Mary, Mediatrix of Grace Chapter 31 Mary, Mediatrix of Grace

Mary our Mother Jesus gave Mary to the Church While He was on the cross talking with John “Woman, behold, your son”, “Behold, your mother” Use of pronouns meant that He was giving Mary to be the mother of us all Christianity has always had a special love for Mary “All generations will call me blessed” Why should we love Mary? Greatly loved by God Chosen for a special role in our salvation

Mediatrix We celebrate Mary’s birthday Fiat Mother of God Mediatrix Because it would be through her that the Christ would come Fiat Let it be done Mary’s yes made Jesus’ coming a reality Mother of God Mary conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit She helped raise Him Mediatrix Channel of all grace Because it was through her that the source of all grace would be born

Mary – The Perfect Disciple Mary – the First Disciple Mary followed Christ and learned from Him as well She became the perfect disciple While the Apostles struggled, she united her will to the Father’s She accepted the death of her Son on the cross A sword pierced her heart She felt His sufferings and shared them She offered up His death for the forgiveness of sins Mary stayed on earth following Christ’s Ascension Was with them at Pentecost Remained as the Mother of the Church Told stories of Christ’s life to the Apostles Source of infancy narrative in Luke

The Privileges of Mary Conceived without Original Sin Virgin mother Only human aside from Christ We call this her Immaculate Conception Confirmed at Lourdes This allowed her to be worthy of giving birth to Christ Virgin mother Assumed body and soul into Heaven Her body was a literal tabernacle Theotokos – Bearer of God God wouldn’t allow her body to decay Plus, bodily decay is a result of Original Sin

Total Consecration to Mary Mary wants us to embrace being her children So that she can lead us to her Son Total Consecration to Mary A special way in which we ask her to be our mother We give ourselves totally to her She takes all the graces that we would gain, and uses them for God’s greatest glory and our greatest good The consecration is used by many saints St. Louis de Montfort St. Maximilian Kolbe Simple prayer: “Accept me, O Mary, as your own child, and take charge of my salvation” She is like a queen preparing a gift for the king on our behalf Makes the presentation to Him more beautiful than we could ever have done