
The memory came spontaneously to many minds of the first grandiose triumph
achieved by the humble "handmaid of the Lord" [4] when the Fathers
from East and West, gathered in an ecumenical council at Ephesus in the
year 431 greeted Mary as "Theotokos" -- genitrix of God. The
Christian population of the illustrious city associated themselves with
a jubilant impulse of faith with the exultance of the Fathers and accompanied
them with torchlights to their dwellings.
Oh! with how much maternal satisfaction the Virgin Mary must have looked
on the pastors and the faithful in that glorious hour of the history of
the Church, recognizing in the hymns of praise, raised in honor principally
of the Son and then in her own, the echo of the prophetic canticle which
she herself on the impulse of the Holy Spirit had raised to the Most High:
"My
soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid;
for, behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
because He who is mighty has done great things for me
and holy is His name." [5]
On the
occasion of the religious ceremonies which are taking place at this time
in honor of the Virgin Mother of God in Fatima, Portugal, where she is
venerated by countless numbers of the faithful for her motherly and compassionate
heart, [6] we wish to call the attention of all sons of the Church once
more to the indissoluble link between the spiritual motherhood of Mary,
so amply illustrated in the (council's) Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
[7] and the duties of redeemed men toward her, the Mother of the Church.
Once it is acknowledged, by virtue of the numerous testimonies offered
by the sacred texts and by the holy Fathers and remembered in the constitution
mentioned above, that "Mary, the Mother of God and Mother of the
Redeemer" [8] has been "united to Him by a close and indissoluble
tie" [9] and that she has a most singular role in "the mystery
of the Incarnate Word and of the Mystical Body," [10] that is to
say, in "the economy of salvation," [11] it appears evident
that the Virgin is "rightly honored by the Church with a special
veneration, [12] particularly liturgical," [13] not only as "the
most holy Mother of God, who took part in the mysteries of Christ,"
[14] but also "as the Mother of the Church." [15]
Nor is it to be feared that liturgical reform, if put into practice according
to the formula "the law of faith must establish the law of prayer"
[16] may be detrimental to the "wholly singular" veneration
[17] due to the Virgin Mary for her prerogatives, first among these being
the dignity of the Mother of God. Nor is it to be feared that the greater
veneration, liturgical as well as private, given to her may obscure or
diminish "the adoration which is offered to the Incarnate Word, as
well as to the Father and to the Holy Spirit." [18]
Accordingly, without wishing to restate here, venerable brothers, the
traditional doctrine of the Church regarding the function of the Mother
of God on the plane of salvation and her relations with the Church, we
believe that, if we dwell on the consideration of two truths which are
very important for the renewal of Christian life, we would be doing something
of great utility for the souls of the faithful.
PART
I
The
first truth is this: Mary is the Mother of the Church not only because
she is the Mother of Christ and His most intimate associate in "the
new economy when the Son of God took a human nature from her, that He
might in the mysteries of His flesh free man from sin," [19] but
also because "she shines forth to the whole community of the elect
as a model of the virtues." [20] Indeed, just as no human mother
can limit her task to the generation of a new man but must extend it to
the function of nourishing and educating her offspring, thus the blessed
Virgin Mary, after participating in the redeeming sacrifice of the Son,
and in such an intimate way as to deserve to be proclaimed by Him the
Mother not only of His disciple John but -- may we be allowed to affirm
it -- of mankind which he in some way represents, [21] now continues to
fulfill from heaven her maternal function as the cooperator in the birth
and development of divine life in the individual souls of redeemed men.
This is a most consoling truth which, by the free consent of God the All-Wise,
is an integrating part of the mystery of human salvation; therefore it
must be held as faith by all Christians.
But in what way does Mary cooperate in the growth of the members of the
Mystical Body in the life of grace? First of all, by her unceasing prayers
inspired by a most ardent charity. The Holy Virgin, in fact, though rejoicing
in the vision of the august Trinity, does not forget her Son's advancing,
as she herself did in the "pilgrimage of the faith". [22] Indeed,
contemplating them in God and clearly seeing their necessities, in communion
with Jesus Christ, "who continues forever and is therefore able at
all times to intercede for them," [23] she makes herself their Advocate,
Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix and Mediatrix. [24] Of this intercession of hers
for the People of God with the Son, the Church has been persuaded, ever
since the first centuries, as testified to by this most ancient antiphon
which, with some slight difference, forms part of the liturgical prayer
in the East as well as in the West: "We seek refuge under the protection
of your mercies, oh Mother of God; do not reject our supplication in need
but save us from perdition, O you who alone are blessed." [25] Nor
should anyone believe that the maternal intervention of Mary would prejudice
the predominant and irreplaceable efficacy of Christ, our Savior. On the
contrary, it draws its strength from the mediation of Christ of which
it is the luminous proof. [26]
But the cooperation of the Mother of the Church in the development of
the divine life of the souls does not come to an end with the appeal to
the Son. She exercises on redeemed men another influence: that of example.
