DAME LIBRARY

Pope Paul VI

DEVOTION

TO THE

BLESSED VIRGIN

MARY



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APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION

MARIALIS CULTUS

OF HIS HOLINESS

PAUL VI

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TO ALL BISHOPS

IN PEACE AND COMMUNION

WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE

FOR THE RIGHT ORDERING

AND DEVELOPMENT

OF DEVOTION TO

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

February 2
,
1974

1374

Publications Office

UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CDNEERENCE

1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 2D0D5



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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Occasion and Purpose of the Document.

Division of the Treatise 1

PART ONE

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Liturgy (1-25) 4

Section I: The Blessed Virgin in the Revised Roman

Liturgy (2-15) 4

Section II: The Blessed Virgin as the Model of the

Church in Divine Worship (16-25) 12

PART TWO

The Renewal of Devotion to Mary (24-39) 17

Section I: Trinitarian, Christological and Ecclesial Aspects

of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin (25-28) 17

Section II: Four Guidelines for Devotion to the Blessed

Virgin: Biblical, Liturgical, Ecumenical and Anthropologi-

cal (29-39) 21

PART THREE

Observations on Two Exercises of Piety: the Angelus and

the Rosary (40-55) 30

The Angelus (41) 30

The Rosary (42-55) 31

CONCLUSION

Theological and Pastoral Value of Devotion to

the Blessed Virgin (56-57) 38

Epilogue (58) 42



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INTRODUCTION

OCCASION AND PURPOSE

OF THE DOCUMENT

DIVISION OF THE TREATISE

Venerable Brothers:

Health and the Apostolic Blessing:

From the moment when we were called to the See of Peter, we

have constantly striven to enhance devotion to the Blessed Virgin

Mary, not only with the intention of Interpreting the sentiments

of the Church and our own personal inclination but also because,

as is well known, this devotion forms a very noble part of the whole

sphere of that sacred worship In which there intermingle the

highest expressions of wisdom and of religion ^ and which is there-

fore the primary task of the People of God.

Precisely with a view to this task we have always favored and

encouraged the great work of liturgical reform promoted by the

Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, and it has certainly come

about not without a particular design of divine Providence that the

first conciliar document which together with the venerable Fathers

we approved and signed in Spiritu Sancto was the Constitution

Sacrosanctum Concilium. The purpose of this document was pre-

cisely to restore and enhance the liturgy and to make more fruitful

the participation of the faithful in the sacred mysteries. ^ From

that time onwards, many acts of our Pontificate have been di-

rected towards the improvement of divine worship, as is demon-

strated by the fact that we have promulgated in these recent years

numerous books of the Roman Rite, restored according to the

principles and norms of the same Council. For this we profoundly

thank the Lord, the giver of all good things, and we are grateful to

the episcopal conferences and Individual bishops who in various

ways have collaborated with us in the preparation of these books.

1



We contemplate with joy and gratitude the work so far accom-

plished and the first positive results of the liturgical renewal,

destined as they are to increase as this renewal comes to be under-

stood in its basic purposes and correctly applied. At the same time

we do not cease with vigilant solicitude to concern ourself with

whatever can give orderly fulfillment to the renewal of the worship

with which the Church in spirit and truth (cf. Jn 4:24) adores the

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, “venerates with special

love Mary the most holy Mother of God” ^ and honors with re-

ligious devotion the memory of the martyrs and the other saints.

The development, desired by us, of devotion to the Blessed

Virgin Mary is an indication of the Church’s genuine piety. This

devotion fits—as we have indicated above—into the only worship
that is rightly called “Christian,” because it takes its origin and

effectiveness from Christ, finds its complete expression in Christ,

and leads through Christ in the Spirit to the Father. In the sphere

of worship this devotion necessarily reflects God’s redemptive

plan, in which a special form of veneration Is appropriate to the

singular place which Mary occupies in that plan.^ Indeed every

authentic development of Christian worship Is necessarily followed

by a fitting increase of veneration for the Mother of the Lord.

Moreover, the history of piety shows how “the various forms of

devotion towards the Mother of God that the Church has approved

within the limits of wholesome and orthodox doctrine” ^ have

developed in harmonious subordination to the worship of Christ,

and have gravitated towards this worship as to their natural and

necessary point of reference. The same is happening in our own

time. The Church’s reflection today on the mystery of Christ and

on her own nature has led her to find at the root of the former

and as a culmination of the latter the same figure of a Woman:

the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ and the Mother of the Church,

And the increased knowledge of Mary’s mission has become joy-

ful veneration of her and adoring respect for the wise plan of

God, who has placed within his Family (the Church), as in every

home, the figure of a Woman, who In a hidden manner and In a

spirit of service watches over that Family “and carefully looks after

it until the glorious day of the Lord.” ®

In our time, the changes that have occurred in social behavior,

people’s sensibilities, manners of expression in art and letters and

in the forms of social communication have also influenced the

2



manifestations of religious sentiment. Certain practices of piety

that not long ago seemed suitable for expressing the religious

sentiment of individuals and of Christian communities seem today

inadequate or unsuitable because they are linked with social and

cultural patterns of the past. On the other hand, in many places

people are seeking new ways of expressing the unchangeable

relationship of creatures with their Creator, of children with their

Father. In some people this may cause temporary confusion. But

anyone who with trust in God reflects upon these phenomena dis-

covers that many tendencies of modern piety (for example, the

interiorization of religious sentiment) are meant to play their part

in the development of Christian piety in general and devotion to

the Blessed Virgin In particular. Thus our own time, faithfully

attentive to tradition and to the progress of theology and the

sciences, will make its contribution of praise to her whom, accord-

ing to her own prophetical words, all generations will call blessed

(cf. Lk 1:48).

We therefore judge it in keeping with our apostolic service,

venerable Brothers, to deal, in a sort of dialogue, with a number of

themes connected with the place that the Blessed Virgin occupies

In the Church's worship. These themes have already been partly

touched upon by the Second Vatican Council ^ and also by ourself,®

but it Is useful to return to them In order to remove doubts and,

especially, to help the development of that devotion to the Blessed

Virgin which in the Church is motivated by the Word of God and

practiced in the Spirit of Christ.

We therefore wish to dwell upon a number of questions con-

cerning the relationship between the sacred liturgy and devotion

to the Blessed Virgin (I), to offer considerations and directives

suitable for favoring the development of that devotion (II) and

finally to put forward a number of reflections Intended to en-

courage the restoration, in a dynamic and more informed manner,

of the recitation of the Rosary, the practice of which was so

strongly recommended by our predecessors and is so widely

diffused among the Christian people (III).

3



PART ONE

DEVOTION TO THE

BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

IN THE LITURGY

1. As we prepare to discuss the place which the Blessed Virgin

Mary occupies in Christian worship, we must first turn our atten-

tion to the sacred liturgy. In addition to its rich doctrinal content,

the liturgy has an incomparable pastoral effectiveness and a

recognized exemplary value for the other forms of worship. We

would have liked to take into consideration the various liturgies of

the East and the West, but for the purpose of this document we

shall dwell almost exclusively on the books of the Roman Rite.

In fact, in accordance with the practical norms issued by the

Second Vatican Council,^ it is this Rite alone which has been the

object of profound renewal. This is true also in regard to expres-

sions of veneration for Mary. This Rite therefore deserves to be

carefully considered and evaluated.

SECTION I

THE BLESSED VIRG^N

IN THE REVISED ROMAN LITURGY

2. The reform of the Roman liturgy presupposed a careful

restoration of its General Calendar. This Calendar is arranged in

such a way as to give fitting prominence to the celebration on

appropriate days of the work of salvation. It distributes throughout

the year the whole mystery of Christ, from the Incarnation to the

expectation of his return in glory, and thus makes it possible in

a more organic and closely-knit fashion to include the commemora-

tion of Christ’s Mother in the annual cycle of the mysteries of

her Son.

4



3. For example, during Advent there are many liturgical refer-

ences to Mary besides the Solemnity of 8 December, which is a

joint celebration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, of the

basic preparation (cf. Is 11:1, 10) for the coming of the Saviour

and of the happy beginning of the Church without spot or wrinkle,

Such liturgical references are found especially on the days from

December 17 to 24, and more particularly on the Sunday before

Christmas, which recalls the ancient prophecies concerning the

Virgin Mother and the Messiah and includes readings from the

Gospel concerning the imminent birth of Christ and his Pre-

cursor.13

4. In this way the faithful, living in the liturgy the spirit of Advent,

by thinking about the inexpressible love with which the Virgin

Mother awaited her Son,^^ are invited to take her as a model and

to prepare themselves to meet the Saviour who is to come. They

must be “vigilant in prayer and joyful in . .
.
praise.” We would

also remark that the Advent liturgy, by linking the awaiting of the

Messiah and the awaiting of the glorious return of Christ with the

admirable commemoration of his Mother, presents a happy bal-

ance in worship. This balance can be taken as a norm for prevent-

ing any tendency (as has happened at times in certain forms of

popular piety) to separate devotion to the Blessed Virgin from its

necessary point of reference—Christ. It also ensures that this
season, as liturgy experts have noted, should be considered as a

time particularly suited to devotion to the Mother of the Lord.

This is an orientation that we confirm and which we hope to see

accepted and followed everywhere.

5. The Christmas Season is a prolonged commemoration of the

divine, virginal and salvific Motherhood of her whose “inviolate

virginity brought the Saviour Into the world.” In fact, on the

Solemnity of the Birth of Christ the Church both adores the

Saviour and venerates his glorious Mother. On the Epiphany, when

she celebrates the universal call to salvation, the Church contem-

plates the Blessed Virgin, the true Seat of Wisdom and true

Mother of the King, who presents to the Wise Men for their adora-

tion the Redeemer of all peoples (cf. Mt 2:11). On the Feast of the

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (the Sunday within the

octave of Christmas) the Church meditates with profound rev-

erence upon the holy life led In the house at Nazareth by Jesus,

5



the Son of God and Son of Man, Mary his Mother, and Joseph the

just man (cf. Mt 1:19).

In the revised ordering of the Christmas period it seems to us

that the attention of all should be directed towards the restored

Solemnity of Mary the holy Mother of God. This celebration, placed

on January 1 in conformity with the ancient indication of the liturgy

of the City of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part played by

Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the

singular dignity which this mystery brings to the “holy Mother . . .

through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of

Life.” It Is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration to

the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad

tidings of the angels (cf. Lk 2:14), and for imploring from God,

through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace. It is for

this reason that, in the happy concurrence of the Octave of

Christmas and the first day of the year, we have instituted the

World Day of Peace, an occasion that is gaining increasing support

and already bringing forth fruits of peace in the hearts of many.

6. To the two Solemnities already mentioned (the Immaculate

Conception and the Divine Motherhood) should be added the

ancient and venerable celebrations of March 25 and August 15.

For the solemnity of the Incarnation of the Word, in the Roman

Calendar the ancient title—the Annunciation of the Lord—has
been deliberately restored, but the feast was and is a joint one of

Christ and of the Blessed Virgin: of the Word, who becomes “Son

of Mary” (Mk 6:3), and of the Virgin, who becomes Mother of

God. With regard to Christ, the East and the West, in the Inex-

haustible riches of their liturgies, celebrate this Solemnity as the

commemoration of the salvific “fiat” of the Incarnate Word, who,

entering the world, said: “God, here I am! I am coming to obey

your will” (cf. Heb 10:7, Ps 39:8-9). They commemorate It as

the beginning of the redemption and of the indissoluble and

wedded union of the divine nature with human nature in the

one Person of the Word. With regard to Mary, these liturgies cele-

brate it as a feast of the new Eve, the obedient and faithful virgin,

who with her generous “fiat” (cf. Lk 1:38) became through the

working of the Spirit the Mother of God, but also the true Mother

of the living, and, by receiving into her womb the one Mediator (cf.

1 Tim 2:5), became the true Ark of the Covenant and true Temple

6



of God. These liturgies celebrate it as a culminating moment in

the salvific dialogue between God and man, and as a commemora-

tion of the Blessed Virgin’s free consent and cooperation in the

plan of redemption.

