St. Vincent de Lerins: How to Distinguish the True Faith from Heresy
Dec 7, 2018 12:36:06 #
How to Distinguish the True Faith from Heresy
St. Vincent de Lerins
https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/n026rp_Lerins_PreserveFaith.htm
At the moment when many Catholics are making, or considering making, compromises with Progressivism regarding the New Mass and Vatican II, it seems to us opportune to remember the criteria to maintain the true Catholic Faith given by St. Vincent de Lerins.
Facing these compromises, Catholics are taking sides – “I will take the position of my team, not your team.”
This is a superficial approach.
Each one of us is individually responsible before God for the right or wrong position he takes.
St. Vincent de Lerins
In the 5th century, St. Vincent of Lerins saw that the people were faced with various errors and heresies of Donatus, Arius, Photinus, Pelagius and others, and gave them this good advice on how they could know with security the true Catholic Faith.
Even if it is taught by distinguished men or Prelates, the bad doctrine should not be accepted by Catholics, who should cling to Tradition and what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all [quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est].
“What (is) always, what (is) everywhere, what (is) by everybody (believed).”
Actually, he stated:
"I have continually given the greatest pains and diligence to inquiring, from the greatest possible number of men outstanding in holiness and in doctrine.
How I can secure a type of fixed and, as it were, general, guiding principle for distinguishing the true Catholic Faith from the degraded falsehoods of heresy.
"And the answer that I receive is always to this effect:
That if I wish, or indeed if anyone wishes, to detect the deceits of heretics that arise and to avoid their snares and to keep healthy and sound in a robust faith, we ought, with the Lord's help, to fortify our faith in a twofold manner.
First, that is, by the authority of God's Law,
Then, by the tradition of the Catholic Church.
"Here, it may be, someone will ask:
‘Since the canon of Scripture (The Bible) is complete, and is in itself abundantly sufficient, what need is there to join to it the interpretation of the Church?’
The answer is that because of the profundity itself of Scripture, all men do not place the same interpretation upon it.
The statements of the same writer are explained by different men in different ways, so much so that it seems almost possible to extract from it as many opinions as there are men.
Novatian expounds in one way,
Sabellius in another,
Donatus in another, Arius, Eunomius and Macedonius in another, Photinus, Apollinaris and Priscillian in another, Jovinian, Pelagius and Caelestius in another, and latterly Nestorius in another.
Therefore, because of the intricacies of error, which is so multiform, there is great need for the laying down of a rule for the exposition of Prophets and Apostles, in accordance with the standard of the interpretation of the Catholic Church.
"Now in the Catholic Church itself we take the greatest care to hold that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all.
That is truly and properly 'Catholic,' as is shown by the very force and meaning of the word, which comprehends everything almost universally.
We shall hold to this rule if we follow universality, antiquity, and consent.
We shall follow universality if we acknowledge that one Faith to be true which the whole Church throughout the world confesses;
Antiquity if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is clear that our ancestors and fathers proclaimed;
Consent, if in antiquity itself, we keep following the definitions and opinions of all, or certainly nearly all, Bishops and Doctors alike.
"What then will the Catholic Christian do ?
If a small part of the Church has cut itself off from the communion of the universal Faith?
The answer is sure.
He will prefer the healthiness of the whole body to the morbid and corrupt limb.
"But what if some novel contagions try to infect the whole Church, and not merely a tiny part of it?
Then he will take care to cleave to antiquity, which cannot now be led astray by any deceit of novelty.
"What if in antiquity itself two or three men, or it may be a city, or even a whole province be detected in error?
Then he will take the greatest care to prefer the decrees of the ancient General Councils, if there are such, to the irresponsible ignorance of a few men.
"But what if some error arises regarding which nothing of this sort is to be found?
Then he must do his best to compare the opinions of the Fathers and inquire their meaning, provided always that, though they belonged to diverse times and places.
They yet continued in the faith and communion of the one Catholic Church; and let them be teachers approved and outstanding.
And whatever he shall find to have been held, approved and taught, not by one or two only but by all equally and with one consent.
Openly, frequently, and persistently, let him take this as to be held by him without the slightest hesitation."
(The Vincentian Canon, in Commonitorium, chap IV, 434,
ed. Moxon, Cambridge Patristic Texts)
Posted July 21, 2007
Related Topics of Interest
The Motu Proprio, after the Emotions
Paul VI Posing with Protestants He Invited To Help Write the New Mass
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A090rcPaulVIand Protsestants.htm
Card. Ratzinger Gives Communion to a Protestant
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A118rcRatzingerCommunionSchtz.htm
JPII Perfoms Liturgy with Heretics at St. Peter's Basilica
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A060rcMonophysite.htm
Paul VI Delivers to Heretics the Head of the Evangelist St. Mark
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A085rcHeadStMark.htm
JPII Hands over to Schismatics the Icon of Kazan
https://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/b010htKazanReturned.htm
Pope Ratzinger among Schismatics Yesterday and Today
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A104rcRatzSchismaticsl.htm
Pius IX: Ecumenism Is Synonymous with Religious Indifferentism
https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/n005rp_Indifferentism.htm
John Paul II Kneels at the Tomb of Gandhi
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A063rcGhandiTomb.htm
Catholic Intransigence Is Tantamount to Catholic Charity
https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/n022rp_Intransigence.htm
St. Vincent de Lerins
https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/n026rp_Lerins_PreserveFaith.htm
At the moment when many Catholics are making, or considering making, compromises with Progressivism regarding the New Mass and Vatican II, it seems to us opportune to remember the criteria to maintain the true Catholic Faith given by St. Vincent de Lerins.
Facing these compromises, Catholics are taking sides – “I will take the position of my team, not your team.”
This is a superficial approach.
Each one of us is individually responsible before God for the right or wrong position he takes.
St. Vincent de Lerins
In the 5th century, St. Vincent of Lerins saw that the people were faced with various errors and heresies of Donatus, Arius, Photinus, Pelagius and others, and gave them this good advice on how they could know with security the true Catholic Faith.
Even if it is taught by distinguished men or Prelates, the bad doctrine should not be accepted by Catholics, who should cling to Tradition and what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all [quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est].
“What (is) always, what (is) everywhere, what (is) by everybody (believed).”
Actually, he stated:
"I have continually given the greatest pains and diligence to inquiring, from the greatest possible number of men outstanding in holiness and in doctrine.
How I can secure a type of fixed and, as it were, general, guiding principle for distinguishing the true Catholic Faith from the degraded falsehoods of heresy.
"And the answer that I receive is always to this effect:
That if I wish, or indeed if anyone wishes, to detect the deceits of heretics that arise and to avoid their snares and to keep healthy and sound in a robust faith, we ought, with the Lord's help, to fortify our faith in a twofold manner.
First, that is, by the authority of God's Law,
Then, by the tradition of the Catholic Church.
"Here, it may be, someone will ask:
‘Since the canon of Scripture (The Bible) is complete, and is in itself abundantly sufficient, what need is there to join to it the interpretation of the Church?’
The answer is that because of the profundity itself of Scripture, all men do not place the same interpretation upon it.
The statements of the same writer are explained by different men in different ways, so much so that it seems almost possible to extract from it as many opinions as there are men.
Novatian expounds in one way,
Sabellius in another,
Donatus in another, Arius, Eunomius and Macedonius in another, Photinus, Apollinaris and Priscillian in another, Jovinian, Pelagius and Caelestius in another, and latterly Nestorius in another.
Therefore, because of the intricacies of error, which is so multiform, there is great need for the laying down of a rule for the exposition of Prophets and Apostles, in accordance with the standard of the interpretation of the Catholic Church.
"Now in the Catholic Church itself we take the greatest care to hold that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all.
That is truly and properly 'Catholic,' as is shown by the very force and meaning of the word, which comprehends everything almost universally.
We shall hold to this rule if we follow universality, antiquity, and consent.
We shall follow universality if we acknowledge that one Faith to be true which the whole Church throughout the world confesses;
Antiquity if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is clear that our ancestors and fathers proclaimed;
Consent, if in antiquity itself, we keep following the definitions and opinions of all, or certainly nearly all, Bishops and Doctors alike.
"What then will the Catholic Christian do ?
If a small part of the Church has cut itself off from the communion of the universal Faith?
The answer is sure.
He will prefer the healthiness of the whole body to the morbid and corrupt limb.
"But what if some novel contagions try to infect the whole Church, and not merely a tiny part of it?
Then he will take care to cleave to antiquity, which cannot now be led astray by any deceit of novelty.
"What if in antiquity itself two or three men, or it may be a city, or even a whole province be detected in error?
Then he will take the greatest care to prefer the decrees of the ancient General Councils, if there are such, to the irresponsible ignorance of a few men.
"But what if some error arises regarding which nothing of this sort is to be found?
Then he must do his best to compare the opinions of the Fathers and inquire their meaning, provided always that, though they belonged to diverse times and places.
They yet continued in the faith and communion of the one Catholic Church; and let them be teachers approved and outstanding.
And whatever he shall find to have been held, approved and taught, not by one or two only but by all equally and with one consent.
Openly, frequently, and persistently, let him take this as to be held by him without the slightest hesitation."
(The Vincentian Canon, in Commonitorium, chap IV, 434,
ed. Moxon, Cambridge Patristic Texts)
Posted July 21, 2007
Related Topics of Interest
The Motu Proprio, after the Emotions
Paul VI Posing with Protestants He Invited To Help Write the New Mass
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A090rcPaulVIand Protsestants.htm
Card. Ratzinger Gives Communion to a Protestant
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A118rcRatzingerCommunionSchtz.htm
JPII Perfoms Liturgy with Heretics at St. Peter's Basilica
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A060rcMonophysite.htm
Paul VI Delivers to Heretics the Head of the Evangelist St. Mark
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A085rcHeadStMark.htm
JPII Hands over to Schismatics the Icon of Kazan
https://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/b010htKazanReturned.htm
Pope Ratzinger among Schismatics Yesterday and Today
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A104rcRatzSchismaticsl.htm
Pius IX: Ecumenism Is Synonymous with Religious Indifferentism
https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/n005rp_Indifferentism.htm
John Paul II Kneels at the Tomb of Gandhi
https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A063rcGhandiTomb.htm
Catholic Intransigence Is Tantamount to Catholic Charity
https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/n022rp_Intransigence.htm
Dec 9, 2018 09:02:31 #
SATAN'S COUNTERFEIT
CHURCH
http://eaec.org/cults/romancatholic.htm
Partial text, use link for full text
Roman Catholicism
Founder: Emperor Constantine
Overview:
The Roman Catholic church, headquartered in Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican. The Roman Catholic church unofficially came into being in 312 A.D., at the time of the so-called "miraculous conversion" to Christianity of the Roman Emperor Constantine but he still worshipped the sun god. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380 and 381 A.D., Constantine, from 312 A.D. until his death in 337, was engaged in the process of simultaneously building pagan temples and Christian churches, and was slowly turning over the reins of his pagan priesthood to the Bishop of Rome. However, the family of Constantine did not give up the last vestige of his priesthood until after the disintegration of the Roman Empire – that being the title the emperors bore as heads of the pagan priesthood – Pontifex Maximus – a title which the popes would inherit. The popes also inherited Constantine's titles as the self-appointed civil head of the church – Summus Pontifex (Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Bishops).
Prior to the time of Constantine's "conversion," Christians were persecuted not so much for their profession of faith in Christ, but because they would not include pagan deities in their faith as well. Then, with Constantine's emphasis on making his new-found Christianity palatable to the heathen in the Empire, the "Christianization" of these pagan deities was facilitated. For example, pagan rituals and idols gradually took on Christian meanings and names and were incorporated into "Christian" worship (e.g., "saints" replaced the cult of pagan gods in both worship and as patrons of cities; mother/son statues were renamed Mary and Jesus; etc.), and pagan holidays were reclassified as Christian holy days (e.g., the Roman Lupercalia and the feast of purification of Isis became the Feast of the Nativity; the Saturnalia celebrations were replaced by Christmas celebrations; an ancient festival of the dead was replaced by All Souls Day, rededicated to Christian heroes [now Halloween]; etc.). A transition had occurred – instead of being persecuted for failure to worship pagan deities, Christians who did not agree with the particular orthodoxy backed by the Emperor were now persecuted in the name of Christ! "Christianized" Rome had become the legitimate successor of pagan Rome! This is the sad origin of the Roman Catholic Church as it compromised from the very beginning with paganism and in doing so became a cult serving the creature (Mary) more than the creator (Jesus).
When Rome went from being pagan to Christian under Constantine, they had to find a replacement for the great mother of paganism. It was not until the time of Constantine that anyone began to look at Mary as a goddess. Since Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ, she was the most logical person to replace the pagan mother goddess. The pagans could continue their prayers and devotion to the mother goddess, only they would call her Mary. The pagans worshipped the mother as much or more than her son and this is exactly what the Roman Catholicism does. True Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is to be worshipped – not his mother. The fact remains that Jesus never hinted at the idea of Mary worship nor did any of the apostles. Worshipping the mother goddess along with her child took place centuries before Jesus Christ was ever born in many different parts of the world. In 431 A.D. Mary worship became an official doctrine of the church in at the Council of Ephesus.
Since the formation of the Roman Empire, the Roman emperors (including Constantine) held the office of Pontifex Maximus (Supreme Priest) and were worshipped by the pagans as gods. Emperor Gratian in 376 A.D. refused the title of Pontifex Maximus, and from then on it was bestowed upon the bishop of Rome. From hereon, the bishop of Rome was to be the Supreme Priest to the pagans and the head of the Christian church; the streams of paganism and Christianity flowed together under the leadership of Pontifex Maximus, ultimately to be called the Pope. The question remains, how can a man at the same time be the Pontifex Maximus which was the head of the pagan mysteries and the head of the church? Although the Roman Catholic church claims that Peter was the first Pope, it is strange that we never read any such claim by Peter. The fact that Jesus never instituted the office of Pope in his church during his earthly ministry plainly shows that the Pope is neither Bishop of bishops nor the successor of the apostle Peter.
One issue that is very damaging to idea of a Pope is the fact that some of the popes were so depraved, even people who professed no religion at all were ashamed of them. Looking into the history of the papacy, it is easy to see that not all popes were holy men. Accusations against them included but were not limited to blasphemy, simony (the buying and selling of the papal office), perjury, murder, adultery, intercourse with virgins and nuns, incest, sodomy, bestiality, robbery, idolatry, magic, infidelity, and gross and unnatural immorality. Historians, even Roman Catholic historians will even attest to the fact there have been many sinful popes. Therefore, if popes are supposed to be the "representatives of Christ" here on earth and they are living an immoral lifestyle, should their commands still be obeyed if they are living in sin? No, it would be hypocritical for them to make rulings and decrees, and yet this is exactly what has been done by the popes. Jesus never said, "do as I say, not as I do". On the contrary, Jesus Christ led a holy life and we should follow His example. Here are a few examples:
Pope Sergius III obtained the papal office by murder. He lived openly with a woman who bore him several illegitimate children. His reign began a period known as "the rule of the harlots".
Pope John XII was an immoral man and whose palace was likened to a brothel. The bishop of Cremona, Luitprand said, "No honest lady dared to show herself in public, for Pope John had no respect either for single girls, married women, or widows – they were sure to be defiled by him, even on the tombs of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul."
Pope Boniface VIII maintained his position through lavish distribution of stolen money. He was quoted saying, "to enjoy oneself and lie carnally with women or with boys is no more a sin than rubbing one's hands together."
Pope John XXII was said to have seduced and violated three hundred nuns. He must have had a strong and insatiable libido for he kept a harem of no less than two hundred girls. He was called "the most depraved criminal who ever sat on the papal throne." A Vatican record says this about him, "His lordship, Pope John, committed perversity with the wife of his brother, incest with holy nuns, intercourse with virgins, adultery with the married, and all sorts of sex crimes... wholly given to sleep and other carnal desires, totally adverse to the life and teaching of Christ... he was publicly called the Devil incarnate."
Pope Pius II was said to have been the father of many illegitimate children. He spoke openly of the methods he used to seduce women and he encouraged young men to also seduce women and even offered to instruct them in methods of self-indulgence.
Pope Sixtus IV financed his wars by selling church offices to the highest bidders. He used the papacy to enrich himself and his family, for no less than eight cardinals were his nephews, some being given the position of cardinal even as a boy.
Pope Alexander VI won the election of the papacy by bribery. He lived with a woman with whom he had a daughter; whom afterward he committed incest with and produced five children. He also lived in public incest with his two sisters. He conducted a sex orgy in the Vatican in which he had a banquet featuring fifty nude girls who danced and serviced the guests – and even offered prizes to the man who could engage in sexual intercourse the most times.
Martin Luther himself also witnessed that Rome with its popes was anything but a holy city. He was quoted as saying, "No one can imagine what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome, they must be seen and heard to be believed." It has been said, "If there be a hell, Rome is built over it." Having shown just a few examples of the corruption and wickedness that has existed in the lives of the popes; this evidence seriously undermines the belief of "apostolic succession," the claim that the Roman Catholic church is the one "true" church supposedly claiming to trace a line of pope back to Peter, since Peter himself stressed the importance of holiness. It is important to note that pagan popes can be traced back to Babylon but no Christian popes existed until Constantine in 312 A.D. declared himself to be Pope.
The popes were not the only ones that struggled with sexual misconduct; the clergy were just as guilty. When the doctrine of celibacy began to be taught, many clergy were married men. An edict was established in 315 A.D. that forbade a priest to remarry if his wife were to die. In 386 A.D. another edict came into being, allowing priests to be married but forbidding them to have sexual intercourse with their wives. Although this edict was in effect, a large number of clergy openly took wives and fathered children. Some monasteries and nunneries were known in history to be so bad that they actually had a worse reputation than the brothels. The violations by priests were so bad at one point that even female animals were not allowed on monastery property! Priests were urged to be chaste, and if they failed, at least be careful. With this man-made tradition imposed upon them, it made an already difficult job of the confessional even more difficult. The confessional was where sins had to be confessed specifically and in detail so that the priest could render judgment and offer forgiveness of sins. It is not hard to see that the outcome of girls and women and even boys confessing their moral weaknesses and desires to unmarried priests could readily result in widespread abuse. The Roman Catholic church has been lately rocked by one scandal after another of sexual abuse by priests.
The doctrine of a celibate priesthood that has done more damage than good since its inception. At the beginning of creation, God did not want Adam to be alone and created Eve for him. According to the Bible, it was God's design for a husband and wife to become one flesh and to cleave to each other, and yet the Roman Catholic church says otherwise. They have another man-made doctrine condemning priests to celibacy, something which God never intended. Bishops (i.e. pastors, priests) according the Bible are supposed the husband of one wife (I Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6), Roman Catholicism adds to the Bible by placing an undue burden upon the clergy by forbidding them to marry (I Timothy 4:1-3), the Bible calls this a "doctrine of devils!" It is important to note that the priests of pagan Rome were also required to be celibate, and this tradition dates back all the way to Babylon and Semiramis several thousand years before. Even the idea of confessing to a priest came from Babylon. It is from recorded Babylonian confessions that historians have been able to come up with conclusions about the Babylonian concepts of right and wrong. The priests of pagan Rome were called "fathers," but Jesus said to call no man "father." (Matthew 23:9-12) From what source did the Roman Catholic custom of calling a priest by this title come from, Jesus or the pagans? Jesus spoke against flattering titles to his disciples, he wanted them to treat each other equally. Jesus meant for God the Father to receive all glory, not men. It is plain to see that the majority of the traditions of the Roman Catholic church are man-made and of pagan origins. An intellectually honest search will show the pagan roots of the Roman Catholic church.
The cardinals were the chief clergy in pagan Rome and the word in Latin means "hinge," hence they were pivotal serving as the priests of Janus who was the pagan god of doors and hinges. He was known as the "opener and shutter," and we can understand that better by the words of Jesus in Revelation 3:7-8. Jesus was the true opener, Janus was a counterfeit. These pagan priests wore the color red because it symbolized fire, they were the keepers of the sacred fire and accordingly were known as the "Flamens." All throughout the Bible, the color red is associated with sin. (Isaiah 1:18; Ezekiel 23:14-15; Revelation 17:4) With some knowledge of history, it is easy to see the merge of Babylonian paganism and Christianity and how they became one.
Roman Catholics who read the Bible will soon discover that many Catholic teachings and practices are specifically forbidden by Jesus Christ Himself. Worship is vain when it is based upon the commandments of men rather than the Word of God. Valid tradition is based upon Scripture and confirms it. Vain tradition is based upon man's teachings and violates it. In Roman Catholicism, tradition is consistently elevated above the Scripture. The result is vain worship, and no matter how sincere, it makes the commandment of God of no effect – a very serious matter.
The last few popes have expanded the ecumenical (worldwide) emphasis in the Roman Catholic Church to unprecedented heights. All unity purchased at the expense of doctrinal purity is satanic and deceptive. II Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11; II Timothy 3:1-17, 4:1-8. All who join hands in ecumenical fellowship with those who preach a false Gospel are under God's curse. (Galatians 1:6-10)
People do not realize that counterfeit religions, like counterfeit money, must resemble the genuine in order to deceive those who lack spiritual discernment or those who have not had the opportunity or taken the time to carefully compare all the major tenets of Roman Catholicism with the truth of God's Word. Only when one compares men's words with Scripture will it become obvious that Roman Catholicism is a carefully crafted counterfeit, not the pure, genuine, Biblical faith.
Jesus Christ plainly taught that Mary was on the same plane with all other Christians who would do the will of God. In Mark 3:31-35 we read:
"There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him
CHURCH
http://eaec.org/cults/romancatholic.htm
Partial text, use link for full text
Roman Catholicism
Founder: Emperor Constantine
Overview:
The Roman Catholic church, headquartered in Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican. The Roman Catholic church unofficially came into being in 312 A.D., at the time of the so-called "miraculous conversion" to Christianity of the Roman Emperor Constantine but he still worshipped the sun god. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380 and 381 A.D., Constantine, from 312 A.D. until his death in 337, was engaged in the process of simultaneously building pagan temples and Christian churches, and was slowly turning over the reins of his pagan priesthood to the Bishop of Rome. However, the family of Constantine did not give up the last vestige of his priesthood until after the disintegration of the Roman Empire – that being the title the emperors bore as heads of the pagan priesthood – Pontifex Maximus – a title which the popes would inherit. The popes also inherited Constantine's titles as the self-appointed civil head of the church – Summus Pontifex (Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Bishops).
Prior to the time of Constantine's "conversion," Christians were persecuted not so much for their profession of faith in Christ, but because they would not include pagan deities in their faith as well. Then, with Constantine's emphasis on making his new-found Christianity palatable to the heathen in the Empire, the "Christianization" of these pagan deities was facilitated. For example, pagan rituals and idols gradually took on Christian meanings and names and were incorporated into "Christian" worship (e.g., "saints" replaced the cult of pagan gods in both worship and as patrons of cities; mother/son statues were renamed Mary and Jesus; etc.), and pagan holidays were reclassified as Christian holy days (e.g., the Roman Lupercalia and the feast of purification of Isis became the Feast of the Nativity; the Saturnalia celebrations were replaced by Christmas celebrations; an ancient festival of the dead was replaced by All Souls Day, rededicated to Christian heroes [now Halloween]; etc.). A transition had occurred – instead of being persecuted for failure to worship pagan deities, Christians who did not agree with the particular orthodoxy backed by the Emperor were now persecuted in the name of Christ! "Christianized" Rome had become the legitimate successor of pagan Rome! This is the sad origin of the Roman Catholic Church as it compromised from the very beginning with paganism and in doing so became a cult serving the creature (Mary) more than the creator (Jesus).
When Rome went from being pagan to Christian under Constantine, they had to find a replacement for the great mother of paganism. It was not until the time of Constantine that anyone began to look at Mary as a goddess. Since Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ, she was the most logical person to replace the pagan mother goddess. The pagans could continue their prayers and devotion to the mother goddess, only they would call her Mary. The pagans worshipped the mother as much or more than her son and this is exactly what the Roman Catholicism does. True Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is to be worshipped – not his mother. The fact remains that Jesus never hinted at the idea of Mary worship nor did any of the apostles. Worshipping the mother goddess along with her child took place centuries before Jesus Christ was ever born in many different parts of the world. In 431 A.D. Mary worship became an official doctrine of the church in at the Council of Ephesus.
