Mediatrix of All Graces -

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Hi everyone. I am an Episcopalian who, finding himself no longer satisfied with his church, is looking to transition to either Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, or simply the Anglican Church in North America. I tend to be drawn to Rome but I have one or two teachings that I struggle with and here I will focus only on one. I was wondering how, in spite of Paul’s teaching that Christ is the only mediator between man and God, Mary is believed to be the Co-Mediatrix of All Graces? In addition in what sense is she a Mediator? Is she different in kind than the other saints? Or just different in efficacy? In other words… is she a mediator in a different way than, say, St Jude or are her supplications just more efficacious?

Thank you!
 
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Welcome. I’m sure there are others who can explain it here. I offer an older article from Catholic Answers magazine that addresses the very topic.

Mediatrix of graces

I assume you know, if not understand, the Catholic understanding of praying to the angels and Saints, and that in no way is worship. I think of Mary in the same way as the queen mother in the king’s court. The king is apt to listen to her intercession.
 
You probably could say that Mary is the mediator between us and Jesus, and that Jesus is the mediator between us and god the Father. Jesus said, “Nobody comes to the Father except through me”. But yes, Mary has the high honor of being “the Mother of God”; so she will definitely intercede on our behalf.
 
Know also that there is an Anglican ordinariate in North American, which is Roman Catholic but with Anglican liturgy and married clergy.

Anyway, in that capacity, Mary is not substantively different than others we might ask to pray for us; she’s just “better connected” than we are. You listen to your mother, don’t you?

hawk
 
Jesus Christ is grace Himself. And, just as Jesus Christ descended to us through the womb of Mary, so do all the graces, hence Mediatrix of All Graces. The Body and Blood of Christ comes to you only through Mary, her flesh, and her fiat.

Mary cooperated in the great plan of Redemption not just by saying yes to the Incarnation, but she literally offered up her Son for us and shared most radically in His Passion like no other. There are not two Co-Redeemers, but only One Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and one Co-Redeemer, Mary.
 
How did Christ take flesh? Someone had to say “Fiat” “Let it be done to me according to your word” Someone caused His for miracle - how did she know this? She spent more time in His presence than any other human being - from virgin womb to virgin tomb.

p.s. The Orthodox display an arguably higher veneration for her than even the Catholics. Not to mention the Muslims, who have an entire chapter in the Qurán named for her.

She’s more than just a mother.
 
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Schadk1 said:
In addition in what sense is she a Mediator? Is she different in kind than the other saints?
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Mary’s being the mediatrix of all graces means that all graces given to human beings are dispensed through her. Graces come only through Mary because Christ has given her this role. This article from EWTN has a fuller explanation.
 
po18guy said:
This is not an official teaching that is binding on the faithful.
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I just would like say that in my honest opinion it is incorrect to say the teaching on Mary as mediatrix of all graces is optional for belief among the faithful. Although it has never been formally defined by the Church’s extraordinary magisterium, this teaching has been consistently upheld and taught by the ordinary magisterium which is itself infallible. Because it was never formally defined, it wouldn’t technically be heresy to deny that teaching, but this kind of teaching is such that it could be a mortal sin against faith to deny it. (If you would like my sources for this, I’ll be happy to provide them).

But an example to illustrate: The existence of guardian angels is a teaching that has never been formally defined by a council, but no serious-minded Catholic would dispute that he or she has a guardian angel. To do so would be to contravene centuries of consistent teaching by the priests and bishops of the Church and to treat oneself as a higher authority than them. Highly presumptuous, to say the least.
 
I was always wondering what type of devotions the East has. Do you know any?
 
Schadk1 said:
Hi everyone. I am an Episcopalian who, finding himself no longer satisfied with his church, is looking to transition to either Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, or simply the Anglican Church in North America. I tend to be drawn to Rome but I have one or two teachings that I struggle with and here I will focus only on one. I was wondering how, in spite of Paul’s teaching that Christ is the only mediator between man and God, Mary is believed to be the Co-Mediatrix of All Graces? In addition in what sense is she a Mediator? Is she different in kind than the other saints? Or just different in efficacy? In other words… is she a mediator in a different way than, say, St Jude or are her supplications just more efficacious?