An influence which is indeed most important, according to the well-known
axiom: "Verba movent, exempla trahunt" (Words move, examples
attract). In fact, just as the teachings of the parents become far more
efficacious if they are strengthened by the example of a life conforming
with the norms of human and Christian prudence, so the sweetness and the
enchantment emanating from the sublime virtues of the immaculate Mother
of God attract souls in an irresistible way to imitation of the divine
model, Jesus Christ, of whom she was the most faithful image. Therefore
the council declared: "The Church, devotedly meditating on her and
contemplating her in the light of the Word made man, enters more intimately
into the supreme mystery of the Incarnation and becomes ever increasingly
like her Spouse" [27].
Furthermore, it is well to bear in mind that Mary's eminent sanctity was
not only a singular gift of divine liberality. It was also the fruit of
the continuous and generous cooperation of her free will in the inner
motions of the Holy Spirit. It is because of the perfect harmony between
divine grace and the activity of her human nature that the Virgin rendered
supreme glory to the Most Holy Trinity and became the illustrious ornament
of the Church, which thus greets her in sacred Liturgy: "You are
the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honor of our people"
[28].
Let us then admire in the pages of the Gospel the testimonies of such
sublime harmony. Mary, as soon as she was reassured by the voice of the
Angel Gabriel that God had chosen her as the unblemished mother of His
only-begotten Son, unhesitatingly gave her consent to a work which would
have engaged all the energies of her fragile nature and declared: "Behold
the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word"
[29]. From that moment, she consecrated all of herself to the service
not only of the heavenly Father and of the Word Incarnate, who had become
her Son, but also to all mankind, having clearly understood that Jesus,
in addition to saving his people from the slavery of sin, would become
the King of a messianic Kingdom, universal and eternal [30].
Therefore, the life of Joseph's pure spouse, who remained a virgin "during
childbirth and after childbirth" -- as the Catholic Church has always
believed and professed [31] and as was fitting for her who was raised
to the incomparable dignity of divine motherhood [32] -- was a life of
such perfect union with the Son that she shared in His joys, sorrows and
triumphs. And even after Christ had ascended to heaven she remained united
to Him by a most ardent love while she faithfully fulfilled the new mission
of spiritual Mother of the most beloved of the disciples and of the nascent
Church. It can be asserted that the whole life of the humble handmaid
of the Lord, from the moment when she was greeted by the Angel, until
her assumption in body and soul to heavenly glory, was a life of loving
service.
We, therefore, associating ourselves with the Evangelists, with the Fathers
and the Doctors of the Church, recalled in the dogmatic constitution "Lumen
gentium" (Chap. VIII), full of admiration, contemplate Mary, firm
in her faith, ready in her obedience, simple in humility, exulting in
praising the Lord, ardent in charity, strong and constant in the fulfillment
of her mission to the point of sacrificing herself, in full communion
of sentiments with her Son who immolated Himself on the Cross to give
men a new life.
Before such splendor of virtue, the first duty of all those who recognize
in the Mother of Christ the model of the Church, is to unite themselves
to her in giving thanks to the Most High for working great things in Mary
for the benefit of all mankind. But this is not enough. It is also the
duty of all the faithful to pay as tribute to the most faithful handmaid
of the Lord, a veneration of praise, of gratitude and of love because,
by a wise and mild divine provision, her free consent and her generous
cooperation in the designs of God had, and still have, a great influence
in the attainment of human salvation [33]. Therefore every Christian must
make St. Anselm's prayer his own: "Oh, glorious Lady, grant that
through you we may deserve to ascend to Jesus, your Son, who through you
deigned to descend among us" [34].
PART
II:
DEVOUT IMITATION OF THE VIRTUES OF THE MOST HOLY MARY
Neither
the grace of the divine Redeemer, nor the powerful intercession of His
Mother and our spiritual Mother, nor yet her sublime sanctity, could lead
us to the port of salvation if we did not respond to them by our persevering
will to honor Jesus Christ and the Holy Virgin with our devout imitation
of their sublime virtue.