Since the formation of the Roman Empire, the Roman emperors (including Constantine) held the office of Pontifex Maximus (Supreme Priest) and were worshipped by the pagans as gods. Emperor Gratian in 376 A.D. refused the title of Pontifex Maximus, and from then on it was bestowed upon the bishop of Rome. From hereon, the bishop of Rome was to be the Supreme Priest to the pagans and the head of the Christian church; the streams of paganism and Christianity flowed together under the leadership of Pontifex Maximus, ultimately to be called the Pope. The question remains, how can a man at the same time be the Pontifex Maximus which was the head of the pagan mysteries and the head of the church? Although the Roman Catholic church claims that Peter was the first Pope, it is strange that we never read any such claim by Peter. The fact that Jesus never instituted the office of Pope in his church during his earthly ministry plainly shows that the Pope is neither Bishop of bishops nor the successor of the apostle Peter.
One issue that is very damaging to idea of a Pope is the fact that some of the popes were so depraved, even people who professed no religion at all were ashamed of them. Looking into the history of the papacy, it is easy to see that not all popes were holy men. Accusations against them included but were not limited to blasphemy, simony (the buying and selling of the papal office), perjury, murder, adultery, intercourse with virgins and nuns, incest, sodomy, bestiality, robbery, idolatry, magic, infidelity, and gross and unnatural immorality. Historians, even Roman Catholic historians will even attest to the fact there have been many sinful popes. Therefore, if popes are supposed to be the "representatives of Christ" here on earth and they are living an immoral lifestyle, should their commands still be obeyed if they are living in sin? No, it would be hypocritical for them to make rulings and decrees, and yet this is exactly what has been done by the popes. Jesus never said, "do as I say, not as I do". On the contrary, Jesus Christ led a holy life and we should follow His example. Here are a few examples:
Pope Sergius III obtained the papal office by murder. He lived openly with a woman who bore him several illegitimate children. His reign began a period known as "the rule of the harlots".
Pope John XII was an immoral man and whose palace was likened to a brothel. The bishop of Cremona, Luitprand said, "No honest lady dared to show herself in public, for Pope John had no respect either for single girls, married women, or widows – they were sure to be defiled by him, even on the tombs of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul."
Pope Boniface VIII maintained his position through lavish distribution of stolen money. He was quoted saying, "to enjoy oneself and lie carnally with women or with boys is no more a sin than rubbing one's hands together."
Pope John XXII was said to have seduced and violated three hundred nuns. He must have had a strong and insatiable libido for he kept a harem of no less than two hundred girls. He was called "the most depraved criminal who ever sat on the papal throne." A Vatican record says this about him, "His lordship, Pope John, committed perversity with the wife of his brother, incest with holy nuns, intercourse with virgins, adultery with the married, and all sorts of sex crimes... wholly given to sleep and other carnal desires, totally adverse to the life and teaching of Christ... he was publicly called the Devil incarnate."
Pope Pius II was said to have been the father of many illegitimate children. He spoke openly of the methods he used to seduce women and he encouraged young men to also seduce women and even offered to instruct them in methods of self-indulgence.
Pope Sixtus IV financed his wars by selling church offices to the highest bidders. He used the papacy to enrich himself and his family, for no less than eight cardinals were his nephews, some being given the position of cardinal even as a boy.
Pope Alexander VI won the election of the papacy by bribery. He lived with a woman with whom he had a daughter; whom afterward he committed incest with and produced five children. He also lived in public incest with his two sisters. He conducted a sex orgy in the Vatican in which he had a banquet featuring fifty nude girls who danced and serviced the guests – and even offered prizes to the man who could engage in sexual intercourse the most times.
Martin Luther himself also witnessed that Rome with its popes was anything but a holy city. He was quoted as saying, "No one can imagine what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome, they must be seen and heard to be believed." It has been said, "If there be a hell, Rome is built over it." Having shown just a few examples of the corruption and wickedness that has existed in the lives of the popes; this evidence seriously undermines the belief of "apostolic succession," the claim that the Roman Catholic church is the one "true" church supposedly claiming to trace a line of pope back to Peter, since Peter himself stressed the importance of holiness. It is important to note that pagan popes can be traced back to Babylon but no Christian popes existed until Constantine in 312 A.D. declared himself to be Pope.
The popes were not the only ones that struggled with sexual misconduct; the clergy were just as guilty. When the doctrine of celibacy began to be taught, many clergy were married men. An edict was established in 315 A.D. that forbade a priest to remarry if his wife were to die. In 386 A.D. another edict came into being, allowing priests to be married but forbidding them to have sexual intercourse with their wives. Although this edict was in effect, a large number of clergy openly took wives and fathered children. Some monasteries and nunneries were known in history to be so bad that they actually had a worse reputation than the brothels. The violations by priests were so bad at one point that even female animals were not allowed on monastery property! Priests were urged to be chaste, and if they failed, at least be careful. With this man-made tradition imposed upon them, it made an already difficult job of the confessional even more difficult. The confessional was where sins had to be confessed specifically and in detail so that the priest could render judgment and offer forgiveness of sins. It is not hard to see that the outcome of girls and women and even boys confessing their moral weaknesses and desires to unmarried priests could readily result in widespread abuse. The Roman Catholic church has been lately rocked by one scandal after another of sexual abuse by priests.
The doctrine of a celibate priesthood that has done more damage than good since its inception. At the beginning of creation, God did not want Adam to be alone and created Eve for him. According to the Bible, it was God's design for a husband and wife to become one flesh and to cleave to each other, and yet the Roman Catholic church says otherwise. They have another man-made doctrine condemning priests to celibacy, something which God never intended. Bishops (i.e. pastors, priests) according the Bible are supposed the husband of one wife (I Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6), Roman Catholicism adds to the Bible by placing an undue burden upon the clergy by forbidding them to marry (I Timothy 4:1-3), the Bible calls this a "doctrine of devils!" It is important to note that the priests of pagan Rome were also required to be celibate, and this tradition dates back all the way to Babylon and Semiramis several thousand years before. Even the idea of confessing to a priest came from Babylon. It is from recorded Babylonian confessions that historians have been able to come up with conclusions about the Babylonian concepts of right and wrong. The priests of pagan Rome were called "fathers," but Jesus said to call no man "father." (Matthew 23:9-12) From what source did the Roman Catholic custom of calling a priest by this title come from, Jesus or the pagans? Jesus spoke against flattering titles to his disciples, he wanted them to treat each other equally. Jesus meant for God the Father to receive all glory, not men. It is plain to see that the majority of the traditions of the Roman Catholic church are man-made and of pagan origins. An intellectually honest search will show the pagan roots of the Roman Catholic church.
The cardinals were the chief clergy in pagan Rome and the word in Latin means "hinge," hence they were pivotal serving as the priests of Janus who was the pagan god of doors and hinges. He was known as the "opener and shutter," and we can understand that better by the words of Jesus in Revelation 3:7-8. Jesus was the true opener, Janus was a counterfeit. These pagan priests wore the color red because it symbolized fire, they were the keepers of the sacred fire and accordingly were known as the "Flamens." All throughout the Bible, the color red is associated with sin. (Isaiah 1:18; Ezekiel 23:14-15; Revelation 17:4) With some knowledge of history, it is easy to see the merge of Babylonian paganism and Christianity and how they became one.
Roman Catholics who read the Bible will soon discover that many Catholic teachings and practices are specifically forbidden by Jesus Christ Himself. Worship is vain when it is based upon the commandments of men rather than the Word of God. Valid tradition is based upon Scripture and confirms it. Vain tradition is based upon man's teachings and violates it. In Roman Catholicism, tradition is consistently elevated above the Scripture. The result is vain worship, and no matter how sincere, it makes the commandment of God of no effect – a very serious matter.
The last few popes have expanded the ecumenical (worldwide) emphasis in the Roman Catholic Church to unprecedented heights. All unity purchased at the expense of doctrinal purity is satanic and deceptive. II Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11; II Timothy 3:1-17, 4:1-8. All who join hands in ecumenical fellowship with those who preach a false Gospel are under God's curse. (Galatians 1:6-10)
People do not realize that counterfeit religions, like counterfeit money, must resemble the genuine in order to deceive those who lack spiritual discernment or those who have not had the opportunity or taken the time to carefully compare all the major tenets of Roman Catholicism with the truth of God's Word. Only when one compares men's words with Scripture will it become obvious that Roman Catholicism is a carefully crafted counterfeit, not the pure, genuine, Biblical faith.
Jesus Christ plainly taught that Mary was on the same plane with all other Christians who would do the will of God. In Mark 3:31-35 we read:
"There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him
Dec 11, 2018 13:59:17 #
Chronological Table of Marian Biblical and Historical Church Events
1. 1ST CENTURY
AD 40 January 2nd—Apparition of Mary to Apostle James the Greater in Zaragoza, Spain. She appears on a pillar. All About Mary: Our Lady of Pilar
54-57 First allusion to Mary in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (4:4)
60-70 Mary mentioned twice in Mark’s Gospel
75-106 Matthew and Luke's Gospels [first and second chapters], Luke Acts (1:14) and John’s Gospel (2:3-12; 6:42; 19:25-27) show Mary’s presence in the life of Jesus and the early Christian Community
90-100 Mary and the Church are both symbolized in the image of the woman in the Book of Revelation (chapter 12)
2. 2ND CENTURY
100-200 Inscription under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome depicts Mary as Protectrix for the departed and their Advocate.
110-115 In his letters, Ignatius of Antioch makes five references to Mary as Virgin and Mother. (To the Ephesians: 7.2, PG 5, c 757; 18.2, PG 5, c 752; 19.1, PG 5, c 753; Trallians 9.1-2, PG 5, c 788-89; Smyrnaeans 1.1, PG 5, c 840-41)
120 Odes of Solomon mentions the Virgin who gives birth (Ode XIX).
145 Aristides of Athens cites Mary in a creedal formula (Apology 2, 4). http://earlychristianwritings.com/text/aristides-kay.html
150-165 Justin Martyr in the Dialogue with Trypho (PG 6, c 709-12 100) brings the comparison between Eve and Mary (Eve-Mary Parallel). "For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her: wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is the Son of God; and she replied, 'Be it unto me according to your word.' (Luke 1:38) And by her has He been born, to whom we have proved so many Scriptures refer, and by whom God destroys both the serpent and those angels and men who are like him; but works deliverance from death to those who repent of their wickedness and believe upon Him." (http://newadvent.org/fathers/01287.htm)
150-155 Composition of the Protoevangelium of James (also known as the “Gospel of Mary”). This Christian apocryphal text contains details about devotion to, Mary and is the source of the names of Mary’s parents and traditions regarding her childhood and early life.
150-200 Inscription of Abercius, Bishop of Hieropolis, alludes to Mary's virginity, holiness, and relationship to the Holy Eucharist. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/abercius.html
150-202 Irenaeus of Lyons points to Mary’s role in the economy of salvation. Mary is causa salutis (Adv. haer. 3, 22; PG 7, c 959-60) and advocata Evae (Adv. haer. 3, 22; PG 7, c 1175 76) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08130b.htm
155-202 Tertullian affirmed that Mary conceived Christ as a Virgin (De carne Christi 21, 5; PL 2, c 833-34) and stressed the Eve-Mary parallel (De carne Christi 17, 5; PL 2, c 828).
162 The Sibylline Oracles speak admiringly of Mary (VIII, 609-28). http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/
Late 2nd Century Early representations of Mary in the catacombs
Late 2nd Century Clement of Alexandria calls Mary the Mother of the Lord (Stromata 6, 15; PG 9, c 349) and is a witness to the Church's faith in Mary's perpetual virginity (Stromata 7, 16; PG 9, c 529-30). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04045a.htm
3. 3RD CENTURY
200 The North African Church Father, Tertullian, affirms that proper belief about Mary is necessary to affirm the humanity of Christ. (De carne Christi 20, 1; c 830-31)
200-250 Origen is probably the first Church Father to explain the meaning of the title Theotokos (History of the Church 7, 32; PG 67, c 812) and defends the perpetual virginity of Mary (Commentary on John 1, 4; PG 14, c 32; Homilies on Luke 6, 3-4; PG 13, 1814-15). All About Mary: Dogmas, Marian; Theotokos, Meaning of
200-350 Composition of the prayer Sub tuum praesidium–the oldest Marian prayer. All About Mary: Sub Tuum Praisidium Prayer
220 Founding of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome by Pope Callixtus I (217-222)
235 Death of Hippolytus of Rome, who alluded to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mainly in the context of the Incarnation (Christ and Antichrist 4; PG 10 c 732). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07360c.htm
250 St. Cyprian of Carthage indirectly extols Mary's virginity (Is. 7:14; Gen. 3:15) (CSEL 3:1, 73f)
4TH CENTURY
306-373 Ephrem the Syrian known for his poetic writings about Mary; implores Mary’s power of mediation (Oratio ad Deiparam; EnchMar 341)
http://catholicism.about.com/od/tothevirginmary/qt/Praise_BVM.htm
318-322 Emperor Constantine publicly honors Mary through the construction of a basilica on Vatican Hill whose façade includes a mosaic exalting Mary, Jesus and Peter.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm
325-403 Epiphanius of Salamis is the first known writer who interprets the Woman of the Apocalypse (Revelation Chapter 12) as Mary (PG 42, c 716), and he is also the first to consider the question of the end of Mary’s earthly existence (PG 41, c 777); He refutes Marian heresies (PG 42, c 700-56). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13393b.htm; All About Mary: Revelation, Mary in the Book of; All About Mary: Death of Mary
328-373 Athanasius’ term as bishop of Alexandria, when he bestowed upon Mary the title: Theotokos, and pointed out that Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is proof of Jesus’ divinity (PG 25, c 109).
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02035a.htm
330-379 St. Basil of Caesarea refers to Mary’s womb as a ‘workshop’ (In Sanctam Christi Generationem; PG 31, c 1464 A) and affirmed her marriage to Joseph (In Sanctam Christi Generationem; PG 31, c 1464 A-C.) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02330b.htm
330-389 St. Gregory Nazianzen held that Mary’s divine motherhood is key to the Church’s doctrine about the Incarnate Word and mystery of human salvation (Sectio II. Poemata Quae Spectant Ad Alios; PG 37, c 1565 D-1566 A). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07010b.htm
339-397 Ambrose of Milan speaks of Mary as type of the Church: Expositio in Lucam 2, 7: PL 15, c 1555), 410. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01383c.htm
342-419 St. Jerome, in On the Perpetual Virginity of Mary against Helvidius, defends the Perpetual Virginity of Mary using scripture, affirms her great holiness and develops Marian typology in the Old Testament (De perpetua virginitate Mariae adversus Helvidium: PL 23 c 183-206). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08341a.htm; All About Mary:Dogmas, Marian
344-407 St. John Chrysostom emphasizes transcendence of the mystery of the Son of God the Father by becoming incarnate in the womb of Mary (In Matthaeum, Homilia 4, 3: PG 57 c 43). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08452b.htm
348-387 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, during his term as bishop, wrote that Mary re-established women’s equality with men (Catechesis 12, 29; PG 33, c 761 B-C); he inaugurates the Byzantine homiletic technique of teaching Marian truths by means of praises addressed to the Blessed Virgin. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04592b.htm
350 Early recorded invocation of Mary by St. Justina (Gregory Nazianzen Oratio 24; PG 35, c 1181).
350-390 St. Gregory of Nyssa composes and distributes a Marian prayer that is a precursor of the Hail Mary; also chronicles first recorded Marian apparition to St. Gregory the Wonderworker (PG 46, c 912). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07016a.htm
350-400 Bishop Severian of Gabala officially and publicly solicits prayers to Mary (Oratio 6, 10 In Mundi Creatione; PG 56, c 497).
352 Legend of Our Lady of the Snows during the pontificate of Liberius (352-366). All About Mary: Our Lady of the Snows
352-366 Founding of Saint Mary Major under Pope Liberius I
368 Death of St. Hilary of Poitiers, who extolled human-divine motherhood and perpetual virginity of Mary; associates Mary with Christ in the messianic prophecies (In Matthaeum 1, 2-4; PL 9, c 920-922). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07349b.htm
370 Earliest liturgy of Mary composed in Syria; St. Ambrose of Milan speaks of Mary as a model of women and virginal life (De virginibus 2, 6-16; PL, 220-22) and a type of the Church (Expositio in Lucam 2, 7; PL 15, c 1635-1636). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01383c.htm
4. 5TH CENTURY
400 Santa Maria Antiqua Church founded in Rome in the Forum. The church contains the earliest Roman depiction of Santa Maria Regina.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Antiqua
400 Earliest copy of the Transitus of Mary is written.
Early 5th Century Church of Mary in Ephesus is probably one of the earliest local Marian churches.
http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/the_double_churches.htm
400-500 Temple of Isis at Soissons, France dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary,
400-500 Feast of the Annunciation celebrated in Byzantium,
400-500 Introduction of the Feast of the Commemoration of the Virgin Mary throughout Europe
400-500 Feast of the Hypapante (encounter between Christ and Simeon) celebrated.
431 Council of Ephesus proclaims Mary as Theotokos
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05491a.htm
All About Mary: Theotokos, Meaning of
432 Dedication of the enlarged and restored Church of Saint Mary Major/Rome by Pope Sixtus III
440-461 Introduction of Marian reference in the Eucharistic prayer of the Leonine Sacramentary, ("In communion with and venerating in the first place the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God. ...")
440-461 Pontificate of Pope Leo the Great, who applied Old Testament text to Mary (Sermo 22, 1; PL 54, 194; Sermo 24, 1; PL 54, 204) and develops concept of Mary as a type of the Church
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09154b.htm
ca. 445 Icons attributed to St. Luke, eventually known as the Hodegetria, begin to appear
All About Mary: Contemporary Spirituality (see full text, page 50 of pdf "D. A 'Triplex Via Mariana'")
ca. 446 Death of Theodotus of Ancyra, who proposed that Mary’s marriage to St. Joseph protected Mary’s virginity (In Die Nativitatis Domini, Homily 5, 3; PG 77, c 1414 B)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14579a.htm
451 Pope Leo the Great in his Tomus ad Flavianum uses the reality of Mary’s motherhood of Christ to guarantee the authenticity of Christ’s human nature and to distinguish the two natures of Christ. (Epistola 28; PL 54 c 755-782)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09154b.htm
451 Empress Pulcheria of Byzantium begins a collection of relics of Mary
473 Preservation of Mary’s holy head dress, the Maforion, in the Church of the Blachernae (Byzantine and Armenian rites) celebrated as a feast.
http://forosdelavirgen.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/maphorion.jpg
http://www.byzantium1200.com/blachernae.html
6TH CENTURY
500-600 Parthenon (temple of Athena) in Athens dedicated to Mary
500-600 Dedication of Saint Mary Antiqua in Rome
500-600 Tradition of Mary with Child Jesus established in iconography.
All About Mary: Icons
520-556 Syrian poet St. Romanos the Melodist composes our greatly used Marian hymns
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13154a.htm
530-600 Life of Venantius Fortunatus, through song, elevates Mary about all great women of the Old Testament (Carmina miscellanea 2, 2; PL 88, 88)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06149a.htm
534 Pope John II, in his letter to the Senate of Constantinople, declares that Mary is “truly the Mother of God”
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08421b.htm
538-594 Life of Gregory of Tours, who collected written accounts of miracles associated with Mary’s intercession (Libri Miraculorum PL 71) and wrote about the mystery of Mary’s Assumption into heaven (Libri Miraculorum 1, De Gloria beatorum martyrum 4; PL 71, c 708)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07018b.htm
540-604 Life of St. Gregory the Great, who identifies Mary with Isaiah 2:2 (In I Regnum 1, 5; PL 79, c 25), affirmed her superiority above all men and angels (Moralia 33, 8; PL 76, c 671)and spoke of a Marian apparition as a fact (Dialogi 4, 18; PL 77, c 348-49)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06780a.htm
543 Dedication of church to Saint Mary in Jerusalem
550 Celebration of the Feasts of the Birth of Mary, the Presentation of Jesus, and the Dormition in Byzantium
550 Greek philosopher Oecumenius gives first completely Marian interpretation of Revelation 12
550-600 Theoteknos, Bishop of Livias, gives earliest affirmation of belief in the bodily assumption of Mary (Encomium 9; see Wenger 276)
553 Second Council of Constantinople reiterates dogma of Mary’s Divine Motherhood and mentions Mary’s perpetual virginity (Can. 6; DS 218)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04308b.htm
590-604 Pope Gregory the Great writes about important aspects of Marian devotion and describes theological principles which make Marian devotion legitimate. (Epist 9, 52; PL 77, 990-91)
380-450 Life of St. Peter Chrysologus, who defended Mary’s virginity (Sermo 143, 7; PL 52, 584; Sermo 117, 3; PL 52, 521), spoke of Joseph’s unique role (Sermo 145, 1; PL 52, 588-89), and wrote homilies about the Annunciation, Incarnation and Christmas. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11762c.htm
392 Pope St. Siricius, in a letter to Bishop Anysius, defends the perpetual virginity of Mary (Letter 9 to Anysius against Bonosus 3-4; PL 13 c 1177-1178). All About Mary: Marian Teachings, Pre-Early Modern Period
394 Augustine of Hippo speaks of Mary as most excellent member and type of the Church (De Verbis Evangelli Matth, Sermo 25, 7; PL 46, c 938); proclaims Mary free from original sin (De natura et gratia 36, 42; PL 44, 267) and exalts her status as Virgin and Mother (De sancta virginitate 6, PL 40 c 399)
394 Death of Gregory of Nyssa, who insisted on the reality of Mary’s motherhood (Against Apollinaris 6, PG 45, c 1136 C-D) and drew an analogy between Moses seeing the burning bush without being consumed and Mary’s virginity (On the Birth of Christ, PG 46, c1133 D-1136 B)
1. 1ST CENTURY
AD 40 January 2nd—Apparition of Mary to Apostle James the Greater in Zaragoza, Spain. She appears on a pillar. All About Mary: Our Lady of Pilar
54-57 First allusion to Mary in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (4:4)
60-70 Mary mentioned twice in Mark’s Gospel
75-106 Matthew and Luke's Gospels [first and second chapters], Luke Acts (1:14) and John’s Gospel (2:3-12; 6:42; 19:25-27) show Mary’s presence in the life of Jesus and the early Christian Community
90-100 Mary and the Church are both symbolized in the image of the woman in the Book of Revelation (chapter 12)
2. 2ND CENTURY
100-200 Inscription under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome depicts Mary as Protectrix for the departed and their Advocate.
110-115 In his letters, Ignatius of Antioch makes five references to Mary as Virgin and Mother. (To the Ephesians: 7.2, PG 5, c 757; 18.2, PG 5, c 752; 19.1, PG 5, c 753; Trallians 9.1-2, PG 5, c 788-89; Smyrnaeans 1.1, PG 5, c 840-41)
120 Odes of Solomon mentions the Virgin who gives birth (Ode XIX).
145 Aristides of Athens cites Mary in a creedal formula (Apology 2, 4). http://earlychristianwritings.com/text/aristides-kay.html
150-165 Justin Martyr in the Dialogue with Trypho (PG 6, c 709-12 100) brings the comparison between Eve and Mary (Eve-Mary Parallel). "For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her: wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is the Son of God; and she replied, 'Be it unto me according to your word.' (Luke 1:38) And by her has He been born, to whom we have proved so many Scriptures refer, and by whom God destroys both the serpent and those angels and men who are like him; but works deliverance from death to those who repent of their wickedness and believe upon Him." (http://newadvent.org/fathers/01287.htm)
150-155 Composition of the Protoevangelium of James (also known as the “Gospel of Mary”). This Christian apocryphal text contains details about devotion to, Mary and is the source of the names of Mary’s parents and traditions regarding her childhood and early life.
150-200 Inscription of Abercius, Bishop of Hieropolis, alludes to Mary's virginity, holiness, and relationship to the Holy Eucharist. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/abercius.html
150-202 Irenaeus of Lyons points to Mary’s role in the economy of salvation. Mary is causa salutis (Adv. haer. 3, 22; PG 7, c 959-60) and advocata Evae (Adv. haer. 3, 22; PG 7, c 1175 76) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08130b.htm
155-202 Tertullian affirmed that Mary conceived Christ as a Virgin (De carne Christi 21, 5; PL 2, c 833-34) and stressed the Eve-Mary parallel (De carne Christi 17, 5; PL 2, c 828).