The Solemnity of August 15 celebrates the glorious Assump-

tion of Mary into heaven. It is a feast of her destiny of fullness and

blessedness, of the glorification of her immaculate soul and of her

virginal body, of her perfect configuration to the Risen Christ; a

feast that sets before the eyes of the Church and of all mankind

the image and the consoling proof of the fulfillment of their final

hope, namely that this full glorification is the destiny of all

those whom Christ has made his brothers, having “flesh and blood

in common with them’’ (Heb 2:14, cf. Gal 4:4). The Solemnity

of the Assumption is prolonged in the celebration of the Queen-

ship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which occurs seven days later.

On this occasion we contemplate her who, seated beside the King

of Ages, shines forth as Queen and intercedes as Mother.^* These

four Solemnities, therefore, mark with the highest liturgical rank

the main dogmatic truths concerning the Handmaid of the Lord.

7. After the Solemnities just mentioned particular consideration

must be given to those celebrations that commemorate salvific

events in which the Blessed Virgin was closely associated with her

Son. Such are the feasts of the Nativity of Our Lady (September 8),

“the hope of the entire world and the dawn of salvation,’’

and the Visitation (May 31), in which the liturgy recalls the

“Blessed Virgin Mary carrying her Son within her,’’ and visiting

Elizabeth to offer charitable assistance and to proclaim the mercy

of God the Saviour.^i Then there is the commemoration of Our

Lady of Sorrows (September 15), a fitting occasion for re-living a

decisive moment in the history of salvation and for venerating, to-

gether with the Son “lifted up on the Cross, his suffering

Mother.’’
22

The Feast of February 2, which has been given back its ancient

name, the Presentation of the Lord, should also be considered as a

joint commemoration of the Son and of the Mother, if we are fully

to appreciate its rich content. It Is the celebration of a mystery of

salvation accomplished by Christ, a mystery with which the Blessed

Virgin was Intimately associated as the Mother of the Suffering

Servant of Yahweh, as the one who performs a mission belonging

7



to ancient Israel, and as the model for the new People of God,

which is ever being tested in its faith and hope by suffering and

persecution (cf. Lk 2:21-35).

8. The restored Roman Calendar gives particular prominence to

the celebrations listed above, but it also includes other kinds of

commemorations connected with local devotions and which have

acquired a wider popularity and interest (e.g. February 11, Our

Lady of Lourdes; August 5, the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint

Mary Major). Then there are others, originally celebrated by par-

ticular religious families but which today, by reason of the popu-

larity they have gained, can truly be considered ecclesial (e.g.

July 16, Our Lady of Mount Carmel; October 7, Our Lady of the

Rosary). There are still others which, apart from their apocryphal

content, present lofty and exemplary values and carry on venerable

traditions having their origin especially in the East (e.g. Novem-

ber 21, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin). Others, finally,

express tendencies which have emerged in contemporary devotion

(e.g. the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin, celebrated on the

Saturday following the second Sunday after Pentecost).

9. Nor must one forget that the General Roman Calendar does

not include all celebrations in honor of the Blessed Virgin. Rather,

It is for individual Calendars to include, with fidelity to liturgical

norms but with sincere endorsement, the Marian feasts proper to

the different local churches. Lastly, it should be noted that frequent

commemorations of the Blessed Virgin are possible through the

use of the Saturday Masses of Our Lady. This is an ancient and

simple commemoration and one that is made very adaptable and

varied by the flexibility of the modern Calendar and the number of

formulas provided by the Missal.

10. In this Apostolic Exhortation we do not intend to examine the

whole content of the new Roman Missal. But by reason of the work

of evaluation that we have undertaken to carry out in regard to the

revised books of the Roman Rlte,^^ we would like to mention some

of the aspects and themes of the Missal. In the first place, we are

pleased to note how the Eucharistic Prayers of the Missal, in ad-

mirable harmony with the Eastern liturgies, contain a significant

commemoration of the Blessed Virgin. For example, the ancient

Roman Canon, which commemorates the Mother of the Lord in

terms full of doctrine and devotional inspiration: “In union with

8



the whole Church we honor Mary, the ever-Virgin Mother of

Jesus Christ our Lord and God." In a similar way the recent

Eucharistic Prayer III expresses with intense supplication the de-

sire of those praying to share with the Mother the inheritance of

sons: "May he make us an everlasting gift to you (the Father)

and enable us to share in the inheritance of your saints, with Mary,

the Virgin Mother of God." This daily commemoration, by reason

of its place at the heart of the divine Sacrifice, should be con-

sidered a particularly expressive form of the veneration that the

Church pays to the "Blessed of the Most High" (cf. Lk 1:28).

11. As we examine the texts of the revised Missal we see how

the great Marian themes of the Roman prayerbook have been

accepted in perfect doctrinal continuity with the past. Thus for

example we have the themes of Mary's Immaculate Conception and

fullness of grace, the divine Motherhood, the unblemished and

fruitful Virginity, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mary's cooperation

in the work of her Son, her exemplary sanctity, merciful interces-

sion, Assumption Into heaven, maternal Queenship and many other

themes. We also see how other themes, in a certain sense new

ones, have been introduced in equally perfect harmony with the

theological developments of the present day. Thus for example

we have the theme of Mary and the Church, which has been in-

serted into the texts of the Missal in a variety of aspects, a variety

that matches the many and varied relations that exist between the

Mother of Christ and the Church. For example, in the celebration

of the Immaculate Conception such texts recognize the beginning

of the Church, the spotless Bride of Christ.-^ In the Assumption

they recognize the beginning that has already been made and the

Image of what, for the whole Church, must still come to pass.-^ In

the mystery of Mary's Motherhood they confess that she Is the

Mother of the Head and of the Members—the holy Mother of God
and therefore the provident Mother of the Church.

When the liturgy turns its gaze either to the primitive Church

or to the Church of our own days It always finds Mary. In the primi-

tive Church she is seen praying with the Apostles; in our own

day she is actively present, and the Church desires to live the

mystery of Christ with her: "Grant that your Church which with

Mary shared Christ's Passion may be worthy to share also in his

Resurrection." She is also seen represented as a voice of praise

In unison with which the Church wishes to give glory to God:

9



. . with her (Mary) may we always praise you." And since the

liturgy is worship that requires a way of living consistent with it, it

asks that devotion to the Blessed Virgin should become a concrete

and deeply-felt love for the Church, as is wonderfully expressed in

the prayer after Communion in the Mass of September 15: . . that

as we recall the sufferings shared by the Blessed Virgin Mary, we

may with the Church fulfil in ourselves what is lacking in the

sufferings of Christ."

12. The Lectionary is one of the books of the Roman Rite that

has greatly benefited from the postconciliar reform, by reason

both of its added texts and of the intrinsic value of these texts,

which contain the ever living and efficacious Word of God (cf. Heb

4:12). This rich collection of biblical texts has made it possible to

arrange the whole history of salvation in an orderly three-year cycle

and to set forth more completely the mystery of Christ. The

logical consequence has been that the Lectionary contains a larger

number of Old and New Testament readings concerning the

Blessed Virgin. This numerical Increase has not however been

based on random choice: only those readings have been accepted

which in different ways and degrees can be considered Marian,

either from the evidence of their content or from the results of

careful exegesis, supported by the teachings of the Magisterium or

by solid tradition. It is also right to observe that these readings

occur not only on feasts of the Blessed Virgin but are read on many

other occasions, for example on certain Sundays during the litur-

gical year, in the celebration of rites that deeply concern the

Christian’s sacramental life and the choices confronting hlm,®^ as

also in the joyful or sad experiences of his life on earth.

13. The Liturgy of the Hours, the revised book of the Office, also

contains outstanding examples of devotion to the Mother of the

Lord. These are to be found in the hymns—which Include several
masterpieces of universal literature, such as Dante’s sublime

prayer to the Blessed Virgin —and in the antiphons that com-
plete the daily Office. To these lyrical invocations there has been

added the well-known prayer Sub tuum praesidium, venerable for

its antiquity and admirable for its content. Other examples occur in

the prayers of intercession at Lauds and Vespers, prayers which

frequently express trusting recourse to the Mother of mercy.

Finally there are selections from the vast treasury of writings on

10



Our Lady composed by authors of the first Christian centuries, of

the Middle Ages and of modern times.

14. The commemoration of the Blessed Virgin occurs often in the

Missal, the Lectionary and the Liturgy of the Hours—the hinges
of the liturgical prayer of the Roman Rite. In the other revised

liturgical books also expressions of love and suppliant veneration

addressed to the Theotokos are not lacking. Thus the Church in-

vokes her, the Mother of grace, before immersing candidates in the

saving waters of baptism; the Church invokes her intercession

for mothers who, full of gratitude for the gift of motherhood, come

to church to express their joy; the Church holds her up as a

model to those who follow Christ by embracing the religious life

or who receive the Consecration of Virgins.^® For these people the

Church asks Mary’s motherly assistance. The Church prays

fervently to Mary on behalf of her children who have come to the

hour of their death. The Church ask Mary’s intercession for

those who have closed their eyes to the light of this world and

appeared before Christ, the eternal light; and the Church,

through Mary’s prayers, invokes comfort upon those who in sorrow

mourn with faith the departure of their loved ones.^^

15. The examination of the revised liturgical books leads us to

the comforting observation that the postconciliar renewal has, as

was previously desired by the liturgical movement, properly con-

sidered the Blessed Virgin in the mystery of Christ, and, in har-

mony with tradition, has recognized the singular place that belongs

to her In Christian worship as the holy Mother of God and the

worthy Associate of the Redeemer.

It could not have been otherwise. If one studies the history of

Christian worship, in fact, one notes that both in the East and in

the West the highest and purest expressions of devotion to the

Blessed Virgin have sprung from the liturgy or have been incorpo-

rated into it.

We wish to emphasize the fact that the veneration which the

universal Church today accords to blessed Mary is a derivation

from and an extension and unceasing Increase of the devotion that

the Church of every age has paid to her, with careful attention to

truth and with an ever watchful nobility of expression. From peren-

nial tradition kept alive by reason of the uninterrupted presence of

the Spirit and continual attention to the Word, the Church of our

11



time draws motives, arguments and incentives for the veneration

that she pays to the Blessed Virgin. And the liturgy, which receives

approval and strength from the Magisterium, is a most lofty ex-

pression and an evident proof of this living tradition.

SECTION II

THE BLESSED VIRGIN

AS THE MODEL OF THE CHURCH

IN DIVINE WORSHIP

16. In accordance with some of the guidelines of the Council's

teaching on Mary and the Church, we now wish to examine more

closely a particular aspect of the relationship between Mary and the

liturgy, namely, Mary as a model of the spiritual attitude with which

the Church celebrates and lives the divine mysteries. That the

Blessed Virgin Is an exemplar in this field derives from the fact

that she is recognized as a most excellent exemplar of the Church

in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ, that

is, of that interior disposition with which the Church, the beloved

spouse, closely associated with her Lord, invokes Christ and

through him worships the eternal Father.^^

17. Mary is the attentive Virgin, who receives the word of God

with faith, that faith which in her case was the gateway and path

to divine Motherhood, for, as Saint Augustine realized, “Blessed

Mary by believing conceived him (Jesus) whom believing she

brought forth.’’ In fact, when she received from the angel the

answer to her doubt (cf. Lk 1:34-37), “full of faith, and conceiving

Christ in her mind before conceiving him in her womb, she said,

‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done

to me’ (Lk 1:38).’’ It was faith that was for her the cause of

blessedness and certainty in the fulfilment of the promise:

“Blessed Is she who believed that the promise made her by the

Lord would be fulfilled’’ (Lk 1:45). Similarly, it was faith with

which she, who played a part In the Incarnation and was a unique

witness to it, thinking back on the events of the infancy of Christ,

meditated upon these events in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19, 51). The

Church also acts in this way, especially in the liturgy, when with

faith she listens, accepts, proclaims and venerates the word of

12



God, distributes it to the faithful as the bread of life and in the

light of that word examines the signs of the times and interprets

and lives the events of history.