It is therefore the duty of all Christians to imitate in a reverent spirit
the examples of goodness left to them by their heavenly Mother. This,
venerable brothers, is the other truth to which we are pleased to call
your attention and the attention of the faithful entrusted to your pastoral
care, that they may second with docility the exhortation of the Fathers
of the Second Vatican Council: "Let the faithful remember that true
devotion consists neither in fruitless and passing emotion, nor in a certain
vain credulity. Rather, it proceeds from true faith, by which we are led
to know the excellence of the Mother of God, and are moved to a filial
love toward our mother and to the imitation of her virtues." [35]
Imitation of Jesus Christ is undoubtedly the regal way to be followed
to attain sanctity and reproduce in ourselves, according to our forces,
the absolute perfection of the heavenly Father. But while the Catholic
Church has always proclaimed a truth so sacrosanct, it has also affirmed
that imitation of the Virgin Mary, far from distracting the souls from
the faithful following of Christ, makes it more pleasant and easier for
them. For, since she had always done the will of God, she was the first
to deserve the praise which Christ addressed to His disciples: "Whoever
does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and
mother." [36]
The general norm "Through Mary to Jesus" is therefore valid
also for the imitation of Christ. Nevertheless, let our faith not be perturbed,
as if the intervention of a creature in every way similar to us, except
as regards sin, offended our personal dignity and prevented the intimacy
and immediacy of our relationships of adoration and friendship with the
Son of God. Let us rather recognize the "goodness and the love of
God the Savior," [37] who, condescending to our misery, so remote
from His infinite sanctity, wished to make it easier for us to imitate
it by giving us as a model the human person of His Mother. She, in fact,
among the human beings, offered the most shining example and the closest
to us, of that perfect obedience whereby we lovingly and readily conform
with the will of the eternal Father. Christ Himself, as we well know,
made this full closeness to the approval of the Father, the supreme ideal
of His human behavior, declaring: "I do always the things that are
pleasing to Him." [38]
If we then contemplate the Virgin of Nazareth in the halo of her prerogative
and of her virtues, we will see her shine before our eyes as the "New
Eve," [39] the exalted daughter of Sion, the summit of the Old Testament
and the dawn of the New, in which "the fullness of time" [40]
was realized, which was preordained by God for the mission in the world
of His only-begotten Son. In truth, the Virgin Mary, more than all the
patriarchs and prophets, more than the "just" and "pious"
Simeon awaited and implored "the consolation of Israel ... the Christ
of the Lord" [41] and then greeted His advent with the hymn of "Magnificat"
when He descended into her most chaste womb to take on our flesh.
It is in Mary, therefore, that the Church of Christ indicates the example
of the worthiest way of receiving in our spirits the Word of God, in accordance
with the luminous sentence of St. Augustine: "Mary was therefore
more blessed in receiving the faith in Christ than in conceiving the flesh
of Christ. Accordingly, maternal consanguinity would not have benefited
Mary if she had not felt more fortunate in having Christ in her heart
than in her womb." [42] And it is still in her that Christians can
admire the example of how to fulfill, with humility and at the same time
with magnanimity, the mission which God entrusts to each one in this world,
in relation to his own salvation and that of his fellow beings.
"Therefore, I beg you, be imitators of me as I am of Christ."
[43] These words, and with greater reason than the Apostle Paul to the
Christians of Corinth, can be addressed by the Mother of the Church to
the multitudes of the faithful, who, in a symphony of faith and love with
the generations of past centuries, acclaim her as blessed. [44] It is
an invitation which it is a duty to heed docilely.
And then a message of supreme utility seems today to reach the faithful
from her who is the Immaculate, the holy, the cooperator of the Son in
the work of restoration of supernatural life in souls. [45] In fact, in
devoutly contemplating Mary they draw from her a stimulus for trusting
prayer, a spur to the practice of penance and to the holy fear of God.
Likewise, it is in this Marian elevation that they more often hear echoing
the words with which Jesus Christ announced the advent of the Kingdom
of heaven: "Repent and believe in the Gospel" [46]; and His
severe admonition: "Unless you repent you will all perish in the
same manner." [47]
Therefore, impelled by love and by the wish to placate God for the offenses
against His sanctity and His justice and, at the same time, moved by trust
in His infinite mercy, we must bear the sufferings of the spirit and of
the body that we may expiate our sins and those of our fellow beings and
so avoid the twofold penalty of "harm" and of "sense,"
that is to say, the loss of God -- the supreme good -- and eternal fire.