162 The Sibylline Oracles speak admiringly of Mary (VIII, 609-28). http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/
Late 2nd Century Early representations of Mary in the catacombs
Late 2nd Century Clement of Alexandria calls Mary the Mother of the Lord (Stromata 6, 15; PG 9, c 349) and is a witness to the Church's faith in Mary's perpetual virginity (Stromata 7, 16; PG 9, c 529-30). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04045a.htm
3. 3RD CENTURY
200 The North African Church Father, Tertullian, affirms that proper belief about Mary is necessary to affirm the humanity of Christ. (De carne Christi 20, 1; c 830-31)
200-250 Origen is probably the first Church Father to explain the meaning of the title Theotokos (History of the Church 7, 32; PG 67, c 812) and defends the perpetual virginity of Mary (Commentary on John 1, 4; PG 14, c 32; Homilies on Luke 6, 3-4; PG 13, 1814-15). All About Mary: Dogmas, Marian; Theotokos, Meaning of
200-350 Composition of the prayer Sub tuum praesidium–the oldest Marian prayer. All About Mary: Sub Tuum Praisidium Prayer
220 Founding of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome by Pope Callixtus I (217-222)
235 Death of Hippolytus of Rome, who alluded to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mainly in the context of the Incarnation (Christ and Antichrist 4; PG 10 c 732). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07360c.htm
250 St. Cyprian of Carthage indirectly extols Mary's virginity (Is. 7:14; Gen. 3:15) (CSEL 3:1, 73f)
4TH CENTURY
306-373 Ephrem the Syrian known for his poetic writings about Mary; implores Mary’s power of mediation (Oratio ad Deiparam; EnchMar 341)
http://catholicism.about.com/od/tothevirginmary/qt/Praise_BVM.htm
318-322 Emperor Constantine publicly honors Mary through the construction of a basilica on Vatican Hill whose façade includes a mosaic exalting Mary, Jesus and Peter.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm
325-403 Epiphanius of Salamis is the first known writer who interprets the Woman of the Apocalypse (Revelation Chapter 12) as Mary (PG 42, c 716), and he is also the first to consider the question of the end of Mary’s earthly existence (PG 41, c 777); He refutes Marian heresies (PG 42, c 700-56). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13393b.htm; All About Mary: Revelation, Mary in the Book of; All About Mary: Death of Mary
328-373 Athanasius’ term as bishop of Alexandria, when he bestowed upon Mary the title: Theotokos, and pointed out that Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is proof of Jesus’ divinity (PG 25, c 109).
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02035a.htm
330-379 St. Basil of Caesarea refers to Mary’s womb as a ‘workshop’ (In Sanctam Christi Generationem; PG 31, c 1464 A) and affirmed her marriage to Joseph (In Sanctam Christi Generationem; PG 31, c 1464 A-C.) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02330b.htm
330-389 St. Gregory Nazianzen held that Mary’s divine motherhood is key to the Church’s doctrine about the Incarnate Word and mystery of human salvation (Sectio II. Poemata Quae Spectant Ad Alios; PG 37, c 1565 D-1566 A). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07010b.htm
339-397 Ambrose of Milan speaks of Mary as type of the Church: Expositio in Lucam 2, 7: PL 15, c 1555), 410. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01383c.htm
342-419 St. Jerome, in On the Perpetual Virginity of Mary against Helvidius, defends the Perpetual Virginity of Mary using scripture, affirms her great holiness and develops Marian typology in the Old Testament (De perpetua virginitate Mariae adversus Helvidium: PL 23 c 183-206). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08341a.htm; All About Mary:Dogmas, Marian
344-407 St. John Chrysostom emphasizes transcendence of the mystery of the Son of God the Father by becoming incarnate in the womb of Mary (In Matthaeum, Homilia 4, 3: PG 57 c 43). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08452b.htm
348-387 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, during his term as bishop, wrote that Mary re-established women’s equality with men (Catechesis 12, 29; PG 33, c 761 B-C); he inaugurates the Byzantine homiletic technique of teaching Marian truths by means of praises addressed to the Blessed Virgin. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04592b.htm
350 Early recorded invocation of Mary by St. Justina (Gregory Nazianzen Oratio 24; PG 35, c 1181).
350-390 St. Gregory of Nyssa composes and distributes a Marian prayer that is a precursor of the Hail Mary; also chronicles first recorded Marian apparition to St. Gregory the Wonderworker (PG 46, c 912). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07016a.htm
350-400 Bishop Severian of Gabala officially and publicly solicits prayers to Mary (Oratio 6, 10 In Mundi Creatione; PG 56, c 497).
352 Legend of Our Lady of the Snows during the pontificate of Liberius (352-366). All About Mary: Our Lady of the Snows
352-366 Founding of Saint Mary Major under Pope Liberius I
368 Death of St. Hilary of Poitiers, who extolled human-divine motherhood and perpetual virginity of Mary; associates Mary with Christ in the messianic prophecies (In Matthaeum 1, 2-4; PL 9, c 920-922). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07349b.htm
370 Earliest liturgy of Mary composed in Syria; St. Ambrose of Milan speaks of Mary as a model of women and virginal life (De virginibus 2, 6-16; PL, 220-22) and a type of the Church (Expositio in Lucam 2, 7; PL 15, c 1635-1636). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01383c.htm
4. 5TH CENTURY
400 Santa Maria Antiqua Church founded in Rome in the Forum. The church contains the earliest Roman depiction of Santa Maria Regina.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Antiqua
400 Earliest copy of the Transitus of Mary is written.
Early 5th Century Church of Mary in Ephesus is probably one of the earliest local Marian churches.
http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/the_double_churches.htm
400-500 Temple of Isis at Soissons, France dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary,
400-500 Feast of the Annunciation celebrated in Byzantium,
400-500 Introduction of the Feast of the Commemoration of the Virgin Mary throughout Europe
400-500 Feast of the Hypapante (encounter between Christ and Simeon) celebrated.
431 Council of Ephesus proclaims Mary as Theotokos
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05491a.htm
All About Mary: Theotokos, Meaning of
432 Dedication of the enlarged and restored Church of Saint Mary Major/Rome by Pope Sixtus III
440-461 Introduction of Marian reference in the Eucharistic prayer of the Leonine Sacramentary, ("In communion with and venerating in the first place the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God. ...")
440-461 Pontificate of Pope Leo the Great, who applied Old Testament text to Mary (Sermo 22, 1; PL 54, 194; Sermo 24, 1; PL 54, 204) and develops concept of Mary as a type of the Church
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09154b.htm
ca. 445 Icons attributed to St. Luke, eventually known as the Hodegetria, begin to appear
All About Mary: Contemporary Spirituality (see full text, page 50 of pdf "D. A 'Triplex Via Mariana'")
ca. 446 Death of Theodotus of Ancyra, who proposed that Mary’s marriage to St. Joseph protected Mary’s virginity (In Die Nativitatis Domini, Homily 5, 3; PG 77, c 1414 B)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14579a.htm
451 Pope Leo the Great in his Tomus ad Flavianum uses the reality of Mary’s motherhood of Christ to guarantee the authenticity of Christ’s human nature and to distinguish the two natures of Christ. (Epistola 28; PL 54 c 755-782)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09154b.htm
451 Empress Pulcheria of Byzantium begins a collection of relics of Mary
473 Preservation of Mary’s holy head dress, the Maforion, in the Church of the Blachernae (Byzantine and Armenian rites) celebrated as a feast.
http://forosdelavirgen.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/maphorion.jpg
http://www.byzantium1200.com/blachernae.html
6TH CENTURY
500-600 Parthenon (temple of Athena) in Athens dedicated to Mary
500-600 Dedication of Saint Mary Antiqua in Rome
500-600 Tradition of Mary with Child Jesus established in iconography.
All About Mary: Icons
520-556 Syrian poet St. Romanos the Melodist composes our greatly used Marian hymns
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13154a.htm
530-600 Life of Venantius Fortunatus, through song, elevates Mary about all great women of the Old Testament (Carmina miscellanea 2, 2; PL 88, 88)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06149a.htm
534 Pope John II, in his letter to the Senate of Constantinople, declares that Mary is “truly the Mother of God”
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08421b.htm
538-594 Life of Gregory of Tours, who collected written accounts of miracles associated with Mary’s intercession (Libri Miraculorum PL 71) and wrote about the mystery of Mary’s Assumption into heaven (Libri Miraculorum 1, De Gloria beatorum martyrum 4; PL 71, c 708)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07018b.htm
540-604 Life of St. Gregory the Great, who identifies Mary with Isaiah 2:2 (In I Regnum 1, 5; PL 79, c 25), affirmed her superiority above all men and angels (Moralia 33, 8; PL 76, c 671)and spoke of a Marian apparition as a fact (Dialogi 4, 18; PL 77, c 348-49)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06780a.htm
543 Dedication of church to Saint Mary in Jerusalem
550 Celebration of the Feasts of the Birth of Mary, the Presentation of Jesus, and the Dormition in Byzantium
550 Greek philosopher Oecumenius gives first completely Marian interpretation of Revelation 12
550-600 Theoteknos, Bishop of Livias, gives earliest affirmation of belief in the bodily assumption of Mary (Encomium 9; see Wenger 276)
553 Second Council of Constantinople reiterates dogma of Mary’s Divine Motherhood and mentions Mary’s perpetual virginity (Can. 6; DS 218)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04308b.htm
590-604 Pope Gregory the Great writes about important aspects of Marian devotion and describes theological principles which make Marian devotion legitimate. (Epist 9, 52; PL 77, 990-91)
380-450 Life of St. Peter Chrysologus, who defended Mary’s virginity (Sermo 143, 7; PL 52, 584; Sermo 117, 3; PL 52, 521), spoke of Joseph’s unique role (Sermo 145, 1; PL 52, 588-89), and wrote homilies about the Annunciation, Incarnation and Christmas. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11762c.htm
392 Pope St. Siricius, in a letter to Bishop Anysius, defends the perpetual virginity of Mary (Letter 9 to Anysius against Bonosus 3-4; PL 13 c 1177-1178). All About Mary: Marian Teachings, Pre-Early Modern Period
394 Augustine of Hippo speaks of Mary as most excellent member and type of the Church (De Verbis Evangelli Matth, Sermo 25, 7; PL 46, c 938); proclaims Mary free from original sin (De natura et gratia 36, 42; PL 44, 267) and exalts her status as Virgin and Mother (De sancta virginitate 6, PL 40 c 399)
394 Death of Gregory of Nyssa, who insisted on the reality of Mary’s motherhood (Against Apollinaris 6, PG 45, c 1136 C-D) and drew an analogy between Moses seeing the burning bush without being consumed and Mary’s virginity (On the Birth of Christ, PG 46, c1133 D-1136 B)
Dec 11, 2018 13:59:29 #
7TH CENTURY
600 Introduction of the Akathistos Hymn in the East. The Akathist par excellance was written in the sixth century to the Theotokos. In its use as part of the service of the Salutations to the Theotokos (used in the Byzantine tradition during Great Lent), it is often known by its Greek or Arabic names, Chairetismoi (Rejoicings) and Madayeh, respectively. In the Slavic tradition it is known as Akafist.
600-636 St. Isidore of Seville writes knowingly about Mary and calls her “sanctuary of the Holy Spirit” (De ortu et obitu Patrum III; PL 83, c 148 C)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08186a.htm
610 Byzantine Emperor Heraclitus places the image of Mary on the masts of the ships of his fleet
649 Council of the Lateran declares the perpetual virginity of Mary (Can. 3; DS 256)
ca. 650 Mary is mentioned in the Quran. (Surah 3, ayah 47 supports Mary's virginity. See also surah 66, ayah 12; it dedicates a surah 19 to Mary under the name Maryam)
650 Celebration of the Annunciation (March 25) and the Assumption (August 15) in Rome
650 Celebration of the Feast of the Purification (February 2)
675-700 Celebration of the Feast of the Birth of Mary
680-681 The Third Council of Constantinople reaffirms Mary's Divine Motherhood (DS 290)
8TH CENTURY
700-800 Possible composition of the Ave Maris Stella.
All About Mary: Star of the Sea
http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/BVM/AveMarisStella.html
700-733 St. Germanus I of Constantinople proposes that we do "not need any other mediator in God's presence" (Homily on the Cincture, PG 98, c 380 B)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06484a.htm
700-740 St. Andrew of Crete invokes Mary as “Help of Christians” (Homily 4 on Mary's Nativity, PG 97, c 880 C)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01473b.htm
All About Mary: Help of Christians
700-749 St. John Damascene gives clearest teaching on the Immaculate Conception up to his day Homily on the Nativity 2; PG 96, c 664 A). He produces a synthesis of Marian teaching for the Eastern Church (Treatise on the Orthodox Faith); these writings are the basis for later Marian theological work during the Middle Ages. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm
http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/mary19-2.htm
705-707 Pope John VII earns the title “Servant of the Mother of God”
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08423b.htm
750 The Legend of Theophilus is translated into Latin. Theophilus was an archdeacon in Cilicia who sold his soul to the Devil. He repented and asked Our Lady to rescue him from his pact. http://traditioninaction.org/religious/h007rp.Theophilus.html
787 The Second Council of Nicaea defines regulations for the veneration rendered to images of Mary (DS 302)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11045a.htm
9TH CENTURY
800 Originally part of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew; the Gospel of Mary’s Nativity makes its appearance as independent work.
800-900 Feast of the Conception of St. Ann was instituted at Byzantium
ca. 802 Alcuin composes Masses in honour of Our Lady on Saturday, which become part of the Missal in 875.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01276a.htm
804 The Marian cathedral (Marienmünster) in Aachen, built by Charlemagne, is dedicated by Pope Leo III.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marienm%C3%BCnster
845-869 St. Paschasius Radbert upholds the Virgin Birth (De partu Virginis 1; PL 120, c 1373 D-1374 A; see also Ibid., 2; PL 129, c 1385 A), the Assumption of Mary’s soul (Cogitis me; PL 30, c 123), and a form of Mary’s Immaculate Conception (De partu Virginis 1, PL 120 1372 A)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11518a.htm
ca. 851 The Story of the Birth of Mary is composed and is attributed to St. Paschasius Radbert
867-870 Dedication of the Saturdays to Mary (see Missale Romanum)
867-870 Fourth Council of Constantinople renews approval of the “cult images rendered to Mary” (DS 337)
876 Charles the Bold obtains what is believed to be the dress of Mary
10TH CENTURY
c. 900 The Protecting Veil, apparition of Mary in Constantinople.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protection_of_the_Mother_of_God
900-1000 Gregory V (996-998) composes the antiphon, Regina Coeli.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06790a.htm; All About Mary: Antiphons
900-1000 Introduction of The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg in the Cathedral of Verdun
900-1000 Translation of the Transitus Mariae' stories from Greek into Latin.
900-1000 The Liber Transitus Mariae originated in the 4th-5th centuries contains a legend about Mary's death and assumption to heaven.
945 Title “Mother of Mercy” spreads throughout the West after being mentioned in the Life of Odo by John of Salerno
963 St. Athanasius the Athonite establishes a monastery dedicated to the Mother of God on Mt. Athos peninsula in Greece; icon of Our Lady of Iveron transported to Mt. Athos monastery
975 Dedication of the Saturdays to Mary
975 Foundation Montserrat Abbey in Spain, which becomes a shrine with a Black Madonna
http://www.abadiamontserrat.net/(S(q2tjoafdksfn2rkfkkk2tlkr))/Espiritualitat/Angles/monestir.aspx?newsid=10
988 According to one account, the Icon known as Our Lady of Czestochowa was brought from Constantinople to Kiev
https://catholicsouthernfront.wordpress.com/chapter-943-russian-icons/
11TH CENTURY
1000-1100 Introduction of Feast of Mary's Compassion,
1000-1100 Composition of Hail Holy Queen,
1000-1100 Start of the building of Notre Dame Cathedral in Chartres/France
http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-
ca. 1028 St. Anthony of Kiev establishes a monastery dedicated to Mary’s Assumption
1050-1150 Composition of the antiphons, Alma Redemptoris Mater and Salve Regina attributed to Hermann the Lame
All About Mary: Antiphons
1050-1150 Building of the church of Our Lady of Walsingham/ England
http://www.marypages.com/Walsingham.htm
1050-1072 St. Peter Damian establishes a connection between Mary and the Eucharist (Sermo 45; PL 144, 743 C) and also promotes the Little Office
1050-1093 Composition of three famous Marian prayers by St. Anselm of Canterbury (Oratio 50, Oratio 51, Oratio 52; PL 158, 948-959)
1080-1124 Eadmer of Canterbury composes The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Tractatus de conceptio sactae Mariae; PL 159, c 301-318. See Gambero 118 footnote 2), which at the time, was the best exposition of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception
12TH CENTURY
1100 Flourishing of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, especially by St. Anselm, Eadmer, St. Bernard, and Hugh of St. Victor, among others
ca. 1100 Berengaud, bishop of Treves, is the first writer to use the title, Mother of the Church (Mater Ecclesiae)
All About Mary: Mother of the Church
1100-1200 Early versions of the Litany of the Virgin Mary; the first part of the Hail Mary, and the Rosary
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07110b.htm
All About Mary: Rosary Origins
1100-1200 Spread of the Life of Mary to the West
1100-1135 Rupert of Deutz gives Marian interpretation of the Song of Songs (In Canticum Canticorum 1, 1; PL 168, 839-40) and speaks of Mary’s spiritual motherhood (In Joannem 13; PL 169, 789 D)
1100-1150 First appearance of the Hail Mary
1100-1150 Marian mosaic placed in Cathedral of Torcello, Italy
1100-1153 Anselm of Canterbury and Bernard of Clairvaux highlight Mary's role in redemption in addition to her role in the incarnation
All About Mary: Anselm of Canterbury
All About Mary: Channel and Fountain Symbolism
1151 Establishment of Santa Maria de Alcobaça Monastery in Portugal
1154 Founding of Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Palestine
1163-1235 Building of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France
http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-
1179 Establishment of shrine of Our Lady of Nazare in Portugal
1194-1220/60 Rebuilding and dedication of the Cathedral in Chartres/France
http://www.cathedrale-chartres.org/en/,143.html
1200 Development in Franciscan spirituality of devotion to the Seven Delightsor Joys of Mary
1200 Origin of various devotions to the joys of Mary as well as contemplations on the sorrows of Mary
All About Mary: Seven Sorrows, Seven Joys
The Mary Page Archive; The Mary Page Archive
1216 St. Francis of Assisi has a vision of the Virgin Mary and establishes the Order of the Franciscans at the site of the chapel of Porziuncola.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12286a.htm
1220 Dedication of a church at Mt. Carmel to Our Lady
1225-1250 Stephen of Sawley develops meditations on the fifteen joys of Mary All About Mary: Stephen of Sawley: Mary's Joys
1230-1280 Albert the Great uses the title "Mother of the Church"
All About Mary: Mother of the Church
1250-1274 Bonaventure introduces the word hyperdulia for the type of veneration given to Mary; Attributed also to Thomas Aquinas (Gambeio 213)
All About Mary: Adoration of Mary
1251 St. Simon Stock receives the Scapular from Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13800a.htm
All About Mary: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular
1260-1306 Composition of the Stabat Mater by Jacopone da Todi
All About Mary: Stabat Mater Poetry
All About Mary: Stabat Mater, Origins
All About Mary: Popes on the Rosary (see Urban IV)
ca. 1265 First records of the Angelus prayer; in 1269 St. Bonaventure recommends the saying of three Hail Marys with the evening bell. (Chronicorum 24 Generalium; Analecta Franciscana III, 329)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelus
1265-1308 Duns Scotus is the first to set forth sound arguments for Mary's Immaculate Conception
All About Mary: John Duns Scotus on the Immaculate Conception
1270 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa brought to city of Lviv
1294 Beginning of pilgrimages to Loreto to venerate Holy House of Loreto and Our Lady of Loreto
14TH CENTURY
1300-1400 Institution of the Feast of Mary's Presentation
All About Mary: Presentation of Mary
1315 Church of St. Mary of Loreto mentioned for the first time in acts of penal process held at Macerata (Marche, Italy)
1318 Pope John XXII approved custom of reciting Hail Mary at the curfew hour
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08431a.htm
1326 Founding of Oriel College/Oxford and its dedication to Mary
1327 Pope John XXII wrote that the evening bell of the three Hail Marys be rung in Rome
1372 Institution of the Feast of Mary’s Purification in the West
http://www.salvemariaregina.info/SalveMariaRegina/SMR-155/Purification.htm
1375 Pope Gregory XI grants first indulgences to the Church of Loreto
1377 Pope Gregory XI fosters Marian devotion by requiring the Curia to participate in the celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of Blessed Virgin Mary. [Source: Marienlexikon, Vol. 3, p. 16]
All About Mary: Marian Teachings: Pre-Early Modern Period
All About Mary: Presentation of Mary
1379 Founding of Saint Mary's College/Oxford and its dedication
1382 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa removed from Lviv by Prince Ladislaus of Opole
1384 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa housed in chapel at Jasna Gora
1385 Portuguese success at Battle of Aljubarrota attributed to intercession of Blessed Virgin Mary
1387 Monastery of St. Mary of Victory built to honor Mary because of her intercession at Battle of Aljubarrota
1395 Grand Prince Vasili of Moscow orders icon of Our Lady of Vladimir be brought to Moscow; icon credited with protecting Moscow from invasion by Tamerlane
1390 In the Bull Superni benignitas, Pope Boniface IX institutes the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BR04, 602-604)
All About Mary: Marian Teachings: Pre-Early Modern Period
All About Mary: Feast of the Visitation
15TH CENTURY
1400 “Litany of Loreto” formed
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1400 Special grace of the Virgin Mary received by the Carmelites and reported by John Grossi’s Viridarium
1400-1500 Composition of the Memorare
All About Mary: Memorare Prayer
1410 Introduction of the Rosary of Dominic the Carthusian
1410 Polish forces defeat the Teutonic Knights as they sing Poland’s oldest hymn “Bogurodzica Dziewica” (“God’s Virgin Mother”)
1420-1447 St. Colette of Corbie reveals her visions of Mary
All About Mary: Holy Kindred
1423 Institution of the Feast of the Sorrows of Mary
All About Mary: Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
1430 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa damaged during robbery of shrine at Czestochowa
1435 Alain of Roche creates the “New Psalter of the Virgin” (the Rosary) in which 15 mysteries of Mary are enumerated
All About Mary: Rosary Origins
1438-1445 Council of Florence professes that the Son of God became man through Mary (DS 709)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06111a.htm
1439 Council of Basel defines doctrine of Immaculate Conception (DS 734)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02334b.htm
1444 St. Bernardine of Siena and his followers preach devotion of the Seven Delights of Mary through the garland of delights, or Chaplet of 72 Hail Marys
All About Mary: Seven Joys of Mary
1440 Founding of Eton College which is dedicated to Mary
1453 Hodegetria Icon disappears and is presumed destroyed after the fall of Constantinople
1456 Last practice of the Angelus solidified with the promulgation by Pope Callixtus III of praying three Hail Marys at midday
1457 Printing of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1464 Alain of Roche, at Douai, begins preaching the “New Psalter of the Virgin;” Alain is credited with the structuring of the three groups of the Mysteries of the Rosary into Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious
1470 Dominican Alan Rupe writes on The Unity of Mary’s Psalter
1470-1471 Martin Schongauer makes engravings on the Life of Mary
1475 Founding of the first Confraternity of the Rosary in Cologne, Germany
All About Mary: Dominicans
1492 The Salve Regina is the first Christian prayer recited in the New World, as it was offered by Columbus and his men on San Salvador
1495 Approval of the Rosary by Pope Alexander VI
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01289a.htm
1496-1501 Michelangelo completes the Pietà
All About Mary: Images of the Madonna (see 1500s)
600 Introduction of the Akathistos Hymn in the East. The Akathist par excellance was written in the sixth century to the Theotokos. In its use as part of the service of the Salutations to the Theotokos (used in the Byzantine tradition during Great Lent), it is often known by its Greek or Arabic names, Chairetismoi (Rejoicings) and Madayeh, respectively. In the Slavic tradition it is known as Akafist.
600-636 St. Isidore of Seville writes knowingly about Mary and calls her “sanctuary of the Holy Spirit” (De ortu et obitu Patrum III; PL 83, c 148 C)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08186a.htm
610 Byzantine Emperor Heraclitus places the image of Mary on the masts of the ships of his fleet
649 Council of the Lateran declares the perpetual virginity of Mary (Can. 3; DS 256)
ca. 650 Mary is mentioned in the Quran. (Surah 3, ayah 47 supports Mary's virginity. See also surah 66, ayah 12; it dedicates a surah 19 to Mary under the name Maryam)
650 Celebration of the Annunciation (March 25) and the Assumption (August 15) in Rome
650 Celebration of the Feast of the Purification (February 2)
675-700 Celebration of the Feast of the Birth of Mary
680-681 The Third Council of Constantinople reaffirms Mary's Divine Motherhood (DS 290)
8TH CENTURY
700-800 Possible composition of the Ave Maris Stella.