18. Mary is also the Virgin in prayer. She appears as such in the

visit to the Mother of the Precursor, when she pours out her soul

in expressions glorifying God, and expressions of humility, faith

and hope. This prayer is the Magnificat (cf. Lk 1:46-55), Mary’s

prayer par excellence, the song of the messianic times in which

there mingles the joy of the ancient and the new Israel. As Saint

Irenaeus seems to suggest, it is in Mary’s canticle that there was

heard once more the rejoicing of Abraham who foresaw the Mes-

siah (cf. Jn 8:56) and there rang out in prophetic anticipation

the voice of the Church: “In her exsultatlon Mary prophetically

declared in the name of the Church: ‘My soul proclaims the glory

of the Lord . . And in fact Mary’s hymn has spread far and

wide and has become the prayer of the whole Church in all ages.

At Cana, Mary appears once more as the Virgin in prayer: when

she tactfully told her Son of a temporal need, she also obtained an

effect of grace, namely, that Jesus, in working the first of his

“signs,” confirmed his disciples’ faith in him (cf. Jn 2:1-12).

Likewise, the last description of Mary’s life presents her as

praying. The Apostles “joined in continuous prayer, together with

several women. Including Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with his

brothers” (Acts 1:14). We have here the prayerful presence of

Mary in the early Church and in the Church throughout all ages,

for, having been assumed into heaven, she has not abandoned her

mission of intercession and salvation.^® The title Virgin in prayer

also fits the Church, which day by day presents to the Father the

needs of her children, “praises the Lord unceasingly and inter-

cedes for the salvation of the world.”

19. Mary Is also the Virgin-Mother—she who “believing and
obeying . . . brought forth on earth the Father’s Son. This she did,

not knowing man but overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.” This

was a miraculous Motherhood, set up by God as the type and ex-

emplar of the fruitfulness of the Virgin-Church, which “becomes

herself a mother . . . For by her preaching and by baptism she

brings forth to a new and immortal life children who are con-

ceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of God.” The

ancient Fathers rightly taught that the Church prolongs in the sac-

13



rament of Baptism the virginal Motherhood of Mary. Among such

references we like to recall that of our illustrious predecessor,

Saint Leo the Great, who in a Christmas homily says: “The origin

which (Christ) took in the womb of the Virgin he has given to the

baptismal font: he has given to water what he had given to his

Mother; the power of the Most High and the overshadowing of the

Holy Spirit (cf. Luke 1:35), which was responsible for Mary's

bringing forth the Saviour, has the same effect, so that water may

regenerate the believer." If we wished to go to liturgical sources,

we could quote the beautiful lllatio of the Mozarabic liturgy: “The

former (Mary) carried Life in her womb; the latter (the Church)

bears Life in the waters of baptism. In Mary’s members Christ

was formed; in the waters of the Church Christ is put on.^^

20. Mary is, finally, the Virgin presenting offerings. In the epi-

sode of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:22-35),

the Church, guided by the Spirit, has detected, over and above

the fulfilment of the laws regarding the offering of the firstborn

(cf. Ex 13:11-16) and the purification of the Mother (cf. Lev 12:

6-8), a mystery of salvation related to the history of salvation. That

is, she has noted the continuity of the fundamental offering that

the Incarnate Word made to the Father when he entered the world

(cf. Heb 15:5-7). The Church has seen the universal nature of

salvation proclaimed, for Simeon, greeting in the Child the light to

enlighten the peoples and the glory of the people Israel (cf. Lk

2:32), recognized in him the Messiah, the Saviour of all. The

Church has understood the prophetic reference to the Passion

of Christ: the fact that Simeon’s words, which linked in one

prophecy the Son as “the sign of contradiction" (Lk 2:34) and the

Mother, whose soul would be pierced by a sword (cf. Lk 2:35),

came true on Calvary. A mystery of salvation, therefore, that In its

various aspects orients the episode of the Presentation in the

Temple to the salvific event of the Cross. But the Church herself,

in particular from the Middle Ages onwards, has detected in the

heart of the Virgin taking her Son to Jerusalem to present him to

the Lord (cf. Lk 2:22) a desire to make an offering, a desire that

exceeds the ordinary meaning of the rite. A witness to this intuition

is found in the loving prayer of Saint Bernard: “Offer your Son,

holy Virgin, and present to the Lord the blessed fruit of your

womb. Offer for the reconciliation of us all the holy Victim which

Is pleasing to God."

14



This union of the Mother and the Son in the work of redemp-

tion reaches its climax on Calvary, where Christ “offered him-

self as the perfect sacrifice to God'’ (Heb 9:14) and where Mary

stood by the Cross (cf. Jn 19:25), “suffering grievously with her

only-begotten Son. There she united herself with a maternal heart

to his sacrifice, and lovingly consented to the Immolation of this

victim which she herself had brought forth” and also was

offering to the Eternal Father.^® To perpetuate down the centuries

the Sacrifice of the Cross, the divine Saviour instituted the Eucha-

ristic Sacrifice, the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and

entrusted It to his Spouse the Church, which, especially on

Sundays, calls the faithful together to celebrate the Passover of the

Lord until he comes again. This the Church does in union with

the saints in heaven and in particular with the Blessed Virgin,

whose burning charity and unshakeable faith she imitates.

21. Mary is not only an example for the whole Church in the

exercise of divine worship but is also, clearly, a teacher of the

spiritual life for individual Christians. The faithful at a very early

date began to look to Mary and to imitate her in making their lives

an act of worship of God and making their worship a commitment

of their lives. As early as the fourth century. Saint Ambrose,

speaking to the people, expressed the hope that each of them

would have the spirit of Mary in order to glorify God: “May the

heart of Mary be in each Christian to proclaim the greatness of the

Lord; may her spirit be in everyone to exult in God.” But Mary

is above all the example of that worship that consists in making

one’s life an offering to God. This is an ancient and ever new

doctrine that each individual can hear again by heeding the

Church’s teaching, but also by heeding the very voice of the Virgin

as she, anticipating in herself the wonderful petition of the Lord’s

Prayer
—

“Your will be done” (Mt 6:10)—replied to God’s mes-
senger: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said

be done to me” (Lk 1:38). And Mary’s “yes” Is for all Christians

a lesson and example of obedience to the will of the Father, which

is the way and means of one’s own sanctification.

22. It is also important to note how the Church expresses in

various effective attitudes of devotion the many relationships that

bind her to Mary: in profound veneration, when she reflects on the

singular dignity of the Virgin who, through the action of the Holy

Spirit, has become Mother of the Incarnate Word; in burning love.

15



when she considers the spiritual Motherhood of Mary towards all

members of the Mystical Body; In trusting invocation, when she

experiences the Intercession of her Advocate and Helper; in

loving service, when she sees in the humble Handmaid of the

Lord the Queen of mercy and the Mother of grace; in zealous imi-

tation, when she contemplates the holiness and virtues of her who

is “full of grace” (Lk 1:28); In profound wonder, when she sees in

her, “as in a faultless model, that which she herself wholly desires

and hopes to be”; In attentive study, when she recognizes in

the Associate of the Redeemer, who already shares fully in the

fruits of the Paschal Mystery, the prophetic fulfilment of her own

future, until the day on which, when she has been purified of every

spot and wrinkle (cf. Eph 5:27), she will become like a bride ar-

rayed for the bridegroom, Jesus Christ (cf. Rev 21:2).

23. Therefore, venerable Brothers, as we consider the piety that

the liturgical tradition of the universal Church and the renewed

Roman Rite expresses towards the holy Mother of God, and as we

remember that the liturgy through its preeminent value as wor-

ship constitutes the golden norm for Christian piety, and finally as

we observe how the Church when she celebrates the sacred

mysteries assumes an attitude of faith and love similar to that of

the Virgin, we realize the rightness of the exhortation that the

Second Vatican Council addresses to all the children of the

Church, namely “that the cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the

Blessed Virgin be generously fostered.” This is an exhortation

that we would like to see accepted everywhere without reservation

and put into zealous practice.

16



PART TWO

THE RENEWAL OF DEVOTION

TO MARY

24. The Second Vatican Council also exhorts us to promote other

forms of piety side by side with liturgical worship, especially those

recommended by the Magisterium.®'^ However, as is well known,

the piety of the faithful and their veneration of the Mother of God

has taken on many forms according to circumstances of time and

place, the different sensibilities of peoples and their different

cultural traditions. Hence it is that the forms in which this devo-

tion is expressed, being subject to the ravages of time, show the

need for a renewal that will permit them to substitute elements

that are transient, to emphasize the elements that are ever new

and to incorporate the doctrinal data obtained from theological

reflection and the proposals of the Church's Magisterium. This

shows the need for episcopal conferences, local churches, religious

families and communities of the faithful to promote a genuine

creative activity and at the same time to proceed to a careful

revision of expressions and exercises of piety directed towards the

Blessed Virgin. We would like this revision to be respectful of

wholesome tradition and open to the legitimate requests of the

people of our time. It seems fitting therefore, venerable Brothers,

to put forward some principles for action in this field.

SECTION I

TRINITARIAN, CHRISTOLOGICAL

AND ECCLESIAL ASPECTS

OE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN

25. In the first place it is supremely fitting that exercises of piety

directed towards the Virgin Mary should clearly express the

Trinitarian and Christological note that is intrinsic and essential to

17



them. Christian worship in fact is of itself worship offered to the

Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, or, as the liturgy puts

it, to the Father through Christ in the Spirit. From this point of view

worship is rightly extended, though in a substantially different way,

first and foremost and in a special manner, to the Mother of the

Lord and then to the saints, in whom the Church proclaims the

Paschal Mystery, for they have suffered with Christ and have been

glorified with him.®® In the Virgin Mary everything is relative to

Christ and dependent upon him. It was with a view to Christ that

God the Father from all eternity chose her to be the all-holy Mother

and adorned her with gifts of the Spirit granted to no one else.

Certainly genuine Christian piety has never failed to highlight the

Indissoluble link and essential relationship of the Virgin to the

Divine Saviour.®® Yet it seems to us particularly in conformity

with the spiritual orientation of our time, which Is dominated and

absorbed by the “question of Christ,” that in the expressions of

devotion to the Virgin the Christological aspect should have par-

ticular prominence. It likewise seems to us fitting that these

expressions of devotion should reflect God’s plan, which laid down

“with one single decree the origin of Mary and the Incarnation of

the divine Wisdom.” This will without doubt contribute to mak-

ing piety towards the Mother of Jesus more solid, and to making

it an effective instrument for attaining to full “knowledge of the

Son of God, until we become the perfect man, fully mature with

the fullness of Christ himself” (Eph 4:13). It v/ill also contribute

to increasing the worship due to Christ himself, since, according

to the perennial mind of the Church authoritatively repeated in

our own day,'^^ “what is given to the Handmaid is referred to the

Lord; thus what is given to the Mother redounds to the Son; . . .

and thus what is given as humble tribute to the Queen becomes

honor rendered to the King.”

26. It seems to us useful to add to this mention of the Christologi-

cal orientation of devotion to the Blessed Virgin a reminder of the

fittingness of giving promience in this devotion to one of the essen-

tia! facts of the faith: the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.

Theological reflection and the liturgy have in fact noted how

the sanctifying intervention of the Spirit in the Virgin of Nazareth

was a culminating moment of the Spirit’s action in the history of

salvation. Thus, for example, some Fathers and writers of the

Church attributed to the work of the Spirit the original holiness of

18



Mary, who was as it were “fashioned by the Holy Spirit into a kind

of new substance and new creature.” Reflecting on the Gospel

texts
—

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the

Most High will cover you with his shadow” (Lk 1:35) and “(Mary)

was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit . . . She has

conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:18, 20)—they
saw in the Spirit’s Intervention an action that consecrated and

made fruitful Mary's virginity and transformed her into the

“Abode of the King” or “Bridal Chamber of the Word,” the

“Temple” or “Tabernacle of the Lord,” the “Ark of the Cove-

nant” or “the Ark of Holiness,” titles rich in biblical echoes.