[48]
What must stimulate the faithful even more to follow the examples of the
most holy Virgin is the fact that Jesus Himself, by giving her to us as
our Mother, has tacitly indicated her as the model to be followed. It
is, in fact, a natural thing that the children should have the same sentiments
of their mothers and should reflect their merits and virtues. Therefore,
as each one of us can repeat with St. Paul: "The Son of God loved
me and gave Himself up for me," [49] so in all trust he can believe
that the divine Savior has left to him also, in spiritual heritage, His
Mother, with all the treasures of grace and virtues with which He had
endowed her, that she may pour them over us through the influence of her
powerful intercession and our willing imitation. This is why St. Bernard
rightly affirms: "Coming to her the Holy Spirit filled her with grace
for herself; when the same Spirit pervaded her again she became superabundant
and redounding in grace for us also." [50]
From what we have been illustrating in the light of the holy Gospel and
of the Catholic tradition, it appears evident that the spiritual motherhood
of Mary transcends space and time and belongs to the universal history
of the Church, since she has always been present in the Church with her
maternal assistance. Likewise the meaning of the affirmation appears clear,
which is so often repeated: our era may well be called the Marian era.
In fact, if it is true that, by an exalted grace of the Lord, the providential
role of the most holy Mary in the history of salvation has been more deeply
understood by the vast strata of the Christian people, this, however,
should not lead us to believe that in past ages we had no intuition whatever
of this truth or that future ones will ignore it. In truth, all periods
of the Church's history have benefited and will benefit from the maternal
presence of the Mother of God because she will remain always indissolubly
joined to the mystery of the Mystical Body, of whose Head it was written:
"Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today, yes, and forever."
[51]
Venerable brothers, the persuasion that the thought of the Church regarding
the veneration of praise, gratitude and love due to the most blessed Virgin
is in full accord with the doctrine of the holy Gospel, as it was more
precisely understood and explained by the tradition of the East as well
as of the West, stirs in our spirit the hope that this pastoral exhortation
of ours for an ever more fervid and more fruitful Marian piety will be
received with generous acceptance not only by the faithful entrusted to
your care, but also by those who, while not enjoying full communion with
the Catholic Church, nevertheless, together with us, admire and venerate
the handmaid of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Son of God.
May the Immaculate Heart of Mary shine before the eyes of all Christians
as the model of perfect love toward God and toward our fellow beings;
may it lead them toward the Holy Sacraments by virtue of which souls are
cleansed from the stains of sin and are preserved from it. May it also
stimulate them to make reparation for the innumerable offenses against
the Divine Majesty. Lastly, may it shine like a banner of unity and a
spur to perfect the bonds of brotherhood among all Christians in the bosom
of the one Church of Jesus Christ, which "taught by the Holy Spirit,
honors her with filial affection and piety as a most beloved mother."
[52]
Since the 25th anniversary is recalled this year of the solemn consecration
of the Church and of mankind to Mary, the Mother of God, and to her Immaculate
Heart, by our predecessor of venerated memory, Pius XII, on Oct. 31, 1942
on the occasion of the broadcast message to the Portuguese nation [53]
-- a consecration which we ourself have renewed on Nov. 21, 1964 [54]
-- we exhort all the sons of the Church to renew personally their consecration
to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of the Church and to bring alive
this most noble act of veneration through a life ever more consonant with
the divine will [55] and in a spirit of filial service and of devout imitation
of their heavenly Queen.
Lastly, venerable brothers, we express the trust that, thanks to your
encouragement, the clergy and the Christian people entrusted to your pastoral
ministry will respond in a generous spirit to this exhortation of ours
so as to demonstrate toward the Virgin Mother of God a more ardent piety
and a firmer confidence. Meanwhile while we are comforted by the certainty
that the glorious Queen of Heaven and our most sweet Mother will never
cease to assist all and each one of her sons and will never withdraw from
the entire Church of Christ her heavenly patronage, to you yourselves
and to your faithful, as a pledge of divine favors and as a sign of our
benevolence, we wholeheartedly impart the apostolic blessing.
Given in Rome, at St. Peter, on the 13th day of the month of May in
the year 1967, the fourth of our pontificate.
PAULUS PP. VI
1. Cf. Apocalypse 12, 1.
2. Cf. Epistle of Mass for the feast of the Apparition of Mary Immaculate,
Feb. 11.
