karpenter,
Caving into peer Protestant pressure ?
Here are 17 Marian articles to read.
I. Marian dogmas:
Ancient beliefs of the Church Understanding what the Faith teaches about Mary enriches our relationship with the Blessed Mother
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Article/TabId/563/ArtMID/13751/ArticleID/24726/Marian-dogmas-Ancient-beliefs-of-the-Church.aspxArticles of faith
A dogma, described by various sources, is a teaching of the Church that has been revealed by God and a teaching to be held by all Catholics.
A dogma is not a new belief, but it clarifies or defines a long-held conviction of the faithful.
It often is referred to as a doctrine or article of faith that we all are expected to believe.
According to the Catechism, âThe Churchâs magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obligating the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with theseâ (No. 88).
There are four Marian dogmas:
1. That Mary is the Mother of God;
2. Her perpetual virginity;
3. That she was immaculately conceived;
4. And that she was assumed into heaven.
The Apostles Creed,
From the second century, says the son of God âwas born of the Virgin Mary,â and the Nicene Creed, fourth century, proclaims that Jesus âcame down from heaven and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.â
The Church Fathers and councils through the years also affirmed her perpetual virginity.
St. Augustine (354-430) said, âA virgin conceives, yet remains a virgin; a virgin is heavy with child; a virgin brings forth her child, yet she is always virgin. Why are you amazed at this, O man? It was fitting for God to be born thus when he deigned to become manâ (Sermon 186). Indeed, why should we be amazed that Mary, the one chosen by God as his mother, would be a perpetual virgin? She was Godâs ornate fixture on earth, the new Eve, who would deflect all fame to her Son.
The Fifth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in AD 553 called Mary, âthe holy and glorious ever virgin.â
Then, in AD 679, following the local Council of Lateran, Pope Martin (r. 649-55) decreed.
âIf anyone does not properly and truly confess in accord with the holy Fathers, that the holy Mother of God and ever Virgin and Immaculate Mary in the earliest of the ages conceived of the Holy Spirit without seed, namely, God the Word Himself specifically and truly, who was born of God the Father before all ages, and that she incorruptibly bore [Him], her virginity remaining indestructible even after His birth, let him be condemnedâ (Canon 3).
The Church points to these two councils as the source of the dogma regarding Mary as a perpetual virgin.
History of the Immaculate Conception:
Since the eighth century, the Church has celebrated Maryâs conception in the womb of her mother, and since the 12th century, it has been called the Immaculate Conception.
During the middle ages theologians and Church leaders debated as to whether or not Mary was conceived exempt from original sin. People like Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bernard of Clairvaux argued that every man and woman experiences original sin and is only redeemed by Jesusâ suffering for us on the cross; thus, Mary couldnât be redeemed before there was a Redeemer.
It was the theologian and Franciscan Blessed John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) who convincingly explained that Mary was preserved in advance from original sin (preserved redemption), that she was redeemed and saved at her conception.
He explained that if a person falls, they have to be helped up, but God prevented Mary from falling (redeemed in advance). Simply put, Mary was sinless from her conception by the grace of God.
American Devotion
The Immaculate Conception was honored by many of the new world explorers.
When Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) sailed to the new world in 1492, his flagship was named Santa Maria de la Immaculate Conception or Holy Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
The Spanish Conquistador Cortes (1485-1547) founded the first hospital in North America; it was erected in Mexico City in 1524 and originally called the Hospital of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1673, Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette (1637-75), a French explorer in the upper Midwest, discovered the northern portion of the Mississippi River and named it the River of the Immaculate Conception. St. Junipero Serra (1713-84) wrote a novena to Maryâs Immaculate Conception in 1765 while serving as a missionary in California.
In 1864, the bishops of the United States petitioned the Holy See and received permission to use the name Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception as patroness of the United States. This was eight years before the pope used his authority to declare the Immaculate Conception as a dogma of the Church.
II. Papal Bulls
1. Dominici gregis, Universi Dominici Gregis (February 22, 1996) | John Paul II
w2.vatican.va/content/john.../hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html
Universi Dominici gregis is an apostolic constitution of the Catholic Church issued by Pope John Paul II on 22 February 1996. It superseded Pope Paul VI's 1975 apostolic constitution, Romano Pontifici eligendo, and all previous apostolic constitutions and orders on the subject of the election of the Roman Pontiff.
This papal bull was issued by Pope Clement VIII on February 3, 1603. It considered Marian piety the basis for Church and condemned a number of issues as errors, including the denial of the virginity of Mary.[2]
2. Neffabilis Deus, Latin for "Ineffable God" It defines the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9ineff.htmIn this key papal bull (the title of which means "ineffable God" in Latin) Pope Pius IX defined ex cathedra the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The decree was promulgated on December 8, 1854, the date of the annual Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
The decree surveys the history of the belief in Christian tradition[citation needed], citing its roots in the long-standing feast of the Conception of Mary as a date of significance in the Eastern and Western churches. It also cites the approval of Catholic bishops worldwide who were asked in 1849 to offer their opinion on the matter.
3. Bis Saeculari
w2.vatican.va/...xii/.../hf_p-xii_apc_19480927_bis-saeculari.html
This Apostolic Constitution Sodality of Our Lady was promulgated by Pope Pius XII on September 27, 1948, the two hundredth anniversary of the Papal bull Gloriosae Dominae of Pope Benedict XIV in 1748.
https://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/.../hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.pd.
It is important for the fact that Apostolic constitutions are the highest form of Papal teaching, above encyclicals, and below dogmatization ex cathedra.
4. The Sodality of Our Lady dates to 1584.
https://archive.org/stream/.../manualofthesodal00unknuoft_djvu.txIt consists of associations of persons, sodalists, dedicated to a Christian life, following the model of the Virgin Mary. In Bis Saeculari, Pope Pius XII pointed to the importance of the Sodality of Our Lady within the Church which after four hundred years exist in all countries. They have produced virtuous lives among the faithful priests and saints. They still prepare men to be active in modern society.
5. Munificentissimus Deus
This Apostolic constitution (the title of which means "most bountiful God" in Latin) was issued by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950.
w2.vatican.va/content/pius.../hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus.htm
It defines ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the second ex-cathedra infallible statement ever made by a Pope, the first since the official ruling on Papal Infallibility was made at the First Vatican Council (1869-1870).
III. Papal encyclicals:
1. Ad diem illum, Pope St. Pius X On the Jubilee of the Immaculate Conception: He outlines the great riches and hidden implications behind the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception.
w2.vatican.va/content/pius.../hf_p-x_enc_02021904_ad-diem-illum-laetissimum.html
This encyclical by Pope Pius X on the Immaculate Conception, was given on February 2, 1904, in the first year of his Pontificate. It was issued in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. It is an important document because it explains the Mariology of Pope Pius X.
One of the reasons the pope gave for writing the encyclical was his desire for the restoration of all things in Christ which he had defined as his motto Instaurare omnia in Christo: to restore everything in Christ, to whom there is no safer or more direct road than Mary. To Pope Pius X, Mary unites all humankind in Christ.
2. Deiparae Virginis Mariae
This encyclical by Pope Pius XII issued on May 1, 1946 and was directed to all Catholic bishops on the possibility of defining the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a dogma of faith.
w2.vatican.va/content/pius.../hf_p-xii_enc_01051946_deiparae-virginis-mariae.html
The encyclical states, that for a long time past, numerous petitions have been received from cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, priests, religious of both sexes, associations, universities and innumerable private persons, all begging that the bodily Assumption into heaven of the Blessed Virgin should be defined and proclaimed as a dogma of faith. This was also fervently requested by almost two hundred fathers in the Vatican Council (1869-1870).
3. Ingruentium malorum
This encyclical of Pope Pius XII focused on the rosary. It was given on the 15 September, the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, in 1951.
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/.../hf_p-xii_enc_15091951_ingruentium-malorum.htm..
The encyclical states that from the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Pius XII entrusted to the Mother of God the destiny of the human family. The Pope argued that the repeating of identical formulas has a great impact on those who pray, giving them confidence in Mary. He strongly supports the idea, that Catholic families should pray the rosary together. He stated that while reciting the Rosary, Catholics should not forget those who languish in prison camps, jails, and concentration camps.
4. Fulgens corona, "Radiant Crown"
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/.../hf_p-xii_enc_08091953_fulgens-corona.html
This encyclical by Pope Pius XII was issued on 8 September 1953 on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The encyclical proclaimed a Marian year for 1954, to commemorate the centenary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Fulgens corona is significant as it contained the Mariological methodology of Pope Pius XII and his views on limits and challenges of Roman Catholic Mariology.
One hundred years before, Pius IX, surrounded by a vast retinue of Cardinals and Bishops, with infallible apostolic authority defined, pronounced and solemnly sanctioned in the dogmatic bull Ineffabilis Deus.
5. Ad Caeli Reginam, "Proclaiming the Queenship Of Mary."
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/.../hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam.html
This encyclical was issued by Pope Pius XII, on the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 11 October 1954. The encyclical is an important element of the Mariology of Pope Pius XIIand established the feast Queenship of Mary.
It states that assumed into heaven, Mary is with Jesus Christ, her divine son. With the encyclical, Pope Pius XII institutes the feast Queenship of Mary. Mary should be called Queen, not only because of her Divine Motherhood of Jesus Christ, her only son, but also because God has willed her to have an exceptional role in the work of our eternal salvation.
6. Redemptoris Mater, "Mother of the Redeemer"
w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul.../hf_jp-ii_enc_25031987_redemptoris-mater.html
Pope John Paul II delivered this encyclical on March 25, 1987. It is subtitled On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Pilgrim Church.
The encyclical discusses the special place of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the plan of salvation and continues to focus on Mary's role in the Mystery of Christ. In this encyclical Pope John Paul II confirmed the title, Mother of the Church, proclaimed by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964.
The encyclical also refers to Maternal Mediation and the role of the Virgin Mary as a Mediatrix.
IV. Papal Apostolic Letters
1. Gloriosae Dominae, "Queen of heaven and earth,"
http://thecatholicarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/286.pdfThis Apostolic Letter by Pope Pius XII was issued on September 27, 1748.
In this Apostolic Letter Pope Pius XII called the Blessed Virgin Mary "Queen of heaven and earth," stated that the sovereign King has in some way communicated to her his ruling power.
2. Arialis cultus, "Marian Devotion"
w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/.../hf_p-vi_exh_19740202_marialis-cultus.html
Pope Paul VI issued this Mariological Apostolic Letter on February 2, 1974. The letter is subtitled, For the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The document does not focus on specific themes in Mariology, but clarifies the way the Roman Catholic Church celebrates liturgies that commemorate Mary and about Marian devotion. The preparation of the document reportedly took 4 years.[4]
3. Rosarium Virginis Mariae, "Year of the Rosary"
https://w2.vatican.va/...ii/.../hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae.htmlThis Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II was issued on October 16, 2002. It deals with the Holy Rosary and views it as compendium of the Gospel message:
The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium.
The letter reaffirms the Roman Catholic beliefs on the power of the rosary and states: Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.
The letter also emphasizes total devotion to the Virgin Mary, as promoted by Saint Louis de Montfort.
https://infogalactic.com/info/Louis_de_Montfortkarpenter wrote:
Wondering:
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