Examining more deeply still the mystery of the Incarnation, they

saw in the mysterious relationship between the Spirit and Mary

an aspect redolent of marriage, poetically portrayed by Prudentius:

“The unwed Virgin espoused the Spirit,” and they called her

the “Temple of the Holy Spirit,” an expression that emphasizes

the sacred character of the Virgin, now the permanent dwelling of

the Spirit of God. Delving deeply into the doctrine of the Paraclete,

they saw that from him as from a spring there flowed forth the

fullness of grace (cf. Lk 1:28) and the abundance of gifts that

adorned her. Thus they attributed to the Spirit the faith, hope

and charity that animated the Virgin’s heart, the strength that sus-

tained her acceptance of the will of God, and the vigor that upheld

her in her suffering at the foot of the Cross. In Mary’s prophetic

canticle (cf. Lk 1:46-55) they saw a special working of the Spirit

who had spoken through the mouths of the Prophets. Consider-

ing, finally, the presence of the Mother of Jesus in the Upper

Room, where the Spirit came down upon the infant Church (cf.

Acts 1:12-14; 2:1-4), they enriched with new developments the

ancient theme of Mary and the Church.®^ Above all they had re-

course to the Virgin’s intercession in order to obtain from the Spirit

the capacity for engendering Christ in their own soul, as is attested

to by Saint lldephonsus in a prayer of supplication, amazing in its

doctrine and prayerful power: “I beg you, holy Virgin, that I may

have Jesus from the Holy Spirit, by whom you brought Jesus

forth. May my soul receive Jesus through the Holy Spirit by whom

your flesh conceived Jesus . . . May I love Jesus in the Holy Spirit

in whom you adore Jesus as Lord and gaze upon him as your

Son.”

19



27. It is sometimes said that many spiritual writings today do not

sufficiently reflect the whole doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit.

It is the task of specialists to verify and weigh the truth of this

assertion, but it Is our task to exhort everyone, especially those in

the pastoral ministry and also theologians, to meditate more deeply

on the working of the Holy Spirit In the history of salvation, and

to ensure that Christian spiritual writings give due prominence to

his life-giving action. Such a study will bring out in particular the

hidden relationship between the Spirit of God and the Virgin of

Nazareth, and show the influence they exert on the Church. From

a more profound meditation on the truths of the faith will flow a

more vital piety.

28. It is also necessary that exercises of piety with which the

faithful honor the Mother of the Lord should clearly show the

place she occupies in the Church: “the highest place and the

closest to us after Christ." The liturgical buildings of Byzantine

rite, both in the architectural structure itself and In the use of

Images, show clearly Mary’s place in the Church. On the central

door of the iconostasis there is a representation of the Annuncia-

tion and in the apse an image of the glorious Theotokos. In this

way one perceives how through the assent of the humble Handmaid

of the Lord mankind begins its return to God and sees in the glory

of the all-holy Virgin the goal towards which it is journeying. The

symbolism by which a church building demonstrates Mary’s place

in the mystery of the Church is full of significance and gives

grounds for hoping that the different forms of devotion to the

Blessed Virgin may everywhere be open to ecclesial perspectives.

The faithful will be able to appreciate more easily Mary’s mis-

sion in the mystery of the Church and her preeminent place in the

Communion of Saints if attention is drawn to the Second Vatican

Council’s references to the fundamental concepts of the nature

of the Church as the Family of God, the People of God, the King-

dom of God and the Mystical Body of Christ.*® This will also

bring the faithful to a deeper realization of the brotherhood which

unites all of them as sons and daughters of the Virgin Mary, “who

with a mother’s love has cooperated In their rebirth and spiritual

formation,’’ and as sons and daughters of the Church, since “we

are born from the Church’s womb, we are nurtured by the Church’s

milk, we are given life by the Church’s Spirit.’’ ** They will also

realize that both the Church and Mary collaborate to give birth

20



to the Mystical Body of Christ since “both of them are the Mother

of Christ, but neither brings forth the whole (body) independently

of the other." Similarly the faithful will appreciate more clearly

that the action of the Church in the world can be likened to an

extension of Mary’s concern. The active love she showed at Naza-

reth, In the house of Elizabeth, at Cana and on Golgotha—all
salvific episodes having vast ecclesial importance—finds its
extension in the Church’s maternal concern that all men should

come to knowledge of the truth (cf. 1 Tim 2:4), in the Church’s

concern for people in lowly circumstances and for the poor and

weak, and in her constant commitment to peace and social har-

mony, as well as in her untiring efforts to ensure that all men will

share in the salvation which was merited for them by Christ’s death.

Thus love for the Church will become love for Mary, and vice

versa, since the one cannot exist without the other, as Saint

Chromatius of Aquileia observed with keen discernment: “The

Church was united ... in the Upper Room with Mary the Mother

of Jesus and with his brethren. The Church therefore cannot be

referred to as such unless it Includes Mary the Mother of our Lord,

together with his brethren." In conclusion, therefore, we repeat

that devotion to the Blessed Virgin must explicitly show its intrinsic

and ecclesiological content; thus it will be enabled to revise its

forms and texts in a fitting way.

SECTION II

FOUR GUIDELINES FOR DEVOTION

TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN:

BIBLICAL, LITURGICAL, ECUMENICAL

AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL

29. The above considerations spring from an examination of

the Virgin Mary’s relationship with God—the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit—and with the Church. Following the path
traced by conciliar teaching,®^ we wish to add some further guide-

lines from Scripture, liturgy, ecumenism and anthropology. These

are to be borne In mind in any revision of exercises of piety or in the

creation of new ones, in order to emphasize and accentuate the

21



bond which unites us to her who is the Mother of Christ and our

Mother in the Communion of Saints.

30. Today it is recognized as a general need of Christian piety

that every form of worship should have a biblical imprint. The

progress made in biblical studies, the increasing dissemination of

the Sacred Scriptures, and above all the example of tradition and

the interior action of the Holy Spirit are tending to cause the

modern Christian to use the Bible ever increasingly as the basic

prayerbook and to draw from it genuine Inspiration and unsurpass-

able examples. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin cannot be exempt

from this general orientation of Christian piety; ^2 indeed it should

draw inspiration in a special way from this orientation in order to

gain new vigor and sure help. In its wonderful presentation of

God's plan for man's salvation, the Bible is replete with the mystery

of the Saviour, and from Genesis to the Book of Revelation also

contains clear references to her who was the Mother and Asso-

ciate of the Saviour. We would not however wish this biblical im-

print to be merely a diligent use of texts and symbols skilfully

selected from the Sacred Scriptures. More than this is necessary.

What is needed is that texts of prayers and chants should draw

their inspiration and their wording from the Bible, and above all

that devotion to the Virgin should be imbued with the great themes

of the Christian message. This will ensure that, as they venerate

the Seat of Wisdom, the faithful in their turn will be enlightened by

the divine word, and be inspired to live their lives in accordance

with the precepts of Incarnate Wisdom.

31. We have already spoken of the veneration which the Church

gives to the Mother of God in the celebration of the sacred liturgy.

However, speaking of the other forms of devotion and of the criteria

on which they should be based we wish to recall the norm laid down

in the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium. This document, while

wholeheartedly approving of the practices of piety of the Christian

people, goes on to say: . . it is necessary however that such

devotions with consideration for the liturgical seasons should be so

arranged as to be in harmony with the sacred liturgy. They should

somehow derive their inspiration from it, and because of its pre-

eminence they should orient the Christian people towards It."

Although this is a wise and clear rule, its application is not an easy

matter, especially in regard to Marian devotions, which are so

varied in their formal expressions. What is needed on the part of

22



the leaders of the local communities is effort, pastoral sensitivity

and perseverance, while the faithful on their part must show a will-

ingness to accept guidelines and ideas drawn from the true nature

of Christian worship; this sometimes makes it necessary to change

long-standing customs wherein the real nature of this Christian

worship has become somewhat obscured.

In this context we wish to mention two attitudes which in

pastoral practice could nullify the norm of the Second Vatican

Council. In the first place there are certain persons concerned

with the care of souls who scorn, a priori, devotions of piety which,

in their correct forms, have been recommended by the Magis-

terium, who leave them aside and in this way create a vacuum

which they do not fill. They forget that the Council has said that

devotions of piety should harmonize with the liturgy, not be sup-

pressed. Secondly there are those who, without wholesome liturgi-

cal and pastoral criteria, mix practices of piety and liturgical acts

in hybrid celebrations. It sometimes happens that novenas or simi-

lar practices of piety are Inserted into the very celebration of the

Eucharistic Sacrifice. This creates the danger that the Lord’s

Memorial Rite, instead of being the culmination of the meeting of

the Christian community, becomes the occasion, as it were, for

devotional practices. For those who act in this way we wish to

recall the rule laid down by the Council prescribing that exercises

of piety should be harmonized with the liturgy, not merged into it.

Wise pastoral action should on the one hand point out and empha-

size the proper nature of the liturgical acts, while on the other hand

it should enhance the value of practices of piety, in order to adapt

them to the needs of Individual communities in the Church and to

make them valuable aids to the liturgy.

32. Because of its ecclesial character devotion to the Blessed

Virgin reflects the preoccupations of the Church Itself. Among

these especially in our day is her anxiety for the reestablishment

of Christian unity. In this way devotion to the Mother of the Lord

is In accord with the deep desires and aims of the ecumenical

movement, that is, it acquires an ecumenical aspect. This is so

for a number of reasons.

In the first place, in venerating with particular love the glorious

Theotokos and in acclaiming her as the “Hope of Christians,”

Catholics unite themselves with their brethren of the Orthodox

23



Churches, in which devotion to the Blessed Virgin finds its expres-

sion in a beautiful lyricism and in solid doctrine. Catholics are

also united with Anglicans, whose classical theologians have al-

ready drawn attention to the sound scriptural basis for devotion

to the Mother of our Lord, while those of the present day increas-

ingly underline the importance of Mary’s place in the Christian

life. Praising God with the very words of the Virgin (cf. Lk 1:46-55),

they are united too with their brethren in the Churches of the

Reform, where love for the Sacred Scriptures flourishes.

For Catholics, devotion to the Mother of Christ and Mother of

Christians is also a natural and frequent opportunity for seeking

her intercession with her Son in order to obtain the union of all

the baptized within a single People of God.®^ Yet again, the ecu-

menical aspect of Marian devotion is shown in the Catholic

Church’s desire that, without in any way detracting from the unique

character of this devotion,^® every care should be taken to avoid

any exaggeration which could mislead other Christian brethren

about the true doctrine of the Catholic Church. Similarly, the

Church desires that any manifestation of cult which is opposed

to correct Catholic practice should be eliminated.

Finally, since it is natural that in true devotion to the Blessed

Virgin “the Son should be duly known, loved and glorified . . .

when the Mother is honored,’’ such devotion is an approach to

Christ, the source and center of ecclesiastical communion, in which

all who openly confess that he is God and Lord, Saviour and sole

Mediator (cf. 1 Tim 2:5), are called to be one, with one another,

with Christ and with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit.^^

33. We realize that there exist important differences between the

thought of many of our brethren in other Churches and eccleslal

communities and the Catholic doctrine on “Mary’s role in the

work of salvation.’’ In consequence there are likewise dif-

ferences of opinion on the devotion which should be shown to her.

Nevertheless, since it is the same power of the Most High which

overshadowed the Virgin of Nazareth (cf. Lk 1:35) and which today

Is at work within the ecumenical movement and making it fruitful,

we wish to express our confidence that devotion to the humble

Handmaid of the Lord, in whom the Almighty has done great

things (cf. Lk 1:49), will become, even if only slowly, not an obsta-

cle but a path and a rallying-point for the union of all who believe

24



in Christ. We are glad to see that in fact a better understanding of

Mary’s place in the mystery of Christ and of the Church on the part

also of our separated brethren is smoothing the path to union.

Just as at Cana the Blessed Virgin’s intervention resulted in

Christ’s performing his first miracle (cf. Jn 2:1-12), so today her

Intercession can help to bring to realization the time when the

disciples of Christ will again find full communion in faith. This

hope of ours is strengthened by a remark of our predecessor Leo

XIII, who wrote that the cause of Christian unity “properly pertains

to the role of Mary’s spiritual Motherhood. For Mary did not and

cannot engender those who belong to Christ, except in one faith

and one love: for ‘Is Christ divided?’ (1 Cor 1:13). We must all

live together the life of Christ, so that in one and the same body

‘we may bear fruit for God’ (Rom 7:4).’’

34. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin must also pay close attention

to certain findings of the human sciences. This will help to elimi-

nate one of the causes of the difficulties experienced in devotion

to the Mother of the Lord, namely, the discrepancy existing be-

tween some aspects of this devotion and modern anthropological

discoveries and the profound changes which have occurred in the

psycho-sociological field in which modern man lives and works.

