Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
The Second Vatican Council chose to dedicate the last chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church to the Virgin Mary (cf. Lumen gentium, 52-69). She “is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member of the Church, and as its type and excellent example in faith and charity” (LG, 53). These words invite us to understand how in Mary, who under the action of the Holy Spirit welcomed and brought forth the Son of God made flesh, we can recognize both the model and the pre-eminent member and mother of the entire ecclesial community.
By allowing Herself to be shaped by the work of Grace, which came to fulfilment in Her, and by welcoming the gift of the Most High with Her faith and Her virginal love, Mary is the perfect model of what the whole Church is called to be: a creature of the Word of the Lord and mother of the children of God, begotten in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, as She is the believer par excellence, in whom we are offered the perfect form of unconditional openness to the divine mystery within the communion of God’s holy people, Mary is an excellent member of the ecclesial community. Finally, inasmuch as She brings forth children in the Son, loved in the eternal Beloved who came among us, Mary is the mother of the whole Church, which can turn to her with filial confidence, in the certainty of being heard, protected and loved.
On might express the sum of these characteristics of the Virgin Mary by referring to Her as a woman who is the icon of the Mystery. The word woman highlights the historical reality of this young daughter of Israel, to whom it was granted to live the extraordinary experience of becoming the mother of the Messiah. The expression icon emphasizes that, in Her, the twofold movement of descent and ascent is fulfilled: in Her, both God’s gratuitous election and Her free consent of faith in Him shine forth. Mary is therefore the woman who is the icon of the Mystery, that is, of the divine plan of salvation, once hidden and now revealed in its fullness in Jesus Christ.
The Council has left us clear teaching on the unique place reserved to the Virgin Mary in the work of Redemption (cf. Lumen gentium, 60-62). It recalls that the sole Mediator of salvation is Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Tm 2:5-6), and that his Mother Most Holy “in no way impedes, but rather fosters the immediate union of the faithful with Christ (cf. LG, 60). At the same time, “predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence which determined the incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin … in this singular way … cooperated by Her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore She is our mother in the order of grace” (ibid., 61).
The mystery of the Church is also reflected in the Virgin Mary: in Her, the people of God find the representation of their origin, their model and their homeland. In the Mother of the Lord, the Church contemplates her own mystery, not only because she finds in Her the model of virginal faith, maternal charity and the spousal covenant to which she is called, but also and above all because in Her she recognizes her own archetype, the ideal figure of what she is called to be.
As we can see, the reflections on the Virgin Mother collected in Lumen gentium teach us to love the Church and to serve within her the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God, which is coming and which will be fully realized in glory.
Let us then allow ourselves to be questioned by the sublime model given to us by Mary, Virgin and Mother, and let us ask Her to help us, through Her intercession, to respond to what is asked of us through Her example: do I live my participation of the Church with humble and active faith? Do I recognize in her the community of the covenant that God has given me to respond to His infinite love? Do I feel that I am a living part of the Church, in obedience to the pastors given by God? Do I look to Mary as a model, an outstanding member and Mother of the Church, and ask Her to help me be a faithful disciple of her Son?
Sisters and brothers, may the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Mary and is invoked by us humbly and trustfully, grant us the grace to live these wonderful realities to the full. And, having reflected deeply on the Constitution Lumen gentium, let us ask the Virgin to obtain this gift for us: that love for the Holy Mother Church may grow in all of us. So be it!
Source: vatican.va