Thank you!
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Worship given to God, is adoration, and to the angels and saints, is veneration. (Old English weorthscipe, “worthiness, respect”. - Merriam Webster) Mary is more honorable than the Cherubim. In Co-redemptrix, “co” comes from the Latin “cum,” meaning “with" so does not mean “co-equal” as a redeemer co-equal to Christ.
 
Hello Schadk1,
The specifics of this title of Mary is highly contested within the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, specifically states that she is “Mediatrix”. This is not what is contested. The debate centers around to what extent and how Mary mediates between God and Man. The doctrine which must be believed is that Mary is Mediatrix. Co-Mediatrix of All Grace goes beyond the doctrinal title and attempts to explain the mediation of Mary. All that requires belief is that Mary mediates in some way between Christ and man. How that works has not been doctrinally defined and has been left up to the individual.

We know that Christ is the only mediator between God and Man. This is deeply rooted in scriptures and incontestable. We first run into the fact that priests, in their ministry also lift up the prayers of their people to God. This is seen throughout the Old Testament and even in the New Testament in Colosians 1:9 where Paul is lifting up the prayer of the people of Colossae Philippi. He is mediating on their behalf to God in his ministry as an Apostle chosen personally by Christ. How does this not conflict with Christ, the sole Mediator? Paul’s mediation is in union with Christ and through Christ. He lifts up the prayers and welfare of the people to Christ, whom the Father has granted all power and grace. One of Christ’s titles is ‘All Grace’. He is the fullness of Grace and the source from which all grace flows. It is in the sharing of the ministry of Christ through His priesthood that priests may mediate the prayers of their flock whilst in their midst to the Father through Christ.

Now we come to Mary. She is the mother of Christ’s human nature. That same nature which is perfectly in union with His divine nature. It is through this human nature that the Incarnation came into the world and through this incarnation. She shares a special intimacy with the person of Christ. It is not in through ministry that she shares this mediation through Christ, like the priests, but rather through the intimate relationship she personally shares with Christ, her son. It is not a direct mediation like Christ’s with God, nor is it a limited mediation of the priests for the flocks Christ has placed in their care. She stands in the midst of humanity implores her son to pour out His grace, All Grace, upon those whom Christ, Himself, has placed in her care as we see in John 19:26-27.
 
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The title in question is actually Co-Mediatrix of All Grace. Notice the singular of ‘Grace’. It is not describing every individual grace, but rather the Co-Mediatrix of Christ, who pours out all grace upon the earth. Now we come to the question of how she is Co-Mediatrix. The ‘Co’ describes the fact that the same graces may be obtained through placing our prayers in Mary’s mediation as Christ’s. The prayers we entrust to Mary, she in turn, places them before Christ. These prayers are viewed by Christ as if the person specifically petitioned him directly, but in doing this, Mary also adds her own personal prayer for us. This adds the weight prayers of the person who possesses the most intimate relationship with Him to our own prayers.

Many also view the title Co-Mediatrix of All Grace as describing the action in actually dispensing the grace of Christ. These people (myself included) believe that when Christ entrusted His Mother to us and us into His Mother’s care, he bestowed upon her the ministry of caring for us as sons and daughters. In executing this ministry, she provides us with spiritual sustenance just as a mother provides for her children in the physical world. Christ designates and entrusts certain graces to His Mother to dispense to her children. Those graces, having their origin in Christ, flow through her, to those who seek her petition. In this sense, Mary is the also the Mediatrix between Christ and man, not just man and Christ. These graces don’t flow through her through necessity but rather through Christ’s own choice and action. Such physical manifestations of these graces are exhibited in things such as the healing waters of Lourdes and the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima.

Her intercession is different than the Saint’s intercession for us. The Saints do not mediate, they simply intercede. Their prayer to God for us is not like that of priests who are still on earth or Mary’s. They do not place the actual prayer before God, but rather individually pray for the intention which we have presented to them to be fulfilled. If that prayer is granted through their intercession, it is through their individual prayer and the intercession is acted upon (whether miraculously or not) directly by Christ, Himself, not the Saint who interceded. As to Apostles, bishops and priests who are Saints in heaven, they no longer mediate in the roles which they fulfilled in their ministry on Earth as their flock has been taken out of their care and placed into that of another. They intercede as holy individuals in heaven, not in their Earthly roles.

