St John Paul II's encyclical "Mother of the Redeemer"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I’ve posted a few threads on the encyclical "Redemptoris Mater" written by St. JPII (March 25, 1987). However, this morning, as I read the next section from “Redemptoris Mater”, I thought to myself: “God’s timing is perfect” – what a blessing to be reading in May, Mary’s month, on Saturday, Mary’s day , and in this 100th Anniversary Year of her Apparitions at Fatima, St. John Paul II’s beautiful words on Marian Spirituality as he proclaimed a “Marian Year”! Thank you, Lord, for all you do and permit in our lives is perfect:

1. It is precisely the special bond between humanity and this Mother which has led me to proclaim a Marian Year in the Church, in this period before the end of the Second Millennium since Christ’s birth, a similar initiative was taken in the past. when Pius XII proclaimed 1954 as a Marian Year, in order to highlight the exceptional holiness of the Mother of Christ as expressed in the mysteries of her Immaculate Conception (defined exactly a century before) and of her Assumption into heaven.

Now, following the line of the Second Vatican Council, I wish to emphasize the special presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and his Church. For this is a fundamental dimension emerging from the Mariology of the Council, the end of which is now more than twenty years behind us. The Extraordinary Synod of Bishops held in 1985 exhorted everyone to follow faithfully the teaching and guidelines of the Council We can say that these two events-the Council and the synod-embody what the Holy Spirit himself wishes “to say to the Church” in the present phase of history.

In this context, the Marian Year is meant to promote a new and more careful reading of what the Council said about the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the mystery of Christ and of the Church, the topic to which the contents of this Encyclical are devoted. Here we speak not only of the doctrine of faith but also of the life of faith, and thus of authentic “Marian spirituality,” seen in the light of Tradition, and especially the spirituality to which the Council exhorts us. Furthermore, Marian spirituality, like its corresponding devotion, finds a very rich source in the historical experience of individuals and of the various Christian communities present among the different peoples and nations of the world. In this regard, I would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teachers of this spirituality, the figure of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, who proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments. I am pleased to note that in our own time too new manifestations of this spirituality and devotion are not lacking.

There thus exist solid points of reference to look to and follow in the context of this Marian Year.

St John Paul II goes on to add a few more paragraphs,( 49 - 51) before concluding his encyclical with 51 and 52. God willing, I hope to post on these final sections before the end of Mary’s month of May.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love.
Jesus, I trust in You!
Mary, Mother and Model of the Church, pray for us.

 

[Jeanne_S]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I’ve posted a few threads on the encyclical "Redemptoris Mater" written by St. JPII (March 25, 1987). However, this morning, as I read the next section from “Redemptoris Mater”, I thought to myself: “God’s timing is perfect” – what a blessing to be reading in May, Mary’s month, on Saturday, Mary’s day , and in this 100th Anniversary Year of her Apparitions at Fatima, St. John Paul II’s beautiful words on Marian Spirituality as he proclaimed a “Marian Year”! Thank you, Lord, for all you do and permit in our lives is perfect:

St John Paul II goes on to add a few more paragraphs,( 49 - 51) before concluding his encyclical with 51 and 52. God willing, I hope to post on these final sections before the end of Mary’s month of May.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love.
Jesus, I trust in You!
Mary, Mother and Model of the Church, pray for us.

I have read this encyclical more than a few times. A beautiful tribute to Our Mother Mary as well as opening up the eyes of the faithful to Mary’s integral role in Salvation History and still to this day.

 

[patricius79]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I’ve posted a few threads on the encyclical "Redemptoris Mater" written by St. JPII (March 25, 1987). However, this morning, as I read the next section from “Redemptoris Mater”, I thought to myself: “God’s timing is perfect” – what a blessing to be reading in May, Mary’s month, on Saturday, Mary’s day , and in this 100th Anniversary Year of her Apparitions at Fatima, .

Thanks, dear sister MariaChristi,

I like how John Paul II uses the word “special presence” to describe Mary’s role in the Church. Then he singles out St. Louis De Montfort’s spirituality in the context of affirming Vatican II’s teaching about Mary.

This reminds me of one of my favorite sections of True Devotion to Mary, in which St. Louis says that the way to Jesus through Mary is an “easy” way because Mary makes herself so present to us.