All About Mary: Star of the Sea
http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/BVM/AveMarisStella.html
700-733 St. Germanus I of Constantinople proposes that we do "not need any other mediator in God's presence" (Homily on the Cincture, PG 98, c 380 B)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06484a.htm
700-740 St. Andrew of Crete invokes Mary as “Help of Christians” (Homily 4 on Mary's Nativity, PG 97, c 880 C)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01473b.htm
All About Mary: Help of Christians
700-749 St. John Damascene gives clearest teaching on the Immaculate Conception up to his day Homily on the Nativity 2; PG 96, c 664 A). He produces a synthesis of Marian teaching for the Eastern Church (Treatise on the Orthodox Faith); these writings are the basis for later Marian theological work during the Middle Ages. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm
http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/mary19-2.htm
705-707 Pope John VII earns the title “Servant of the Mother of God”
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08423b.htm
750 The Legend of Theophilus is translated into Latin. Theophilus was an archdeacon in Cilicia who sold his soul to the Devil. He repented and asked Our Lady to rescue him from his pact. http://traditioninaction.org/religious/h007rp.Theophilus.html
787 The Second Council of Nicaea defines regulations for the veneration rendered to images of Mary (DS 302)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11045a.htm
9TH CENTURY
800 Originally part of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew; the Gospel of Mary’s Nativity makes its appearance as independent work.
800-900 Feast of the Conception of St. Ann was instituted at Byzantium
ca. 802 Alcuin composes Masses in honour of Our Lady on Saturday, which become part of the Missal in 875.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01276a.htm
804 The Marian cathedral (Marienmünster) in Aachen, built by Charlemagne, is dedicated by Pope Leo III.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marienm%C3%BCnster
845-869 St. Paschasius Radbert upholds the Virgin Birth (De partu Virginis 1; PL 120, c 1373 D-1374 A; see also Ibid., 2; PL 129, c 1385 A), the Assumption of Mary’s soul (Cogitis me; PL 30, c 123), and a form of Mary’s Immaculate Conception (De partu Virginis 1, PL 120 1372 A)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11518a.htm
ca. 851 The Story of the Birth of Mary is composed and is attributed to St. Paschasius Radbert
867-870 Dedication of the Saturdays to Mary (see Missale Romanum)
867-870 Fourth Council of Constantinople renews approval of the “cult images rendered to Mary” (DS 337)
876 Charles the Bold obtains what is believed to be the dress of Mary
10TH CENTURY
c. 900 The Protecting Veil, apparition of Mary in Constantinople.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protection_of_the_Mother_of_God
900-1000 Gregory V (996-998) composes the antiphon, Regina Coeli.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06790a.htm; All About Mary: Antiphons
900-1000 Introduction of The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg in the Cathedral of Verdun
900-1000 Translation of the Transitus Mariae' stories from Greek into Latin.
900-1000 The Liber Transitus Mariae originated in the 4th-5th centuries contains a legend about Mary's death and assumption to heaven.
945 Title “Mother of Mercy” spreads throughout the West after being mentioned in the Life of Odo by John of Salerno
963 St. Athanasius the Athonite establishes a monastery dedicated to the Mother of God on Mt. Athos peninsula in Greece; icon of Our Lady of Iveron transported to Mt. Athos monastery
975 Dedication of the Saturdays to Mary
975 Foundation Montserrat Abbey in Spain, which becomes a shrine with a Black Madonna
http://www.abadiamontserrat.net/(S(q2tjoafdksfn2rkfkkk2tlkr))/Espiritualitat/Angles/monestir.aspx?newsid=10
988 According to one account, the Icon known as Our Lady of Czestochowa was brought from Constantinople to Kiev
https://catholicsouthernfront.wordpress.com/chapter-943-russian-icons/
11TH CENTURY
1000-1100 Introduction of Feast of Mary's Compassion,
1000-1100 Composition of Hail Holy Queen,
1000-1100 Start of the building of Notre Dame Cathedral in Chartres/France
http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-
ca. 1028 St. Anthony of Kiev establishes a monastery dedicated to Mary’s Assumption
1050-1150 Composition of the antiphons, Alma Redemptoris Mater and Salve Regina attributed to Hermann the Lame
All About Mary: Antiphons
1050-1150 Building of the church of Our Lady of Walsingham/ England
http://www.marypages.com/Walsingham.htm
1050-1072 St. Peter Damian establishes a connection between Mary and the Eucharist (Sermo 45; PL 144, 743 C) and also promotes the Little Office
1050-1093 Composition of three famous Marian prayers by St. Anselm of Canterbury (Oratio 50, Oratio 51, Oratio 52; PL 158, 948-959)
1080-1124 Eadmer of Canterbury composes The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Tractatus de conceptio sactae Mariae; PL 159, c 301-318. See Gambero 118 footnote 2), which at the time, was the best exposition of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception
12TH CENTURY
1100 Flourishing of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, especially by St. Anselm, Eadmer, St. Bernard, and Hugh of St. Victor, among others
ca. 1100 Berengaud, bishop of Treves, is the first writer to use the title, Mother of the Church (Mater Ecclesiae)
All About Mary: Mother of the Church
1100-1200 Early versions of the Litany of the Virgin Mary; the first part of the Hail Mary, and the Rosary
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07110b.htm
All About Mary: Rosary Origins
1100-1200 Spread of the Life of Mary to the West
1100-1135 Rupert of Deutz gives Marian interpretation of the Song of Songs (In Canticum Canticorum 1, 1; PL 168, 839-40) and speaks of Mary’s spiritual motherhood (In Joannem 13; PL 169, 789 D)
1100-1150 First appearance of the Hail Mary
1100-1150 Marian mosaic placed in Cathedral of Torcello, Italy
1100-1153 Anselm of Canterbury and Bernard of Clairvaux highlight Mary's role in redemption in addition to her role in the incarnation
All About Mary: Anselm of Canterbury
All About Mary: Channel and Fountain Symbolism
1151 Establishment of Santa Maria de Alcobaça Monastery in Portugal
1154 Founding of Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Palestine
1163-1235 Building of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France
http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-
1179 Establishment of shrine of Our Lady of Nazare in Portugal
1194-1220/60 Rebuilding and dedication of the Cathedral in Chartres/France
http://www.cathedrale-chartres.org/en/,143.html
1200 Development in Franciscan spirituality of devotion to the Seven Delightsor Joys of Mary
1200 Origin of various devotions to the joys of Mary as well as contemplations on the sorrows of Mary
All About Mary: Seven Sorrows, Seven Joys
The Mary Page Archive; The Mary Page Archive
1216 St. Francis of Assisi has a vision of the Virgin Mary and establishes the Order of the Franciscans at the site of the chapel of Porziuncola.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12286a.htm
1220 Dedication of a church at Mt. Carmel to Our Lady
1225-1250 Stephen of Sawley develops meditations on the fifteen joys of Mary All About Mary: Stephen of Sawley: Mary's Joys
1230-1280 Albert the Great uses the title "Mother of the Church"
All About Mary: Mother of the Church
1250-1274 Bonaventure introduces the word hyperdulia for the type of veneration given to Mary; Attributed also to Thomas Aquinas (Gambeio 213)
All About Mary: Adoration of Mary
1251 St. Simon Stock receives the Scapular from Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13800a.htm
All About Mary: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular
1260-1306 Composition of the Stabat Mater by Jacopone da Todi
All About Mary: Stabat Mater Poetry
All About Mary: Stabat Mater, Origins
All About Mary: Popes on the Rosary (see Urban IV)
ca. 1265 First records of the Angelus prayer; in 1269 St. Bonaventure recommends the saying of three Hail Marys with the evening bell. (Chronicorum 24 Generalium; Analecta Franciscana III, 329)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelus
1265-1308 Duns Scotus is the first to set forth sound arguments for Mary's Immaculate Conception
All About Mary: John Duns Scotus on the Immaculate Conception
1270 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa brought to city of Lviv
1294 Beginning of pilgrimages to Loreto to venerate Holy House of Loreto and Our Lady of Loreto
14TH CENTURY
1300-1400 Institution of the Feast of Mary's Presentation
All About Mary: Presentation of Mary
1315 Church of St. Mary of Loreto mentioned for the first time in acts of penal process held at Macerata (Marche, Italy)
1318 Pope John XXII approved custom of reciting Hail Mary at the curfew hour
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08431a.htm
1326 Founding of Oriel College/Oxford and its dedication to Mary
1327 Pope John XXII wrote that the evening bell of the three Hail Marys be rung in Rome
1372 Institution of the Feast of Mary’s Purification in the West
http://www.salvemariaregina.info/SalveMariaRegina/SMR-155/Purification.htm
1375 Pope Gregory XI grants first indulgences to the Church of Loreto
1377 Pope Gregory XI fosters Marian devotion by requiring the Curia to participate in the celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of Blessed Virgin Mary. [Source: Marienlexikon, Vol. 3, p. 16]
All About Mary: Marian Teachings: Pre-Early Modern Period
All About Mary: Presentation of Mary
1379 Founding of Saint Mary's College/Oxford and its dedication
1382 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa removed from Lviv by Prince Ladislaus of Opole
1384 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa housed in chapel at Jasna Gora
1385 Portuguese success at Battle of Aljubarrota attributed to intercession of Blessed Virgin Mary
1387 Monastery of St. Mary of Victory built to honor Mary because of her intercession at Battle of Aljubarrota
1395 Grand Prince Vasili of Moscow orders icon of Our Lady of Vladimir be brought to Moscow; icon credited with protecting Moscow from invasion by Tamerlane
1390 In the Bull Superni benignitas, Pope Boniface IX institutes the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BR04, 602-604)
All About Mary: Marian Teachings: Pre-Early Modern Period
All About Mary: Feast of the Visitation
15TH CENTURY
1400 “Litany of Loreto” formed
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1400 Special grace of the Virgin Mary received by the Carmelites and reported by John Grossi’s Viridarium
1400-1500 Composition of the Memorare
All About Mary: Memorare Prayer
1410 Introduction of the Rosary of Dominic the Carthusian
1410 Polish forces defeat the Teutonic Knights as they sing Poland’s oldest hymn “Bogurodzica Dziewica” (“God’s Virgin Mother”)
1420-1447 St. Colette of Corbie reveals her visions of Mary
All About Mary: Holy Kindred
1423 Institution of the Feast of the Sorrows of Mary
All About Mary: Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
1430 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa damaged during robbery of shrine at Czestochowa
1435 Alain of Roche creates the “New Psalter of the Virgin” (the Rosary) in which 15 mysteries of Mary are enumerated
All About Mary: Rosary Origins
1438-1445 Council of Florence professes that the Son of God became man through Mary (DS 709)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06111a.htm
1439 Council of Basel defines doctrine of Immaculate Conception (DS 734)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02334b.htm
1444 St. Bernardine of Siena and his followers preach devotion of the Seven Delights of Mary through the garland of delights, or Chaplet of 72 Hail Marys
All About Mary: Seven Joys of Mary
1440 Founding of Eton College which is dedicated to Mary
1453 Hodegetria Icon disappears and is presumed destroyed after the fall of Constantinople
1456 Last practice of the Angelus solidified with the promulgation by Pope Callixtus III of praying three Hail Marys at midday
1457 Printing of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1464 Alain of Roche, at Douai, begins preaching the “New Psalter of the Virgin;” Alain is credited with the structuring of the three groups of the Mysteries of the Rosary into Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious
1470 Dominican Alan Rupe writes on The Unity of Mary’s Psalter
1470-1471 Martin Schongauer makes engravings on the Life of Mary
1475 Founding of the first Confraternity of the Rosary in Cologne, Germany
All About Mary: Dominicans
1492 The Salve Regina is the first Christian prayer recited in the New World, as it was offered by Columbus and his men on San Salvador
1495 Approval of the Rosary by Pope Alexander VI
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01289a.htm
1496-1501 Michelangelo completes the Pietà
All About Mary: Images of the Madonna (see 1500s)
Dec 11, 2018 14:00:00 #
16TH CENTURY
1507 Catholic Church approves pilgrimages to the shrine of Loreto
1517-1648 Protestant Reformation through which Marian devotion and knowledge gradually faded in Protestantism
1518 Titian paints his Assumption at Frari, Venice, Italy
1531 Apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Juan Diego at Guadalupe, Mexico
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/guadalupe/index.html
1538 Destruction of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
1558 Publication of the Litany of Loreto
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1547-1563 Council of Trent affirms Mary's immunity from every actual personal fault (DS 993) and reaffirms the regulations regarding the veneration of Marian images (DS 986)
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/trentall.html
This same holy Synod doth nevertheless declare, that it is not its intention to include in this decree, where original sin is treated of, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the mother of God; but that the constitutions of Pope Sixtus IV., of happy memory, are to be observed, under the pains contained in the said constitutions, which it renews. (Fifth Session, Decree on Original Sin) (DS 792)
Moreover, that the images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and of the other saints, are to be had and retained particularly in temples, and that due honor and veneration are to be given them; not that any divinity, or virtue, is believed to be in them, on account of which they are to be worshipped; or that anything is to be asked of them; or, that trust is to be reposed in images, as was of old done by the Gentiles who placed their hope in idols; but because the honor which is shown them is referred to the prototypes which those images represent; in such wise that by the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover the head, and prostrate ourselves, we adore Christ; and we venerate the saints, whose similitude they bear: as, by the decrees of Councils, and especially of the second Synod of Nicaea, has been defined against the opponents of images. (Twenty-fifth Session, on the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics, of Saints, and on Sacred Images) (DS 986)
1555 Pope Paul IV, in the Constitution Cum Quorumdam Hominum, affirms Mary’s virginity before, during and after Christ’s birth
1563 Founding of the Marian Sodality
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14120a.htm
1563 Council of Trent reaffirms liceity of the cult of the images of Mary
1563 Hail Mary introduced into the Divine Office
1563 Appearance of Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Teresa of Jesus, who began the Discalced Carmelites with a living awareness of Mary in the Carmelite spirit
http://helpfellowship.org/Articles%20of%20INterest/st_teresa%20and%20mary.htm
1567 Pope St. Pius V affirms Mary’s sinlessness (Papal bull Super Speculum)
1569-1679 Construction of the church Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/assisi-santa-maria-degli-angeli
1571 Intervention of Mary credited with Christian victory over Islamic conquest at Gulf of Lepanto. The victory at the Battle of Lepanto is attributed by Pius the V to the recitation of the Rosary.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09181b.htm
1571 Pope Pius V honors Mary with title Our Lady of Victory
1572 Pius V adds the invocation Mary, Help of Christians to the Marian Litany. and introduces the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.
All About Mary: Help of Christians
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Our Lady of Victory
1573 Gregory XII Changes the Feast of Our Lady of Victory to the Feast of the Holy Rosary.
All About Mary: Our Lady of Victory
1577 St. Peter Canisius writes De Maria Virgine Incomparabili
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11756c.htm
1578 Apparition at Lezajsk/Poland
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/lejask/index.html
1586 Holy House of Holy Family in Loreto, Italy, raised to a city and granted cathedral status by Pope Sixtus V
1587 Litany of Loreto approved by Pope Sixtus V
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1550-1617 Francis Suarez establishes first systematic Mariology with his Opera Omnia
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14319a.htm
1594 Apparition at Quito, Ecuador
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/quito/index.html
17TH CENTURY
1601 Litany of Loreto (Litany of the Blessed Virgin) prescribed for the Universal Church by Pope Clement VIII
All About Mary:Litany of Loreto in Context
ca. 17th Century The French School of Sprituality (Bérulle, Condren, Olier, John Eudes, also John-Baptist de la Salle, Grignion de Montfort) brings about a renewal of Marian devotion: Mary at the heart of the Christian mystery; the first and most perfect Christian
http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/Handbook/Frenchs.htm
1608 Russian monks invoke protection of Mary in defense of Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius in Moscow
1608-1612 Aparaition at Siluva/Lithuania
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/siluva/index.html
1610 La Conquistadora (also known as Our Lady of Conquering Love) brought to Santa Fe, New Mexico by Spanish Conquistadores
1627 Beginning of records of large-scale pilgrimages to the Black Madonna of Czestochowa
1643-1669 Devotion to the “Heart of Mary” promoted by St. John Eudes
All About Mary: Immaculate Heart of Mary Devotion
1644 Establishment of the Feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1648 Establishment of Feast of Our Lady of Iveron after daughter of Russian Tsar Alexis cured from illness upon arrival of copy of Icon of Our Lady of Iveron to Moscow.
1652 Apparition at Querrien, Brittany,/France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/querrien/index.html
1655 Our Lady of Czestochowa invoked by Polish monks during invasion by Sweden; victory at monastery results, and Swedish occupation driven from country
1656 Poland’s King Jan Kazimierz gives Mary title “Queen of Poland” after victory over Sweden
All About Mary: Pope John Paul II and Poland's Marian Tradition
1664-1718 Apparitions at Laus/France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/laus/index.html
1673 Founding of the Marians (Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception) by the Venerable Servant of God Stanislaus Papczynski
http://padrimariani.org/en/index.php
1675 St. Margaret Mary Alacoque has vision of Jesus revealing His Sacred Heart ablaze with love and calling for return of love from all of humanity
http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/a_st_margaret_mary.htm
1676 Fr. Colombière spreads St. Margaret Mary Alacoque’s devotion to the Sacred Heart to Great Britain
1680 St. John Eudes composes The Admirable Heart of Mary, the first full-length book on the Heart of Mary
http://www.liberius.net/livres/The_admirable_Heart_of_Mary_000000374.pdf
1683 Feast of the Holy Name of Mary extended to the Universal Church
All About Mary: Name of Mary Feast: September 12
1683 King Jan III Sobieski invokes intercession of Mary as Turks besiege Vienna; Polish forces victorious
1690 Pope Alexander VIII upholds Mary’s perfect sinlessness (Decree of the Holy Office, Dec. 7, 1690. Error of the Jansenists (DS 1314))
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01295a.htm
18TH CENTURY
1716 Pope Clement XI extends Feast of Holy Rosary to the Catholic world in thanksgiving for triumph of Charles VI over Islamic invasion of Hungary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04029a.htm
All About Mary: October, Month of the Rosary
1716 Alexander de Rouville publishes The Imitation of Mary, patterned after The Imitation of Christ
1724 Pope Benedict XIV approves the unified praying of the Angelus and prescribes that during the Easter season the Angelus be replaced by the Regina Caeli
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02432a.htm
1726 The liturgical celebration of “Our Lady of Mount Carmel” is extended to the entire Latin Church
All About Mary: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular
1726 Permission from the Pope for public devotion to Mary’s Heart again refused
1727 Benedict XIII decrees Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows for Latin Church
1729 Apparition at Montagnaga/Italy
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/montagnaga/index.html
1750 Alphonsus Maria de Liguori writes The Glories of Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01334a.htm
1754 Proclamation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as patroness of Mexico
All About Mary: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
1799 Devotion to Mary’s Heart permitted by the pope
19TH CENTURY
ca. 1800 Beginning of Marian shrine at Lichen, Poland
All About Mary: Our Lady of Lichen
1813 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa brought to St. Petersburg for veneration by Tsar Alexander I and a copy is later left in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan
1817 Founding of the Marianists by Fr. William Joseph Chaminade
http://www.marianist.org/site.php?menuaccess=22
1819 Institution of the Feast Mary, Help of Christians
All About Mary: Help of Christians
1830 Apparition to Catherine Labouré in Paris, France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/ruedubac/index.html
1842 Discovery of Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort’s book True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09384a.htm https://www.ewtn.com/library/Montfort/TRUEDEVO.HTM
1842 Apparition in Rome/Italy
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/rome1842/index.html
1846 Apparition at La Salette, France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/lasalette/index.html
1846 Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, is declared Patroness of the United States
1849 Pope Pius IX’s Encyclical Ubi Primum, emphasizing Mary’s Immaculate Conception
https://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P9UBIPR2.HTM
1851 Pope Pius IX, in the Encyclical Exultavit cor Nostrum, refers to Mary as our most loving Mother and our greatest source of confidence.
https://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P9EXULTA.HTM
1854 Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary by Pope Pius IX in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus
All About Mary: Immaculate Conception Dogma
http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marye1.htm
1858 Apparition at Lourdes, France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/lourdes/index.html
1859 Apparition at Robinsonville, Wisconsin/United States
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/robinsonville/index.html
1864 Pope Pius IX, in the Encyclical Quanta Cura, refers to Mary as Mother and Queen.
https://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P9QUANTA.HTM
1865 Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help returned to Esquiline Hill in Rome by the Redemptorists
All About Mary: Our Lady of Perpetual Help
1866 Blessing of the Crypt and the first Mass at the Grotto of Massabielle, Lourdes
1866 Apparition at Flippsdorf/Czech Republic
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/filippsdorf/index.html
1871 Apparition at Pontmain, France
http://www.marypages.com/PontmainEng1.html
1877 Construction of shrine to Our Lady of the Assumption at Cold Spring, Minnesota
1879 Apparition at Knock, Ireland
http://www.marypages.com/Knock1.htm
1879 Beginnings of Canada’s Shrine of Our Lady of the Cape in Quebec are laid
All About Mary: Our Lady of the Cape
1883-1902 Pope Leo XIII: eleven Marian encyclicals, advocating devotion to Mary and praying the Rosary (Octobri Mense)
All About Mary: Popes on the Rosary (see Leo XIII)
1883 Adding of the invocation Queen of the Most Holy Rosary to the Marian Litany
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1884 Origin of “54-day Rosary Novena”
All About Mary: Lacey's Rosary Novena
1888 Apparition at Castel Petroso/Italy
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/bishop.html
1899 Consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pope Leo XIII
1900 Proclamation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of the Americas
All About Mary: Nican Mopohua
1507 Catholic Church approves pilgrimages to the shrine of Loreto
1517-1648 Protestant Reformation through which Marian devotion and knowledge gradually faded in Protestantism
1518 Titian paints his Assumption at Frari, Venice, Italy
1531 Apparition of the Blessed Virgin to Juan Diego at Guadalupe, Mexico
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/guadalupe/index.html
1538 Destruction of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
1558 Publication of the Litany of Loreto
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1547-1563 Council of Trent affirms Mary's immunity from every actual personal fault (DS 993) and reaffirms the regulations regarding the veneration of Marian images (DS 986)
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/trentall.html
This same holy Synod doth nevertheless declare, that it is not its intention to include in this decree, where original sin is treated of, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the mother of God; but that the constitutions of Pope Sixtus IV., of happy memory, are to be observed, under the pains contained in the said constitutions, which it renews. (Fifth Session, Decree on Original Sin) (DS 792)
Moreover, that the images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and of the other saints, are to be had and retained particularly in temples, and that due honor and veneration are to be given them; not that any divinity, or virtue, is believed to be in them, on account of which they are to be worshipped; or that anything is to be asked of them; or, that trust is to be reposed in images, as was of old done by the Gentiles who placed their hope in idols; but because the honor which is shown them is referred to the prototypes which those images represent; in such wise that by the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover the head, and prostrate ourselves, we adore Christ; and we venerate the saints, whose similitude they bear: as, by the decrees of Councils, and especially of the second Synod of Nicaea, has been defined against the opponents of images. (Twenty-fifth Session, on the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics, of Saints, and on Sacred Images) (DS 986)
1555 Pope Paul IV, in the Constitution Cum Quorumdam Hominum, affirms Mary’s virginity before, during and after Christ’s birth
1563 Founding of the Marian Sodality
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14120a.htm
1563 Council of Trent reaffirms liceity of the cult of the images of Mary
1563 Hail Mary introduced into the Divine Office
1563 Appearance of Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Teresa of Jesus, who began the Discalced Carmelites with a living awareness of Mary in the Carmelite spirit
http://helpfellowship.org/Articles%20of%20INterest/st_teresa%20and%20mary.htm
1567 Pope St. Pius V affirms Mary’s sinlessness (Papal bull Super Speculum)
1569-1679 Construction of the church Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/assisi-santa-maria-degli-angeli
1571 Intervention of Mary credited with Christian victory over Islamic conquest at Gulf of Lepanto. The victory at the Battle of Lepanto is attributed by Pius the V to the recitation of the Rosary.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09181b.htm
1571 Pope Pius V honors Mary with title Our Lady of Victory
1572 Pius V adds the invocation Mary, Help of Christians to the Marian Litany. and introduces the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.