The picture of the Blessed Virgin presented in a certain type of

devotional literature cannot easily be reconciled with today’s life

style, especially with the way women live today. In the home,

woman’s equality and coresponsibility with man in the running of

the family are being justly recognized by laws and the evolution

of customs. In the sphere of politics women have in many coun-

tries gained a position in public life equal to that of men. In

the social field women are at work in a whole range of different

employments, getting further away every day from the restricted

surroundings of the home. In the cultural field new possibilities

are opening up for women in scientific research and intellectual

activities.

In consequence of these phenomena some people are becoming

disenchanted with devotion to the Blessed Virgin and finding it

difficult to take as an example Mary of Nazareth because the hori-

zons of her life, so they say, seem rather restricted in comparison

with the vast spheres of activity open to mankind today. In this

regard we exhort theologians, those responsible for the local

Christian communities and the faithful themselves to examine

25



these difficulties with due care. At the same time we wish to

take the opportunity of offering our own contribution to their solu-

tion by making a few observations.

35. First, the Virgin Mary has always been proposed to the faith-

ful by the Church as an example to be Imitated not precisely

in the type of life she led, and much less for the socio-cultural back-

ground In which she lived and which today scarcely exists any-

where. She is held up as an example to the faithful rather for the

way in which, in her own particular life, she fully and responsibly

accepted the will of God (cf. Lk 1:38), because she heard the word

of God and acted on it and because charity and a spirit of service

were the driving force of her actions. She is worthy of imitation

because she was the first and the most perfect of Christ’s disciples.

All of this has a permanent and universal exemplary value.

36. Secondly, we would like to point out that the difficulties

alluded to above are closely related to certain aspects of the image

of Mary found in popular writings. They are not connected with

the Gospel Image of Mary nor with the doctrinal data which have

been made explicit through a slow and conscientious process of

drawing from Revelation. It should be considered quite normal

for succeeding generations of Christians in differing socio-cultural

contexts to have expressed their sentiments about the Mother of

Jesus in a way and manner which reflected their own age. In con-

templating Mary and her mission these different generations of

Christians, looking on her as the New Woman and perfect Christian,

found in her as a Virgin, Wife and Mother the outstanding type of

womanhood and the preeminent exemplar of life lived in accord-

ance with the Gospels and summing up the most characteristic

situations in the life of a woman. When the Church considers the

long history of Marian devotion she rejoices at the continuity of the

element of cult which it shows, but she does not bind herself to

any particular expression of an individual cultural epoch or to the

particular anthropological Ideas underlying such expressions. The

Church understands that certain outward religious expressions,

while perfectly valid in themselves, may be less suitable to men

and women of different ages and cultures.

37. Finally, we wish to point out that our own time, no less than

former times. Is called upon to verify its knowledge of reality with

the word of God, and, keeping to the matter at present under con-

26



sideration, to compare its anthropological ideas and the problems

springing therefrom with the figure of the Virgin Mary as presented

by the Gospel. The reading of the divine Scriptures, carried out

under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and with the discoveries of

the human sciences and the different situations in the v/orld today

being taken into account, will help us to see how Mary can be con-

sidered a mirror of the expectations of the men and women of our

time. Thus, the modern woman, anxious to participate with de-

cision-making power in the affairs of the community, will contem-

plate with Intimate joy Mary who, taken into dialogue with God,

gives her active and responsible consent, ^^2 pQt to the solution of

a contingent problem, but to that “event of world importance,” as

the Incarnation of the Word has been rightly called. The modern

woman will appreciate that Mary's choice of the state of virginity,

which in God's plan prepared her for the mystery of the Incarna-

tion, was not a rejection of any of the values of the married state

but a courageous choice which she made in order to consecrate

herself totally to the love of God. The modern woman will note

with pleasant surprise that Mary of Nazareth, while completely

devoted to the v/\W of God, was far from being a timidly submissive

woman or one whose piety was repellent to others; on the contrary,

she was a woman who did not hesitate to proclaim that God

vindicates the humble and the oppressed, and removes the power-

ful people of this world from their privileged positions (cf. Lk

1:51-53). The modern woman will recognize in Mary, who “stands

out among the poor and humble of the Lord,” a woman of

strength, who experienced poverty and suffering, flight and exile

(cf. Mt 2:13-23). These are situations that cannot escape the

attention of those who wish to support, with the Gospel spirit, the

liberating energies of man and of society. And Mary will appear

not as a mother exclusively concerned with her own divine Son

but rather as a woman whose action helped to strengthen the

apostolic community's faith in Christ (cf. Jn 2:1-12) and whose

maternal role was extended and became universal on Calvary.

These are but examples, but examples which show clearly that the

figure of the Blessed Virgin does not disillusion any of the pro-

found expectations of the men and women of our time but offers

them the perfect model of the disciple of the Lord: the disciple

who builds up the earthly and temporal city while being a diligent

pilgrim towards the heavenly and eternal city, the disciple who

works for that justice which sets free the oppressed and for that

27



charity which assists the needy; but above all, the disciple who is

the active witness of that love which builds up Christ in people’s

hearts.

38. Having offered these directives, which are Intended to favor

the harmonious development of devotion to the Mother of the

Lord, we consider it opportune to draw attention to certain attitudes

of piety which are incorrect. The Second Vatican Council has

already authoritatively denounced both the exaggeration of content

and form which even falsifies doctrine and likewise the small-

mindedness which obscures the figure and mission of Mary. The

Council has also denounced certain devotional deviations, such

as vain credulity, which substitutes reliance on merely external

practices for serious commitment. Another deviation is sterile and

ephemeral sentimentality, so alien to the spirit of the Gospel that

demands persevering and practical action. We reaffirm the

Council’s reprobation of such attitudes and practices. They are

not in harmony with the Catholic faith and therefore they must

have no place in Catholic worship. Careful defence against these

errors and deviations will render devotion to the Blessed Virgin

more vigorous and more authentic. It will make this devotion

solidly based, with the consequence that study of the sources of

Revelation and attention to the documents of the Magisterlum will

prevail over the exaggerated search for novelties or extraordinary

phenomena. It will ensure that this devotion is objective in its

historical setting, and for this reason everything that Is obviously

legendary or false must be eliminated. It will ensure that this

devotion matches its doctrinal content—hence the necessity of
avoiding a onesided presentation of the figure of Mary, which by

overstressing one element compromises the overall picture given

by the Gospel. It will make this devotion clear in its motivation;

hence every unworthy self-interest is to be carefuly banned from

the area of what is sacred.

39. Finally, insofar as it may be necessary we would like to repeat

that the ultimate purpose of devotion to the Blessed Virgin is to

glorify God and to lead Christians to commit themselves to a life

which Is in absolute conformity with his will. When the children of

the Church unite their voices with the voice of the unknown woman

in the Gospel and glorify the Mother of Jesus by saying to him:

“Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that you

sucked’’ (Lk 11:27), they will be led to ponder the divine Master’s

28



serious reply: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God

and keep it!“ (Lk 11:28). While it is true that this reply is in itself

lively praise of Mary, as various Fathers of the Church interpreted

it and the Second Vatican Council has confirmed, it is also an

admonition to us to live our lives in accordance with God’s com-

mandments. It is also an echo of other words of the Saviour: “Not

every one who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of

heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who Is in heaven’’

(Mt 7:21), and again: “You are my friends if you do what I com-

mand you’’ (Jn 15:14).

29



PART THREE

OBSERVATIONS

ON TWO EXERCISES OE PIETY:
THE ANGELUS AND THE ROSARY

40. We have indicated a number of principles which can help to

give fresh vigor to devotion to the Mother of the Lord. It is now

up to episcopal conferences, to those in charge of local communi-

ties and to the various religious congregations prudently to revise

practices and exercises of piety in honor of the Blessed Virgin,

and to encourage the creative impulse of those who through

genuine religious inspiration or pastoral sensitivity wish to estab-

lish new forms of piety. For different reasons we nevertheless feel

it is opportune to consider here two practices which are widespread

in the West, and with which this Apostolic See has concerned itself

on various occasions: the Angelus and the Rosary.

THE ANGELUS

41. What we have to say about the Angelus is meant to be only

a simple but earnest exhortation to continue its traditional recita-

tion wherever and whenever possible. The Angelus does not need

to be revised, because of its simple structure, its biblical character,

its historical origin which links it to the prayer for peace and

safety, and its quasi-liturgical rhythm which sanctifies different

moments during the day, and because it reminds us of the Paschal

Mystery, in which recalling the Incarnation of the Son of God we

pray that we may be led “through his Passion and Cross to the

glory of his Resurrection.’' These factors ensure that the

Angelus despite the passing of centuries retains an unaltered value

and an intact freshness. It is true that certain customs traditionally

linked with the recitation of the Angelus have disappeared or can

continue only with difficulty in modern life. But these are marginal

elements. The value of contemplation on the mystery of the In-

30



carnation of the Word, of the greeting to the Virgin, and of recourse

to her merciful intercession remains unchanged. And despite the

changed conditions of the times, for the majority of people there

remain unaltered the characteristic periods of the day—morning,
noon and evening—which mark the periods of their activity and
constitute an invitation to pause in prayer.

THE ROSARY

42. We wish now, venerable Brothers, to dwell for a moment

on the renewal of the pious practice which has been called “the

compendium of the entire Gospel”: the Rosary. To this our

predecessors have devoted close attention and care. On many

occasions they have recommended its frequent recitation, en-

couraged its diffusion, explained its nature, recognized its suit-

ability for fostering contemplative prayer—prayer of both praise and
petition—and recalled its intrinsic effectiveness for promoting
Christian life and apostolic commitment.

We too, from the first general audience of our Pontificate on

July 13, 1963, have shown our great esteem for the pious practice

of the Rosary.m Since that time we have underlined its value on

many different occasions, some ordinary, some grave. Thus, at a

moment of anguish and uncertainty we published the Letter Christi

Matri (September 15, 1966), in order to obtain prayers to Our

Lady of the Rosary, to implore from God the supreme benefit of

peace. wg renewed this appeal in our Apostolic Exhortation

Recurrens Mensis October (October 7, 1969), in which we also

commemorated the fourth centenary of the Apostolic Letter

Consueverunt Romani Pontifices of our predecessor Saint Pius V,

who In that document explained and in a certain sense established

the traditional form of the Rosary.^^^

43. Our assiduous and affectionate Interest in the Rosary has led

us to follow very attentively the numerous meetings which in

recent years have been devoted to the pastoral role of the Rosary

in the modern world, meetings arranged by associations and indi-

viduals profoundly attached to the Rosary and attended by bishops,

priests, religious and lay people of proven experience and recog-

nized ecclesial awareness. Among these people special mention

should be made of the sons of Saint Dominic, by tradition the

31



guardians and promoters of this very salutary practice. Parallel

with such meetings has been the research work of historians, work

aimed not at defining in a sort of archaeological fashion the primi-

tive form of the Rosary but at uncovering the original inspiration

and driving force behind it and its essential structure. The funda-

mental characteristics of the Rosary, its essential elements and

their mutual relationship have all emerged more clearly from these

congresses and from the research carried out.

44. Thus, for instance, the Gospel inspiration of the Rosary

has appeared more clearly: the Rosary draws from the Gospel the

presentation of the mysteries and its main formulas. As it moves

from the Angel's joyful greeting and the Virgin’s pious assent, the

Rosary takes its inspiration from the Gospel to suggest the attitude

with which the faithful should recite it. In the harmonious succes-

sion of Hail Marys the Rosary puts before us once more a funda-

mental mystery of the Gospel—the Incarnation of the Word, con-
templated at the decisive moment of the Annunciation to Mary.

The Rosary is thus a Gospel prayer, as pastors and scholars like to

define it, more today perhaps than in the past.

