Mary Mediatrix of All Graces

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AugustTherese said:
Actually he didn’t. Notice, I said ‘Jesus’, not the Son of God. The Son of God does not take on human flesh and blood and become Jesus Christ without Mary.
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I disagree… God has no limits, no restrictions, no contingencies, no needs. And it all starts with God not a human… this in no way takes away from Mary unique role.
 
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Mary is indeed the Mediatrix of All Graces. The Church has approved a Mass and Office for just such a feast. The texts of the Missal and Breviary are quite edifying.
 
Could you provide a link to that? I thought that the title of “Mother of the Church” was approved, not “Mediatrix of all Graces”.
 
Amen! I strive to pray the traditional Rosary, the Sarum Rosary, or the St. Michael Chaplet daily. All contain prayers to Mary as does the Divine Office.
Rejecting Mary’s intercession for us is Protestant, not Catholic.
 
Fauken said:
Could you provide a link to that? I thought that the title of “Mother of the Church” was approved, not “Mediatrix of all Graces”.
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The Second Vatican Council (Lumen gentium ## 61-62), said:

… in suffering with Him as He died on the cross, she cooperated in the work of the Savior, in an altogether singular way, by obedience, faith, hope, and burning love, to restore supernatural life to souls. As a result she is our Mother in the order of grace.

This motherhood of Mary in the economy of grace lasts without interruption, from the consent which she gave in faith at the annunciation, and which she unhesitatingly bore with under the cross, even to the perpetual consummation of all the elect. For after being assumed into heaven, she has not put aside this saving function, but by her manifold intercession, she continues to win the gifts of eternal salvation for us. By her motherly love, she takes care of the brothers of her Son who are still in pilgrimage and in dangers and difficulties, until they be led through to the happy fatherland. For this reason, the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adiutrix, and Mediatrix. This however it to be so understood that it takes nothing away, or adds nothing to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator. For no creature can ever be put on the same level with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer…"

"“This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” - CCC 969
 
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How many Catholics these days know what the Missal or Breviary are?
 
Indeed and de Montfort, a Kempis, and many others would say the same thing.
Refusing to believe in Mary’s perpetual virginity is another aspect of such enmity. Those who insist that Mary had natural children with Joseph are Sola Scripture Protestants, not Catholics. And they’re not thinking logically, either.
 
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I think it’s important to start by reminding everyone of the weight of the various Church teaching documents… in descending order of formal authority: apostolic/dogmatic constitution, encyclical letter, encyclical epistle, apostolic exhortation, apostolic letter, letter and message. Lumen Gentium is an Apostolic Constitution which carries the greatest weight and would hold a higher place than the Apostolic Letters and Encyclicals frequently referenced as mentioning the idea of Mediatrix of All Graces. Now it does not take an ex cathedra statement or a council to declare a magisterial teaching, but a council can clarify what may have been said previously and further develop doctrine - as in this case.

Lumen Gentium very purposefully stopped short of declaring Mary the Mediatrix of All Graces when it said “Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. These, however, are to be so understood that they neither take away from nor add to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator.” The footnotes often mentioned refer to minor papal statements and radio addresses which express a personal devotion of various Popes.

This is clear when you understand how the teaching was formed at the VII. During the daily interventions, Archbishop Corrado Mingo of Monorail, Italy argued at the Council that the title “Mediatrix” should be amplified to “Mediatrix of All Graces”, yet it was omitted from LG. Several other Council fathers made that argument as well, still it was not included. It’s a well documented fact that it was considered a compromise between disparate groups at the Council to include the title ‘Mediatrix’, let alone ‘of All Graces’. The fact that the topic was openly argued on the council floor is pretty compelling evidence that the doctrine is not fully formed, let alone universally agreed on by Church Fathers… far from it.

Also at the Council, Bishop Ancel, of Lyons, France said that title “Mediatrix” was given in LG, but at the same time it was given no endorsement, thus leaving the door open for further study as the topic is still heavily debated among theologians. "Perhaps the title ‘Mediatrix might be listed with the other titles, in order to avoid the impression that it is a privileged one’ he said.

To further reinforce the point that the doctrine was not fully formed in the Constitution…during the Council, Cardinal Alfrink of the Netherlands said “the title ‘Mediatrix’ should not be insisted upon, since it generates such great difficulties.” There was a clear divisions between the Council Fathers on whether or not to even include the title 'Mediatrix", let alone define it… no mention of ‘Mediatrix of All Graces.’

Last point, the last action on the subject was in 1996, when, the Holy See requested a commission to determine whether or not a definition should be given to the titles Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. The commission unanimously decided not to pursue. See here: Mary 1 and here Mary
 
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So - A Dogmatic Constitution holds the Church’s highest teaching authority. Lumen Gentium did not declare Mary ‘Mediatrix of All Graces.’ and purposefully omitted it. The Church has not defined Mary as ‘Mediatrix’ and the last formal action did not pursue a definition. Ultimately, this piece of Marian devotion is a personal devotion.
 
Ah, I see it, for the 31st of this month. And @AugustTherese, I was not talking about “Mediatrix of Graces” but “Mediatrix of all Graces”. The quote from Lumen Gentium says nothing about all graces. I’ll provide the quote my missal has from what is apparently from one of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclicals:
“We may affirm that nothing, by the will of God, is given to us without Mary’s mediation, in such way that just as no one can approach the almighty Father but through His Son, likewise no one, so to speak, can approach Christ but through His Mother.”
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Again, the liturgy has approved Mass and Office that call her Mediatrix of All Graces. It’s not a problematic title. It’s 100% Catholic.
 
Fauken said:
The quote from Lumen Gentium says nothing about all graces
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And, it does not say anything about some graces, or a few graces. How can anyone who wittingly accepts the title Mother of God have a beef with Mediatrix of all Graces?! It boggles my mind!
 
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