All About Mary: Help of Christians
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Our Lady of Victory
1573 Gregory XII Changes the Feast of Our Lady of Victory to the Feast of the Holy Rosary.
All About Mary: Our Lady of Victory
1577 St. Peter Canisius writes De Maria Virgine Incomparabili
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11756c.htm
1578 Apparition at Lezajsk/Poland
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/lejask/index.html
1586 Holy House of Holy Family in Loreto, Italy, raised to a city and granted cathedral status by Pope Sixtus V
1587 Litany of Loreto approved by Pope Sixtus V
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1550-1617 Francis Suarez establishes first systematic Mariology with his Opera Omnia
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14319a.htm
1594 Apparition at Quito, Ecuador
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/quito/index.html
17TH CENTURY
1601 Litany of Loreto (Litany of the Blessed Virgin) prescribed for the Universal Church by Pope Clement VIII
All About Mary:Litany of Loreto in Context
ca. 17th Century The French School of Sprituality (Bérulle, Condren, Olier, John Eudes, also John-Baptist de la Salle, Grignion de Montfort) brings about a renewal of Marian devotion: Mary at the heart of the Christian mystery; the first and most perfect Christian
http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/Handbook/Frenchs.htm
1608 Russian monks invoke protection of Mary in defense of Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius in Moscow
1608-1612 Aparaition at Siluva/Lithuania
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/siluva/index.html
1610 La Conquistadora (also known as Our Lady of Conquering Love) brought to Santa Fe, New Mexico by Spanish Conquistadores
1627 Beginning of records of large-scale pilgrimages to the Black Madonna of Czestochowa
1643-1669 Devotion to the “Heart of Mary” promoted by St. John Eudes
All About Mary: Immaculate Heart of Mary Devotion
1644 Establishment of the Feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1648 Establishment of Feast of Our Lady of Iveron after daughter of Russian Tsar Alexis cured from illness upon arrival of copy of Icon of Our Lady of Iveron to Moscow.
1652 Apparition at Querrien, Brittany,/France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/querrien/index.html
1655 Our Lady of Czestochowa invoked by Polish monks during invasion by Sweden; victory at monastery results, and Swedish occupation driven from country
1656 Poland’s King Jan Kazimierz gives Mary title “Queen of Poland” after victory over Sweden
All About Mary: Pope John Paul II and Poland's Marian Tradition
1664-1718 Apparitions at Laus/France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/laus/index.html
1673 Founding of the Marians (Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception) by the Venerable Servant of God Stanislaus Papczynski
http://padrimariani.org/en/index.php
1675 St. Margaret Mary Alacoque has vision of Jesus revealing His Sacred Heart ablaze with love and calling for return of love from all of humanity
http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/a_st_margaret_mary.htm
1676 Fr. Colombière spreads St. Margaret Mary Alacoque’s devotion to the Sacred Heart to Great Britain
1680 St. John Eudes composes The Admirable Heart of Mary, the first full-length book on the Heart of Mary
http://www.liberius.net/livres/The_admirable_Heart_of_Mary_000000374.pdf
1683 Feast of the Holy Name of Mary extended to the Universal Church
All About Mary: Name of Mary Feast: September 12
1683 King Jan III Sobieski invokes intercession of Mary as Turks besiege Vienna; Polish forces victorious
1690 Pope Alexander VIII upholds Mary’s perfect sinlessness (Decree of the Holy Office, Dec. 7, 1690. Error of the Jansenists (DS 1314))
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01295a.htm
18TH CENTURY
1716 Pope Clement XI extends Feast of Holy Rosary to the Catholic world in thanksgiving for triumph of Charles VI over Islamic invasion of Hungary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04029a.htm
All About Mary: October, Month of the Rosary
1716 Alexander de Rouville publishes The Imitation of Mary, patterned after The Imitation of Christ
1724 Pope Benedict XIV approves the unified praying of the Angelus and prescribes that during the Easter season the Angelus be replaced by the Regina Caeli
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02432a.htm
1726 The liturgical celebration of “Our Lady of Mount Carmel” is extended to the entire Latin Church
All About Mary: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular
1726 Permission from the Pope for public devotion to Mary’s Heart again refused
1727 Benedict XIII decrees Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows for Latin Church
1729 Apparition at Montagnaga/Italy
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/montagnaga/index.html
1750 Alphonsus Maria de Liguori writes The Glories of Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01334a.htm
1754 Proclamation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as patroness of Mexico
All About Mary: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
1799 Devotion to Mary’s Heart permitted by the pope
19TH CENTURY
ca. 1800 Beginning of Marian shrine at Lichen, Poland
All About Mary: Our Lady of Lichen
1813 Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa brought to St. Petersburg for veneration by Tsar Alexander I and a copy is later left in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan
1817 Founding of the Marianists by Fr. William Joseph Chaminade
http://www.marianist.org/site.php?menuaccess=22
1819 Institution of the Feast Mary, Help of Christians
All About Mary: Help of Christians
1830 Apparition to Catherine Labouré in Paris, France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/ruedubac/index.html
1842 Discovery of Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort’s book True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09384a.htm https://www.ewtn.com/library/Montfort/TRUEDEVO.HTM
1842 Apparition in Rome/Italy
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/rome1842/index.html
1846 Apparition at La Salette, France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/lasalette/index.html
1846 Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, is declared Patroness of the United States
1849 Pope Pius IX’s Encyclical Ubi Primum, emphasizing Mary’s Immaculate Conception
https://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P9UBIPR2.HTM
1851 Pope Pius IX, in the Encyclical Exultavit cor Nostrum, refers to Mary as our most loving Mother and our greatest source of confidence.
https://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P9EXULTA.HTM
1854 Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary by Pope Pius IX in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus
All About Mary: Immaculate Conception Dogma
http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marye1.htm
1858 Apparition at Lourdes, France
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/lourdes/index.html
1859 Apparition at Robinsonville, Wisconsin/United States
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/robinsonville/index.html
1864 Pope Pius IX, in the Encyclical Quanta Cura, refers to Mary as Mother and Queen.
https://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P9QUANTA.HTM
1865 Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help returned to Esquiline Hill in Rome by the Redemptorists
All About Mary: Our Lady of Perpetual Help
1866 Blessing of the Crypt and the first Mass at the Grotto of Massabielle, Lourdes
1866 Apparition at Flippsdorf/Czech Republic
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/filippsdorf/index.html
1871 Apparition at Pontmain, France
http://www.marypages.com/PontmainEng1.html
1877 Construction of shrine to Our Lady of the Assumption at Cold Spring, Minnesota
1879 Apparition at Knock, Ireland
http://www.marypages.com/Knock1.htm
1879 Beginnings of Canada’s Shrine of Our Lady of the Cape in Quebec are laid
All About Mary: Our Lady of the Cape
1883-1902 Pope Leo XIII: eleven Marian encyclicals, advocating devotion to Mary and praying the Rosary (Octobri Mense)
All About Mary: Popes on the Rosary (see Leo XIII)
1883 Adding of the invocation Queen of the Most Holy Rosary to the Marian Litany
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1884 Origin of “54-day Rosary Novena”
All About Mary: Lacey's Rosary Novena
1888 Apparition at Castel Petroso/Italy
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/bishop.html
1899 Consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pope Leo XIII
1900 Proclamation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of the Americas
All About Mary: Nican Mopohua
Dec 11, 2018 14:00:29 #
20TH CENTURY
1900 Proclamation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of the Americas
All About Mary: Nican Mopohua
1900 Consecration of the twentieth century to the Holy Spirit by Pope Leo XIII
1900 1st International Marian Congress celebrated in Lyon, France.
1902 2nd International Marian Congress celebrated in Fribourg, Switzerland.
1904 Encyclical Ad Diem Illum laetissimum by Pope Pius X (on the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_x/...
1904 3rd International Marian Congress celebrated in Rome.
1906 4th International Marian Congress celebrated in Einsiedeln, Switzerland.
1907 Institution of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1908 5th International Marian Congress celebrated in Salzburg, Austria.
1910 6th International Marian Congress celebrated in Zaragoza, Spain.
1912 Pope Pius X authorizes plenary indulgence on the first Saturday of each month
1912 7th International Marian Congress celebrated in Treviri, Germany.
1914 Construction begins on the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.4719297/k.BF65/Home.htm
1914 Beginning of the Schoenstatt movement by Father Joseph Kentenich in Germany
http://www.schoenstatt.org/en/
1917 Apparition at Fatima, Portugal
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/fatima/index.html
1917 Founding of the Militia Immaculata by Father Maximilian Maria Kolbe
http://www.militia-immaculatae.info/pages/en/home.php?lang=EN http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/Bignami03.htm
1917 Pope Benedict XV permits the invocation “Queen of Peace, pray for us” to be included in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1918 Adding of the invocation Queen of Peace to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1918 Congregation of the Holy Office, in the decree Sunt Quo, praises the custom of calling Mary “Co-Redemptrix”
1918 Pope Benedict XV, in the apostolic letter Inter Sodalicia, sets forth the role of Mary in Christ’s redeeming sacrifice
1920 “Miracle of the Vistula” in Poland, where the Polish people rout invading Russian forces after invoking prayers to Our Lady of Czestochowa
All About Mary: Czestochowa Black Madonna
1921 Founding of The Legion of Mary in Dublin, Ireland
http://www.legionofmary.ie/
1923 In the apostolic letter Explorata Res, Pope Pius XI affirms Mary’s role in the Redemption brought by Christ
1925 Canonization of St. Therese de Lisieux, whose spirituality was significantly influenced by the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, Marian Devotion
1925 Appearance of Our Lady of Fatima to Sister Lucia in Pontevedra, Spain, asking her to promulgate the five First Saturdays devotion
All About Mary: Saturday Devotions (see First Saturday Communion of Reparation)
1927 Holy See authorizes a special votive Mass for Our Lady of Fatima
1927 Coronation of the painting “Mary of Mercy” by Archbishop Romuald Jalbrzychowski in Vilnius, Lithuania
1929 Appearance of Our Lady to Sister Lucia at Tuy, Spain, where she asked for the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart
1930 Bishop of Fatima declares Fatima apparitions worthy of acceptance as of supernatural origin
1931 Institution of the Feast of the Divine Motherhood of
Mary All About Mary: Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary's Divine Motherhood
1932-1933 Apparitions at Beauraing, Belgium
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/beauraing/index.html
1933 Apparition at Banneux, Belgium
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/banneaux/index.html
1933-1934 Pope Pius XI speaks of Mary’s contribution to Christ’s redemptive work and portrays her as associated with this work
1942 Pope Pius XII dedicates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary [in accord with a request reportedly made at Fatima]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XII_Consecration_to_the_Immaculate_Heart_of_Mary
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/fatima/index.html
1943 Founding of Marian Library at the University of Dayton, OH
Marian Library/IMRI History
1944 Institution of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
All About Mary: Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1945 Apparition at Amsterdam/Netherlands
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/amsterdam/index.html
1946 Pope Pius XII crowns image of Our Lady of Fatima and proclaims her “Queen of the World”
1946 Pope Pius XII recognizes the universal significance of the message of Fatima
1946 Encyclical Deiparae Virginis Mariae (on the possibility of defining the Assumption) by Pope Pius XII
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_01051946_deiparae-virginis-mariae_en.html
All About Mary: Assumption Dogma
1946 In Poland, 700,000 pilgrims gather at shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa to consecrate Poland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1947 Canonization of St. Louis de Montfort by Pope Leo XIII
1947 Establishment of the Academia Mariana Internationalis in Rome.
All About Mary: Pontifical International Marian Academy
1949 Pope Pius XII proclaimed a Holy Year from December 24, 1949
1949 Founding of the Mariological Society of America by Father Juniper Carol.
http://www.mariologicalsociety.com/
1950 Proclamation of the Dogma of Mary's Assumption by Pope Pius XII in the Apostolic Constituion Munificentissimus Deus
All About Mary: Assumption Dogma
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus_en.html
1950 Adding of the invocation Mary, Queen assumed into heaven to the Marian Litany
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1950 1st International Mariological and 8th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Alma Socia Christi.
1950 Founding of the Marianum Theological Faculty in Rome by Father Gabriel Roschini
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianum
1951 Encyclical Ingruentium Malorum on the spiritual power of the Rosary by Pope Pius XII
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_15091951_ingruentium-malorum_en.html
1952 Pope Pius XII, in his apostolic letter Sacro Vergente Ano, expressly entrusts and consecrates “in a very special way to the Immaculate Heart of Mary all the peoples of Russia”
1953 Encyclical Fulgens Corona by Pope Pius XII with the proclamation of a Marian Year in commemoration the centenary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_08091953_fulgens-corona_en.html
All About Mary: Marian Years
1953 Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski composes the Jasna Gora vows, re-consecrating Poland to Mary
1953 Weeping Madonna at Syracuse/Italy
http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/syracuse.htm
1954 Encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam by Pope Pius XII with the proclamation of Mary’s Queenship and its institution as a Feast
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam_en.html
All About Mary: Memorial of Mary's Queenship
1954 Lady of All Nations apparition at Amsterdam approved
1954 2nd International Mariological and 9th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Virgo Immaculata.
1956 “Polish Marian Year” declared in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of King Jan Kazimierz’s proclamation of Mary as Queen of Poland
1956 Vatican officially approves adding to the public recitation of the Rosary the Fatima prayer given by Our Lady “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven especially those who have most need of your mercy”
1957 Pope Pius XII, in the encyclical Pelerinage de Lourdes, commemorates the centenary of Mary’s appearances at Lourdes
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_02071957_le-pelerinage-de-lourdes_en.html
1958 3rd International Mariological and 10th Marian Congress celebrated in Lourdes; theme: Maria et Ecclesia.
1959 In the encyclical Gratia Recordati, Pope John XXIII calls Mary “the cause of salvation for the whole human race”
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_26091959_grata-recordatio_en.html
1959 Dedication of the main church and superstructure of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.4719297/k.BF65/Home.htm
1959 Pope John XXIII grants the title Pontifical to the Academia Mariana Internationalis
All About Mary: Pontifical International Marian Academy
1960 Revelation of the third secret of Fatima to Pope John XXIII
1962 Institution of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, by Pope John XXIII
1964 Promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council: Chapter Eight of the Constitution gives the first Conciliar synthesis of the Church’s teaching on Mary’s place in the mystery of Christ and the Church.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
1964 Proclamation of Mary as Mater Ecclesiae by Pope Paul VI
All About Mary: Mother of the Church
1965 Encyclical Mense Maio issued by Pope Paul VI, urging prayer during Mary’s month of May. (summary here)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_29041965_mense-maio_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Mense Maio
1965 4th International Mariological and 11th Marian Congress celebrated in St. Domingo; theme: Maria in S. Scriptura.
1966 Encyclical Christi Matri by Pope Paul VI, in which he appeals for peace through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_15091966_christi-matri_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Christi Matri
1967 Apostolic Exhortation Signum Magnum by Pope Paul VI, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Mary's apparition at Fatima. (summary here)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19670513_signum-magnum_en.html
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/fatima/index.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Signum Magnum
1967 5th International Mariological and 12th Marian Congress celebrated in Lisbon; theme: De Primordiis Cultus Mariani (Mariologia Patristica).
1967 Pope Paul VI, in the Encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, refers to Mary as the Mother and Model of the Church and asks her to intercede for vocations to the priesthood.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_24061967_sacerdotalis_en.html
1968 Apparition at Zeitun/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/zeitun/index.html
1969 Publication of the revised Roman Missal, which is indicative of the implementation of the Conciliar teaching of Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Church and the elimination of certain minor Marian feasts
1969 In the Apostolic Exhortation Recurrens Mensis October, Pope Paul VI encourages the praying of the Rosary for peace.
(summary here) All About Mary: Rosary for Peace
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Recurrens Mensis October
1970 Publication of the revised Liturgy of the Hours, also indicative of a revised Marian approach regarding Marian readings, antiphons and hymns.
1971 6th International Mariological and 13th Marian Congress celebrated in Zagrabia; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis VI-XI.
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/liturgy-of-the-hours/
1973 Publication of the U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Letter Behold Your Mother (complete document); or this summary http://books.google.com/books?id=GDgTqmbh...
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Behold Your Mother: Woman of Faith
1973 Apparition at Akita/Japan
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/akita/index.html
1974 Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus: For the right ordering and development of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19740202_marialis-cultus_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Marialis Cultus
1975 Revised Roman Missal (2nd edition) includes Votive Masses of “Mary, Mother of the Church” and “Holy Name of Mary”
1975 7th International Mariological and 14th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XII-XV.
1975 In the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete in Domino, Pope Paul VI presents Mary as an example of Christian Joy.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Guadete in Domino
1976 Polish bishops themselves consecrate all nations and peoples to the Mother of God
1976 Apparation at Batania/Venezuela
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/betania/index.html
1978 Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith lifts prohibitions imposed in 1959 on the Mercy of God devotions advocated by Sister Faustina Kowalska
1979 Pope John Paul II, in his visit to Our Lady’s Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico City, describes the faith of Mary as a model for all Christians and calls her the “star of evangelization”
1979 Image of Guadalupe examined by scientists and it is determined that the original image of Mary could not be explained as a human work
1979 Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland visited by Pope John Paul II and elevated to status of Basilica
1979 8th International Mariological and 15th Marian Congress celebrated in Saragoza; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XVI.
1900 Proclamation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of the Americas
All About Mary: Nican Mopohua
1900 Consecration of the twentieth century to the Holy Spirit by Pope Leo XIII
1900 1st International Marian Congress celebrated in Lyon, France.
1902 2nd International Marian Congress celebrated in Fribourg, Switzerland.
1904 Encyclical Ad Diem Illum laetissimum by Pope Pius X (on the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_x/...
1904 3rd International Marian Congress celebrated in Rome.
1906 4th International Marian Congress celebrated in Einsiedeln, Switzerland.
1907 Institution of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1908 5th International Marian Congress celebrated in Salzburg, Austria.
1910 6th International Marian Congress celebrated in Zaragoza, Spain.
1912 Pope Pius X authorizes plenary indulgence on the first Saturday of each month
1912 7th International Marian Congress celebrated in Treviri, Germany.
1914 Construction begins on the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.4719297/k.BF65/Home.htm
1914 Beginning of the Schoenstatt movement by Father Joseph Kentenich in Germany
http://www.schoenstatt.org/en/
1917 Apparition at Fatima, Portugal
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/fatima/index.html
1917 Founding of the Militia Immaculata by Father Maximilian Maria Kolbe
http://www.militia-immaculatae.info/pages/en/home.php?lang=EN http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/Bignami03.htm
1917 Pope Benedict XV permits the invocation “Queen of Peace, pray for us” to be included in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1918 Adding of the invocation Queen of Peace to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1918 Congregation of the Holy Office, in the decree Sunt Quo, praises the custom of calling Mary “Co-Redemptrix”
1918 Pope Benedict XV, in the apostolic letter Inter Sodalicia, sets forth the role of Mary in Christ’s redeeming sacrifice
1920 “Miracle of the Vistula” in Poland, where the Polish people rout invading Russian forces after invoking prayers to Our Lady of Czestochowa
All About Mary: Czestochowa Black Madonna
1921 Founding of The Legion of Mary in Dublin, Ireland
http://www.legionofmary.ie/
1923 In the apostolic letter Explorata Res, Pope Pius XI affirms Mary’s role in the Redemption brought by Christ
1925 Canonization of St. Therese de Lisieux, whose spirituality was significantly influenced by the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, Marian Devotion
1925 Appearance of Our Lady of Fatima to Sister Lucia in Pontevedra, Spain, asking her to promulgate the five First Saturdays devotion
All About Mary: Saturday Devotions (see First Saturday Communion of Reparation)
1927 Holy See authorizes a special votive Mass for Our Lady of Fatima
1927 Coronation of the painting “Mary of Mercy” by Archbishop Romuald Jalbrzychowski in Vilnius, Lithuania
1929 Appearance of Our Lady to Sister Lucia at Tuy, Spain, where she asked for the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart
1930 Bishop of Fatima declares Fatima apparitions worthy of acceptance as of supernatural origin
1931 Institution of the Feast of the Divine Motherhood of
Mary All About Mary: Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary's Divine Motherhood
1932-1933 Apparitions at Beauraing, Belgium
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/beauraing/index.html
1933 Apparition at Banneux, Belgium
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/banneaux/index.html
1933-1934 Pope Pius XI speaks of Mary’s contribution to Christ’s redemptive work and portrays her as associated with this work
1942 Pope Pius XII dedicates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary [in accord with a request reportedly made at Fatima]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XII_Consecration_to_the_Immaculate_Heart_of_Mary
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/fatima/index.html
1943 Founding of Marian Library at the University of Dayton, OH
Marian Library/IMRI History
1944 Institution of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
All About Mary: Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1945 Apparition at Amsterdam/Netherlands
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/amsterdam/index.html
1946 Pope Pius XII crowns image of Our Lady of Fatima and proclaims her “Queen of the World”
1946 Pope Pius XII recognizes the universal significance of the message of Fatima
1946 Encyclical Deiparae Virginis Mariae (on the possibility of defining the Assumption) by Pope Pius XII
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_01051946_deiparae-virginis-mariae_en.html
All About Mary: Assumption Dogma
1946 In Poland, 700,000 pilgrims gather at shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa to consecrate Poland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1947 Canonization of St. Louis de Montfort by Pope Leo XIII
1947 Establishment of the Academia Mariana Internationalis in Rome.
All About Mary: Pontifical International Marian Academy
1949 Pope Pius XII proclaimed a Holy Year from December 24, 1949
1949 Founding of the Mariological Society of America by Father Juniper Carol.
http://www.mariologicalsociety.com/
1950 Proclamation of the Dogma of Mary's Assumption by Pope Pius XII in the Apostolic Constituion Munificentissimus Deus
All About Mary: Assumption Dogma
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus_en.html
1950 Adding of the invocation Mary, Queen assumed into heaven to the Marian Litany
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1950 1st International Mariological and 8th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Alma Socia Christi.
1950 Founding of the Marianum Theological Faculty in Rome by Father Gabriel Roschini
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianum
1951 Encyclical Ingruentium Malorum on the spiritual power of the Rosary by Pope Pius XII
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_15091951_ingruentium-malorum_en.html
1952 Pope Pius XII, in his apostolic letter Sacro Vergente Ano, expressly entrusts and consecrates “in a very special way to the Immaculate Heart of Mary all the peoples of Russia”
1953 Encyclical Fulgens Corona by Pope Pius XII with the proclamation of a Marian Year in commemoration the centenary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_08091953_fulgens-corona_en.html
All About Mary: Marian Years
1953 Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski composes the Jasna Gora vows, re-consecrating Poland to Mary
1953 Weeping Madonna at Syracuse/Italy
http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/syracuse.htm
1954 Encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam by Pope Pius XII with the proclamation of Mary’s Queenship and its institution as a Feast
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam_en.html
All About Mary: Memorial of Mary's Queenship
1954 Lady of All Nations apparition at Amsterdam approved
1954 2nd International Mariological and 9th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Virgo Immaculata.
1956 “Polish Marian Year” declared in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of King Jan Kazimierz’s proclamation of Mary as Queen of Poland
1956 Vatican officially approves adding to the public recitation of the Rosary the Fatima prayer given by Our Lady “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven especially those who have most need of your mercy”
1957 Pope Pius XII, in the encyclical Pelerinage de Lourdes, commemorates the centenary of Mary’s appearances at Lourdes
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_02071957_le-pelerinage-de-lourdes_en.html
1958 3rd International Mariological and 10th Marian Congress celebrated in Lourdes; theme: Maria et Ecclesia.
1959 In the encyclical Gratia Recordati, Pope John XXIII calls Mary “the cause of salvation for the whole human race”
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_26091959_grata-recordatio_en.html
1959 Dedication of the main church and superstructure of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.4719297/k.BF65/Home.htm
1959 Pope John XXIII grants the title Pontifical to the Academia Mariana Internationalis
All About Mary: Pontifical International Marian Academy
1960 Revelation of the third secret of Fatima to Pope John XXIII
1962 Institution of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, by Pope John XXIII
1964 Promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council: Chapter Eight of the Constitution gives the first Conciliar synthesis of the Church’s teaching on Mary’s place in the mystery of Christ and the Church.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
1964 Proclamation of Mary as Mater Ecclesiae by Pope Paul VI
All About Mary: Mother of the Church
1965 Encyclical Mense Maio issued by Pope Paul VI, urging prayer during Mary’s month of May. (summary here)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_29041965_mense-maio_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Mense Maio
1965 4th International Mariological and 11th Marian Congress celebrated in St. Domingo; theme: Maria in S. Scriptura.
