The Mother of All Peoples

The famous English convert, Ven. Cardinal John Henry Newman (d.1890), one of the most quoted theological sources at the Second Vatican Council, defended the title of Mary Co-redemptrix in his dialogue with the Anglican clergyman Pusey:

St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe (d.1941), the Polish martyr-saint who offered his life in exchange for another prisoner at Auschwitz, offers exceptional tribute to the Co-redemptrix as the one predestined with Christ to restore grace to mankind: "From that moment (of the Fall) God promised a Redeemer and a Co-redemptrix saying: 'I will place enmities between thee and the Woman, and thy seed and her Seed; She shall crush thy head.'" (31)

The acclaimed philosopher, convert and cloistered Carmelite nun, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (d.1942), born Edith Stein, in her theological treatise, Scientia Crucis, said: "Mary leaves the natural order and is placed as Co-redemptrix alongside the Redeemer." (32)

St. Padre Pio (d.1968) writes in one of his letters: "Now I seem to be penetrating what was the martyrdom of our most beloved Mother…. Oh, if all people would but penetrate this martyrdom! Who could succeed in suffering with this, yes, our dear Coredemptrix? Who would refuse her the good title of Queen of Martyrs?" (33)

Opus Dei Founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá (d.1975), vigorously defends our Lady as the Co-redemptrix in this passage where he applauds the papal usage of the Co-redemptrix title and its doctrine: "The Supreme Pontiffs have rightly called Mary 'Co-redemptrix'…. one can rightly say that she redeemed the human race together with Christ." (34)

The renowned servant of the poor, Bl. Mother Teresa (d.1997), put it succinctly: "Of course, Mary is the Co-redemptrix. She gave Jesus his body, and the body of Jesus is what saved us." (35)

Mediatrix of All Graces

The term, "Mediatrix," can refer either to the general category of Mary's Maternal Mediation with Christ the one Mediator (as already discussed) or to her specific role in the distribution of the graces acquired by Jesus, the New Adam, and secondarily by Mary, the New Eve, at Calvary. Here we will look at the latter doctrine of Mary as the dispenser or Mediatrix of all graces of human redemption.

Mary's role as dispenser or Mediatrix of the graces of the Redemption follows appropriately from her role as Co-redemptrix. It is important to see that Our Lady dispenses the graces of Jesus because of her special participation in acquiring the graces of Redemption with and under her divine Son.

Mary uniquely participated in the acquisition of the graces of Redemption by Jesus Christ (objective redemption) and, therefore, the Mother of Jesus, above all creatures, fittingly participates in the distribution of these graces of Redemption to the human family (theologically called subjective redemption). By distributing sanctifying grace, Mary is able to fulfill her role as Spiritual Mother, since she spiritually nourishes the faithful of Christ's body in the order of grace. Mary's God-given ability to distribute the graces of Redemption by her intercession is an essential element and full flowering of her role as Spiritual Mother. For true motherhood goes beyond the birthing of children to include their nourishing, growth, and proper formation.

The New Testament reveals Mary as the Mediatrix of all graces for us. With the Virgin's free and active cooperation in the Incarnation (cf. Lk 1:28-38), she mediates to us Jesus Christ, who is himself the Source and the Author of all sanctifying grace. At the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, two events of grace take place because Mary physically mediates the presence of the unborn Christ to Elizabeth and the unborn John: Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit at Mary's greeting, and the unborn Baptist is sanctified in the womb (cf. Lk 1:41). (36)

The Wedding of Cana is an obvious and explicit scriptural revelation of the role of Mary as the Mediatrix of grace. Mary's personal mediation to Jesus on behalf of the wedding couple, "They have no wine…do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:3-5), directly leads to an extraordinary release of grace: Jesus' first public miracle and the beginning of the public ministry of the Christ, a ministry that will end in Calvary and the acquisition of all redemptive graces.