45. It has also been more easily seen how the orderly and gradual

unfolding of the Rosary reflects the very way in which the Word of

God, mercifully entering into human affairs, brought about the

Redemption. The Rosary considers in harmonious succession the

principal salvific events accomplished In Christ, from his virginal

conception and the mysteries of his childhood to the culminating

moments of the Passover—the blessed Passion and the glorious
Resurrection—and to the effects of this on the infant Church on
the day of Pentecost, and on the Virgin Mary when at the end of her

earthly life she was assumed body and soul into her heavenly

home. It has also been observed that the division of the mysteries

of the Rosary into three parts not only adheres strictly to the

chronological order of the facts but above all reflects the plan of

the original proclamation of the faith and sets forth once more the

mystery of Christ in the very way in which it is seen by Saint Paul

in the celebrated “hymn” of the Letter to the Philippians—kenosis,
death and exaltation (2:6-11).

46. As a Gospel prayer, centered on the mystery of the redemp-

tive Incarnation, the Rosary Is therefore a prayer with a clearly

Christological orientation. Its most characteristic element, in fact.

32



the litany-like succession of Hail Marys, becomes in itself an un-

ceasing praise of Christ, who is the ultimate object both of the

Angel's announcement and of the greeting of the Mother of John

the Baptist: “Blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42). We

would go further and say that the succession of Hail Marys consti-

tutes the warp on which is woven the contemplation of the mys-

teries. The Jesus that each Hail Mary recalls is the same Jesus

whom the succession of the mysteries proposes to us—now as the
Son of God, now as the son of the Virgin—at his birth in a stable at
Bethlehem, at his presentation by his Mother in the Temple, as a

youth full of zeal for his Father's affairs, as the Redeemer in agony

in the garden, scourged and crowned with thorns, carrying the

Cross and dying on Calvary; risen from the dead and ascended to

the glory of the Father to send forth the gift of the Spirit. As is well

known, at one time there was a custom, still preserved in certain

places, of adding to the name of Jesus in each Hail Mary a ref-

erence to the mystery being contemplated. And this was done

precisely In order to help contemplation and to make the mind and

the voice act in unison.

47. There has also been felt with greater urgency the need to

point out once more the importance of a further essential element

in the Rosary, in addition to the value of the elements of praise

and petition, namely the element of contemplation. Without this

the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation is in danger

of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas and of going

counter to the warning of Christ: “And In praying do not heap up

empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be

heard for their many words'' (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation

of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping

the Individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen

through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way

the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are unfolded.

48. Finally, as a result of modern reflection the relationships

between the liturgy and the Rosary have been more clearly under-

stood. On the one hand it has been emphasized that the Rosary

is as it were a branch sprung from the ancient trunk of the Christian

liturgy, the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin whereby the humble were

associated in the Church's hymn of praise and universal Inter-

cession. On the other hand It has been noted that this develop-

ment occurred at a time—the last period of the Middle Ages

—

33



when the liturgical spirit was in decline and the faithful were turn-

ing from the liturgy towards a devotion to Christ’s humanity and to

the Blessed Virgin Mary, a devotion favoring a certain external

sentiment of piety. Not many years ago some people began to

express the desire to see the Rosary included among the rites of

the liturgy, while other people, anxious to avoid repetition of former

pastoral mistakes, unjustifiably disregarded the Rosary. Today the

problem can easily be solved In the light of the principles of the

Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium. Liturgical celebrations and

the pious practice of the Rosary must be neither set in opposition

to one another nor considered as being identical. The more an

expression of prayer preserves its own true nature and individual

characteristics the more fruitful it becomes. Once the preeminent

value of liturgical rites has been reaffirmed it will not be difficult to

appreciate the fact that the Rosary is a practice of piety which

easily harmonizes with the liturgy. In fact, like the liturgy, it is of

a community nature, draws its inspiration from Sacred Scripture

and is oriented towards the mystery of Christ. The commemora-

tion in the liturgy and the contemplative remembrance proper to

the Rosary, although existing on essentially different planes of

reality, have as their object the same salvific events wrought by

Christ. The former presents anew, under the veil of signs and

operative In a hidden way, the great mysteries of our redemption.

The latter, by means of devout contemplation, recalls these same

mysteries to the mind of the person praying and stimulates the will

to draw from them the norms of living. Once this substantial dif-

ference has been established, it is not difficult to understand that

the Rosary is an exercise of piety that draws its motivating force

from the liturgy and leads naturally back to it, if practised In con-

formity with its original inspiration. It does not however become

part of the liturgy. In fact meditation on the mysteries of the

Rosary, by familiarizing the hearts and minds of the faithful with

the mysteries of Christ, can be an excellent preparation for the

celebration of those same mysteries In the liturgical action and can

also become a continuing echo thereof. However, it is a mistake to

recite the Rosary during the celebration of the liturgy, though

unfortunately this practice still persists here and there.

49. The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to the tra-

dition accepted by our predecessor Saint Pius V and authoritatively

34



taught by him, consists of various elements disposed in an organic

fashion:

a) Contemplation, in communion with Mary, of a series of

mysteries of salvation, wisely distributed into three cycles. These

mysteries express the joy of the messianic times, the salvific

suffering of Christ and the glory of the Risen Lord which fills the

Church. This contemplation by its very nature encourages practical

reflection and provides stimulating norms for living.

b) The Lord’s Prayer, or Our Father, which by reason of its

immense value is at the basis of Christian prayer and ennobles

that prayer in its various expressions.

c) The litany-like succession of the Hail Mary, which is made up

of the Angel's greeting to the Virgin (cf. Lk 1:28) and of Eliza-

beth’s greeting (cf. Lk 1:42), followed by the ecclesial supplication

Holy Mary. The continued series of Hall Marys is the special

characteristic of the Rosary, and their number, in the full and

typical number of one hundred and fifty, presents a certain analogy

with the Psalter and is an element that goes back to the very origin

of the exercise of piety. But this number, divided, according to a

well-tried custom. Into decades attached to the individual mys-

teries, is distributed in the three cyles already mentioned, thus

giving rise to the Rosary of fifty Hail Marys as we know it. This

latter has entered into use as the normal measure of the pious

exercise and as such has been adopted by popular piety and ap-

proved by papal authority, which also enriched it with numerous

indulgences.

d) The doxology Glory be to the Father which. In conformity

with an orientation common to Christian piety, concludes the

prayer with the glorifying of God who is one and three, from

whom, through whom and in whom all things have their being (cf.

Rom 11:36).

50. These are the elements of the Rosary. Each has its own par-

ticular character which, wisely understood and appreciated, should

be reflected in the recitation, in order that the Rosary may express

all its richness and variety. Thus the recitation will be grave and

suppliant during the Lord’s Prayer, lyrical and full of praise during

the tranquil succession of Hail Marys, contemplative in the recol-

lected meditation on the mysteries and full of adoration during the

35



doxology. This applies to all the ways in which the Rosary is

usually recited: privately, in intimate recollection with the Lord;

in community, in the family or in groups of the faithful gathered

together to ensure the special presence of the Lord (cf. Mt 18:20);

or publicly, in assemblies to which the ecclesial community is

invited.

51. In recent times certain exercises of piety have been created

which take their inspiration from the Rosary. Among such exer-

cises we wish to draw attention to and recommend those which

insert into the ordinary celebration of the Word of God some ele-

ments of the Rosary, such as meditation on the mysteries and

litany-like repetition of the angel's greeting to Mary. In this way

these elements gain in importance, since they are found in the

context of Bible readings, illustrated with a homily, accompanied

by silent pauses and emphasized with song. We are happy to

know that such practices have helped to promote a more com-

plete understanding of the spiritual riches of the Rosary itself and

have served to restore esteem for its recitation among youth asso-

ciations and movements.

52. We now desire, as a continuation of the thought of our prede-

cessors, to recommend strongly the recitation of the family Rosary.

The Second Vatican Council has pointed out how the family, the

primary and vital cell of society, “shows itself to be the domestic

sanctuary of the Church through the mutual affection of its mem-

bers and the common prayer they offer to God.’’ The Christian

family is thus seen to be a domestic Church if its members,

each according to his proper place and tasks, all together promote

justice, practice works of mercy, devote themselves to helping their

brethren, take part in the apostolate of the wider local community

and play their part in its liturgical worship. This will be all the

more true if together they offer up prayers to God. If this element

of common prayer were missing, the family would lack Its very

character as a domestic Church. Thus there must logically follow

a concrete effort to reinstate communal prayer in family life if there

is to be a restoration of the theological concept of the family as

the domestic Church.

53. In accordance with the directives of the Council, the Institutio

Generali's de Liturgia Horarum rightly numbers the family among

the groups In which the Divine Office can suitably be celebrated

36



in community: “It is fitting . . . that the family, as a domestic sanc-

tuary of the Church, should not only offer prayers to God in com-

mon, but also, according to circumstances, should recite parts of

the Liturgy of the Hours, in order to be more intimately linked with

the Church.” No avenue should be left unexplored to ensure

that this clear and practical recommendation finds within Christian

families growing and joyful acceptance.

54. But there is no doubt that, after the celebration of the Liturgy

of the Hours, the high point which family prayer can reach, the

Rosary should be considered as one of the best and most effica-

cious prayers in common that the Christian family is invited to

recite. We like to think, and sincerely hope, that when the family

gathering becomes a time of prayer the Rosary is a frequent and

favored manner of praying. We are well aware that the changed

conditions of life today do not make family gatherings easy, and

that even when such a gathering is possible many circumstances

make it difficult to turn it into an occasion of prayer. There is no

doubt of the difficulty. But it is characteristic of the Christian in

his manner of life not to give in to circumstances but to overcome

them, not to succumb but to make an effort. Families which want

to live in full measure the vocation and spirituality proper to the

Christian family must therefore devote all their energies to over-

coming the pressures that hinder family gatherings and prayer in

common.

55. In concluding these observations, which give proof of the

concern and esteem which the Apostolic See has for the Rosary of

the Blessed Virgin, we desire at the same time to recommend

that this very worthy devotion should not be propagated in a way

that is too one-sided or exclusive. The Rosary is an excellent

prayer, but the faithful should feel serenely free in its regard.

They should be drawn to its calm recitation by its intrinsic appeal.

37



CONCLUSION

THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL
VALUE OF DEVOTION

TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN

56. Venerable Brothers, as we come to the end of this our

Apostolic Exhortation we wish to sum up and emphasize the theo-

logical value of devotion to the Blessed Virgin and to recall briefly

its pastoral effectiveness for renewing the Christian way of life.

The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is an intrinsic ele-

ment of Christian worship. The honor which the Church has al-

ways and everywhere shown to the Mother of the Lord, from the

blessing with which Elizabeth greeted Mary (cf. Lk 1:42-45) right

up to the expressions of praise and petition used today, is a very

strong witness to the Church's norm of prayer and an invitation

to become more deeply conscious of her norm of faith. And the

converse is likewise true. The Church's norm of faith requires that

her norm of prayer should everywhere blossom forth with regard

to the Mother of Christ. Such devotion to the Blessed Virgin

is firmly rooted in the revealed Word and has solid dogmatic foun-

dations. It is based on the singular dignity of Mary, “Mother of the

Son of God, and therefore beloved daughter of the Father and

Temple of the Holy Spirit—Mary, who, because of this extra-
ordinary grace, is far greater than any other creature on earth

or In heaven." This devotion takes into account the part she

played at decisive moments in the history of the salvation which

her Son accomplished, and her holiness, already full at her Im-

maculate Conception yet increasing all the time as she obeyed the

will of the Father and accepted the path of suffering (cf. Lk 2:34-

35; 2:41-52; Jn 19:25-27), growing constantly in faith, hope and

charity. Devotion to Mary recalls too her mission and the special

position she holds within the People of God, of which she is the

preeminent member, a shining example and the loving Mother; it

recalls her unceasing and efficacious intercession which, although

she is assumed into heaven, draws her close to those who ask her

38



help, including those who do not realize that they are her children.

It recalls Mary’s glory which ennobles the whole of mankind, as

the outstanding phrase of Dante recalls; “You have so ennobled

human nature that its very Creator did not disdain to share in

it.” Mary in fact is one of our race, a true daughter of Eve

—

though free of that mother’s sin—and truly our sister, who as a
poor and humble woman fully shared our lot.

We would add further that devotion to the Blessed Virgin finds

its ultimate justification in the unfathomable and free will of God

who, being eternal and divine charity (cf. 1 Jn 4:7-8, 16), accom-

plishes all things according to a loving design. He loved her and

did great things for her (cf. Lk 1:49). He loved her for his own

sake, and he loved her for our sake too; he gave her to himself

and he gave her also to us.

