Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate in the Contemporary Roman Liturgy

This idea of Mary's protection (præsidium) recurs a number of times in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (194) For instance, in the Prayer after Communion of the Mass of Our Lady of the Cenacle (Beata Maria Virgo a Cenaculo) the priest prays

Here the concept is precisely that under Mary's protection we will have the right conditions to work for unity and peace. In the Opening Prayer of the Mass of the Holy Name of Mary (Sanctum Nomen Beatæ Mariæ Virginis) the language is borrowed directly from the Sub tuum præsidium:

Unfortunately, the translators have transformed the relative clause and also the object of the petition while retaining some of the key ideas. A more literal translation can bring to the fore more readily the literary borrowing: "grant that we who fly trustingly to her protection, may be comforted by calling upon her maternal name." (197)

In a very notable way the concept of Mary's protection (præsidium) occurs in the Latin title and repeatedly in the prayers of the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pillar of Faith (Beata Maria Virgo, Fidei Præsidium), which borrows in great part from the Mass of Our Lady of the Pillar, taken from the typical edition of the Missal approved by the Spanish Episcopal Conference. (198) Perhaps the idea is best exemplified in the Opening Prayer:

One understands the obvious allusion to the famous pillar in Saragossa, surmounted by a statuette of Our Lady, which, according to tradition, was left by her to Saint James the Great, the Apostle of Spain, as a precious reminder that he must be strong in the faith. (200) However, it seems to me that the word præsidium here has more the sense of "defending wall," "bulwark" or "fortification." Such is the power of Our Lady's protection for those who seek her as their advocate. Here I would propose that the idea could be rendered with even more strong imagery: "Almighty, eternal God, who has given the Blessed Virgin Mary, the glorious Mother of your Son as a defending wall to all who call upon her, ..." (201)

The same idea of the strength of Our Lady's protection is communicated in this line of the Preface:

I offer this literal rendition to illustrate my point: "Glorious by virtue of her Son (the seed, the bud), she shines out as the hope of the faithful and the bulwark of faith." (203) Likewise the notion of Mary as a source of impregnable strength is to be found in the Prayer after Communion of that Mass:

I would propose that here beatæ Mariæ Virginis freti præsidio could be rendered more forcefully as "relying on the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

The concept of Mary's maternal protection in the Roman Liturgy is certainly not limited to the occurrence of the word præsidium. We find it, for instance, in the beautiful Preface of the Mass of the Commendation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Commendatio Beatæ Mariæ Virginis):

The final sentence in Latin could be rendered in English: "She will for ever be the mother of believers who will always fly safely to her," but the English translators have done well here to recognize that the very idiomatic securi confugient speaks of Mary's motherly protection. (206) A point not to be missed is that confugere is precisely the verb used in the prayer Sub tuum præsidium (We fly to your patronage) and hence it makes a subtle allusion to the trusting spirit of that prayer.

The same verb is used with the same association in the Preface of the Mass of Mary, Mother of Reconciliation (Beata Maria Virgo, Mater Reconciliationis):

Recognizing the compassion of Mary's heart for sinners, "they fly to her imploring your pardon." Sinners should know that Mary is not the source of pardon, which comes from God, but that she is their "advocate of grace" with him. This, in fact, is carefully drawn out in the Opening Prayer of the same Mass which beautifully sets out Mary's role as the "Reconciler of sinners":

Here we might simply point out that a more literal translation would indicate that God was pleased to appoint the mother of his Son as the Reconciler of sinners. The very use of the verb constituere here indicates Mary's appointment to an office, a special function, a mission or role (munus). (We have already noted that she is called the "minister of the salvific plan" (salvificæ dispensationis ministra). (209)) Hence, it is through her intercession that we may obtain pardon for our sins. (210)

The Preface of the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians (Beata Maria Virgo, Auxilium Christianorum) further illustrates the theme of God's appointing Mary to a special role as advocate or helper:

We might also simply note here that matrem et auxilium populi christiani constituisti indicates that God gave Mary the particular role of advocate by appointing her to be "the mother and help of the Christian people" and, thus, with her protecting them (ipsa protegente) they can be fearless, steadfast and secure.

C. Patronage

We have already noted more than once that præsidium is translated as "patronage" in the traditional English version of the Sub tuum præsidium (We fly to thy patronage). In fact the idea of Mary's patronage was yet another way of illustrating her advocacy in the Middle Ages. (212) Just as a vassal would put himself under the patronage and at the service of a suzerain, so many Christians freely choose to put themselves under Mary's patronage by committing (or consecrating) themselves to her. (213) Not surprisingly, we find that the terms patron (patrona) and patronage (patrocinium) have also entered into the liturgical vocabulary of the Collection. (214) Here is an example from the Prayer after Communion of the Mass of the Holy Name of Mary (Sanctum Nomen Beatæ Mariæ Virginis):

Here the understanding quite clearly is that all those for whom Mary is a mother in the order of grace (216) have a right to her guidance and patronage. (217)

In the Prayer over the Gifts of the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Teacher in the Spirit (Beata Maria Virgo, Mater et Magistra Spiritalis), there is also the unhesitating assertion that Mary's patronage extends over all who have been reborn in the waters of Baptism:

The Italian translation of this prayer seems surprisingly less faithful to the Latin text than is the English, but in rendering patrocinio custodit as "she protects us with her help" (219), we get the idea that Our Lady's patronage is always dynamic, that she never ceases to watch over her spiritual children.