This is so true. St Louis says in True Devotion, number 152

*(a) This devotion is a smooth way. It is the path which Jesus Christ opened up in coming to us and in which there is no obstruction to prevent us reaching him. It is quite true that we can attain to divine union by other roads, but these involve many more crosses and exceptional setbacks and many difficulties that we cannot easily overcome…

It is true that on our way we have hard battles to fight and serious obstacles to overcome, but Mary, our Mother and Queen, stays close to her faithful servants. She is always at hand to brighten their darkness, clear away their doubts, strengthen them in their fears, sustain them in their combats and trials. Truly, in comparison with other ways, this virgin road to Jesus is a path of roses and sweet delights. *
ewtn.com/library/Montfort/TRUEDEVO.HTM

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks, dear sister MariaChristi,

I like how John Paul II uses the word “special presence” to describe Mary’s role in the Church. Then he singles out St. Louis De Montfort’s spirituality in the context of affirming Vatican II’s teaching about Mary.

This reminds me of one of my favorite sections of True Devotion to Mary, in which St. Louis says that the way to Jesus through Mary is an “easy” way because Mary makes herself so present to us.

This is so true. St Louis says in True Devotion, number 152

*(a) This devotion is a smooth way. It is the path which Jesus Christ opened up in coming to us and in which there is no obstruction to prevent us reaching him. It is quite true that we can attain to divine union by other roads, but these involve many more crosses and exceptional setbacks and many difficulties that we cannot easily overcome…

It is true that on our way we have hard battles to fight and serious obstacles to overcome, but Mary, our Mother and Queen, stays close to her faithful servants. She is always at hand to brighten their darkness, clear away their doubts, strengthen them in their fears, sustain them in their combats and trials. Truly, in comparison with other ways, this virgin road to Jesus is a path of roses and sweet delights. *
ewtn.com/library/Montfort/TRUEDEVO.HTM

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks for your reply and for the quote. Yes, Mary is such a special gift to us from Jesus on the Cross. Can we ever thank Him enough for giving us so much?

 

[MariaChristi]

I have read this encyclical more than a few times. A beautiful tribute to Our Mother Mary as well as opening up the eyes of the faithful to Mary’s integral role in Salvation History and still to this day.

Dear Jeanne,

Thanks so much for your reply. I find so much more in reading anything for the second time! or third or more!!! I agree that St. John Paul has written a powerfully insightful tribute to our Mother and Model and an encouragement for us to keep learning more about her role in our lives.

 

[patricius79]

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks for your reply and for the quote. Yes, Mary is such a special gift to us from Jesus on the Cross. Can we ever thank Him enough for giving us so much?

No, we can’t.

John Paul II’s idea of Mary’s “special presence” in the Church also echoes the words of our Mother at Guadalupe, where she said:

• “Do not fear this sickness, nor any sickness, nor any sharp or hurtful thing. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more?”*
  ndclmurray.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/6/2/3162790/nican_mopohua_english.pdf

 

[MariaChristi]

No, we can’t.

John Paul II’s idea of Mary’s “special presence” in the Church also echoes the words of our Mother at Guadalupe, where she said:

• “Do not fear this sickness, nor any sickness, nor any sharp or hurtful thing. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more?”*
  ndclmurray.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/6/2/3162790/nican_mopohua_english.pdf

Thanks, brother Pat,

I guess the best way for me to keep thanking God is in words I began to pray from my Latin to English missal when I was in middle school: “How can I make return for all the good the Lord has done for me? I will take up the chalice of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.” By God’s Grace, at the consecration of each Mass I try to offer myself with Jesus and Mary as they offered themselves to the Father on Calvary.

Thanks for quoting Mary’s words to St. Juan Diego – they are such sweet words to me, each time I see them, or the Holy Spirit brings them to my mind and heart.

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, brother Pat,

I guess the best way for me to keep thanking God is in words I began to pray from my Latin to English missal when I was in middle school: “How can I make return for all the good the Lord has done for me? I will take up the chalice of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.” By God’s Grace, at the consecration of each Mass I try to offer myself with Jesus and Mary as they offered themselves to the Father on Calvary.

Thanks for quoting Mary’s words to St. Juan Diego – they are such sweet words to me, each time I see them, or the Holy Spirit brings them to my mind and heart.

Yes, they are so beautiful. And yes, we are called, dear sister MariaChristi, to reaffirm our baptismal promises of being slaves to Jesus Christ.

Like JPII says in Mother of the Redeemer, we are encouraged to practice the Mariology of Vatican II and St. Louis De Montfort, which is–as Pope Pius 9th also said–the best and most acceptable form or Marian spirituality.