3. Cf. Acta Apostolica Sedis 57, 1965, pp. 1-67.
4. Cf. Luke 1, 38.
5. Ibid., 1, 46 and 48-49.
6. Radio message of Pius XII, May 13, 1946, given for the Christians of
Portugal, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 38, 1946, p. 264.
7. Cf. chapter VIII, paragraph III, on the Blessed Virgin and the Church,
Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 57, 1965, pp. 62-65.
8. Cf. ibid. n. 53, p. 58.
9. Cf. ibid.
10. Ibid. n. 54, p. 59.
11. Ibid. n. 55, p. 59.
12. Ibid. n. 66, p. 65.
13. Allocution to the Council Fathers in the Vatican Basilica on the feast
of the Presentation, third session of the Council, Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
56, 1964, p. 1016.
14. Cf. dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 66: Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
57, 1965, p. 65.
15. Cf. ibid. n. 67, p. 65.
16. Pius XII, encyclical letter Mediator Dei: Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
38, 1947, p. 541.
17. Cf. dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 66: Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
57, 1964, p. 65.
18. Ibid. n. 66, p. 65.
19. Ibid. n. 55, p. 60.
20. Ibid. n. 65, p. 64, also n. 63.
21. Cf. ibid. n. 58, p. 61; Leo XIII encyclical letter Adiutricem populi,
Acts of Leo XIII 15, 1896, p. 302.
22. Dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 58; Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
57, 1967, p. 61.
23. Heb. 7, 25.
24. Cf. dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 62: Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
57, 1965, p. 61.
25. Cf. Dom F. Mercenier, L'Antienne mariale grecque la plus ancienne
in Le Museon 52, 1939, pp. 229-233.
26. Cf. dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 62: Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
57, 1965, p. 63.
27. Ibid. n. 65, p. 64.
28. Second Antiphon of lauds, feast of the Immaculate Conception.
29. Luke 1, 38.
30. Cf. Matt. 1, 21; Luke 1, 33.
31. Cf. St. Leo, martyr, letter, Lectis dilectionis tuae to Flavianum;
PL 54, 759; idem, letter, Licet per nostros to Julian, Ep. Coensem: p.
54, 803; St. Hormisdas, Ep. Inter ea quae to Justinian, emperor, PL 63,
407; Lateran Council, October, 609, under Martin I, canon 3: Caspar, ZKG,
51, 1932, p. 88; Conc. Tolet. XVI, Symbol. article 22: J. Madoz, El Simbolo
del Concilio XVI de Toledo in Estudios Onienses, ser. I, volume 3, 1946;
dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium nn. 52, 55, 57, 59, 63; Acta Apostolicae
Sedis, 57, 1965, pp. 58-64.
32. Cf. St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, Part I, q. 25, a. 6, ed. 4.
33. Cf. dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 56; Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
57, 1965, p. 60.
34. Orat. 54, PL 158, 961.
35. Dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 67; Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
57, 1965, p. 66; confer St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, Part II-II, q. 81,
a. 1, ad. 1; Part III, q. 25, aa. 1, 5. 36. Matt. 12, 50.
37. Cf. Titus 3, 4.
38. St. John 8, 29.
39. Cf. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. III, 22, 4; PG 959; St. Epiphanius, Haer.
78, 18: PG 42, 728-729; St. John Damascene, first homily on the birth
of Mary: PG 96, 671 ss; dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 56; Acta
Apostolicae Sedis, 57, 1965, pp. 60-61.
40. Galatians 4, 4.
41. St. Luke 2, 25-26.
42. Serm. 215, 1: PL 38, 1074.
43. 1 Cor. 4, 16.
44. Cf. St. Luke 1, 48.
45. Cf. dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 61; Acta Apostolicae Sedis
57, 1965, p. 63.
46. St. Mark 1, 15; cf. St. Matthew 3, 2; 4, 17.
47. St. Luke 13, 5.
48. Cf. St. Matthew 25, 41; dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 48:
Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 57, 1965, p. 54.
49. Galatians 2, 20; cf. Eph. 5, 2.
50. Second homily super Missus est, n. 2: PL 183, 64.
51. Heb. 13, 8.
52. Dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 53: Acta Apostolicae Sedis,
n. 53, 57, 1965, p. 59.
53. Cf. discourses and radio messages of Pius XII, volume IV, pp. 260-262;
cf. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 34, 1942, pp. 345-346.
54. Cf. Apostolicae Sedis, 56, 1964, p. 1017.
55. Cf. oration for feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Aug. 22.
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