1966 Encyclical Christi Matri by Pope Paul VI, in which he appeals for peace through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_15091966_christi-matri_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Christi Matri
1967 Apostolic Exhortation Signum Magnum by Pope Paul VI, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Mary's apparition at Fatima. (summary here)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19670513_signum-magnum_en.html
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/fatima/index.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Signum Magnum
1967 5th International Mariological and 12th Marian Congress celebrated in Lisbon; theme: De Primordiis Cultus Mariani (Mariologia Patristica).
1967 Pope Paul VI, in the Encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, refers to Mary as the Mother and Model of the Church and asks her to intercede for vocations to the priesthood.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_24061967_sacerdotalis_en.html
1968 Apparition at Zeitun/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/zeitun/index.html
1969 Publication of the revised Roman Missal, which is indicative of the implementation of the Conciliar teaching of Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Church and the elimination of certain minor Marian feasts
1969 In the Apostolic Exhortation Recurrens Mensis October, Pope Paul VI encourages the praying of the Rosary for peace.
(summary here) All About Mary: Rosary for Peace
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Recurrens Mensis October
1970 Publication of the revised Liturgy of the Hours, also indicative of a revised Marian approach regarding Marian readings, antiphons and hymns.
1971 6th International Mariological and 13th Marian Congress celebrated in Zagrabia; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis VI-XI.
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/liturgy-of-the-hours/
1973 Publication of the U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Letter Behold Your Mother (complete document); or this summary http://books.google.com/books?id=GDgTqmbh...
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Behold Your Mother: Woman of Faith
1973 Apparition at Akita/Japan
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/akita/index.html
1974 Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus: For the right ordering and development of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19740202_marialis-cultus_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Marialis Cultus
1975 Revised Roman Missal (2nd edition) includes Votive Masses of “Mary, Mother of the Church” and “Holy Name of Mary”
1975 7th International Mariological and 14th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XII-XV.
1975 In the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete in Domino, Pope Paul VI presents Mary as an example of Christian Joy.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19750509_gaudete-in-domino_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Guadete in Domino
1976 Polish bishops themselves consecrate all nations and peoples to the Mother of God
1976 Apparation at Batania/Venezuela
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/betania/index.html
1978 Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith lifts prohibitions imposed in 1959 on the Mercy of God devotions advocated by Sister Faustina Kowalska
1979 Pope John Paul II, in his visit to Our Lady’s Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico City, describes the faith of Mary as a model for all Christians and calls her the “star of evangelization”
1979 Image of Guadalupe examined by scientists and it is determined that the original image of Mary could not be explained as a human work
1979 Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland visited by Pope John Paul II and elevated to status of Basilica
1979 8th International Mariological and 15th Marian Congress celebrated in Saragoza; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XVI.
Dec 11, 2018 14:01:03 #
20TH CENTURY
1980 Adding of the invocation Mother of the Church to the Litany of Loreto
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1980 Apparition at Cuapa/Nicaragua
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/cuapa/index.html
1981 The Church promulgates The Rite for Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1981-1989 Apparitions at Kibeho/Rwanda
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/kibeho_rwanda/index.html
1982 Apparition at Edfu/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/edfu/index.html
1983 Apparition at San Nicholas/Argentina
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/sannicolas/index.html
1983 9th International Mariological and 16th Marian Congress celebrated in Malta; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XVII-XVIII.
1985 Consecration of the people and President of the United States to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1986-1991 Apparition at Papadouplo, Shoubra, Cairo/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/shoubra/index.html
1987 Proclamation of a Marian Year (June 7, 1987-August 15, 1988).
All About Mary: Marian Years
1987 Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater by Pope John Paul II.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Redemptoris Mater
1987 Publication of the Latin Edition of the Collection of Marian Masses
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1987 10th International Mariological and 17th Marian Congress celebrated in Kevelaer; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XIX-XX.
1988 Publication of the Letter from the Congregation for Catholic Education: The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation
All About Mary: The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation
1988 John Paul II, in the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitate,. presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as model for women.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_15081988_mulieris-dignitatem_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Mulieris Dignitatum
1988 Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States raised to status of Feast
1992 Publication of the complete English edition of the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1992 11th International Mariological and 18th Marian Congress celebrated in Huelva; theme: De cultu mariano saeculo XX. Post Concilium Vaticanum II [Marian doctrine, devotion and cult from Vatican Council II up to our day].
1993 Pope John Paul II, in the encyclical Veritatis Splendor, presents Mary as the Mother of Mercy.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Veritatis Splendor
1994 Publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism show the intergral role of Mary in the mystery of Christ and the Church
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
1994 Apparition at Itapirang/Brazil
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/itapiranga/index.html
1995 Adding of the invocation Mary, Queen of Families to the Marian Litany
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1995 John Paul II, in the encyclical Evangelium Vitae portrays Mary as the bearer and defender of life.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Evangelium Vitae
1996 12th International Mariological and 19th Marian Congress celebrated in Czestochowa; theme: Maria, Mater Domini in mysterio salutis, quod ab Orientis et Occidentis Ecclesiis in Spiritu Sancto hodie celebratur [Mary, Mother of the Lord, in the mystery of salvation as celebrated in the Eastern and Western Churches].
1998 Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 The Mystery of the Incarnation by Pope John Paul II: Mary, the Mother of the Church, intercedes for the Christian people during the time of preparation for the great jubilee year
http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/docs/documents/hf_jp-ii_doc_30111998_bolla-jubilee_en.html
21ST CENTURY
2000 The Holy Year of Christ’s Birth.
2000 13th International Mariological and 20th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Maria e il mistero della Santa Trinità (Mary and the Mystery of the Holy Trinity).
2000 Consecration of the World to Mary by Pope John Paul II and the College of Bishops
2000 Consecration of the Third Millenium of Christianity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Pope John Paul II
2000 The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith releases The Message of Fatima, which reveals and interprets the Third Secret of Fatima.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html
2000-2001 Apparition at Assuit/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/assiut/index.html
2001 John Paul II, in the Apostolic Leter Novo Millennio Inuente at the close of the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as "Star of the New Evangelization."
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte_en.html
October 2002-October 2003 The Year of the Rosary
Apostolic Letter of John Paul II Rosarium Virginis Mariae [On the Most Holy Rosary] (10/2/2002)--The Mysteries of Light.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Rosarium Virginis Mariae
2003 Encyclical of John Paul II Ecclesia de Eucharistia with chapter VI, "At the School of Mary, 'Woman of the Eucharist'"
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/special_features/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_20030417_ecclesia_eucharistia_en.html
2004 Twenty-first International Mariological-Marian Congress in Rome; theme: Mary of Nazareth welcomes the Son of God in History
2005 Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday from John Paul II mentions " 'Eucharistic' life at the school of Mary"
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2005/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20050313_priests-holy-thursday_en.html
2005 Benedict XVI, in the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est [God is Love]--presents Mary as teacher of true love
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html
2008 One-hundredth anniversary of Lourdes
2008 Twenty-second International Mariological-Marian Congress in Lourdes; theme: The Virgin Mary's apparitions. Among History, Faith and theology
2008 15th International Mariological and 22nd Marian Congress celebrated in Lourdes; theme: The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary – between history, faith and theology
2009 Apparition at Warraq, El-Hadar/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/warraq/index.html
2012 16th International Mariological and 23rd Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Mariology since Vatican II. Reception, Assessment, and Prospects
2013 Pope Francis, in the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudium Evangelii, presents Mary as the Mother of Evangelization.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
1980 Adding of the invocation Mother of the Church to the Litany of Loreto
All About Mary: Litany of Loreto in Context
1980 Apparition at Cuapa/Nicaragua
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/cuapa/index.html
1981 The Church promulgates The Rite for Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1981-1989 Apparitions at Kibeho/Rwanda
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/kibeho_rwanda/index.html
1982 Apparition at Edfu/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/edfu/index.html
1983 Apparition at San Nicholas/Argentina
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/sannicolas/index.html
1983 9th International Mariological and 16th Marian Congress celebrated in Malta; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XVII-XVIII.
1985 Consecration of the people and President of the United States to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1986-1991 Apparition at Papadouplo, Shoubra, Cairo/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/shoubra/index.html
1987 Proclamation of a Marian Year (June 7, 1987-August 15, 1988).
All About Mary: Marian Years
1987 Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater by Pope John Paul II.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Redemptoris Mater
1987 Publication of the Latin Edition of the Collection of Marian Masses
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1987 10th International Mariological and 17th Marian Congress celebrated in Kevelaer; theme: De cultu mariano saeculis XIX-XX.
1988 Publication of the Letter from the Congregation for Catholic Education: The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation
All About Mary: The Virgin Mary in Intellectual and Spiritual Formation
1988 John Paul II, in the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitate,. presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as model for women.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_15081988_mulieris-dignitatem_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Mulieris Dignitatum
1988 Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States raised to status of Feast
1992 Publication of the complete English edition of the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All About Mary: Liturgical History of Marian Feasts
1992 11th International Mariological and 18th Marian Congress celebrated in Huelva; theme: De cultu mariano saeculo XX. Post Concilium Vaticanum II [Marian doctrine, devotion and cult from Vatican Council II up to our day].
1993 Pope John Paul II, in the encyclical Veritatis Splendor, presents Mary as the Mother of Mercy.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Veritatis Splendor
1994 Publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism show the intergral role of Mary in the mystery of Christ and the Church
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
1994 Apparition at Itapirang/Brazil
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/itapiranga/index.html
1995 Adding of the invocation Mary, Queen of Families to the Marian Litany
All About Mary: Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1995 John Paul II, in the encyclical Evangelium Vitae portrays Mary as the bearer and defender of life.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Evangelium Vitae
1996 12th International Mariological and 19th Marian Congress celebrated in Czestochowa; theme: Maria, Mater Domini in mysterio salutis, quod ab Orientis et Occidentis Ecclesiis in Spiritu Sancto hodie celebratur [Mary, Mother of the Lord, in the mystery of salvation as celebrated in the Eastern and Western Churches].
1998 Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 The Mystery of the Incarnation by Pope John Paul II: Mary, the Mother of the Church, intercedes for the Christian people during the time of preparation for the great jubilee year
http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/docs/documents/hf_jp-ii_doc_30111998_bolla-jubilee_en.html
21ST CENTURY
2000 The Holy Year of Christ’s Birth.
2000 13th International Mariological and 20th Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Maria e il mistero della Santa Trinità (Mary and the Mystery of the Holy Trinity).
2000 Consecration of the World to Mary by Pope John Paul II and the College of Bishops
2000 Consecration of the Third Millenium of Christianity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Pope John Paul II
2000 The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith releases The Message of Fatima, which reveals and interprets the Third Secret of Fatima.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html
2000-2001 Apparition at Assuit/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/assiut/index.html
2001 John Paul II, in the Apostolic Leter Novo Millennio Inuente at the close of the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as "Star of the New Evangelization."
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte_en.html
October 2002-October 2003 The Year of the Rosary
Apostolic Letter of John Paul II Rosarium Virginis Mariae [On the Most Holy Rosary] (10/2/2002)--The Mysteries of Light.
(summary here) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html
All About Mary: Magisterial Documents: Rosarium Virginis Mariae
2003 Encyclical of John Paul II Ecclesia de Eucharistia with chapter VI, "At the School of Mary, 'Woman of the Eucharist'"
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/special_features/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_20030417_ecclesia_eucharistia_en.html
2004 Twenty-first International Mariological-Marian Congress in Rome; theme: Mary of Nazareth welcomes the Son of God in History
2005 Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday from John Paul II mentions " 'Eucharistic' life at the school of Mary"
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2005/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20050313_priests-holy-thursday_en.html
2005 Benedict XVI, in the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est [God is Love]--presents Mary as teacher of true love
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html
2008 One-hundredth anniversary of Lourdes
2008 Twenty-second International Mariological-Marian Congress in Lourdes; theme: The Virgin Mary's apparitions. Among History, Faith and theology
2008 15th International Mariological and 22nd Marian Congress celebrated in Lourdes; theme: The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary – between history, faith and theology
2009 Apparition at Warraq, El-Hadar/Egypt
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/approved_apparitions/warraq/index.html
2012 16th International Mariological and 23rd Marian Congress celebrated in Rome; theme: Mariology since Vatican II. Reception, Assessment, and Prospects
2013 Pope Francis, in the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudium Evangelii, presents Mary as the Mother of Evangelization.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
Dec 11, 2018 14:11:31 #
How could a perfect and all knowing God neglect to put any of that in the bible?
Why are popes taking so long to come out with it if it could have benefited people centuries ago? Its not logical.
Why are popes taking so long to come out with it if it could have benefited people centuries ago? Its not logical.
Dec 11, 2018 14:24:24 #
Why did it take so long for the Catholic Church to officially define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary? (Part 1)
Part 1:
How the Church comes to a decision about officially defining a doctrine or dogma
In debates between Protestants and Catholics about Church doctrine and dogma, the Marian dogmas often come up.
The question I’ve heard asked the most is “If the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption are true, and the Church has always believed in them and taught them, how come it took thousands of years to officially pronounce them as dogmas?
It’s a fair question.
The Church has always believed these dogmas, but for various reasons, which I’ll explain in depth later in this article, it had no need to define them.
But the lack of an official pronouncement from the Church on something doesn’t necessarily mean the Church does or doesn’t believe in something.
Protestants will also point to various heretics throughout history who didn’t believe in these dogmas, but that argument is a nonstarter because heretics are no longer members of the Church since they’ve rejected one or more of her dogmas or doctrines.
One has to remember that the Church is made up of people, and people err and go astray.
All that matters is that the Church as a whole teaches these things infallibly, and it only does so when the Pope, either alone or together with the entire Magisterium, makes an official statement on a matter of faith and morals.
So, why did the Church wait so long to define the Marian dogmas?
For the same reason it took centuries to create the canon of the Bible and define the dogma of the Trinity at the First Council of Constantinople:
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/12-things-to-know-and-share-about-the-holy-trinity
There was a debate over them, and clarification was needed, which can only be done by putting the beliefs in writing and making them official.
It was the Church saying “we’re making these teachings crystal clear and publicly settling this debate once and for all”.
The Church already collectively believed what the Church defined, it just wasn’t in writing yet.
Does that mean the early Christians didn’t believe in the Trinity til the year 381? No.
The Church defined it then to clarify the doctrine so that all lay Catholics could understand it, and to correct the heretics who were attempting to discredit it at that time. It was the same with the Marian doctrines later on.
These are complicated teachings:
Mysteries, in fact, and for most of history the average person wasn’t educated, so he or she didn’t have the intellectual capacity to understand them to the degree we do today.
All faithful Catholics still believed these teachings of the Church to the best of their abilities, but at times throughout history, certain prominent people, the best examples being Arius and Luther, would create confusion among the faithful by teaching something that was antithetical to Catholic doctrine.
That’s when the Church has decided that a certain belief must be properly defined.
Until then, there was simply no reason to do so, since most Catholics believed these things and had no reason to doubt them because all of the Church leaders taught them.
All one has to do is read the writings of the early Church Fathers, and even some historians to find out that this is what the Church always believed and taught.
As I mentioned above, it took centuries for the official canon of the Bible to be created, but Protestants conveniently don’t have a problem with the development of that, so it seems the development of a dogma over time isn’t the issue here, just the development of these dogmas.
The early Church was busy dealing with philosophers and heretics both inside and outside the Church who were spreading false teachings about Jesus’s divinity, the Incarnation, etc, so it had to focus on those things first.
After all, all Marian doctrines are Christocentric in nature, so it would only make sense that the Church made sure it got its doctrines on Jesus and the Trinity right first.
The Church has always taught that there’s a hierarchy when it comes to its dogma, which reflects the hierarchy of grace that has existed from all eternity in God’s mind.
The Trinity is at the top of the hierarchy, followed by Jesus and His human and divine nature.
Mary is one step below that since she’s part of the created order of things and isn’t divine, as Jesus is.
Beyond that, there was much debate within the early Church about what Original Sin was.
Since the dogma of the Immaculate Conception teaches that Mary was conceived without Original Sin, the debate over that had to be resolved first.
It took centuries for that to happen, but it finally was in the 14th century when a brilliant Franciscan priest and theologian named Blessed John Duns Scotus clarified what Original Sin was.
Once he did that, he was able to logically and theologically prove in an original way that Mary was conceived without it.
Ironically enough, Martin Luther himself believed in the Immaculate Conception.
So Protestants are very selective when it comes to the evidence they use to justify believing or not believing a certain dogma.
They point to some people in the early Church who believed in this dogma, just not exactly the way we do today (again, because of their lack of knowledge of science and a misunderstanding of original sin)
But then ignore the fact that the founder of their own religion believed in it.
One way to think of the sources of revelation for Catholics is as a three legged stool.
Instead of the Bible alone, we have these three things that guide us:
1. The Bible
2. The Church (Pope and Magisterium) and
3. Sacred Tradition (what was passed down orally by the apostles and their successors).
Lay Catholics also have a role in the development of doctrine and dogma because through the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, they believe the truths that have been passed down to them from previous generations of Catholics, even ones that haven’t been officially defined, as was the case with the Marian dogmas.
When deciding on whether or not to define a dogma, the Church can and has looked to what the lay members of the Church already believe, and how they pray and worship with respect to those specific dogmas.
It doesn’t make the decision solely based on the beliefs of the majority of the faithful because that would be nothing more than a democracy, but it’s one factor among many the Church takes into account.
This collective belief in a dogma or doctrine of the faith by the lay members of the Church is known as the “sensus fidelium”.
https://catholiccourier.com/articles/sensus-fidelium-the-sense-of-the-faithfu
It’s Latin for “sense of the faithful”, and it simply is referring to what the masses of lay Catholics believe in their hearts about a certain subject or issue, but which hasn’t been officially defined by the Church yet.
When the Church realizes that most Catholics believe something, and it thinks that belief needs to be defined, it uses that belief of the masses as part of the justification for the official definition.
The reason for this is that the Holy Spirit guides not just the Church leaders and the Pope, but the Body of Christ collectively, over time, since it resides in the hearts of the faithful and would never lead them astray.
If Jesus founded a Church to guide the faithful on Earth after His ascension, it would only make sense that He would ensure that Church could be relied upon to teach correct doctrines and dogmas and lead people to Him, otherwise it would be worthless.
In fact it would be worse than worthless, it would be leading people to Hell.
So He did this by sending the Holy Spirit to Peter, the first pope, and the apostles, and then to every subsequent pope to give them the gift of infallibility on all matters of faith and morals.
Jesus had to make sure that His Church, which He loves as a spotless bride, would be inerrant, and He’s done so through the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Pope, Magisterium, and all faithful lay Catholics.
Therefore, when there’s a consensus among Catholics about a belief, that’s an indication that it’s a true belief since it wouldn’t have been reached without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which the Pope and Magisterium take as a sign that it can be declared an official doctrine or dogma of the Church.
It was already being taught by the Church both currently at the time in question and in the past, just not officially, and that teaching caused a majority of Catholics to believe it.
Jesus says that we must become like children to enter Heaven.
He also says in Matthew 11:25, “I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children”.
I think this verse undergirds the concept of the sensus fidelium.
https://catholiccourier.com/articles/sensus-fidelium-the-sense-of-the-faithfu
The Holy Spirit in its infinite wisdom enabled all lay Catholics who were open to it to believe in the Marian doctrines, and all other doctrines and dogmas.
They just couldn’t understand and articulate it the way theologians and doctors of the Church could.
When controversies and/or debates arose around these doctrines and dogmas, the Church could look to that groundswell of support among the faithful as evidence of their truthfulness.
(End Part 1)
Part 1:
How the Church comes to a decision about officially defining a doctrine or dogma
In debates between Protestants and Catholics about Church doctrine and dogma, the Marian dogmas often come up.
The question I’ve heard asked the most is “If the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption are true, and the Church has always believed in them and taught them, how come it took thousands of years to officially pronounce them as dogmas?
It’s a fair question.
The Church has always believed these dogmas, but for various reasons, which I’ll explain in depth later in this article, it had no need to define them.
But the lack of an official pronouncement from the Church on something doesn’t necessarily mean the Church does or doesn’t believe in something.
Protestants will also point to various heretics throughout history who didn’t believe in these dogmas, but that argument is a nonstarter because heretics are no longer members of the Church since they’ve rejected one or more of her dogmas or doctrines.
One has to remember that the Church is made up of people, and people err and go astray.
All that matters is that the Church as a whole teaches these things infallibly, and it only does so when the Pope, either alone or together with the entire Magisterium, makes an official statement on a matter of faith and morals.
So, why did the Church wait so long to define the Marian dogmas?
For the same reason it took centuries to create the canon of the Bible and define the dogma of the Trinity at the First Council of Constantinople:
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/12-things-to-know-and-share-about-the-holy-trinity
There was a debate over them, and clarification was needed, which can only be done by putting the beliefs in writing and making them official.
It was the Church saying “we’re making these teachings crystal clear and publicly settling this debate once and for all”.
The Church already collectively believed what the Church defined, it just wasn’t in writing yet.
Does that mean the early Christians didn’t believe in the Trinity til the year 381? No.
The Church defined it then to clarify the doctrine so that all lay Catholics could understand it, and to correct the heretics who were attempting to discredit it at that time. It was the same with the Marian doctrines later on.
These are complicated teachings:
Mysteries, in fact, and for most of history the average person wasn’t educated, so he or she didn’t have the intellectual capacity to understand them to the degree we do today.
All faithful Catholics still believed these teachings of the Church to the best of their abilities, but at times throughout history, certain prominent people, the best examples being Arius and Luther, would create confusion among the faithful by teaching something that was antithetical to Catholic doctrine.
That’s when the Church has decided that a certain belief must be properly defined.
Until then, there was simply no reason to do so, since most Catholics believed these things and had no reason to doubt them because all of the Church leaders taught them.
All one has to do is read the writings of the early Church Fathers, and even some historians to find out that this is what the Church always believed and taught.
As I mentioned above, it took centuries for the official canon of the Bible to be created, but Protestants conveniently don’t have a problem with the development of that, so it seems the development of a dogma over time isn’t the issue here, just the development of these dogmas.
The early Church was busy dealing with philosophers and heretics both inside and outside the Church who were spreading false teachings about Jesus’s divinity, the Incarnation, etc, so it had to focus on those things first.
After all, all Marian doctrines are Christocentric in nature, so it would only make sense that the Church made sure it got its doctrines on Jesus and the Trinity right first.
The Church has always taught that there’s a hierarchy when it comes to its dogma, which reflects the hierarchy of grace that has existed from all eternity in God’s mind.
The Trinity is at the top of the hierarchy, followed by Jesus and His human and divine nature.
Mary is one step below that since she’s part of the created order of things and isn’t divine, as Jesus is.
Beyond that, there was much debate within the early Church about what Original Sin was.
Since the dogma of the Immaculate Conception teaches that Mary was conceived without Original Sin, the debate over that had to be resolved first.
It took centuries for that to happen, but it finally was in the 14th century when a brilliant Franciscan priest and theologian named Blessed John Duns Scotus clarified what Original Sin was.
Once he did that, he was able to logically and theologically prove in an original way that Mary was conceived without it.
Ironically enough, Martin Luther himself believed in the Immaculate Conception.
So Protestants are very selective when it comes to the evidence they use to justify believing or not believing a certain dogma.
They point to some people in the early Church who believed in this dogma, just not exactly the way we do today (again, because of their lack of knowledge of science and a misunderstanding of original sin)
But then ignore the fact that the founder of their own religion believed in it.
One way to think of the sources of revelation for Catholics is as a three legged stool.
Instead of the Bible alone, we have these three things that guide us:
1. The Bible
2. The Church (Pope and Magisterium) and
3. Sacred Tradition (what was passed down orally by the apostles and their successors).
Lay Catholics also have a role in the development of doctrine and dogma because through the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, they believe the truths that have been passed down to them from previous generations of Catholics, even ones that haven’t been officially defined, as was the case with the Marian dogmas.
When deciding on whether or not to define a dogma, the Church can and has looked to what the lay members of the Church already believe, and how they pray and worship with respect to those specific dogmas.
It doesn’t make the decision solely based on the beliefs of the majority of the faithful because that would be nothing more than a democracy, but it’s one factor among many the Church takes into account.
This collective belief in a dogma or doctrine of the faith by the lay members of the Church is known as the “sensus fidelium”.
https://catholiccourier.com/articles/sensus-fidelium-the-sense-of-the-faithfu
It’s Latin for “sense of the faithful”, and it simply is referring to what the masses of lay Catholics believe in their hearts about a certain subject or issue, but which hasn’t been officially defined by the Church yet.
When the Church realizes that most Catholics believe something, and it thinks that belief needs to be defined, it uses that belief of the masses as part of the justification for the official definition.