57. Christ is the only way to the Father (cf. Jn 14:4-11), and the

ultimate example to whom the disciple must conform his own con-

duct (cf. Jn 13:15), to the extent of sharing Christ’s sentiments (cf.

Phil 2:5), living his life and possessing his Spirit (cf. Gal 2:20;

Rom 8:10-11). The Church has always taught this and nothing in

pastoral activity should obscure this doctrine. But the Church,

taught by the Holy Spirit and benefitting from centuries of experi-

ence, recognizes that devotion to the Blessed Virgin, subordinated

to worship of the divine Saviour and In connection with it, also has

a great pastoral effectiveness and constitutes a force for renewing

Christian living. It is easy to see the reason for this effectiveness.

Mary’s many-sided mission to the People of God is a supernatural

reality which operates and bears fruit within the body of the

Church. One finds cause for joy in considering the different aspects

of this mission, and seeing how each of these aspects with its

individual effectiveness is directed towards the same end, namely,

producing in the children the spiritual characteristics of the First-

born Son. The Virgin’s maternal intercession, her exemplary holi-

ness and the divine grace which is in her become for the human

race a reason for divine hope.

The Blessed Virgin’s role as Mother leads the People of God

to turn with filial confidence to her who is ever ready to listen with

a mother’s affection and efficacious assistance. j^us the People

of God have learned to call on her as the Consoler of the Afflicted,

the Health of the Sick, the Refuge of Sinners, that they may find

39



comfort in tribulation, relief in sickness and liberating strength in

guilt. For she, who is free from sin, leads her children to combat

sin with energy and resoluteness. ^22 liberation from sin and

evil (cf. Mt 6:13)—It must be repeated— is the necessary premise
for any renewal of Christian living.

The Blessed Virgin’s exemplary holiness encourages the faithful

to “raise their eyes to Mary who shines forth before the whole com-

munity of the elect as a model of the virtues.’’ \x \s a question of

solid, evangelical virtues: faith and the docile acceptance of the

Word of God (cf. Lk 1:26-38, 1:45, 11:27-28; Jn 2:5); generous

obedience (cf. Lk 1:38); genuine humility (cf. Lk 1:48); solicitous

charity (cf. Lk 1:39-56); profound wisdom (cf. Lk 1:29, 34; 2:19,

33, 51); worship of God manifested in alacrity In the fulfillment of

religious duties (cf. Lk 2:21-41), in gratitude for gifts received (cf.

Lk 1:46-49), In her offering in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:22-24) and in

her prayer in the midst of the apostolic community (cf. Acts 1:12-

14); her fortitude in exile (cf. Mt 2:13-23) and in suffering (cf. Lk

2:34-35; 2:49; Jn 19:25); her poverty reflecting dignity and trust

in God (cf. Lk 1:48; 2:24); her attentive care for her Son, from his

humble birth of the ignominy of the Cross (cf. Lk 2:1-7; Jn 19:

25-27); her delicate forethought (cf. Jn 2:1-11); her virginal purity

(cf. Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:26-38); her strong and chaste married love.

These virtues of the Mother will also adorn her children who

steadfastly study her example in order to reflect It in their own

lives. And this progress in virtue will appear as the consequence

and the already mature fruit of that pastoral zeal which springs

from devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Devotion to the Mother of the Lord becomes for the faithful an

opportunity for growing in divine grace, and this Is the ultimate aim

of all pastoral activity. For it is impossible to honor her who is

“full of grace’’ (Lk 1:28) without thereby honoring in oneself the

state of grace, which is friendship with God, communion with him

and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is this divine grace which

takes possession of the whole man and conforms him to the image

of the Son of God (cf. Rom 8:29; Col 1:18). The Catholic Church,

endowed with centuries of experience, recognizes in devotion to

the Blessed Virgin, a powerful aid for man as he strives for fulfill-

ment. Mary, the New Woman, stands at the side of Christ, the

New Man, within whose mystery the mystery of man alone finds

true light; she is given to us as a pledge and guarantee that God’s

40



Plan in Christ for the salvation of the whole man has already

achieved realization in a creature: in her. Contemplated in the

episodes of the Gospels and in the reality which she already pos-

sesses in the City of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary offers a calm

vision and a reassuring word to modern man, torn as he often Is

between anguish and hope, defeated by the sense of his own

limitations and assailed by limitless aspirations, troubled in his

mind and divided in his heart, uncertain before the riddle of death,

oppressed by loneliness while yearning for fellowship, a prey to

boredom and disgust. She shows forth the victory of hope over

anguish, of fellowship over solitude, of peace over anxiety, of joy

and beauty over boredom and disgust, of eternal visions over

earthly ones, of life over death.

Let the very words that she spoke to the servants at the marriage

feast of Cana, “Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5), be a seal on our

Exhortation and a further reason in favor of the pastoral value of

devotion to the Blessed Virgin as a means of leading men to Christ.

Those words, which at first sight were limited to the desire to

remedy an embarrassment at the feast, are seen in the context of

Saint John’s Gospel to re-echo the words used by the people of

Israel to give approval to the Covenant at Sinai (cf. Ex 19:8; 24:3,

7; Dt 5:27) and to renew their commitments (cf. Jos 24:24; Esd

10:12; Neh 5:12). And they are words which harmonize wonder-

fully with those spoken by the Father at the theophany on

Mount Tabor: “Listen to him" (Mt 17:5).

41



EPILOGUE

58. Venerable Brothers, we have dealt at length with an integral

element of Christian worship: devotion to the Mother of the Lord.

This has been called for by the nature of the subject, one which in

these recent years has been the object of study and revision and at

times the cause of some perplexity. We are consoled to think that

the work done by this Apostolic See and by yourselves In order to

carry out the norms of the Council—particularly the liturgical
reform— is a stepping-stone to an ever more lively and adoring

worship of God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and to

an increase of the Christian life of the faithful. We are filled with

confidence when we note that the renewed Roman Liturgy, also

taken as a whole. Is a splendid illustration of the Church’s devo-

tion to the Blessed Virgin. We are upheld by the hope that the

directives issued in order to render this devotion ever more pure

and vigorous will be applied with sincerity. We rejoice that the

Lord has given us the opportunity of putting forward some points

for reflection in order to renew and confirm esteem for the practice

of the Rosary. Comfort, confidence, hope and joy are the senti-

ments which we wish to transform Into fervent praise and thanks-

giving to the Lord as we unite our voice with that of the Blessed

Virgin in accordance with the prayer of the Roman Liturgy.

Dear Brothers, while we express the hope that, thanks to your

generous commitment, there will be among the clergy and among

the people entrusted to your care a salutary increase of devotion

of Mary with undoubted profit for the Church and for society, we

cordially Impart our special Apostolic Blessing to yourselves and

to all the faithful people to whom you devote your pastoral zeal.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on the second day of February,

the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, in the year 1974, the

eleventh of our Pontificate.

Paulus VI

42



NOTES

I Cf. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones IV, 3, 6-10: CSEL 19, p. 279.

^ Cf. II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum

Concilium, 1-3, 11, 21, 48: AAS 56 (1964), pp. 97-98, 102-103, 105-106,

113.

3 II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum

Concilium, 103: AAS 56 (1964), p. 125.

4 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 66: AAS 57 (1965), p. 65.
5 Ibid.

3 Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, Preface.

7 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 66-67: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 65-66; Constitution on the Sacred

Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 103: AAS 56 (1964), p. 125.

8 Apostolic Exhortation, Signum Magnum: AAS 59 (1967), pp. 465-475.

9 Cf. II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum

Concilium, 3: AAS 56 (1964), p. 98.

10 Cf. II Vatican Council, ibid., 102: AAS 56 (1964), p. 125.
II Cf. Roman Missal, restored by Decree of the Sacred Ecumenical II

Vatican Council, promulgated by authority of Pope Paul VI, typical edition,

MCMLXX, December 8, Preface.
12 Roman Missal, restored by Decree of the Sacred Ecumenical II Vatican

Council, promulgated by authority of Pope Paul VI. Ordo Lectionum Missae,

typical edition, MCMLXIX, p. 8, First Reading (Year A: Is 7:10-14: "Behold a

Virgin shall conceive”; Year B: 2 Sam 7:1-15; 8b-ll, 16: "The throne of

David shall be established for ever before the face of the Lord”; Year C: Mic

5:2-5a [Heb l-4a]: "Out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule

over Israel”).

13 Ibid., p. 8, Gospel (Year A: Mt 1:18-24: "Jesus is born of Mary who was

espoused to Joseph, the son of David”; Year B: Lk 1:26-38: "You are to con-

ceive and bear a son”; Year C: Lk 1:39-45: "Why should I be honored with a

visit from the Mother of my Lord?”).
14 Cf. Roman Missal, Advent Preface, II.
15 Roman Missal, ibid.
13 Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer I, Communicantes for Christmas and

its octave.

1"^ Roman Missal, January 1, Entry antiphon and Collect.
18 Cf. Roman Missal, August 22, Collect.
19 Roman Missal, September 8, Prayer after Communion.
20 Roman Missal, May 31, Collect.
21 Cf. ibid.. Collect and Prayer over the gifts.

22 Cf. Roman Missal, September 15, Collect.
23 Cf. 1, p. 15.

24 From among the many anaphoras cf. the following which are held in

special honor by the Eastern rites: Anaphora Marci Evangelistae: Prex

Eucharistica, ed. A. Hanggi-I. Pahl, Fribourg, Editions Universitaires, 1968,

p. 107; Anaphora lacobi fratris Domini graeca, ibid., p. 257; Anaphora

loannis Chrysostomi, ibid., p. 229.

43



25 cf. Roman Missal, December 8, Preface.
26 Cf. Roman Missal, August 15, Preface.
27 Cf. Roman Missal, January 1, Prayer after Communion.
28 Cf. Roman Missal, Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 6, Paschaltide,

Collect.

29 Roman Missal, September 15, Collect.
86 Roman Missal, May 31, Collect. On the same lines is the Preface of the

Blessed Virgin Mary, II: “We do well ... in celebrating the memory of the

Virgin Mary ... to glorify your love for us in the words of her song of

thanksgiving.”

31 Cf. Lectionary, III Sunday of Advent (Year C: Zeph 3:14-18a); IV Sunday

of Advent (cf. above footnote 12); Sunday within the octave of Christmas

(Year A: Mt 2:13-15; 19-23; Year B: Lk 2:22-40; Year C: Lk 2:41-52); II Sun-

day after Christmas (Jn 1:1-18); VII Sunday after Easter (Year A: Acts

1:12-14); II Sunday of the Year (Year C: Jn 2:1-12); X Sunday of the Year

(Year B: Gen 3:9-15); XIV Sunday of the Year (Year B: Mk 6:1-6).
32 Cf. Lectionary, The catechumenate and baptism of adults: the Lord's

Prayer (Second Reading, 2, Gal 4:4-7); Christian initiation outside the Easter

Vigil (Gospel, 7, Jn 1:1-5; 9-14; 16-18); Nuptial Mass (Gospel, 7, Jn 2:1-11);

Consecration of Virgins and religious profession (First Reading, 7, Is 61:9-11;

Gospel, 6, Mk 3:31-35; Lk 1:26-38 [cf. Ordo Consecrationis Virginum, 130;

Ordo professionis religiosae, Pars altera, 145]).

33 Cf. Lectionary, For refugees and exiles (Gospel, 1, Mt 2:13-15; 19-23);

In thanksgiving (First Reading, 4, Zeph 3:14-15).

34 Cf. La Divina Commedia, Paradiso XXXIII, 1-9; cf. Liturgy of the Hours,

remembrance of Our Lady on Saturdays, Office of Reading, Hymn.

35 Ordo baptism! parvulorum, 48: Ordo initiationis christianae adultorum,

214.

36 Cf. Rituale Romanum, Tit. VII, cap. Ill, De benedictione mulieris post

partum.

37 Cf. Ordo professionis religiosae. Pars Prior, 57 and 67.

38 Cf. Ordo consecrationis virginum, 16.

39 Cf. Ordo professionis religiosae. Pars Prior, 62 and 142; Pars Altera, 67

and 158; Ordo consecrationis virginum, 18 and 20.