Vatican II tells us:

*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.[15] 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 their blessed home. *

How well she cares for us!. I love how she tells Juan Diego:

Listen and put it into your hear, my youngest and dearest son, that the thing that frightened you, the thing that afflicted you, is nothing.
ndclmurray.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/6/2/3162790/nican_mopohua_english.pdf

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, they are so beautiful. And yes, we are called, dear sister MariaChristi, to reaffirm our baptismal promises of being slaves to Jesus Christ.

Like JPII says in Mother of the Redeemer, we are encouraged to practice the Mariology of Vatican II and St. Louis De Montfort, which is–as Pope Pius 9th also said–the best and most acceptable form or Marian spirituality.

Vatican II tells us:

*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.[15] 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 their blessed home. *

How well she cares for us!. I love how she tells Juan Diego:

Listen and put it into your hear, my youngest and dearest son, that the thing that frightened you, the thing that afflicted you, is nothing.
ndclmurray.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/6/2/3162790/nican_mopohua_english.pdf

Thanks dear brother Pat,

How sweet her words to St. Juan Diego! What a joy to read and to be grateful for Jesus’ gift of Mary to us.

Yes, she cares for us, far more than we care for her – really, it makes me sad to see how few times we hear about Mary in homilies. With the exception of her Feasts and in some parishes on First Saturdays, I wonder how may other Catholics hear gratitude paid to Jesus for His gift of Mary as our Mother, especially during this Month of Mary and this 100th Anniversary of her Apparitions at Fatima.

How many of us Catholics, priests, religious and laity, have heard deeply enough Jesus’ Words: “Behold Your Mother” ? I wonder also how many have heard or read Sister Lucia of Fatima, repeat Mary’s words: “Jesus wants…to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” ( Quote taken from Sister Lucia’s book, "Calls From the Message of Fatima, chapter 13, p. 135).

Come Holy Spirit, fill the Hearts of Your Faithful. Kindle in us, the Fire of Your Love!
Jesus, we trust in You!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

 

[patricius79]

Thanks dear brother Pat,

How sweet her words to St. Juan Diego! What a joy to read and to be grateful for Jesus’ gift of Mary to us.

Yes, she cares for us, far more than we care for her – really, it makes me sad to see how few times we hear about Mary in homilies. With the exception of her Feasts and in some parishes on First Saturdays, I wonder how may other Catholics hear gratitude paid to Jesus for His gift of Mary as our Mother, especially during this Month of Mary and this 100th Anniversary of her Apparitions at Fatima.

How many of us Catholics, priests, religious and laity, have heard deeply enough Jesus’ Words: “Behold Your Mother” ? I wonder also how many have heard or read Sister Lucia of Fatima, repeat Mary’s words: “Jesus wants…to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” ( Quote taken from Sister Lucia’s book, "Calls From the Message of Fatima, chapter 13, p. 135).

Come Holy Spirit, fill the Hearts of Your Faithful. Kindle in us, the Fire of Your Love!
Jesus, we trust in You!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

Yes, thanks so much dear sister, for your witness to the beauty of our Lady’s words to St. Juan Diego.

I , also, pray that we’ll have a new love for the Eucharist through Mary, our Mother.

Wasn’t St. Juan Diego on the way to or from Mass when Mary first appeared to him?

St. JPII points out the connection between having a personal relationship with Mary and loving the Eucharist:

*The piety of the Christian people has always very rightly sensed a profound link between devotion to the Blessed Virgin and worship of the Eucharist: this is a fact that can be seen in the liturgy of both the West and the East, in the traditions of the Religious Families, in the modern movements of spirituality, including those for youth, and in the pastoral practice of the Marian Shrines. Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist.

1. Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. For each child is generated in a unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the mother and for the child. Each child is surrounded in the same way by that maternal love on which are based the child’s development and coming to maturity as a human being.*
   w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, thanks so much dear sister, for your witness to the beauty of our Lady’s words to St. Juan Diego.

I , also, pray that we’ll have a new love for the Eucharist through Mary, our Mother.

Wasn’t St. Juan Diego on the way to or from Mass when Mary first appeared to him?

St. JPII points out the connection between having a personal relationship with Mary and loving the Eucharist:

The piety of the Christian people has always very rightly sensed a profound link between devotion to the Blessed Virgin and worship of the Eucharist: this is a fact that can be seen in the liturgy of both the West and the East, in the traditions of the Religious Families, in the modern movements of spirituality, including those for youth, and in the pastoral practice of the Marian Shrines. Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist.

1. Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. For each child is generated in a unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the mother and for the child. Each child is surrounded in the same way by that maternal love on which are based the child’s development and coming to maturity as a human being.
   w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater.html

Yes, dear brother Pat,

Mary continues to guide us, as Mother and Model, to Jesus in the Eucharist. She speaks again in every age the words she spoke to the Servants at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you”.