The reason for this is that the Holy Spirit guides not just the Church leaders and the Pope, but the Body of Christ collectively, over time, since it resides in the hearts of the faithful and would never lead them astray.
If Jesus founded a Church to guide the faithful on Earth after His ascension, it would only make sense that He would ensure that Church could be relied upon to teach correct doctrines and dogmas and lead people to Him, otherwise it would be worthless.
In fact it would be worse than worthless, it would be leading people to Hell.
So He did this by sending the Holy Spirit to Peter, the first pope, and the apostles, and then to every subsequent pope to give them the gift of infallibility on all matters of faith and morals.
Jesus had to make sure that His Church, which He loves as a spotless bride, would be inerrant, and He’s done so through the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Pope, Magisterium, and all faithful lay Catholics.
Therefore, when there’s a consensus among Catholics about a belief, that’s an indication that it’s a true belief since it wouldn’t have been reached without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which the Pope and Magisterium take as a sign that it can be declared an official doctrine or dogma of the Church.
It was already being taught by the Church both currently at the time in question and in the past, just not officially, and that teaching caused a majority of Catholics to believe it.
Jesus says that we must become like children to enter Heaven.
He also says in Matthew 11:25, “I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children”.
I think this verse undergirds the concept of the sensus fidelium.
https://catholiccourier.com/articles/sensus-fidelium-the-sense-of-the-faithfu
The Holy Spirit in its infinite wisdom enabled all lay Catholics who were open to it to believe in the Marian doctrines, and all other doctrines and dogmas.
They just couldn’t understand and articulate it the way theologians and doctors of the Church could.
When controversies and/or debates arose around these doctrines and dogmas, the Church could look to that groundswell of support among the faithful as evidence of their truthfulness.
(End Part 1)
Dec 11, 2018 14:34:17 #
Why are these to be complicated teachings? Christ's teachings were beautifully simple. They can't explain why it took so long for this to be revealed. The bible gives a warning to not add to it. It's pretty clear.
Dec 11, 2018 14:45:12 #
Why did it take so long for the Catholic Church to officially define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary? (Part 2)
https://medium.com/@chrisantenucci/why-did-it-take-so-long-for-the-catholic-church-to-officially-define-the-dogma-of-the-immaculate-d62859c9a65e
The theological origins and rationale of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
This dogma first became controversial when theologians in the 13th century rejected the idea that Mary was conceived without sin on the basis that Mary was a creature just like the rest of us, therefore she would’ve had to inherit Original Sin in order for Jesus’s death to merit her salvation.
It should be noted, however, that they still believed she was born without sin, because they believed that it was sometime between conception and birth that God created a person’s soul and placed it in their body.
Back then, they believed that the soul wasn’t created at conception, as we now believe it is, but rather at “the quickening”, which happened at the third month of pregnancy when the baby started moving in the mother’s womb.
They believed that since Original Sin was transmitted through the body, which began to be formed at conception, then that’s also when every human being contracted Original Sin, including Mary.
Thus she couldn’t have been preserved from Original Sin because if God sanctified her soul with an abundance of grace, it would’ve happened after she contracted Original Sin since the body was infused with the soul at some point after conception.
Or so the argument went.
The other main argument these theologians made was that if Mary was born without Original Sin, then she wouldn’t have needed a redeemer, since there was nothing to redeem.
That would’ve made her different than all other humans in that regard, which seemed to contradict Romans 3: 23, which says:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
Blessed John Duns Scotus, the Franciscan priest and theologian I mentioned earlier, who was known as “The Subtle Doctor” for his profound theological insights, answered every objection these theologians made.
He masterfully answered both of these objections in one fell swoop.
He said Mary needed a redeemer even more than the rest of us because she was the person God chose to bring His Son into the world.
Therefore, she needed to be spotless from both actual sin and the effects of Original Sin in order to bear the perfect Redeemer Himself into the world.
The theologians’ argument was based on a human understanding of how God works.
They tried to imagine God’s redemptive action through human eyes rather than through God’s eyes.
Scotus showed them that because God exists outside of time and space, He wasn’t confined to those restraints when it came to redeeming Mary.
He saw from before time began that she needed to be free of Original Sin, so He applied the grace of His Son’s future death to her soul as soon as it was created.
She was redeemed just like the rest of us, just preservatively redeemed.
Before I go on to explain Scotus’s defense of this dogma in more depth, I want to point out that this was no easy task, because he was in the minority at the time at the University of Paris, and was asked by his superiors there to publicly defend the statements he was making in defense of his idea of the Immaculate Conception.
So he prepared as much as possible, and the day of the defense, a miracle happened:
“When the fixed day of the dispute arrived, on leaving the convent, he passed before a statue of Our Lady and with suppliant voice entreated her:
“Allow me to praise You, O Most Holy Virgin; give me strength against your enemies.”
Our Lady responded with a prodigious visible sign: the head of the statue moved and bowed slightly before him.
It was as if to say:
“Yes I will give you all the strength you need.””
This wasn’t a one time event either:
During the night of Christmas, 1299 at the Oxford Convent, Bl. John, immersed in his contemplation of the adorable mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, was rapt in ecstasy.
The Blessed Mother appeared to him and placed on his arms the Child Jesus who kissed and embraced him fondly.
This was perhaps the occasion which inspired Blessed.
John to write so profoundly and fluently on the absolute primacy of Christ and the reason for the Incarnation.
Christ’s Incarnation, which is decreed from all eternity even apart from the Redemption, is the supreme created manifestation of God’s love.
I wanted to set these miracles as the backdrop for the intellectual and theological arguments Scotus made in defense of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in order to make it clear that as with all Church teaching, God’s hand was behind it all the way.
Scotus didn’t just come up with the doctrine of the primacy of Christ on his own, but instead, through his close relationships with God and Mary, discovered these profound truths with their help.
It was God who used Blessed John Duns Scotus to reveal these truths about Himself and His Mother to mankind, not the other way around.
That being said, Scotus wasn’t the first Doctor of the Church to defend this dogma, although he was the first to do so in revolutionary way.
St Augustine defended Mary’s Immaculate Conception by using a metaphor of a man falling into a pit, which I’ll paraphrase here:
Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out.
That man has been “saved” from the pit.
Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to trip and fall into a pit she never sees,
But at the very moment she’s about to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her from falling in.
She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way:
She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place.
This is the illustration Christians had used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was redeemed and saved by Christ.
By receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had His grace applied to her before she was able to become mired in Original Sin and its stain.
Why should we be surprised by this?
If she was to bear God Himself in her womb, then would God allow Himself to come into contact with an imperfect being?
God is perfect, which means He does everything in a perfect way.
The birth of His own Son was no different. We know from many verses in the Old Testament that imperfect beings can’t be in God’s presence and live, so how much more so would this be true of a woman who not only was in His presence, but carried Him in her body?
The early Church Fathers wrote about how Mary was not only the New Eve, but the new Ark of the Covenant.
We know from the Old Testament that the Ark contained God’s presence, and couldn’t be touched unless it was by the sons of Kohath, who were ordained by God for that role, and who were made clean first.
In fact, we’re told that a man named Uzzah touched the Ark simply to make sure it didn’t fall off of the cart it was on, and he was immediately struck dead because he was unclean.
If he couldn’t even touch the Ark, which only contained some of God’s presence, how on Earth could Mary contain God’s own Son within her, unless she was pure and sinless?
Blessed John Duns Scotus argued that since Jesus is perfect, that means He had to be a perfect mediator between God and man for at least one person.
But He couldn’t mediate grace perfectly between Himself and any ordinary person directly because such a person is sinful, and their sins get in the way.
That one person had to be the person who brought Him into the world to fulfill His mission to redeem us and become one of us, thus uniting humanity to God by elevating it to the highest possible level through the Incarnation.
Since Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, she had to be the one person through whom Jesus made a perfect mediation for all sin for all of mankind.
That’s why Catholic traditions has always portrayed Mary as the New Eve, or the spiritual mother of all mankind.
She was sinless, and thus there was no impediment to God’s grace flowing through her and making the union of God and man possible in the Incarnation.
Another reason the dogma of the Immaculate Conception became controversial in the Church is because in the 13th century, St Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to a group of churches in England, telling them to stop celebrating the feast of the Immaculate Conception. His primary objection to it was the following:
He believed what most theologians throughout history, including ones like Saints Augustine and Thomas Aquinas believed about Original Sin, which is that it was transmitted from Eve to her offspring and from mother to child since then.
They also believed that the soul was united with the body much later in pregnancy, as opposed to at conception,
As I previously mentioned.
If these theologians understood that life begins at conception, as we do now, they most likely wouldn’t have had any issues with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
It was only because they separated conception from the beginning of human life that they were confused about how Mary could’ve been conceived without sin.
Blessed John Duns Scotus made this confusion irrelevant by completely sidestepping that debate and showing that Mary could’ve been preservatively redeemed, or pre-redeemed by Jesus so that He never let Original Sin touch her body or soul.
By this logic, it didn’t matter when her soul and body were united, since neither would’ve contracted the stain of sin.
But Scotus went far beyond this argument.
He not only showed how St Thomas Aquinas and St Bernard’s concept of Original Sin was wrong, but went on to completely redefine the concept.
Original Sin isn’t transmitted by an infected body transmitting it to an infected soul.
Rather, it’s a privation of sanctifying grace to the soul from God at the moment of conception.
In other words, Original Sin isn’t like a virus that’s been passed down from one generation to the next to infect each new human’s soul.
It was a one time event that caused God to subsequently create each human without sanctifying grace when He infuses their soul into their body at the moment of conception.
This is because Adam and Eve had original justice, and by sinning, they required God, in His infinite justice, to take away the gift of sanctifying grace from the rest of us.
The Church has always described it as something that Adam and Eve passed down to us as their legacy, but that’s just because it’s easier to understand that way.
In reality, it’s simply God punishing all of mankind for Adam and Eve’s sin by not giving us the grace they had when they were perfect in the garden before the fall.
That might seem unfair, but it’s not, because Adam and Eve represented us and could’ve chosen to obey God, but didn’t.
That’s why Jesus died on the Cross for us, to remove the guilt from that sin for us, which is manifested in Baptism when the Holy Spirit imparts God’s sanctifying grace to our souls.
But we still were deprived of that perfect grace at birth, and thus still suffer from the effects ( see question 259 and the following questions in this link) that deprivation caused to our human natures.
Technically, we don’t inherit Original Sin, we inherit the effects of it, which is the deprivation of grace at birth and the effects that deprivation causes to our minds and bodies (concupiscence, darkening of understanding, having a weak will, etc).
Once Scotus showed what the true nature of Original Sin was, he could then show how easy it would be for Mary to be born without it.
There was no “it” to begin with, since it was a deprivation of a good thing rather than the transmission of a bad thing. Thus, Mary wasn’t infected with Original Sin because there was nothing to be infected with.
Instead, Mary was infused with a super-abundance of grace at the moment of her conception, unlike the rest of mankind, because she was the one whom God chose to give birth to His Son, and there could be no defects in a vessel that bore a perfect being.
It would’ve been like a vase that had holes in it and then was filled with water.
Our sins are like the holes in our bodies, which are supposed to be vessels of the Holy Spirit. Such a defective vessel couldn’t have contained the water and thus couldn’t serve the purpose God created it to serve in the first place.
That’s why the angel Gabriel called her “Full of Grace”.
He could’ve said “Hail, woman of grace”, but he said “full of grace” to indicate that she received an abundance of grace at her conception that was the same abundance of grace that God gave Adam and Eve when they were perfectly created.
Indeed, Mary owes Jesus more than we do, because she was given more unearned grace than us and redeemed in a more exalted fashion than us.
That’s why she’s always pointing us to Him. She wouldn’t dare try to steal any of His glory because she knows she owes Him more than any other human does.
The core of Blessed John Duns Scotus’s defense of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was his radical new understanding of the purpose of the Incarnation.
Up till then, most theologians taught that the primary reason God sent His only Son to Earth to become one of us was because Adam and Eve sinned.
This was the anthropocentric view of the Incarnation that great doctors of the Church like St Anselm and St Thomas Aquinas taught.
It’s an orthodox view, and is theologically correct.
But Scotus taught that there’s another view that explains the Incarnation in an even deeper and more accurate way.
That’s the Christocentric view.
This view holds that God had planned on sending His son to the Earth to become man all along, regardless of what Adam and Eve chose to do in the garden.
This is because He knew all along they’d sin.
That’s why He allowed the enemy to tempt them in the garden.
He anticipated their sin, because He knew it would lead to their need to be redeemed by His Son. But more importantly, He knew it would lead to Jesus’ birth and the creation of His human and divine natures, which were united in what is known as the hypostatic union.
In other words, Christ came to redeem man from his sin, but that wasn’t the primary reason He came.
The primary reason He came was to unite us with Himself and thus elevate our imperfect humanity to His divinity.
As St Athanasius said, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God”.
(End Part 2)
https://medium.com/@chrisantenucci/why-did-it-take-so-long-for-the-catholic-church-to-officially-define-the-dogma-of-the-immaculate-d62859c9a65e
The theological origins and rationale of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
This dogma first became controversial when theologians in the 13th century rejected the idea that Mary was conceived without sin on the basis that Mary was a creature just like the rest of us, therefore she would’ve had to inherit Original Sin in order for Jesus’s death to merit her salvation.
It should be noted, however, that they still believed she was born without sin, because they believed that it was sometime between conception and birth that God created a person’s soul and placed it in their body.
Back then, they believed that the soul wasn’t created at conception, as we now believe it is, but rather at “the quickening”, which happened at the third month of pregnancy when the baby started moving in the mother’s womb.
They believed that since Original Sin was transmitted through the body, which began to be formed at conception, then that’s also when every human being contracted Original Sin, including Mary.
Thus she couldn’t have been preserved from Original Sin because if God sanctified her soul with an abundance of grace, it would’ve happened after she contracted Original Sin since the body was infused with the soul at some point after conception.
Or so the argument went.
The other main argument these theologians made was that if Mary was born without Original Sin, then she wouldn’t have needed a redeemer, since there was nothing to redeem.
That would’ve made her different than all other humans in that regard, which seemed to contradict Romans 3: 23, which says:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
Blessed John Duns Scotus, the Franciscan priest and theologian I mentioned earlier, who was known as “The Subtle Doctor” for his profound theological insights, answered every objection these theologians made.
He masterfully answered both of these objections in one fell swoop.
He said Mary needed a redeemer even more than the rest of us because she was the person God chose to bring His Son into the world.
Therefore, she needed to be spotless from both actual sin and the effects of Original Sin in order to bear the perfect Redeemer Himself into the world.
The theologians’ argument was based on a human understanding of how God works.
They tried to imagine God’s redemptive action through human eyes rather than through God’s eyes.
Scotus showed them that because God exists outside of time and space, He wasn’t confined to those restraints when it came to redeeming Mary.
He saw from before time began that she needed to be free of Original Sin, so He applied the grace of His Son’s future death to her soul as soon as it was created.
She was redeemed just like the rest of us, just preservatively redeemed.
Before I go on to explain Scotus’s defense of this dogma in more depth, I want to point out that this was no easy task, because he was in the minority at the time at the University of Paris, and was asked by his superiors there to publicly defend the statements he was making in defense of his idea of the Immaculate Conception.
So he prepared as much as possible, and the day of the defense, a miracle happened:
“When the fixed day of the dispute arrived, on leaving the convent, he passed before a statue of Our Lady and with suppliant voice entreated her:
“Allow me to praise You, O Most Holy Virgin; give me strength against your enemies.”
Our Lady responded with a prodigious visible sign: the head of the statue moved and bowed slightly before him.
It was as if to say:
“Yes I will give you all the strength you need.””
This wasn’t a one time event either:
During the night of Christmas, 1299 at the Oxford Convent, Bl. John, immersed in his contemplation of the adorable mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, was rapt in ecstasy.
The Blessed Mother appeared to him and placed on his arms the Child Jesus who kissed and embraced him fondly.
This was perhaps the occasion which inspired Blessed.
John to write so profoundly and fluently on the absolute primacy of Christ and the reason for the Incarnation.
Christ’s Incarnation, which is decreed from all eternity even apart from the Redemption, is the supreme created manifestation of God’s love.
I wanted to set these miracles as the backdrop for the intellectual and theological arguments Scotus made in defense of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in order to make it clear that as with all Church teaching, God’s hand was behind it all the way.
Scotus didn’t just come up with the doctrine of the primacy of Christ on his own, but instead, through his close relationships with God and Mary, discovered these profound truths with their help.
It was God who used Blessed John Duns Scotus to reveal these truths about Himself and His Mother to mankind, not the other way around.
That being said, Scotus wasn’t the first Doctor of the Church to defend this dogma, although he was the first to do so in revolutionary way.
St Augustine defended Mary’s Immaculate Conception by using a metaphor of a man falling into a pit, which I’ll paraphrase here:
Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out.
That man has been “saved” from the pit.
Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to trip and fall into a pit she never sees,
But at the very moment she’s about to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her from falling in.
She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way:
She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place.
This is the illustration Christians had used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was redeemed and saved by Christ.
By receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had His grace applied to her before she was able to become mired in Original Sin and its stain.
Why should we be surprised by this?
If she was to bear God Himself in her womb, then would God allow Himself to come into contact with an imperfect being?
God is perfect, which means He does everything in a perfect way.
The birth of His own Son was no different. We know from many verses in the Old Testament that imperfect beings can’t be in God’s presence and live, so how much more so would this be true of a woman who not only was in His presence, but carried Him in her body?
The early Church Fathers wrote about how Mary was not only the New Eve, but the new Ark of the Covenant.
We know from the Old Testament that the Ark contained God’s presence, and couldn’t be touched unless it was by the sons of Kohath, who were ordained by God for that role, and who were made clean first.
In fact, we’re told that a man named Uzzah touched the Ark simply to make sure it didn’t fall off of the cart it was on, and he was immediately struck dead because he was unclean.
If he couldn’t even touch the Ark, which only contained some of God’s presence, how on Earth could Mary contain God’s own Son within her, unless she was pure and sinless?
Blessed John Duns Scotus argued that since Jesus is perfect, that means He had to be a perfect mediator between God and man for at least one person.
But He couldn’t mediate grace perfectly between Himself and any ordinary person directly because such a person is sinful, and their sins get in the way.
That one person had to be the person who brought Him into the world to fulfill His mission to redeem us and become one of us, thus uniting humanity to God by elevating it to the highest possible level through the Incarnation.
Since Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, she had to be the one person through whom Jesus made a perfect mediation for all sin for all of mankind.
That’s why Catholic traditions has always portrayed Mary as the New Eve, or the spiritual mother of all mankind.
She was sinless, and thus there was no impediment to God’s grace flowing through her and making the union of God and man possible in the Incarnation.
Another reason the dogma of the Immaculate Conception became controversial in the Church is because in the 13th century, St Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to a group of churches in England, telling them to stop celebrating the feast of the Immaculate Conception. His primary objection to it was the following:
He believed what most theologians throughout history, including ones like Saints Augustine and Thomas Aquinas believed about Original Sin, which is that it was transmitted from Eve to her offspring and from mother to child since then.
They also believed that the soul was united with the body much later in pregnancy, as opposed to at conception,
As I previously mentioned.
If these theologians understood that life begins at conception, as we do now, they most likely wouldn’t have had any issues with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
It was only because they separated conception from the beginning of human life that they were confused about how Mary could’ve been conceived without sin.
Blessed John Duns Scotus made this confusion irrelevant by completely sidestepping that debate and showing that Mary could’ve been preservatively redeemed, or pre-redeemed by Jesus so that He never let Original Sin touch her body or soul.
By this logic, it didn’t matter when her soul and body were united, since neither would’ve contracted the stain of sin.
But Scotus went far beyond this argument.
He not only showed how St Thomas Aquinas and St Bernard’s concept of Original Sin was wrong, but went on to completely redefine the concept.
Original Sin isn’t transmitted by an infected body transmitting it to an infected soul.
Rather, it’s a privation of sanctifying grace to the soul from God at the moment of conception.
In other words, Original Sin isn’t like a virus that’s been passed down from one generation to the next to infect each new human’s soul.
It was a one time event that caused God to subsequently create each human without sanctifying grace when He infuses their soul into their body at the moment of conception.
This is because Adam and Eve had original justice, and by sinning, they required God, in His infinite justice, to take away the gift of sanctifying grace from the rest of us.
The Church has always described it as something that Adam and Eve passed down to us as their legacy, but that’s just because it’s easier to understand that way.
In reality, it’s simply God punishing all of mankind for Adam and Eve’s sin by not giving us the grace they had when they were perfect in the garden before the fall.
That might seem unfair, but it’s not, because Adam and Eve represented us and could’ve chosen to obey God, but didn’t.
That’s why Jesus died on the Cross for us, to remove the guilt from that sin for us, which is manifested in Baptism when the Holy Spirit imparts God’s sanctifying grace to our souls.
But we still were deprived of that perfect grace at birth, and thus still suffer from the effects ( see question 259 and the following questions in this link) that deprivation caused to our human natures.
Technically, we don’t inherit Original Sin, we inherit the effects of it, which is the deprivation of grace at birth and the effects that deprivation causes to our minds and bodies (concupiscence, darkening of understanding, having a weak will, etc).
Once Scotus showed what the true nature of Original Sin was, he could then show how easy it would be for Mary to be born without it.
There was no “it” to begin with, since it was a deprivation of a good thing rather than the transmission of a bad thing. Thus, Mary wasn’t infected with Original Sin because there was nothing to be infected with.
Instead, Mary was infused with a super-abundance of grace at the moment of her conception, unlike the rest of mankind, because she was the one whom God chose to give birth to His Son, and there could be no defects in a vessel that bore a perfect being.
It would’ve been like a vase that had holes in it and then was filled with water.
Our sins are like the holes in our bodies, which are supposed to be vessels of the Holy Spirit. Such a defective vessel couldn’t have contained the water and thus couldn’t serve the purpose God created it to serve in the first place.
That’s why the angel Gabriel called her “Full of Grace”.
He could’ve said “Hail, woman of grace”, but he said “full of grace” to indicate that she received an abundance of grace at her conception that was the same abundance of grace that God gave Adam and Eve when they were perfectly created.
Indeed, Mary owes Jesus more than we do, because she was given more unearned grace than us and redeemed in a more exalted fashion than us.
That’s why she’s always pointing us to Him. She wouldn’t dare try to steal any of His glory because she knows she owes Him more than any other human does.
The core of Blessed John Duns Scotus’s defense of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was his radical new understanding of the purpose of the Incarnation.
Up till then, most theologians taught that the primary reason God sent His only Son to Earth to become one of us was because Adam and Eve sinned.
This was the anthropocentric view of the Incarnation that great doctors of the Church like St Anselm and St Thomas Aquinas taught.
It’s an orthodox view, and is theologically correct.
But Scotus taught that there’s another view that explains the Incarnation in an even deeper and more accurate way.
That’s the Christocentric view.
This view holds that God had planned on sending His son to the Earth to become man all along, regardless of what Adam and Eve chose to do in the garden.
This is because He knew all along they’d sin.
That’s why He allowed the enemy to tempt them in the garden.
He anticipated their sin, because He knew it would lead to their need to be redeemed by His Son. But more importantly, He knew it would lead to Jesus’ birth and the creation of His human and divine natures, which were united in what is known as the hypostatic union.
In other words, Christ came to redeem man from his sin, but that wasn’t the primary reason He came.
The primary reason He came was to unite us with Himself and thus elevate our imperfect humanity to His divinity.
As St Athanasius said, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God”.
(End Part 2)
Dec 11, 2018 14:51:20 #
Why did it take so long for the Catholic Church to officially define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary? (Part 3)
https://medium.com/@chrisantenucci/why-did-it-take-so-long-for-the-catholic-church-to-officially-define-the-dogma-of-the-immaculate-d62859c9a65e.
God allowed us to fall because He knew that by doing so, He could give us, and thus Himself greater glory.
So instead of the Incarnation being the result of creation’s fall, it’s the other way around.
The creation of Adam and Eve was God’s preparation for the coming of His Son.
This doctrine is known as the primacy of Christ in creation.
I’ve written several longer articles about this doctrine in depth so I don’t want to add much more to that here, since it’s not the main purpose of this article.
However, it is necessary to at least briefly explain it and why it serves as the cornerstone of Scotus’s brilliant argument in defense of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
It can be summed up this way:
God always existed, and so there was no moment when He decided to create us.
We always existed in His mind, as I’ve written about here and here.
All of creation is a product of His infinite love, which couldn’t be contained within Himself, but overflowed into the creation of the universe, which resulted in the creation of time and space.
St Thomas Aquinas wrote about how there was an order of creation in God’s mind based on His divine will and intention.
