Q. Is it okay to call Mary ‘Mediatrix’?
A. The recent document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Mater populi fidelis, addresses the question of whether or not it is appropriate to attribute various titles to the Blessed Mother. While it can seem like much ado about nothing (does it really matter what we call Mary?), the reality is Marian titles are important, as they concretize significant doctrinal beliefs, making them more accessible than the average theological formulation.
For example, Mary has been referred to as the Theotokos (God Bearer/Mother of God) for centuries. This seemingly insignificant honorific actually speaks to the fact that Jesus Christ is True God and True Man. Mary is obviously not the mother of the Second Person of the Trinity, but she is the mother of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity Incarnate. Because Jesus is both fully God and fully Man, it is appropriate to refer to Mary as the Mother God. Whether we realize it or not, every time we refer to Mary as the Mother God, we are affirming the Hypostatic Union and the Communicatio idiomatum. That’s a lot of Christological theology packed into a single Marian title.
It is for these reasons that the Church is very careful about endorsing Marian titles. They are more than just nice things to say about her. So with regards to titles like co-Redemptrix, a title that attempts to capture the role of Mary as “the first and foremost collaborator in the work of Redemption,” it actually gives the impression that Christ is not the sole redeemer, and Mary’s role is (as the title implies) equal to Christ’s in redeeming Mankind.
While that is not the idea intended by those who have used the title throughout the centuries, “When an expression requires many, repeated explanations to prevent it from straying from a correct meaning, it does not serve the faith of the People of God and becomes unhelpful” (Mater populi fidelis n.22). Basically, the title itself obscures what the title itself is trying to say, so we shouldn’t use the title, not because the Church has changed Her belief about Mary’s role in salvation, but because the title requires too many caveats to be helpful.
Similarly, the title of Mediatrix of All Graces can lead to confusion. The title “risks presenting Mary as the one who distributes spiritual goods or energies apart from our personal relationship with Jesus Christ” (ibid. n.68). It also implies that she herself did not receive the Grace of redemption from God but somehow as the mediator of all graces she enacted her own redemption (ibid. n.67). This is not what the title intends to communicate, but, again, it lends itself to confusion, which is unhelpful, so it is better to simply avoid using it.
The document in no way diminishes Mary’s standing in the Church. She remains the ultimate example of a disciple of Christ and our loving Mother who intercedes on our behalf with her Son. “Mary is the most perfect expression of Christ’s action that transforms our humanity. She is the feminine manifestation of all that Christ’s grace can accomplish in a human being” (ibid. n. 1). Mary demonstrates to all of us what being a Christian means, and the Church’s determination that some titles are not helpful in no way, shape or form diminishes that.
I imagine everyone reading this has had an encounter with someone who says something to the effect of “well, the Catholic Church teaches________” and the ______ is not at all what the Catholic Church teaches. We have a hard enough time communicating what we actually believe to non-Catholics, especially about our Blessed Mother, without causing unnecessary confusion by using titles that, though well meaning, lend themselves to theological imprecision.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