Thanks for quoting especially paragraph #45 from Pope St. JPII because his insight into the maternal love of Mary comes not from any mere “sentimentalism” but from the mind and heart of a deeply prayerful philosopher/theologian whom God raised to be Vicar of Christ on earth for His Church. The words of Pope St. JPII throughout this encyclical are so important for Catholics today – and perhaps particularly as we celebrate this 100th Anniversary Year of Mary’s Apparitions at Fatima.

 

[patricius79]

Yes, dear brother Pat,

Mary continues to guide us, as Mother and Model, to Jesus in the Eucharist. She speaks again in every age the words she spoke to the Servants at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you”.

Thanks for quoting especially paragraph #45 from Pope St. JPII because his insight into the maternal love of Mary comes not from any mere “sentimentalism” but from the mind and heart of a deeply prayerful philosopher/theologian whom God raised to be Vicar of Christ on earth for His Church. The words of Pope St. JPII throughout this encyclical are so important for Catholics today – and perhaps particularly as we celebrate this 100th Anniversary Year of Mary’s Apparitions at Fatima.

Yes, dear sister, how beautiful is the love Christ gives us through our Mother!

In Dives in Misericordia, St. JPII writes about how we readily accept the love of a mother:
It was precisely this “merciful” love, which is manifested above all in contact with moral and physical evil, that the heart of her who was the Mother of the crucified and risen One shared in singularly and exceptionally - that Mary shared in. In her and through her, this love continues to be revealed in the history of the Church and of humanity. This revelation is especially fruitful because in the Mother of God it is based upon the unique tact of her maternal heart, on her particular sensitivity, on her particular fitness to reach all those who most easily accept the merciful love of a mother. This is one of the great life-giving mysteries of Christianity, a mystery intimately connected with the mystery of the Incarnation.*
w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30111980_dives-in-misericordia.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, dear sister, how beautiful is the love Christ gives us through our Mother!

In Dives in Misericordia, St. JPII writes about how we readily accept the love of a mother:
*
It was precisely this “merciful” love, which is manifested above all in contact with moral and physical evil, that the heart of her who was the Mother of the crucified and risen One shared in singularly and exceptionally - that Mary shared in. In her and through her, this love continues to be revealed in the history of the Church and of humanity. This revelation is especially fruitful because in the Mother of God it is based upon the unique tact of her maternal heart, on her particular sensitivity, on her particular fitness to reach all those who most easily accept the merciful love of a mother. This is one of the great life-giving mysteries of Christianity, a mystery intimately connected with the mystery of the Incarnation*.
w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30111980_dives-in-misericordia.html

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks for this paricular quote from “Dives in Misericordia” (“Rich in Mercy,” 1980) which so clearly focuses on the relationship between God and His Mother in the Mystery of the Incarnation. It is in that mystery, it seems to me that True Devotion to Mary is rooted. Your quoting of paragraph #45 from Pope St. John Paul II’s later encyclical on the “Mother of the Redeemer”, 1987 is, in a similar way, focused on first, the relationsip of Mother and Son and then, on Mary as Mother of all.

How important it is for us to continually ponder God’s Work in our Salvation! He loved us so much that after our first parents sinned, He promised to crush the serpent by sending Jesus through Mary. (cf Genesis 3:15) How humbly Jesus comes to earth, the Word Made Flesh in the womb of His human Mother! How mercifully He has given Mary to be our Mother and Model!

 

[patricius79]

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks for this paricular quote from “Dives in Misericordia” (“Rich in Mercy,” 1980) which so clearly focuses on the relationship between God and His Mother in the Mystery of the Incarnation. It is in that mystery, it seems to me that True Devotion to Mary is rooted. Your quoting of paragraph #45 from Pope St. John Paul II’s later encyclical on the “Mother of the Redeemer”, 1987 is, in a similar way, focused on first, the relationsip of Mother and Son and then, on Mary as Mother of all.

How important it is for us to continually ponder God’s Work in our Salvation! He loved us so much that after our first parents sinned, He promised to crush the serpent by sending Jesus through Mary. (cf Genesis 3:15) How humbly Jesus comes to earth, the Word Made Flesh in the womb of His human Mother! How mercifully He has given Mary to be our Mother and Model!

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi,

I think it’s like that quotation from St. Therese of Lisieux, who said that a God who would become so small could only be love and mercy.

Likewise a God who would give us His own Mother could only be love and mercy.