"Being conformed to Christ with Mary" - St. JPII

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing St. JPII’s Letter “On the Most Holy Rosary”:

Being conformed to Christ with Mary

1. Christian spirituality is distinguished by the disciple’s commitment to become conformed ever more fully to his Master (cf. Rom 8:29; Phil 3:10,12). The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Baptism grafts the believer like a branch onto the vine which is Christ (cf. Jn 15:5) and makes him a member of Christ’s mystical Body (cf.1Cor 12:12; Rom 12:5). This initial unity, however, calls for a growing assimilation …“Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). In the words of the Apostle, we are called “to put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. Rom 13:14; Gal 3:27).

In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary’s company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to Him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ’s life and as it were to share His deepest feelings… .

In this process of being conformed to Christ in the Rosary, we entrust ourselves in a special way to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin. She who is both the Mother of Christ and a member of the Church, indeed her “pre-eminent and altogether singular member”,( is at the same time the “Mother of the Church”. As such, she continually brings to birth children for the mystical Body of her Son. She does so through her intercession, imploring upon them the inexhaustible outpouring of the Spirit. Mary is the perfect icon of the motherhood of the Church.

… This role of Mary, totally grounded in that of Christ and radically subordinated to it, “in no way obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power”. This is the luminous principle expressed by the Second Vatican Council which I have so powerfully experienced in my own life and have made the basis of my episcopal motto: Totus Tuus. The motto is of course inspired by the teaching of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, who explained in the following words Mary’s role in the process of our configuration to Christ: “Our entire perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ. Hence the most perfect of all devotions is undoubtedly that which conforms, unites and consecrates us most perfectly to Jesus Christ. Now, since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be consecrated to Jesus Christ”. Never as in the Rosary do the life of Jesus and that of Mary appear so deeply joined. Mary lives only in Christ and for Christ!

Please ponder, deeply, the words of these 2 saints: St. JPII and St. Louis de Montfort.

 

[nodelink]

The angelic salutation is the earliest part of the “Hail Mary” prayer and remains for me its more meaningful part: “Hail (Mary) full of grace, the LORD is with you” (Luke 1:28). Mary’s response to the angel showed that she was ready for everything that the angel was revealing to her: "May it be done to me according to your word.”

Mary was “full of grace” and therefore holy. Mary had the greatest level of support because “the LORD was with her”. Therefore Mary could accomplish mighty things like many of the Old Testament heroes of the faith who also had the LORD with them.

According to Fr. Donald Calloway in his book: Champions of the Rosary: History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon:it was not until the sixth century that the Catholic Church combined the Angelic Salutation with the Evangelical Salutation. The Evangelical Salutation is the inspired greeting of St. Elizabeth to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Lk 1:42).

Ordinary Christians are not “full of grace” but rather “grow in grace”. New Testament epistles often include phrases like “May grace and peace be yours in abundance”. My understanding is that as we grow in grace, then we also grow in holiness and in conformance to Jesus Christ.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear nodelink,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, to be sure, the words “full of grace” belong in a unique way to the privilege of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. It may also help to realize the words “full of grace” are a translation from the Latin words “Gratia plena”.

The Gospel of Luke, however, was originally written in Greek and the Angelic Salutation translated from the Greek seems to take us deeper into the Mystery of God’s great work in Mary. Father Ignace De La Potterie, SJ translates the Greek in this way: “Having been transformed by Grace unto holiness” .

Baptized Christians conceived with original sin inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve, are infused with Sanctifying Grace cleansing us from original sin. The Sacrament of Baptism is the beginning of our growth in holiness, and as John Paul II points out we are called to “conformity” with Christ.

Ordinary Christians, then are called into a certain degree of “transformation” too as God’s grace enables them to be conformed to Christ – in a far lesser degree of course than Mary’s transformation, for Mary conceived without sin, remained sinless throughout her life but, God calls us all to holiness and the perfection of charity: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48) and “Be holy because I am Holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Most of us do not fully appreciate the “miracle” of Baptism – and the “transforming power” of God’s Grace in our souls. St. JPII saw truly that Mary is the perfect icon of the Church – God has done great things in all His saints – all to a lesser degree than Mary, but Mary’s human example, her maternal intercession for us, and her “yes” encourage us to say our “yes” with hers in imitation of Christ’s great Love for His Father’s Will.

The Rosary enables us to ponder the Mysteries in the lives of Jesus and Mary that we may learn to grow in the holiness begun in our Baptism, by cooperating with all the Graces we receive in prayer, in keeping God’s Commandments and in receiving the sacraments with right dispositions. So, yes, it is very important that we continue to grow in grace in order to become holy as God has called us be holy as He is.