God Bless,
Br. Ben, CRM
 
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Hello @Schadk1

I post what the Fathers of the Second Council of the Vatican taught on one of the issues you brought up .

" There is but one Mediator as we know from the words of the apostle, “for there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all”. The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. In no way does it impede, but rather does it foster the immediate union of the faithful with Christ.

". Predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence which determined the incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin was on this earth the virgin Mother of the Redeemer, and above all others and in a singular way the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought forth and nourished Christ. She presented Him to the Father in the temple, and was united with Him by compassion as He died on the Cross. In this singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace.

". This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into the happiness of their true home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix. This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.

" For no creature could ever be counted as equal with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer. Just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by the ministers and by the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is really communicated in different ways to His creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source.

" The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary. It knows it through unfailing experience of it and commends it to the hearts of the faithful, so that encouraged by this maternal help they may the more intimately adhere to the Mediator and Redeemer."
 
If that is the case than I would argue that such a teaching is immoral.
 
It could be grave sin to deny a doctrine that is not formal dogma when we have knowledge the Church has taught it consistently but discard it anyway. This is because it is a rejection of the ordinary teaching authority of the Church which the faithful are bound to assent to. But whether one is guilty of mortal sin for willfully denying something taught by the Church depends on their knowledge and consent. As a general rule, “it wasn’t formally defined” is not a valid excuse for not believing a teaching.

Related, a Catholic Answers page on different levels of Church teaching:
https://www.catholic.com/index.php/magazine/print-edition/how-to-weigh-church-teachings
 
Yes and Jesus got his humanity from Mary, that alone is unique. So she is our spiritual mother and most wonderful intercessor. First among saints.
 
While the doctrine of the Mary as Mediatrix of all Graces is not proposed with dogmatic certainty, it is derived from truths found in Scripture and Tradition.

This doctrine is tied to the doctrine of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ and how we receive the graces of salvation in communion with the Church. The saints often call Mary the “neck” of the body of Christ, which has Christ as Head.

As St. John says in the first chapter of his first epistle, to have fellowship/communion with Christ–and therefore receive those saving graces–we must have fellowship with those who already have fellowship with Him. This is because all those graces flow from the Head through the Body. Mary, was the first person to be granted fellowship with Christ–the first member of the Body.

Therefore, she was first to receive all those graces–that’s why she is full of grace. Then, each additional member added to the Mystical Body, in fellowship with her and with Christ, shared in those graces.

Mary, however, received it all first when she “found grace” and God made her “full of grace” at her conception. So she hands on to us all that she received. She received Christ first at the annunciation. When she visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth and John the Baptist received the Spirit. She then offered Jesus to Simeon, a symbol of sharing Him with the Jews. She was present throughout Jesus’ ministry whenever the gifts of grace and salvation were given. She was present at the Cross when His mercy poured forth from His heart and offered Him to the whole world. She shared in His sufferings as a spiritual sword pierced her heart as the lance pierced the heart of Jesus. She was present and prayed with the Apostles when, just as she and John the Baptist had already been, they too were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Apostles then received the Spirit and all the gifts and graces the Church would need to carry on its mission, they did so in union with Mary because she first received all these gifts. They could not be received apart from fellowship with her.

Finally, she was glorified and assumed into Heaven so that she could be present with all Christians and share with us all the graces and blessings Our Lord desires His Body to have.

This is why the Church, through whom we receive every grace, calls her the “exemplary realization of the Church.” (cf. CCC 967) Christ is the sole mediator of justice–He alone can justify us–but the whole Church mediates grace.

Related is the title of Co-Redemptrix. This title is apparently misleading (at least in English) since many seem to think it equates Mary to Jesus, but the underlying truth is something that shouldn’t be controversial for any Bible-believing Christian. It simply acknowledges Mary’s unique role in the plan of our redemption and bringing forth the divine Redeemer.
 
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