If we study the Bible closely enough, we can see that it shows that Jesus’s human nature was the first thing God intended to create because it was the only thing that perfectly reflected Himself.
Thus, His Incarnation was the center of creation, and everything else in the created world revolved around it.
Everything that was created before Jesus’s human nature pointed the way to Him and was preparing the world for His birth.
Mary was second in the hierarchy of God’s creation because she was human and thus one step below Jesus, but sinless, and thus one step above all other humans.
Once we understand this hierarchy of creation in God’s mind, we can then more easily understand the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
St Thomas Aquinas, and then Blessed John Duns Scotus referred to Aristotle to remind us that “What is first in intention is last in execution”.
Just as an architect creates a blueprint first, and then the construction crew builds the foundation of the building before building the pinnacle of it, so too did God design the Incarnation first and then created Adam and Eve to prepare the way for it.
But the means by which the Incarnation was made possible was Mary, and thus she had to be immaculate in the mind of God before she was even born in order to perfectly execute His plan of salvation.
I would like to address one last objection Protestants make to this dogma, and to our love of Mary in general.
They say she’s hardly mentioned in the Bible, and that should be seen as proof that God didn’t think too highly of her, certainly not highly enough to create her without original sin. This is wrong for several reasons:
1)Mary’s sinless nature and perfect obedience to God are foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament.
If everything in the Old Testament was meant to point to Jesus, then it logically follows that there must be people and events in the Old Testament that also prefigure Mary, since Jesus’s birth wasn’t possible without her.
2)Just because someone isn’t talked about much, doesn’t mean they aren’t important. St Joseph’s words aren’t recorded at all in the New Testament, and yet we know from private revelations and the writings of various saints that he also was made sinless by God, only after his conception, and that he has great glory in Heaven.
Also, when Mary is mentioned, she’s greeted in a way that signifies royalty, and later is inspired to say that “all generations shall call me blessed”.
The Holy Spirit wouldn’t have inspired her to say that if God wanted us to believe she was just an ordinary woman that God wanted nothing to do with after she bore His Son.
3)We know from Mary’s apparitions to various saints and mystics why much wasn’t written about her in the gospels.
It was because she was perfectly humble and out of her overflowing love for her Son, asked God to keep her hidden so that Jesus could receive all of the glory He rightly deserved.
God honored this request of hers, with the intention that He would reveal her to mankind later in human history and give her a share in His glory that she deserved for living her life in perfect obedience to Him.
It was also because mankind was still fairly primitive, and the Jews and Gentiles alike had a very limited idea of who God was at that time.
If Mary’s full glory and the superabundance of graces God gave her were revealed then, people would’ve thought she was divine and worshiped her as part of the Trinity.
Indeed, some women, known as Collyridians, did do that in the early centuries, and they were condemned as heretics by the Church.
God had to allow the Church to uncover the truth He revealed about Himself through His Son first, so that the theological foundation could be built to prepare the way for Him to reveal the truth about His Mother to us later.
(End Part 3)
https://medium.com/@chrisantenucci/why-did-it-take-so-long-for-the-catholic-church-to-officially-define-the-dogma-of-the-immaculate-d62859c9a65e.
God allowed us to fall because He knew that by doing so, He could give us, and thus Himself greater glory.
So instead of the Incarnation being the result of creation’s fall, it’s the other way around.
The creation of Adam and Eve was God’s preparation for the coming of His Son.
This doctrine is known as the primacy of Christ in creation.
I’ve written several longer articles about this doctrine in depth so I don’t want to add much more to that here, since it’s not the main purpose of this article.
However, it is necessary to at least briefly explain it and why it serves as the cornerstone of Scotus’s brilliant argument in defense of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
It can be summed up this way:
God always existed, and so there was no moment when He decided to create us.
We always existed in His mind, as I’ve written about here and here.
All of creation is a product of His infinite love, which couldn’t be contained within Himself, but overflowed into the creation of the universe, which resulted in the creation of time and space.
St Thomas Aquinas wrote about how there was an order of creation in God’s mind based on His divine will and intention.
If we study the Bible closely enough, we can see that it shows that Jesus’s human nature was the first thing God intended to create because it was the only thing that perfectly reflected Himself.
Thus, His Incarnation was the center of creation, and everything else in the created world revolved around it.
Everything that was created before Jesus’s human nature pointed the way to Him and was preparing the world for His birth.
Mary was second in the hierarchy of God’s creation because she was human and thus one step below Jesus, but sinless, and thus one step above all other humans.
Once we understand this hierarchy of creation in God’s mind, we can then more easily understand the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
St Thomas Aquinas, and then Blessed John Duns Scotus referred to Aristotle to remind us that “What is first in intention is last in execution”.
Just as an architect creates a blueprint first, and then the construction crew builds the foundation of the building before building the pinnacle of it, so too did God design the Incarnation first and then created Adam and Eve to prepare the way for it.
But the means by which the Incarnation was made possible was Mary, and thus she had to be immaculate in the mind of God before she was even born in order to perfectly execute His plan of salvation.
I would like to address one last objection Protestants make to this dogma, and to our love of Mary in general.
They say she’s hardly mentioned in the Bible, and that should be seen as proof that God didn’t think too highly of her, certainly not highly enough to create her without original sin. This is wrong for several reasons:
1)Mary’s sinless nature and perfect obedience to God are foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament.
If everything in the Old Testament was meant to point to Jesus, then it logically follows that there must be people and events in the Old Testament that also prefigure Mary, since Jesus’s birth wasn’t possible without her.
2)Just because someone isn’t talked about much, doesn’t mean they aren’t important. St Joseph’s words aren’t recorded at all in the New Testament, and yet we know from private revelations and the writings of various saints that he also was made sinless by God, only after his conception, and that he has great glory in Heaven.
Also, when Mary is mentioned, she’s greeted in a way that signifies royalty, and later is inspired to say that “all generations shall call me blessed”.
The Holy Spirit wouldn’t have inspired her to say that if God wanted us to believe she was just an ordinary woman that God wanted nothing to do with after she bore His Son.
3)We know from Mary’s apparitions to various saints and mystics why much wasn’t written about her in the gospels.
It was because she was perfectly humble and out of her overflowing love for her Son, asked God to keep her hidden so that Jesus could receive all of the glory He rightly deserved.
God honored this request of hers, with the intention that He would reveal her to mankind later in human history and give her a share in His glory that she deserved for living her life in perfect obedience to Him.
It was also because mankind was still fairly primitive, and the Jews and Gentiles alike had a very limited idea of who God was at that time.
If Mary’s full glory and the superabundance of graces God gave her were revealed then, people would’ve thought she was divine and worshiped her as part of the Trinity.
Indeed, some women, known as Collyridians, did do that in the early centuries, and they were condemned as heretics by the Church.
God had to allow the Church to uncover the truth He revealed about Himself through His Son first, so that the theological foundation could be built to prepare the way for Him to reveal the truth about His Mother to us later.
(End Part 3)
Dec 11, 2018 15:03:07 #
Why did it take so long for the Catholic Church to officially define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary? (Part 4)
https://medium.com/@chrisantenucci/why-did-it-take-so-long-for-the-catholic-church-to-officially-define-the-dogma-of-the-immaculate-d62859c9a65e.
Why Pope Pius IX chose to officially define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854
In this last section, I want to add some historical context to explain why the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was pronounced by Pope Pius IX at the time in history he pronounced it.
Some critics of the Church have said that Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 because he was trying to prove the truth of a dogma the Church made up.
Other critics have said he was doing it as a way to reestablish the authority of the papacy during a time of political upheaval when it was being challenged.
There’s some truth to this second criticism, but what these critics don’t understand is that Pope Pius IX used the dogma of the Immaculate Conception precisely to show the world that the papacy had the authority and guidance of the Holy Spirit behind it.
This didn’t prove that the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was made up.
If anything, it proved the legitimacy of it, because the Pope wouldn’t have tied the authority and legitimacy of the papacy to a dogma that wasn’t believed to be true by the entire Church and without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We shouldn’t be focused on asking why a dogma is defined at a certain time, but on whether or not it’s true.
Either it’s true or it’s not, so the timing of it is of secondary importance.
We determine if any given doctrine or dogma is true by using our intellect and reasoning ability to uncover the truth behind the dogma as its been revealed through scripture, tradition, and private revelations from God and Mary.
But this can’t give us perfect certainty because we’re fallible and our reasoning abilities are limited.
That’s why Jesus gave us the Church, to be our infallible guide on these matters and take us the rest of the way to the fullness of truth as its been revealed to us by God.
Some Protestants think Pope Pius IX came up with the idea to make this proclamation completely on his own, but that’s simply not true.
There were many forces at work behind the scenes that influenced him to make this decision, God being the primary one.
In fact he wasn’t even sure about doing it, which is why he sent out a survey to all of the bishops of the Church asking them if he should make this dogma an official dogma of the Church.
They responded overwhelmingly in agreement that it should be made official.
The political climate of the time is key to understanding the factors Pope Pius IX had to take into account when making this decision.
First of all, he was already in exile because he was driven out of the Papal States by Freemasons and other revolutionaries whose goal was to destroy the papacy and replace it with a secular government.
This was at a time when Italian nationalism was in full force, as many Italians wanted to overthrow the Austrian government that ruled over them.
This was also taking place during the beginning of the naturalism movement, starting with the French Revolution and gaining steam with the publishing of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” in 1859.
The Protestant Reformation along with these secular movements were causing many Catholics to leave the Church, or at least become skeptical of her divine authority.
The Reformation did this by claiming that the pope had no divine authority, and that anyone can learn the truth about God on his own just by picking up a Bible and reading it.
Naturalism, on the other hand, said that God doesn’t exist, and that the universe and everything in it is all there is.
Naturalists thus claim that there’s no such thing as objective or transcendent truth, and that everything in the universe can become known through the use of science and logic.
These were the new intellectual and cultural forces that were chipping away at the authority and legitimacy of the Church.
So the Church needed to reassert it’s authority and make it clear that it still contains the fullness of truth, and that it has the final say about what is true when it comes to faith and morals, not scientists or secular intellectuals.
God used this moment in time to do just that through the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which put things back into their proper order by claiming that Jesus’s Incarnation is the center of creation, and that it was made possible by Mary’s Immaculate Conception.
A cardinal who spent time with Pope Pius IX made this point to him, and was said to have influenced him to make the final decision:
“However, French historian and professor Louis Baunard said that while gazing upon the Mediterranean from the city.
“The Pope mediated on remarks made to him by Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini:
Holy Father, you will not be able to heal the world unless you proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Only this dogmatic definition will reestablish the meaning of the Christian truths and bring minds back from the paths of naturalism upon which they have become lost.”
According to Guglietta,
Naturalism, which rejected all supernatural truth, could be considered the “backdrop” for the Pope’s proclamation of the dogma.
“The affirmation of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin laid a strong foundation for affirming and strengthening the certainty of the primacy of grace and the work of Providence in the lives of men.””
Furthermore, I don’t think it was a coincidence that less than a few decades later in 1870 at the First Vatican Council, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the definition of papal infallibility.
This dogma made it clear that when the pope makes an official statement about faith and morals Ex Cathedra, it is infallible, and thus can’t be changed, no matter what liberals inside or outside the Church believed about it.
As this lecture explains, it was clear that God’s invisible hand was all over the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception because it laid the foundation for Pope Pius IX to reassert the authority of the papacy.
It goes without saying that God wouldn’t use a dogma for this purpose if it wasn’t also true, since nothing that comes from God is false.
When Pope Pius IX had to flee the Vatican in 1848, Italian papers were saying it was the end of the Church and of the papacy.
Catholics around the world were in doubt about the role of the Church in the world, and whether or not they should still follow it.
As it turns out, not long after this proclamation was made, Pope Pius IX was able to return to the Vatican and take up his rightful place in the seat of Peter again.
It was as if God was using the honoring of His Mother to make it clear to the world that only the Catholic Church, through the power of the papacy, had the power to define what is truth and what isn’t, and that it’s through her alone that salvation can be found.
Likewise, in another miraculous event that couldn’t be coincidental, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous four years later on the Feast of the Annunciation in Lourdes, France, and declared to her.
“I am the Immaculate Conception”.
In fact, it was just a few decades earlier in 1930 that Mary appeared to St Catherine Laboure in a suburb of Paris and gave her the image of the Miraculous Medal, which is an image of her as the Immaculate Conception with the words.
“O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee”.
This was a private revelation, but it had such an impact on the Church that Pope Pius IX gave it a papal statement of approval, which is rare, especially so soon after a revelation.
So we can see from these Marian apparitions that God used Mary to guide and then confirm the development of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
It was as if Jesus wanted to show the world that He wanted the Church to honor His Mother after allowing her to remain hidden for so long, and He was pleased when the Church followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit to do this.
I hope I’ve honored the Blessed Virgin Mary through this article by making it clear that there is much evidence from the Bible, tradition, and private revelation to support the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Likewise, there are many reasons why it took so long for this dogma to be developed.
If we look at it with the eyes of faith, we can clearly see that the timing of its development was part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.
We know that these latter years in human history are a time when God will let the enemy loose to wreak havoc on the world, so it would only make sense that God would also make His Mother more fully known to the world in order to crush that serpent’s head with her foot,
As it says in Genesis. God’s sons and daughters will need all the help we can get in our battle with the forces of evil, and Mary is willing and able to help us, as long as we turn to her for assistance.
She’ll guide us to her Son, and give us the graces we need to overcome all of the attacks and temptations of the enemy.
Rather than being a hindrance to our belief in the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, it’s slow but steady development over many centuries reveals the order and infinite wisdom of God’s plan for the salvation of all people.
Just as we don’t expect God to reveal everything we need to know to become saints all at once in the earlier years of our lives, we shouldn’t have expected Him to reveal everything about His Mother in the infancy of human history, when mankind wouldn’t have been ready to understand it.
We can take comfort in knowing that like Mary, we might not receive much praise or glory in this life, but if we humble ourselves before God and spend our lives in simple obedience to His will, we’ll receive a reward in the next life that surpasses our understanding.
With the Blessed Virgin Mary as our model, we have to be perfectly willing to allow God to use us and reveal things in His time and in His way.
In order to do that, we need to ask God for the perfect faith, hope, and love that Mary had.
Because when you love God with all of your being, time no longer constrains you since you’re willing to wait an unlimited amount of time for God to do His will in and through you.
Let us be grateful for this dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which reminds us that there are no limits to what God can do with us if we give Him our “fiat”, as Mary did, and unite our wills completely to His.
(End Part 4)
https://medium.com/@chrisantenucci/why-did-it-take-so-long-for-the-catholic-church-to-officially-define-the-dogma-of-the-immaculate-d62859c9a65e.
Why Pope Pius IX chose to officially define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854
In this last section, I want to add some historical context to explain why the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was pronounced by Pope Pius IX at the time in history he pronounced it.
Some critics of the Church have said that Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 because he was trying to prove the truth of a dogma the Church made up.
Other critics have said he was doing it as a way to reestablish the authority of the papacy during a time of political upheaval when it was being challenged.
There’s some truth to this second criticism, but what these critics don’t understand is that Pope Pius IX used the dogma of the Immaculate Conception precisely to show the world that the papacy had the authority and guidance of the Holy Spirit behind it.
This didn’t prove that the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was made up.
If anything, it proved the legitimacy of it, because the Pope wouldn’t have tied the authority and legitimacy of the papacy to a dogma that wasn’t believed to be true by the entire Church and without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We shouldn’t be focused on asking why a dogma is defined at a certain time, but on whether or not it’s true.
Either it’s true or it’s not, so the timing of it is of secondary importance.
We determine if any given doctrine or dogma is true by using our intellect and reasoning ability to uncover the truth behind the dogma as its been revealed through scripture, tradition, and private revelations from God and Mary.
But this can’t give us perfect certainty because we’re fallible and our reasoning abilities are limited.
That’s why Jesus gave us the Church, to be our infallible guide on these matters and take us the rest of the way to the fullness of truth as its been revealed to us by God.
Some Protestants think Pope Pius IX came up with the idea to make this proclamation completely on his own, but that’s simply not true.
There were many forces at work behind the scenes that influenced him to make this decision, God being the primary one.
In fact he wasn’t even sure about doing it, which is why he sent out a survey to all of the bishops of the Church asking them if he should make this dogma an official dogma of the Church.
They responded overwhelmingly in agreement that it should be made official.
The political climate of the time is key to understanding the factors Pope Pius IX had to take into account when making this decision.
First of all, he was already in exile because he was driven out of the Papal States by Freemasons and other revolutionaries whose goal was to destroy the papacy and replace it with a secular government.
This was at a time when Italian nationalism was in full force, as many Italians wanted to overthrow the Austrian government that ruled over them.
This was also taking place during the beginning of the naturalism movement, starting with the French Revolution and gaining steam with the publishing of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” in 1859.
The Protestant Reformation along with these secular movements were causing many Catholics to leave the Church, or at least become skeptical of her divine authority.
The Reformation did this by claiming that the pope had no divine authority, and that anyone can learn the truth about God on his own just by picking up a Bible and reading it.
Naturalism, on the other hand, said that God doesn’t exist, and that the universe and everything in it is all there is.
Naturalists thus claim that there’s no such thing as objective or transcendent truth, and that everything in the universe can become known through the use of science and logic.
These were the new intellectual and cultural forces that were chipping away at the authority and legitimacy of the Church.
So the Church needed to reassert it’s authority and make it clear that it still contains the fullness of truth, and that it has the final say about what is true when it comes to faith and morals, not scientists or secular intellectuals.
God used this moment in time to do just that through the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which put things back into their proper order by claiming that Jesus’s Incarnation is the center of creation, and that it was made possible by Mary’s Immaculate Conception.
A cardinal who spent time with Pope Pius IX made this point to him, and was said to have influenced him to make the final decision:
“However, French historian and professor Louis Baunard said that while gazing upon the Mediterranean from the city.
“The Pope mediated on remarks made to him by Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini:
Holy Father, you will not be able to heal the world unless you proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Only this dogmatic definition will reestablish the meaning of the Christian truths and bring minds back from the paths of naturalism upon which they have become lost.”
According to Guglietta,
Naturalism, which rejected all supernatural truth, could be considered the “backdrop” for the Pope’s proclamation of the dogma.
“The affirmation of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin laid a strong foundation for affirming and strengthening the certainty of the primacy of grace and the work of Providence in the lives of men.””
Furthermore, I don’t think it was a coincidence that less than a few decades later in 1870 at the First Vatican Council, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the definition of papal infallibility.
This dogma made it clear that when the pope makes an official statement about faith and morals Ex Cathedra, it is infallible, and thus can’t be changed, no matter what liberals inside or outside the Church believed about it.
As this lecture explains, it was clear that God’s invisible hand was all over the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception because it laid the foundation for Pope Pius IX to reassert the authority of the papacy.
It goes without saying that God wouldn’t use a dogma for this purpose if it wasn’t also true, since nothing that comes from God is false.
When Pope Pius IX had to flee the Vatican in 1848, Italian papers were saying it was the end of the Church and of the papacy.
Catholics around the world were in doubt about the role of the Church in the world, and whether or not they should still follow it.
As it turns out, not long after this proclamation was made, Pope Pius IX was able to return to the Vatican and take up his rightful place in the seat of Peter again.
It was as if God was using the honoring of His Mother to make it clear to the world that only the Catholic Church, through the power of the papacy, had the power to define what is truth and what isn’t, and that it’s through her alone that salvation can be found.
Likewise, in another miraculous event that couldn’t be coincidental, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous four years later on the Feast of the Annunciation in Lourdes, France, and declared to her.
“I am the Immaculate Conception”.
In fact, it was just a few decades earlier in 1930 that Mary appeared to St Catherine Laboure in a suburb of Paris and gave her the image of the Miraculous Medal, which is an image of her as the Immaculate Conception with the words.
“O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee”.
This was a private revelation, but it had such an impact on the Church that Pope Pius IX gave it a papal statement of approval, which is rare, especially so soon after a revelation.
So we can see from these Marian apparitions that God used Mary to guide and then confirm the development of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
It was as if Jesus wanted to show the world that He wanted the Church to honor His Mother after allowing her to remain hidden for so long, and He was pleased when the Church followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit to do this.
I hope I’ve honored the Blessed Virgin Mary through this article by making it clear that there is much evidence from the Bible, tradition, and private revelation to support the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Likewise, there are many reasons why it took so long for this dogma to be developed.
If we look at it with the eyes of faith, we can clearly see that the timing of its development was part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.
We know that these latter years in human history are a time when God will let the enemy loose to wreak havoc on the world, so it would only make sense that God would also make His Mother more fully known to the world in order to crush that serpent’s head with her foot,
As it says in Genesis. God’s sons and daughters will need all the help we can get in our battle with the forces of evil, and Mary is willing and able to help us, as long as we turn to her for assistance.
She’ll guide us to her Son, and give us the graces we need to overcome all of the attacks and temptations of the enemy.
Rather than being a hindrance to our belief in the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, it’s slow but steady development over many centuries reveals the order and infinite wisdom of God’s plan for the salvation of all people.
Just as we don’t expect God to reveal everything we need to know to become saints all at once in the earlier years of our lives, we shouldn’t have expected Him to reveal everything about His Mother in the infancy of human history, when mankind wouldn’t have been ready to understand it.
We can take comfort in knowing that like Mary, we might not receive much praise or glory in this life, but if we humble ourselves before God and spend our lives in simple obedience to His will, we’ll receive a reward in the next life that surpasses our understanding.
With the Blessed Virgin Mary as our model, we have to be perfectly willing to allow God to use us and reveal things in His time and in His way.
In order to do that, we need to ask God for the perfect faith, hope, and love that Mary had.
Because when you love God with all of your being, time no longer constrains you since you’re willing to wait an unlimited amount of time for God to do His will in and through you.
Let us be grateful for this dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which reminds us that there are no limits to what God can do with us if we give Him our “fiat”, as Mary did, and unite our wills completely to His.
(End Part 4)
Dec 11, 2018 15:13:39 #
Rose42,
Read the Article, it will answer all you're doubts.
This is the best exhaustive article and explanation of the Catholic Church by a lay writer.
Why does God work through men and women ?
If you had red the article on the Trinity then you would know.
The Catholic Church moves slowly, it is a large river and is is shallow on the edges, but deep and swifter in the center.
Read the article rose42, learn something new . . .
Doc 110.
Read the Article, it will answer all you're doubts.
This is the best exhaustive article and explanation of the Catholic Church by a lay writer.
Why does God work through men and women ?
If you had red the article on the Trinity then you would know.
The Catholic Church moves slowly, it is a large river and is is shallow on the edges, but deep and swifter in the center.
Read the article rose42, learn something new . . .
Doc 110.
Rose42 wrote:
How could a perfect and all knowing God neglect to put any of that in the bible?
Why are popes taking so long to come out with it if it could have benefited people centuries ago? Its not logical.
How could a perfect and all knowing God neglect to put any of that in the bible?
Why are popes taking so long to come out with it if it could have benefited people centuries ago? Its not logical.
Dec 11, 2018 15:36:33 #
Doc110 wrote:
Rose42,
Read the Article, it will answer all you're doubts.
This is the best exhaustive article and explanation of the Catholic Church by a lay writer.
Why does God work through men and women ?
If you had red the article on the Trinity then you would know.
The Catholic Church moves slowly, it is a large river and is is shallow on the edges, but deep and swifter in the center.
Read the article rose42, learn something new . . .
Doc 110.
Read the Article, it will answer all you're doubts.
This is the best exhaustive article and explanation of the Catholic Church by a lay writer.
Why does God work through men and women ?
If you had red the article on the Trinity then you would know.
The Catholic Church moves slowly, it is a large river and is is shallow on the edges, but deep and swifter in the center.
Read the article rose42, learn something new . . .
Doc 110.
I did read it Doc. It goes completely against God's word and is another fabrication of the Catholic church.
This statement is totally invalid - "So, why did the Church wait so long to define the Marian dogmas?
For the same reason it took centuries to create the canon of the Bible and define the dogma of the Trinity at the First Council of Constantinople: "
Why is that statement not valid? Because the writer is trying to compare God's word with man's word. There is no comparison. The author failed completely in providing any biblical evidence because there is none. That itself invalidates the idea of praying to Mary.
Did God lie to us in His word with this -
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Tim 2:5
What good is it to do mental gymnastics when the truth is so exquisitely simple? There is no co-mediatrix mentioned, nothing. Do you realize that when you do pray to Mary you are demeaning Christ and what He did for us? You demean His love and infinite mercy?
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