In his commentary on the Wedding of Cana (Jn 2), John Paul explained Mary's actions as Mediatrix in uniting humanity with her Son:

On Calvary, Mary is given as the Spiritual Mother to all "beloved disciples," represented by John, and to all humanity. As John Paul II explained, "Mediatrix" is implicit in the title Mother:

Intrinsic to her role as Spiritual Mother is her function as Mediatrix of graces, in which she nurtures and nourishes her spiritual children in the order of grace.

This role of Mary as "Mediatrix," or secondary and subordinate mediator with Jesus, also has a strong foundation in the apostolic tradition as manifested, for example, in this fourth century profession by St. Ephraem (d.373): "After the Mediator, you (Mary) are the Mediatrix of the whole world." (39)

In sum, the Mother of Jesus mediates all the graces of Jesus to the human family in two regards. First, Mary mediated all graces to humanity by giving birth to Jesus and by bringing the source and author of all graces to the world (theologically referred to as remote mediation). Secondly, Mary mediates all graces by distributing the graces merited on Calvary to the human family by her intercession (theologically called proximate or immediate mediation).

Notice the divine consistency in Mary's role in the order of grace as designated by God's perfect will. First of all, Mary is conceived in sanctifying grace from the first instant of her existence by a unique act of God's will. Then Mary gives birth to the source of all graces in Jesus Christ. With this birth of the Head of Grace, she also gives spiritual birth to the Body mystically united with the Head in grace. Furthermore, she participates with her Son in meriting the grace that redeems the world on Calvary. Finally, from Heaven, Mary distributes the graces of the Redemption to grant to each open heart of the human family the saving supernatural life of Our Lord. As Vatican II ascribes to her, Mary is truly "a Mother to us in the order of grace." (40)

When the Church says that the Mother of Jesus is Mediatrix of all graces, she means that all the graces of Redemption granted by God to fallen humanity reach us through the intercession of Mary. To receive all graces through Mary is simply to continue the perfect plan of God which began with his gift of Jesus Christ, the source of all graces, who likewise came to us through Mary. The Mother of Jesus, subordinate and perfectly conformed to the will of her Son, distributes the graces of Redemption to the human family at least by her willed intercession (theologically referred to as a secondary moral cause).

Does this mean that the graces of Jesus will not be distributed unless we pray directly to the Blessed Virgin? No. It does, however, express the truth that whether we call directly upon the name of Mary or not, we nonetheless receive all graces through her actual and personally willed intercession.

This is analogous to the authentic Catholic understanding of Baptism "of desire" (Catechism of Trent). A person who is not Christian can attain eternal life under specific conditions of charity and contrition through Jesus, the one Redeemer and Mediator to the Father, without actually knowing during his earthly life that it is through the mediation of Jesus. In a similar way, all who receive the graces of Jesus Christ do so through Mary, even if they lack knowledge of the Blessed Virgin's intercession (the difference between knowledge and causality).

At the same time, we must remember how pleasing it is to God when the human family does affirm his manifest will by directly invoking his appointed distributor of graces by name. It is our human way of saying yes to God's order of things, which includes Mary as the distributor of graces.

Papal Teaching on Mediatrix of All Graces

The unanimous voices of the popes of the last two centuries on this pivotal Marian doctrine of Mediatrix of all graces manifest nothing short of incontestable consistency and certainty regarding the truth of this doctrine. As we consider some of the more important papal pronouncements and explanations on this doctrine, note particularly the consistent papal teaching that this Marian role includes the mediation of each and every grace of Redemption.

• Pope Pius VII (1800-1823) referred to Mary as the "Dispensatrix of all graces." (41)

• Bl. Pope Pius IX (1846-1878), the Marian pope who defined Mary's Immaculate Conception, wrote: "...God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation." (42)

• Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) frequently referred to Mary's role as "Dispenser of all heavenly graces" and boldly professed these words about Mary's role as Mediatrix of all graces: