John Paul II – Pastores Dabo Vobis and Consecrated Life: Mary, Mother of Priests and Icon of Consecrated Life
Saint John Paul II dedicated two major Post-Synodal Exhortations to consecrated life and the priesthood: Pastores Dabo Vobis (March 25, 1992) on priestly formation, and Vita Consecrata (March 25, 1996) on consecrated life. Both conclude with extensive Marian sections that present Mary as the archetypal model of consecration to God and of priesthood.
Pope: Saint John Paul II
Documents: Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992, no. 82) | Vita Consecrata (1996, nos. 28, 112)
Theme: Mary in priests, Mary as icon of consecrated life
Pastores dabo vobis no. 82, Maria Mater sacerdotum
Maria, Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ the High Priest, is the Mother of priests. For she more than any other woman comprehends the truth of the heart of her priestly Son. While the ministerial priesthood of Christ was His, Mary’s priesthood was according to its own proper mode. She is the first model of a woman who cooperates with the priest-Son in the work of salvation.
Mary, Mother of Lord Jesus Christ, Supreme Priest, is Mother of the priests. She understands more than any other woman the truth of her priest’s heart, her Son. As the ministerial priesthood was Christ’s, Mary’s priesthood was according to her own proper mode. She is the first example of a woman who cooperates with the priest-Son in the work of salvation.
Three aspects of Mary’s motherhood in relation to priests:
- Mater sacerdotum: Mother in a spiritual sense of every priest, who is “another Christ”
- Vocational educator: Mary as one who guided Jesus, model for priestly formation
- Refuge in times of crisis: Mary as protector of priests in their crises
Vita consecrata nos. 28 and 112, Mary as icon of consecrated life
No. 28 of Vita Consecrata is the most systematic reference from recent Church teaching on Mary as an icon of consecrated life:
“Beatiissima Virgo Maria… in vitae consecratae fundamentaliter exemplar peregrinationem nobis offert et eius spiritualem proprium modum. Maria perfecta consecratio est. In Maria laudis et amoris cantus est filiae Sion in qua omnes filiae continentur. In Maria et per Mariam, vita consecrata invenit suam propriam fontem et exemplar perfectum”
The Most Blessed Virgin Mary… offers us fundamentally an example of the pilgrimage and her own spiritual mode in consecrated life. Mary is the perfect consecration. In Mary is the song of praise and love of the daughter of Zion in whom all daughters are contained. Through Mary and in Mary, consecrated life finds its own source and perfect model.
Mary as type of the three evangelical counsels
John Paul II interprets the three evangelical counsels (chastity, poverty, obedience) through the figure of Mary:
- Chastity: Mary, virgin not only physically but totally dedicated to God
- Poverty: Mary who accepts her humble condition (“ecce ancilla Domini“)
- Obedience: Mary who says “fiat”, an obedience that is more than submission, it is adherence
Connection to Mariology in Liturgies
Both Pastores Dabo Vobis and Vita Consecrata link mariology with liturgy and the Marian liturgical year. Specifically, §112 of Vita Consecrata presents the religious’ prayer to Mary as a “constant breath” of their consecration, paralleling what Marialis Cultus had said about the Marian liturgy throughout the Church.
Additional Reading
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