Sr. Lucia and Mary Co-redemptrix

In her later meditation on Our Lady's Assumption into Heaven, in Chapter 37, "Contemplation of the Glorious Mysteries," the Fatima author connects the victory of Mary's glorious Assumption with the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 where, from the beginning, this Woman was predestined by God to share in the battle against satan and to give Christ the human nature that would ultimately defeat the serpent on Calvary, thereby meriting for her the title "Co-redemptrix of the human race":

As soon as the first sin which brought condemnation on human beings had been committed, God, speaking to the Devil who had taken the form of a serpent and who had incited the first human beings to do evil, said to him: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Gn 3:15).

This woman, predestined by God to give Christ a human nature and to be, with Him, Co-redemptrix of the human race—"I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers"—this woman, He said, could not remain in the shadow of death, because she did not incur the sentence of punishment. Hence Mary is the first fruit of the Redemption wrought by Christ; and, through his merits, she was carried up to Heaven in body and soul, where she lives and reigns, in God, with her Son and His. (11)

The sublimity of Sister Lucia's treatment of Our Lady's role of Co-redemptrix reminds us once again that saints, far more than theologians, are able to articulate the deepest mysteries of our Holy Faith due to sanctity's constant companions: simplicity and truth.

It is no accident that Sister Lucia repeatedly calls the reader to understand in mind and heart Our Lady's role as Co-redemptrix of the human race. Every child of Fatima is called to recognize the glorious role of the Mother of All Peoples in the work of Redemption, as well as to imitate our coredemptive Mother by offering our daily sacrifices, and by understanding that every daily cross, great or small, is one designated by God for the redemption of souls and our own sanctification. Indeed we are all called to "make up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the Church" (Col. 1:24).

The recognition and acknowledgment of Mary Co-redemptrix is indeed a central part of the Fatima message, as testified by Sister Lucia in "Calls" From the Message of Fatima and constitutes in itself an essential component of the fulfillment of the Fatima messages in our own time.

Our beloved Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, is presently discerning the worldwide petition for the solemn definition of Our Lady as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate, as submitted by over 500 cardinals and bishops, nearly 7 million Catholic faithful spanning 145 countries, and including such contemporary lights as the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Angelica, the late John Cardinal O'Connor, and the late John Haffert, co-founder of the Blue Army. Let us join our prayers and sacrifices to this petition, that the entire Church and world will soon officially acknowledge that which Sister Lucia conveys to us in "Calls" From the Message of Fatima: that Mary is, with and under Jesus our Divine Redeemer, the Co-redemptrix of the human race. Let us daily pray that Our Lady can be "released" by the solemn proclamation so that she may be able to fully intercede for all the graces necessary for the Triumph of her Most Immaculate Heart, and hence to bring ultimate fulfillment to her quintessential Fatima promise, that "in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph…and a period of peace will be granted to the world" (July 13th, 1917).

Endnotes

(1) John Paul II, Greetings to the Sick Following General Audience (Sept. 8, 1982); Angelus Address (Nov. 4, 1984), L'Osservatore Romano, 860: 1; Palm Sunday Address at Alborada, Guayaquil, Ecuador (Jan. 31, 1985), L'Osservatore Romano, 876: 7; Palm Sunday and World Youth Day Address (March 31, 1985), L'Osservatore Romano, 880: 12; Address to Federated Alliance of Transportation of Sick to Lourdes (March 24, 1990); Address Commemorating Sixth Centenary of Canonization of St. Bridget of Sweden (Oct. 6, 1991), L'Osservatore Romano, 1211: 4.

(2) Insegnamenti IV/1 (1981), 896; V/1 (1982), 91; XI/2 (1988), 1216.

(3) "Calls" From the Message of Fatima, Chapter 13, p. 114.

(4) Ibid., Chapter 13, p. 137.

(5) Ibid., Chapter 21, p. 195.

(6) Cf. papal uses of that title by Bl. Pius IX, Encyclical Ubi Primum, (Feb. 2, 1849); Leo XIII, Octobri Mense (Sept. 22,1891), ASS 24, 1891; St. Pius X, Ad Diem Illum (Feb. 2, 1904), ASS 36, 1903-1904; Benedict XV, Apostolic Letter Inter Sodalicia (March 22, 1918), AAS 10, 1918, p. 182; Pius XI, Encyclical Ingravescentibus Malis, (September 29, 1937), AAS 29, 1937, p. 380; Pius XII, Mediator Dei, (Nov. 29, 1947), AAS 39, p. 541.

(7) LG 60, 61.

(8) LG 62.

(9) "Calls" From the Message of Fatima, Chapter 34, p. 266.

(10) Ibid., Chapter 35, p. 279.

(11) Ibid., Chapter 37, p. 295.