40 Cf. Ordo unctionis infirmorum eorumque pastoralis curae, 143, 146,

147, 150.

41 Cf. Roman Missal, Masses for the Dead, for dead brothers and sisters,

relations and benefactors. Collect.

42 Cf. Ordo exsequiarum, 226.

43 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 63: AAS 57 (1965), p. 64.

44 Cf. II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacro-

sanctum Concilium, 7: AAS 56 (1964), pp. 100-101.

45 Sermo 215, 4: PL 38, 1074.

46 Ibid.

47 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei

Verbum, 21: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 827-828.

48 Cf. Adversus Haereses IV, 7, 1: PG 7, 1, 990-991; S. Ch. 100, t. II, pp.

454-458.

49 Cf. Adversus Haereses III, 10, 2: PG 7, 1, 873; S. Ch. 34, p. 164.

50 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 62: AAS 57 (1965), p. 63.

51 II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum

Concilium, 83: AAS 56 (1964), p. 121.

44



II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 63: AAS 57 (1965), p. 64.

53 Ibid., 64: AAS 57 (1965), p. 64.

54 Tractatus XXV (In Nativitate Domini), 5: CCL 138, p. 123; S. Ch. 22 bis,

p. 132; cf. also Tractatus XXIX (In Nativitate Domini), 1: CCL ibid., p. 147;

S. Ch. ibid., p. 178; Tractatus LXIII (De Passione Domini), 6: CCL ibid., p.

386; S. Ch. 74, p. 82.

55 M. Ferotin, Le "Liber Mozarabicus Sacramentorum,” col. 56.

56 In Purificatione B. Mariae, Sermo III, 2: PL 183, 370; Sancti Bernard!

Opera, ed. J. Leclercq-H. Rochais, vol. IV, Rome 1966, p. 342.
57 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 57: AAS 57 (1965), p. 61.

58 Ibid., 58: AAS 57 (1965), p. 61.

59 Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter Mystici Corporis: AAS 35 (1943), p. 247.

60 Cf. II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum

Concilium, 47: AAS 56 (1964), p. 113.

61 Ibid., 102, 106: AAS 56 (1964), pp. 125, 126.

62
, . deign to remember all who have been pleasing to you throughout

the ages, the holy Fathers, the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles . . . and the

holy and glorious Mother of God and all the saints . . . may they remember

our misery and poverty, and together with us may they offer you this great

and unbloody sacrifice”: Anaphora lacobi fratris Domini syriaca: Prex Eucha-

ristica, ed. A. Hanggi-I. Pahl, Fribourg, Editions Universitaires, 1968, p. 274.

63 Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, II 26: CSEL 32, IV, p. 55; S. Ch.

45, pp. 83-84.

64 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 62: AAS 57 (1965), p. 63.

65 II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum

Concilium, 103: AAS 56 (1964), p. 125.

66 II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 67: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 65-66.

67 Cf. ibid.

68 Cf. II Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum

Concilium, 104: AAS 56 (1964), pp. 125-126.

69 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 66: AAS 57 (1965), p. 65.

70 Cf. Paul VI, Talk of 24 April 1970, in the church of Our Lady of Bonaria

in Cagliari: AAS 62 (1970), p. 300.

71 Pius IX, Apostolic Letter Ineffabilis Deus: Pii IX Pontificis Maximi Acta,

I, 1, Rome 1854, p. 599. Cf. also V. Sardi, La solenne definizione del dogma

delTImmacolato concepimento di Maria Santissima. Atti e document! ...»

Rome 1904-1905, vol. II, p. 302.
72 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 66: AAS 57 (1965), p. 65.

73$. Ildephonsus, De virginitate perpetua sanctae Mariae, chapter XII:

PL 96, 108.

74 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 56: AAS 57 (1965), p. 60 and the authors mentioned in note 176

of the document.

75 Cf. St Ambrose, De Spiritu Sancto II, 37-38: CSEL 79, pp. 100-101;

Cassian, De incarnatione Domini II, chapter II: CSEL 17, pp. 247-249; St

Bede, Homelia I, 3: CCL 122, p. 18 and p. 20.
76 Cf. St Ambrose, De institutione virginis, chapter XII, 79: PL 16 (ed.

1880), 339; Epistula 30, 3 and Epistula 42, 7: ibid., 1107 and 1175; Expo-

45



sitio evangelii secundum Lucam X, 132: S. Ch. 52, p. 200; S. Proclus of Con-

stantinople, Oratio I, 1 and Oratio V, 3: PG 65, 681 and 720; St Basil of

Seleucia, Oratio XXXIX, 3: PG 85, 433; St Andrew of Crete, Oratio IV: PG 97,

868; St Germanus of Constantinople, Oratio III, 15: PG 98, 305.

Cf. St Jerome, Adversus lovinianum I, 33: PL 23, 267; St Ambrose,

Epistula 63, 33; PL 16 (ed. 1880), 1249; De institutione Virginia, chapter

XVII, 105: ibid., 346; De Spiritu Sancto III, 79-80: CSEL 79, pp. 182-183;

Sedulius, Hymn "A solis ortus cardine,” verses 13-14 CSEL 10, p. 164;
Hymnus Acathistos, Str. 23; ed. I. B. Pitra, Analecta Sacra, I, p. 261; St

Proclus of Constantinople, Oratio I, 3: PG 65, 684; Oratio II, 6: Ibid., 700;

St Basil of Seleucia, Oratio IV, In Nativitatem B. Mariae: PG 97, 868; St

John Damascene, Oratio IV, 10: PG 96, 677.

Cf. Severus of Antioch, Homelia 57: PO 8, pp. 357-358; Hesychius of

Jerusalem, Homelia de sancta Maria Deipara; PG 93, 1464; Chrysippus of

Jerusalem, Oratio in sanctam Mariam Deiparam, 2 PO 19, p. 338; St

Andrew of Crete, Oratio V: PG 97, 896; St John Damascene, Oratio VI, 6:

PG 96, 972.
'<9 Liber Apotheosis, verses 571-572: CCL 126, p. 97.

soCf. S. Isidore, De ortu et obitu Patrum, chapter LXVIl, 111: PL 83, 148;

St lldephonsus, De virginitate perpetua sanctae Mariae, chapter X: PL 96, 95;

St Bernard, In Assumptione B. Virginis Mariae: Sermo IV, 4: PL 183, 428; In

Nativitate B. Virginis Mariae: ibid, 442: St Peter Damien, Carmina sacra et

preces II, Oratio ad Deum Filium: PL 145, 921; Antiphon “Beata Dei Genetrix
Maria”: Corpus antiphonalium officii, ed. R. J. Hesbert, Rome 1970, vol. IV,

n. 6314, p. 80.

81 Cf. Paulus Diaconus, Homilia I, In Assumptione B. Mariae Virginis:

PL 95, 1567; De Assumptione sanctae Mariae Virginis; Paschasio Radherto

trib., 31, 42, 57, 83: ed. A. Ripberger, in “Spicilegium Friburgense,” 9, 1962,

pp. 72, 76, 84, 96-97; Eadmer of Canterbury, De excellentia Virginis Mariae,

chapters IV-V: PL 159, 562-567; St Bernard, In laudibus Virginis Matris,

Homilia IV, 3; Sancti Bernard! Opera, ed. J. Leclercq-H. Rochais, IV, Rome

1966, pp. 49-50.

82 Cf. Origen, In Lucam Homilia VII, 3: PG 13, 1817; S. Ch. 87, p. 156;

St Cyril of Alexandria, Commentarius in Aggaeum prophetam, chapter XIX:

PG 71, 1060; St. Ambrose, De fide IV 9, 113-114: CSEL 78, pp. 197-198;

Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam II, 23 and 27-28; CSEL 32, IV, pp. 53-54

and 55-56; Severianus Gabalensis, In mundi creationem, Oratio VI, 10; PG

56, 497-498; Antipater of Bostra, Homilia in Sanctissimae Deiparae Annun-

tiationem, 16: PG 85, 1785.

83 Cf. Eadmer of Canterbury, De excellentia Virginis Mariae, chapter VII:

PL 159, 571; St Amedeus of Lausanne, De Maria Virginea Matre, Homilia

VII: PL 188, 1337; S. Ch. 72, p. 184.

84 De virginitate perpetua sanctae Mariae, chapter XII: PL 96, 106.

85
II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 54: AAS 57 (1965), p. 59. Cf. Paulus VI, Allocutio ad Patres Con-

ciliares habita, altera exacta Concilii Oecumenici Vatican! Secundi Sessione,

4 December 1963: AAS 56 (1964), p. 37.

86 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 6, 7-8, 9-11: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 8-9, 9-12, 12-21.

87 Ibid., 63: AAS 57 (1965), p. 64.

88 St Cyprian, De Catholicae Ecclesiae unitate, 5; CSEL 3, p. 214.

89 Isaac de Stella, Sermo LI, In Assumptione B. Mariae: PL 194, 1863.

90 Sermo XXX, I: S. Ch. 164, p. 134.

46



Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 66-69: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 65-67.

Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei

Verbum, 25: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 829-830.

93 Op. cit, 13: AAS 56 (1964), p. 103.

94 Cf. Officium magni canonis paracletici, Magnum Orologion, Athens

1963, p. 558; passim in liturgical canons and prayers: cf. Sophronius Eustra-

diadou, Theotokarion, Chennevieres-sur-Marne 1931, pp. 9, 19.

95 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 69: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 66-67.

96 Cf. ibid., 66: AAS 57 (1965), p. 65; Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,

Sacrosanctum Concilium, 103: AAS 56 (1964), p. 125.

97 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 67: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 65-66.

98 Ibid., 66: AAS 57 (1965), p. 65.
99 Cf. Paul VI, Address in the Vatican Basilica to the Fathers of the

Council, 21 November 1964: AAS 56 (1964), p. 1017.
190

II Vatican Council Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, 20:

AAS 57 (1965), p. 105.
101 Encyclical Letter, Adiutricem Populi: ASS 28 (1895-1896), p. 135.
102 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 56: AAS 57 (1965), p. 60.
103 Cf. St Peter Chrysologus, Sermo CXLIII: PL 52, 583.
104 II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gen-

tium, 55: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 59-60.
105 Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Signum Magnum, I: AAS 59 (1967),

pp. 467-468; Roman Missal, 15 September, Prayer over the gifts.
106 Cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 67: AAS

57 (1965), pp. 65-66.

107 St Augustine, In lohannis Evangelium, Tractatus X, 3; CCL 36, pp.
101-102; Epistula 243, Ad Laetum, 9: CSEL 57, pp. 575-576; St Bede, In

Lucae Evangelium exposito, IV, XI, 28: CCL 120, p. 237; Homilia I, 4: CCL

122, pp. 26-27.

108 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 58: AAS 57 (1965), p. 61.

109 Roman Missal, IV Sunday of Advent, Collect. Similarly the Collect of

March 25, which may be used in place of the previous one in the recitation

of the Angelus.

110 Pius XII, Letter to the Archbishop of Manila, "Philippinas Insulas”:

AAS 38 (1946), p. 419.
111 Discourse to the participants in the III Dominican International Rosary

Congress: Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, 1, (1963), pp. 463-464.

112 In AAS 58 (1966), pp. 745-749.
113 In AAS 61 (1969), pp. 649-654.

114 Cf. 13: AAS 56 (1964), p. 103.
115 Decree on the Lay Apostolate, Apostolicam Actuositatem, 11: AAS

58 (1966), p. 848.

116 Cf. II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 11: AAS 57 (1965), p. 16.
117 Cf. II Vatican Council, Decree on the Lay Apostolate, Apostolicam

Actuositatem, 11: AAS 58 (1966), p. 848.
118 Op. cit, 27.

119 II Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 53: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 58-59.

47



120 La Divina Commedia, Paradiso XXXIII, 4-6.

121 Cf. il Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen

Gentium, 60-63: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 62-64.

122 Cf. ibid., 65: AAS 57 (1965), pp. 64-65.

123 Ibid., 65: AAS 57 (1965), p. 64.
124 Cf. II Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the

Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, 22: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 1042-1044 .
125 Cf. Roman Missal, May 31, Collect.

48